Please help me decide...Korg Polysix vs. Mono/Poly...

[Secret Friend]

Hi y'all!

I've been thinking of selling my Alesis ION to get a Korg Polysix or a Korg Mono/Poly.
I like the ION quite a bit, but would like to buy a couple of vintage analogues
before their prices are completely out of my reach. I can always buy the ION
back - or get a MICRON - if I really miss it.

My top choice is the Korg Mono/Poly, but unfortunately I can't find one.
I have some funds available right now and need to spend it immediately,
otherwise it'll just go for bills and other mundane stuff.

I have a line on a Korg Polysix, an Arp Solus and a (non-vintage, but incredible)
DSI Mono Evolver Keyboard. I know they're completely different beasts and love all three of them.

Any Korg Polysix lovers out there that can help me make a decision?

[807Recordings]

I had both and for me I liked the monopoly better. Either way I sold both and use the korg legacy stuff and find it just as good. One thing to watch out for is the original battery on the board. They where soldered to the board and can leak and ruin IC's and the board itself. Very common and a huge problem. Thats how my polysix died. Oscilators also get ****ed over time and rarely stay in tune.

[synth.ignition]

Neither.

[dlmorley]

I prefer the polysix (great phaser and nice basic sound), so there you go. 3 different answers from 3 people!
I would probably look elsewhere anyway. Jupiter 4 for example.
The ARP Solus I like a lot. Very cool synth. If the price is ok, I'd grab that anyway.

[basscakes]

They are nice sounding machines, but they are a pain in the a$$ to sync due to using a proprietary Korg Sync standard and if the battery has leaked, it can be a real nightmare to get it working again. If you can find one with factory midi upgrade or an aftermarket midi retro fit already installed and the battery either not leaking or already replaced for a reasonable price then go for it. The Kenton retro fit is $$$ and a pain to install (cutting holes in the case, mounting new boards). Otherwise, there are much better poly synths to be had for the price that at least have CV gate.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by 807Recordings

I had both and for me I liked the monopoly better. Either way I sold both and use the korg legacy stuff and find it just as good. One thing to watch out for is the original battery on the board. They where soldered to the board and can leak and ruin IC's and the board itself. Very common and a huge problem. Thats how my polysix died. Oscilators also get ****ed over time and rarely stay in tune.

I prefer the monopoly also.

I've attempted refurb's on 1/2 a dozen Polysix's over the years all due to this leakage.
About 1/2 of them were unable to be fixed- I still have one Polysix which gets turned on about 5 times a year when I want that poly6 sound.

The transformers also burn out btw.

[amino]

I really like Korg Mono/Poly. It really stands out with its four oscillators, and its sync- and modulation capabilities. The arpeggiator is really fun, the filter sounds great and the envelopes are extremely fast. I really miss mine...

I sold some of my synths 12-18 months ago, simply because I thought I had too many. Mono/Poly is actually the one I miss the most. At the same time I also sold an SH-5, SH-7, SH-101, System 100m, MS-20, OB-Xa, Pro-One, Andromeda and some more... I miss the SH-5 too though.

Originally Posted by amino

I really like Korg Mono/Poly. It really stands out with its four oscillators, and its sync- and modulation capabilities. The arpeggiator is really fun, the filter sounds great and the envelopes are extremely fast. I really miss mine...

I sold some of my synths 12-18 months ago, simply because I thought I had too many. Mono/Poly is actually the one I miss the most. At the same time I also sold an SH-5, SH-7, SH-101, System 100m, MS-20, OB-Xa, Pro-One, Andromeda and some more... I miss the SH-5 too though.

Yes, the MonoPoly is quite attractive in terms of sounds and modulation possibilities.

MonoPoly had no memory but the Polysix features 4 banks of 8 memories which use battery back-up -- often leaking all over the main PCB with difficult to repair components. Check the internal of the Polysix before buying (battery leak can be a disaster and expensive to repair).

IOTech Korg Polysix battery leakage

Like old analog synth, recapping is to be considered - especially on power supply side (larger toroidal transformer will be lower noise and higher current supply).

[Pizzahands]

I own a Mono/Poly and I think it is one of the more underrated synths out there. It can sound massive and does have quite a bit of modulation. You have to think of it though as a really is a giant monosynth that also happens to do very basic polyphony. The polysix on the other hand you could look at as (for example) an alternative juno 60 or 106. It definately is better for pads chords what have you than its wierdo brother. I hooked up a mono/poly to a future retro mobius some years ago and it changed my life. There is a youtube video series that some dude did of the mono/poly a couple of months ago. It was posted on matrixsynth. It was one of the better demos I had ever seen on an old synth as far as its capabilities and a couple of tricks one of them involving chord memory and the pitch wheel tuned to do minor and major thirds. Either way I think you will be happy it is just a matter of what you want it to do.

Sorry I am just reading over your post again and needed to tell you that I would get the Dave Smith mono evolver kb over all of these in a heartbeat. It is a phenmoenal piece not exactly Warmy McVintage but a beast none the less. Super tweakable and super useful I own a desktop and love it but wish I had the keyboard. Sorry for the long ass post

[Secret Friend]

Thanks everybody for your valued opinions - I ended up holding on to the Ion
and bought none of them!

DSI Evolver will definitely be one of my next purchases, probably the mono
desktop, unless I find a really good deal on the mono keyboard.

Mono/Poly is still on my want list for an analog mono.

I've always wanted the Sequential Multi-Trak for an analog poly, but they don't
show up on eBay anymore. I know, it's a DCO synth, but it has character
nevertheless. I'm trying to stay away from the usual suspects - Junos, Jupiters,
even Minis... I'd take a 800DV over a Mini any day, simply because it sounds
different.

The prices for vintage synths have definitely gone through the roof within the
last year.

$800 for an Arp Solus? You could pick up an Odyssey for the same money not
too long ago....

Anyway, great forum, I've learned so much from you guys...thanks a lot!

[Reptil]

mjah, it's become a collectors market really fast. For the price of an old battleship you can get a brandspankingnew analogue synth. they're still being made, and have a different sound, but just as cool.
IMHO of course..

[dlmorley]

Some things have gone up but others are still pretty cheap. One of my favorite "cheaper" polysynths is the Kawai SX-240 These can be pretty cheap. Midi, great SSM filters, 6 voice poly, 2 DCO, Ensemble (chorus section), simple sequencer etc etc...
Another way to look at it is how much you can get back if you decide to sell. A minimoog will keep it's value almost certainly and may go up. Buy something new and it'll lose value straight away.
Personally, I like the Ion type gear. Cheap and very good. Nothing more to say really.

Main thing is not to buy flavour of the month.

[Farshad]

Korg Legacy Collection! Simple!

[Secret Friend]

I'm trying to stay away from the computer as much as I can - so the Legacy collection might be simple but is definitely not my thing....

[fr0st]

When line6 was open in NY i had a chance to play a mono/poly and it was a great sounding synth. Never played the poly 6

[Haskell Brooks]

I like my polysix, it was sounding really filthy before I dug the leaking battery out and cleaned it up. I probably had to do it, but now it sounds "good." Oh well.
I have a dw8000 that isn't bad either, and really cheap, with 12 bit digital waveforms and analog filters, and one-parameter-at a time programming.

[wired]

couldn't start a new thread for some reason, ....just wondering if anyone has looked or bought anything from a company called audio discount console