Korg EX-800
Thoughts
The EX-800 synth is the desktop module version of the Poly-800 keyboard. It has a great and distinctive sound. If you look at reviews online, you will find a variety of opinions, from hate to love. The hate is usually aimed at the parameter access system but, as several users point out, you can get to know this pretty quickly - everything is neatly printed on the top of the case. The love is usually aimed at the sound - nice pads, basses, sweeps and leads, all with a lovely vintage tone.
DCOs
The key factors affecting the sound are the DCOs, effectively a kind of additive saw/square wave, where 16’, 8’, 4’, and 2’ can be independently added to the mix (x2). Like a drawbar organ, this makes for an interesting variety of timbres (each Osc with its own multi-stage envelope) before the filter.
The Filter
The filter itself is a single 24db lowpass analogue with a sweet character, through to a whistling resonance (no self-resonance, but that is internally adjustable). The 8 (or 4 in dual mode) oscillators go through the single filter (paraphonic), which should be limiting, but if you play this synth to its strengths, it really isn’t. If it were the only synth you owned, the single filter would be limiting, but if it isn’t your only synth, the EX has a unique, endearing effect - it actually gives a particular sound you can’t get with most poly’s. Finally, the sound is topped off with the analogue chorus (on/off!) which adds a lovely stereo thickening to any patches.
Mods
If you like to hack, there is the appallingly-named Moog Slayer mod (cutoff and res knobs), or the much more involved Atom/Hawk mods which add greatly to MIDI control and parameter options... but I kind of like it as it is. There are plenty of other synths with knobs to twiddle...
EX-800 specification
| Programs | |
|---|---|
| Memories | 64 (8 banks of 8: 11-18, 21-28 etc) |
| Program sort | N/A |
| Polyphony | 8 Voice (whole mode), 4 Voice (double mode) |
| Voice modes | Poly (whole/double) |
| Voice parameters | |
| Timbres | Octave (LOW, MID, HIGH), 16' 8 ' 4 ' 2' (ON/OFF) |
| Oscillator shapes | Sawtooth / Square + Noise |
| Oscillator Modifiers | None |
| Filter | Low-pass (-24dB) filter, Resonance, Keyboard Track (OFF, HALF, FULL), EG Intensity (0 - 15) EG Polarity Trigger mode (for DEG 3 only) (SINGLE, MULTI) |
| Envelopes (DEGs) | Three: Attack - Decay - Break Point - Slope - Sustain - Release; DEG1 > DCO1 level, DEG2 > DCO2 level, DEG3 > Noise level + VCF |
| LFO (MG) | One: Triangle > DCO + VCF |
| Mod Matrix | None |
| Other controls | Fine tune, Master Volume, Sequencer speed (MIDI syncable) |
| Effects | |
| Modulation effects | Chorus on/off |
| Delay effects | None |
| Other | |
| Sequencer | 256 steps, stored on power-down |
| I/O | |
| Audio | L/Mono+Right Output (quarter-inch TS unbalanced); Stereo headphones (quarter-inch TRS) |
| Tape | In/Out |
| Program Up | normally-open switch |
| MIDI | In/Out/Thru (five-pin DIN) |
| Physical | |
| Display | 3 x 2 digits LED: Program, Parameter, Value |
| Keyboard | None |
| Power supply | 9V DC, 0.3 Amp, centre-negative |
| Dimensions | W: 404 mm x D: 222.5 mm x H: 64.5 mm |
| Weight | 2.6 kg |
Resources
How the Poly/EX-800 DCOs work: http://sequence15.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-korg-poly-800-dco-works.html
Owner's Manual (character-recognised for searchability): https://www.2btech.co.uk/download/Korg_EX-800_Manual(ocr'd).pdf