Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

Yup, I finished it this evening.

This means that the original EX800 code that I took as my starting
point, now radically rewritten, has all of the original Poly 800
functions including the joystick and keyboard functions. Also, we now
have dual LFO's, local control for keyboard and joystick on off, MIDI
TX channel setting for keyboard and joystick. Sync and cascade modes
along with MIDI controllers for MG rate, resonance and filter cut off
as well as controllers for Poly, Hold and Chord mode.

And dare I forget the new portamento mono mode along with extended
parameters, global parameters and sysex single patch send and receive.

And new code (with new features) can be downloaded to your Poly or EX
800 via sysex.

Anyone want one?

Mike.

Hi, Mike,

Great news. How did you manage this? I always thought OS is in ROM or EPROM
and physical change of chip is necessary. Wasn't that the original idea of
your modification? Because before you wrote always about some additional PCB
with components, soldering jobs etc...

Anyway, I would be happy to test the new features in my EX800. What are your
conditions if anybody is interested to get that SysEx file?

Still some questions: after sending that new OS dump into the instrument,
will it stay in the memory and work reliably since that moment, even after
the switching off the machine? Will the normal SysEx  dump work? Can't
normal SysEx dump somehow destroy the new OS code in the memory?

Later I will write you some other ideas to implement, for example a
possibility of microtuning the individual tones, minimally as an octave
tuning, in ideal case all notes independently, in accordance with MTS -
Microtuning Standard... This is a feature which would be highly appreciated
by many musicians using alternate tunings. If you manage this, I can promote
your mod in that circles being a member of Tuning lists and others... I'm
sure many of them will try to find the old Poly or EX and buy your improved
OS.

Thanks for your effort and answer.

Daniel Forro

> Yup, I finished it this evening.
> 
> This means that the original EX800 code that I took as my starting
> point, now radically rewritten, has all of the original Poly 800
> functions including the joystick and keyboard functions. Also, we now
> have dual LFO's, local control for keyboard and joystick on off, MIDI
> TX channel setting for keyboard and joystick. Sync and cascade modes
> along with MIDI controllers for MG rate, resonance and filter cut off
> as well as controllers for Poly, Hold and Chord mode.
> 
> And dare I forget the new portamento mono mode along with extended
> parameters, global parameters and sysex single patch send and receive.
> 
> And new code (with new features) can be downloaded to your Poly or EX
> 800 via sysex.
> 
> Anyone want one?
> 
> Mike.

Count me in for one kit!

Daniel,

Sorry for not being clear on this but to use the new software requires
installation of the hardware modification kit.

The new kit includes a new boot EPROM along with three flash EEPROM's
and more RAM.

Once that kit is installed, you have the ability to download the new
software into the instrument using a sysex send. This is achieved by
including a new EPROM with the kit. The code in the new EPROM has the
sysex download utility software that allows new software to be written
into the new flash EEPROM's.

Mike.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Daniel Forro <dan.for@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, Mike,
> 
> Great news. How did you manage this? I always thought OS is in ROM
or EPROM
> and physical change of chip is necessary. Wasn't that the original
idea of
> your modification? Because before you wrote always about some
additional PCB
> with components, soldering jobs etc...
> 
> Anyway, I would be happy to test the new features in my EX800. What
are your
> conditions if anybody is interested to get that SysEx file?
> 
> Still some questions: after sending that new OS dump into the
instrument,
> will it stay in the memory and work reliably since that moment, even
after
> the switching off the machine? Will the normal SysEx  dump work? Can't
> normal SysEx dump somehow destroy the new OS code in the memory?
> 
> Later I will write you some other ideas to implement, for example a
> possibility of microtuning the individual tones, minimally as an octave
> tuning, in ideal case all notes independently, in accordance with MTS -
> Microtuning Standard... This is a feature which would be highly
appreciated
> by many musicians using alternate tunings. If you manage this, I can
promote
> your mod in that circles being a member of Tuning lists and
others... I'm
> sure many of them will try to find the old Poly or EX and buy your
improved

> OS.
> 
> Thanks for your effort and answer.
> 
> Daniel Forro
> 
> > Yup, I finished it this evening.
> > 
> > This means that the original EX800 code that I took as my starting
> > point, now radically rewritten, has all of the original Poly 800
> > functions including the joystick and keyboard functions. Also, we now
> > have dual LFO's, local control for keyboard and joystick on off, MIDI
> > TX channel setting for keyboard and joystick. Sync and cascade modes
> > along with MIDI controllers for MG rate, resonance and filter cut off
> > as well as controllers for Poly, Hold and Chord mode.
> > 
> > And dare I forget the new portamento mono mode along with extended
> > parameters, global parameters and sysex single patch send and receive.
> > 
> > And new code (with new features) can be downloaded to your Poly or EX
> > 800 via sysex.
> > 
> > Anyone want one?
> > 
> > Mike.
>

Dan,

sorry but fine tuning is just not possible on the Poly 800 since it
uses a tone generator that is digital and all tones are generated from
two clock sources. This means that the tuning scale used is all there is.

Mike.

Mike,

Thanks for your clarification, after writing my questions I realized such
thing could be possible only with your hardware. I would like to have it
later.

Daniel

> Daniel,
> 
> Sorry for not being clear on this but to use the new software requires
> installation of the hardware modification kit.
> 
> The new kit includes a new boot EPROM along with three flash EEPROM's
> and more RAM.
> 
> Once that kit is installed, you have the ability to download the new
> software into the instrument using a sysex send. This is achieved by
> including a new EPROM with the kit. The code in the new EPROM has the
> sysex download utility software that allows new software to be written
> into the new flash EEPROM's.
> 
> Mike.

Mike,

Thanks for explanation, of course such hardware limitation can't be
improved. Never mind, it was just an idea.

Daniel

> Dan,
> 
> sorry but fine tuning is just not possible on the Poly 800 since it
> uses a tone generator that is digital and all tones are generated from
> two clock sources. This means that the tuning scale used is all there is.
> 
> Mike.