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A few questions about my new Poly-six

A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-11 by Paul

Hello,

I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing it up.

Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.

The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont work all the time. 

I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape memory, I have already ordered those.

My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it seems much harder. 

The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 

The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs (ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later.  

Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down to 0 on the other side of rotation. 

I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.

I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I follow the full guide step by step?

I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper that is talked about in the calibration instructions.

Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or tomorrow. 

Any help would be much appreciated!

RE: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-11 by Paul T

I would check the 'repaired' board. On mine I repaired it myself, the symptoms were various knobs not doing 'anything' to the sound. It was the quad and gate near the battery damaged. Now the owner may have put new traces/battery in but did they change the IC? one dead gate can cause those problems.

It may not be this but I would double check it first to rule it out, esp if you have a logic tester it's simple to test that IC.



To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: pchorostecki@rogers.com
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:02:27 +0000
Subject: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six


















 



  


    
      
      
      Hello,



I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing it up.



Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.



The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont work all the time. 



I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape memory, I have already ordered those.



My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it seems much harder. 



The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 



The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs (ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later.  



Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down to 0 on the other side of rotation. 



I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.



I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I follow the full guide step by step?



I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper that is talked about in the calibration instructions.



Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or tomorrow. 



Any help would be much appreciated!






    
     

    
    






   		 	   		  
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RE: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-11 by Andrew Jury

Hi Paul,

 

Before you do anything else make sure that pin 1 of IC7 swings between -5v
and  +5v (or thereabouts) as you turn the EG knob clockwise.

 

Cheers,

Andy
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Paul
Sent: 11 November 2009 00:02
To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six

 

  

Hello,

I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing
it up.

Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the
broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.

The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned
them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont
work all the time. 

I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape
memory, I have already ordered those.

My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in
the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few
minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it
seems much harder. 

The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive
noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 

The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs
(ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it
here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for
me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later. 

Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems
to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to
one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down
to 0 on the other side of rotation. 

I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont
seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random
positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.

I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG
functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I
follow the full guide step by step?

I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper
that is talked about in the calibration instructions.

Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or
tomorrow. 

Any help would be much appreciated!





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-11 by Paul

Thanks for the quick replies!

After reading the manual I got more insight as to how tweaking works for this synth. I found out that while tweaking knobs it takes extreme movements to over-right the original settings on a patch. 

With this in mind I started to play with the ADSR and it seems that they are actually working quite well. The attack and decay may need  a tweak as the range in which they work in seems a little off. It seems like between 0-4 it does little to the sound then between 4-7 it changes dramatically and then past 7 it dies off again. Not sure if thats how its supposed to be, Ill have the video ready in a little bit to show what I mean. The Sustain and Release seem to work fine after using the method mentioned in the manual to reset their state.

Also, I did the voltage test on IC7, its funny because as I was doing it the EG started to work. It does read from -5 to +5 on pin one. As I was doing the test I noticed that it was changing the sound. I looked more into it and I guess I just didnt play with it enough because the cutoff setting seems to determine how well this knob works. Once I moved the cutoff around the EG started to make a bigger difference. 

So I guess this problem was just me not knowing the basic function of this synth. 

I did record a video of me tweaking the ADSR and EG, Ill get that edited and posted later tonight.

Thanks again! 

--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Jury" <andy@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Hi Paul,
> 
>  
> 
> Before you do anything else make sure that pin 1 of IC7 swings between -5v
> and  +5v (or thereabouts) as you turn the EG knob clockwise.
> 
>  
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Andy
> 
>  
> 
> From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> Paul
> Sent: 11 November 2009 00:02
> To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing
> it up.
> 
> Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the
> broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.
> 
> The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned
> them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont
> work all the time. 
> 
> I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape
> memory, I have already ordered those.
> 
> My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in
> the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few
> minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it
> seems much harder. 
> 
> The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive
> noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 
> 
> The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs
> (ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it
> here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for
> me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later. 
> 
> Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems
> to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to
> one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down
> to 0 on the other side of rotation. 
> 
> I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont
> seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random
> positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.
> 
> I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG
> functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I
> follow the full guide step by step?
> 
> I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper
> that is talked about in the calibration instructions.
> 
> Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or
> tomorrow. 
> 
> Any help would be much appreciated!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Re: A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-12 by Paul

Ive gotten the video up on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYR7aOycOQ8


--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Paul" <pchorostecki@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Thanks for the quick replies!
> 
> After reading the manual I got more insight as to how tweaking works for this synth. I found out that while tweaking knobs it takes extreme movements to over-right the original settings on a patch. 
> 
> With this in mind I started to play with the ADSR and it seems that they are actually working quite well. The attack and decay may need  a tweak as the range in which they work in seems a little off. It seems like between 0-4 it does little to the sound then between 4-7 it changes dramatically and then past 7 it dies off again. Not sure if thats how its supposed to be, Ill have the video ready in a little bit to show what I mean. The Sustain and Release seem to work fine after using the method mentioned in the manual to reset their state.
> 
> Also, I did the voltage test on IC7, its funny because as I was doing it the EG started to work. It does read from -5 to +5 on pin one. As I was doing the test I noticed that it was changing the sound. I looked more into it and I guess I just didnt play with it enough because the cutoff setting seems to determine how well this knob works. Once I moved the cutoff around the EG started to make a bigger difference. 
> 
> So I guess this problem was just me not knowing the basic function of this synth. 
> 
> I did record a video of me tweaking the ADSR and EG, Ill get that edited and posted later tonight.
> 
> Thanks again! 
> 
> --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Jury" <andy@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Paul,
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Before you do anything else make sure that pin 1 of IC7 swings between -5v
> > and  +5v (or thereabouts) as you turn the EG knob clockwise.
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Cheers,
> > 
> > Andy
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> > Paul
> > Sent: 11 November 2009 00:02
> > To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six
> > 
> >  
> > 
> >   
> > 
> > Hello,
> > 
> > I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing
> > it up.
> > 
> > Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the
> > broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.
> > 
> > The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned
> > them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont
> > work all the time. 
> > 
> > I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape
> > memory, I have already ordered those.
> > 
> > My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in
> > the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few
> > minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it
> > seems much harder. 
> > 
> > The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive
> > noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 
> > 
> > The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs
> > (ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it
> > here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for
> > me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later. 
> > 
> > Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems
> > to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to
> > one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down
> > to 0 on the other side of rotation. 
> > 
> > I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont
> > seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random
> > positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.
> > 
> > I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG
> > functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I
> > follow the full guide step by step?
> > 
> > I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper
> > that is talked about in the calibration instructions.
> > 
> > Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or
> > tomorrow. 
> > 
> > Any help would be much appreciated!
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>

