Korg Polysix sounds crazy

[Sava66]

Hello, can anyone tell me by listening to it what is wrong with my polysix? I went to dial in the factory patches but they don't sound anything like they are supposed to, everything sounds kind of growly and over the top like an sh-101 but I know a P6 does good brass, strings and even piano.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7zjtw36bw2uo ... MujWa?dl=0

Every knob and key "works." I would just like to know where to start troubleshooting. Filter? Voice assignments? Envelopes? Effects?

The file is a .wav, it’s called "polysix presets.”

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sava

[Steve Jones]

If all of the knobs and keys work then you must be able to create sounds in manual mode, can you create a sound and save it to a memory location? You may simply have a flat battery.

[Sava66]

Steve, Thanks so much for replying. I can create sounds in manual mode, but they just don't sound like they "should". Is there any way I can get you to listen to the .wav file in the dropbox? I programmed in the first five patches from the "factory settings" sheet I got from the yahoo group. I double-checked the patch in the iPad software version and they were almost identical. But mine sounds nothing like it. Just to make clear, it is not a ram/storage problem. What I save is what I recall, it's just that I can't actually make, for example, an acoustic piano patch. Nothing in the lower register sounds remotely like a piano. it just sort of growls, which is cool, but I didn't buy it just to make it growl! My gut tells me it's something with the envelopes. I am sure for someone who knows what they are supposed to sound like could troubleshoot it in a few seconds, just by playing the keys. Would it help if i made a video? My local synth tech in south korea is "sick" and he won't fix anything until March. As much as my wife is itching to visit Sydney, I would at least like to eliminate any "easy fixes" if there is such a thing with Polysix. or if we could narrow it down to the main board, I could order the Kiwisix upgrade...

[Hei]

I'm new to Polysix myself, and here goes a long shot in the dark: Have you tried to "normalize" all knobs by turning them all the way up/down before adjusting them to the point they're supposed to be set to?

In the Polysix manual:

4. To Change a Programmed Control Setting:
Simply move the control in the desired direction. The Programmer will recognize the change and will make a
corresponding change to the actual value of that particular synthesizer function. This is called Incremental Editing.
For example, if the filter Cutoff Frequency (fc) was programmed at "4", and the control was at "6" at the time
the program was selected, moving the control to "7" causes the effective fc value to become "5".
If the physical endpoint of the control is reached, turning the control slightly in the opposite direction will cause
the Programmer to revert that control to its absolute setting. The control may now be adjusted over its full range,
with the physical setting corresponding exactly to the actual value of that synthesizer function. This is called
Absolute Editing.

(Btw, don't have a chance to listen your audio now, but will do it in the weekend, and also compare with mine.)

[tomorrowstops]

Sava - hopefully by the end of the week I'll have my Polysix back together - I'll program those patches as you did and see what results I get.

At the very least, just taking a quick listen to your wav file, it sounds like a Polysix. So, I'm kinda wondering if these patche sheets you've downloaded are legit. One thing you could do, while you're waiting for me or someone else to confirm, would be to just sit down and record a session of yourself just messing around, tweaking knobs. Filter sweeps and envelope settings especially. I know its not very scientific, but this will just give a better basis for analysis of the condition of your Polysix.

[sam]

Distortion or growling can be caused by faults on the battery board, check it and clean around the 10 mf cap near the battery.
Check the tracking in that area.

[rhino]

Well, I finaly listened to the sound file. Sorry, I could hardly hear your speaking voice. On the patch i think you said was 'electric piano', can you remove the vibrato by adjusting the LFO depth via the knob? Since you say that what you save is what you get back, that just about leaves the analog to digital interface from the knobs to the CPU. Did you find any crud around the battery? If there was EVEN A TINY BIT, you need major work on that board. Remove it and check ALL the traces on the under side that run from the area of the battery, long-ways to the other end of the board. Check UNDER all the chips in the battery area. This was the downfall of the Polysix. The electronic circuits were very sensitive to resistance changes, and the gunk from the original battery could eat thru Titanium AND when dry, was conductive - so adding resistance between traces even though no sign of broken traces. If this is the case, my suggestion is to buy a new 'clone' board (I got a pair for about $12 each) and start rebuilding. I think I have seen people selling fully assembled clones. If I remember who and where, I'll post.

EDIT: Here's one
http://www.synthprof.com/clone_367.html

[sam]

Post some fotos of your battery board...

[Sava66]

Thanks all. I will open her up tomorrow and take some high quality pics of the board. I did include the patch card in my Dropbox folder where I took the patches from. I also verified them with the ipad polysix whose patches were very similar. On the audio file in my Dropbox, I start off what is supposed to be brass, then strings, then clav and then electric piano.i just go in order of the card. Overall, it's still a cool keyboard and does make awesome sounds I just can't figure out why it won't make some basic acoustic sounds. I will try all your suggestions over this holiday.