Re: A few questions about my new Poly-six

2009-11-16 by dizz662000

Hi Paul,

  I watched your vid and it seems like your ADSR Env. is working properly. If you want the patch to sound immediately upon pressing a key, you want the attack set at 0. If you want the note to sound continuously while pressing a key, you want the sustain at max. Generally, if you have the decay and sustain all the way down you're not going to get much more that a short click. If you want the note to continue after letting off a key, turn the release up. If you want to reset a knob from a preset patch, crank it all the way max and then back to zero-then experiment where you want it set. Yes, the EG Intensity and the filter cutoff are intertwined. Check the manual under EG Intensity. Hope this helps. Enjoy!

regards,

dizz

--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Paul" <pchorostecki@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Ive gotten the video up on youtube:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYR7aOycOQ8
> 
> 
> --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Paul" <pchorostecki@> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks for the quick replies!
> > 
> > After reading the manual I got more insight as to how tweaking works for this synth. I found out that while tweaking knobs it takes extreme movements to over-right the original settings on a patch. 
> > 
> > With this in mind I started to play with the ADSR and it seems that they are actually working quite well. The attack and decay may need  a tweak as the range in which they work in seems a little off. It seems like between 0-4 it does little to the sound then between 4-7 it changes dramatically and then past 7 it dies off again. Not sure if thats how its supposed to be, Ill have the video ready in a little bit to show what I mean. The Sustain and Release seem to work fine after using the method mentioned in the manual to reset their state.
> > 
> > Also, I did the voltage test on IC7, its funny because as I was doing it the EG started to work. It does read from -5 to +5 on pin one. As I was doing the test I noticed that it was changing the sound. I looked more into it and I guess I just didnt play with it enough because the cutoff setting seems to determine how well this knob works. Once I moved the cutoff around the EG started to make a bigger difference. 
> > 
> > So I guess this problem was just me not knowing the basic function of this synth. 
> > 
> > I did record a video of me tweaking the ADSR and EG, Ill get that edited and posted later tonight.
> > 
> > Thanks again! 
> > 
> > --- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Jury" <andy@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Paul,
> > > 
> > >  
> > > 
> > > Before you do anything else make sure that pin 1 of IC7 swings between -5v
> > > and  +5v (or thereabouts) as you turn the EG knob clockwise.
> > > 
> > >  
> > > 
> > > Cheers,
> > > 
> > > Andy
> > > 
> > >  
> > > 
> > > From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> > > Paul
> > > Sent: 11 November 2009 00:02
> > > To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject: [PolySix] A few questions about my new Poly-six
> > > 
> > >  
> > > 
> > >   
> > > 
> > > Hello,
> > > 
> > > I have recently acquired a Korg Polysix and am now in the process of fixing
> > > it up.
> > > 
> > > Luckily the battery problem was already done by the previous owner, all the
> > > broken traces were replaced with wires and a new battery was fitted.
> > > 
> > > The synth plays alright, I already took apart the key contacts and cleaned
> > > them but will have to go back and do it again because a few keys still dont
> > > work all the time. 
> > > 
> > > I also have to replace 13 of the 19 push buttons for patches and tape
> > > memory, I have already ordered those.
> > > 
> > > My question is about calibration. Ive tuned a much simpler Roland JX-8P in
> > > the past, which only had a few very simple variable resistors and took a few
> > > minutes. Ive Looked over the calibration procedure for this synth and it
> > > seems much harder. 
> > > 
> > > The reason I want to do the calibration in the first place is because Ive
> > > noticed that a few of the functions on the synth dont work correctly. 
> > > 
> > > The EG intensity knob doesnt change the sound at all, while all 4 EG knobs
> > > (ADSR) work in a way that I believe is wrong. I was going to describe it
> > > here but gave up as they just seem really random. I think the best way for
> > > me to describe them would be to make a video, which I will do later. 
> > > 
> > > Ive tested all the 10k pots on that board with a multimeter and they seems
> > > to all function the same: They start at 1.09k when they are all the way to
> > > one end and move up to about 2.9k somewhere in the middle and then back down
> > > to 0 on the other side of rotation. 
> > > 
> > > I should also mention that ive loaded a bank of stock presets and they dont
> > > seem to function correct either. I had to turn the ADSR knobs to random
> > > positions it seems to get any sound out of the few patches I tried.
> > > 
> > > I did notice that there are adjustments listed for all the different EG
> > > functions in the instructions. Could I just skip to those tests or should I
> > > follow the full guide step by step?
> > > 
> > > I have a multimeter and a PC oscilloscope. Ive also made the 56k Ohm jumper
> > > that is talked about in the calibration instructions.
> > > 
> > > Ill make a video of the problem and post it on youtube later tonight or
> > > tomorrow. 
> > > 
> > > Any help would be much appreciated!
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> >
>

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