Korg EX-800

An absolute doddle to edit, never had presets as was bought 2nd hand, editing is easy enough as all is layed out for you to see and never had a manual

no change here

found it to be generally warm and lush sounding with everything you could want for wash/string/fx applications. never use it for basslines as have pulse and 303 so seems n/a

not tried

would buy again as is great for price.having to reset midi mode and prog change on startup is a bit of an unwanted fanny on but I guess I'll learn to live with it

Easy to program new sounds and sequences, there is no manual with my EX800. I use the manual of the Poly800.

Only 8 voice polyphonic (4 voice when usings double oscillator). No effects are avaiable in this module (except a simple chorus). Also a simple version of MIDI is avaiable.

For electronic music the module is very good to use. No realistic instruments can be made.

The buttons are very weak, when pushed to hard you destroy them. Useable for live performance.

I used the module (with my other synths) to make my own music and I release cdr's with them. Earlier I hade a Poly800, that's why I wanted the EX800.

quite easy to get into right away. all the parameters are printed right on the front (top? it's a desktop unit) panel. everything is right there and quite intuitive. the biggest negative about patch editing is that parameters can only be changed using the increment/decrement buttons (no data sliders or knobs). the manual is understandable but largely unnecessary since there really isn't that much to this module.
the presets are okay i guess (i don't use any of them) but they try to emulate real instruments which is not this synthe's strong suit.

8-part polyphony, (4 if you use double mode). there is a chorus effect which i find really nice for spicing some sounds that are kind of flat otherwise. biggest drawback in the feature department is no velocity sensitivity. the on-board sequencer is a basic 1-track, 256-note deal, but so simple, it's perfect as a scratch pad. dozens of my favorite melodies have come from this sequencer.
simplicity is the ex800's greatest feature. sometimes, you just don't feel like digging through menus...

sounds are built additively from 4 harmonically related pulse waves per voice which can be arranged in either a square or saw formation. the sound pallet is kind of limited, but what it does, it does very well. i use it mainly for ebm-type synthetic basslines, sustained chimes/bells (really cut through) and screachy (resonant) atmospheric noises.
the sounds are definitely pretty synthetic and staic (no velocity) but that doesn't really get in the way if you use it properly.

i do gig with the ex-800 without a backup, though i probably shouldn't. it has a tendency to replace all saved patches with randomized bit garbage when it gets too much midi-data or the battery dies (more frequent that on most synthes). on the plus side, it's metal and can take some bumping around without damage. the buttons on mine are kinda sticky too, but it's an old module.

tried the korg website...it doesn't even acknowledge that the ex800 was ever produced.

definitely worth what i paid for it. the ex800 blows away everything else in it's price range (kawai k1, casio cz-101, yamaha tx81z) if it were lost, stolen or broken i would get definitely get one again for that price. the ex800 works great alongside my tx802, an1x and arp omni. i was actually looking for a korg dw8000 when i bought the ex800, but at a quarter of the price, i couldn't pass it up. it's just so simple to use, it doesn't get in the way at all when you get that moment of inspiration and need to whip up a patch before the vision fades. two things that would make this synthe fabulous: 1)velocity sensitivity, 2)rack (not desktop) case. still, for under $100, you can't beat it.

OK to program - single parameter entry with up & down buttons. A data wheel or slider would be nice. Presets sound pretty good although the analogue-ish pads and sweeps are better than the pianos and orchestra instruments (not surprisingly). Parameter editing via sysex is not supported so software editors are actually more annoying to use than the front panel! The manual is quite helpful. All jacks are labelled on top of the case so plugging things in is really easy (why don't all manufacturers do this?).

8 voice polyphony (or 4 if in "double" mode, where you get independent envelopes for each of two oscillators). A very noisy built-in chorus. Responds nicely to MIDI, including sysex dump and load, although too much MIDI data will scramble its memory and munch up your patches. There is a small (256 note?) onboard step sequencer that does not MIDI out - but it does sync to incoming MIDI clock. Powers up in OMNI mode, unfortunately, but can be set to receive on any MIDI channel once OMNI is switched off.

Nice digital/analogue hybrid sounds. Weird filter effects because there is only ONE VCF for ALL of the voices (so if the cutoff is tracking the keyboard position, you're holding a low note and suddenly hit a high one, the filter will suddenly open up on the low note too - weird). No sustain pedal or velocity sensitivity. The sawtooth wave is a bit bizarre too, as it's actually made up of a bunch of square waves added together - sounds a little odd (but in a good way... really). Overall has a very 80's, swirly, plasticky kind of sounds but is still very useful.

The silly thing is designed to sit flat on something horizontal. You can rackmount it but it takes four spaces, plus some room for whatever connectors you plug into it (!). Seems reliable enough but some buttons don't work well when it's vertical, so overall I'd vote "no" for gigging with this thing. It hasn't broken yet, though.

No clue if Korg cares about this instrument any more.

Overall, it's a poly-800 in a box with better MIDI implementation. I still use it fairly often and like the sounds it makes. If it didn't lose its memory every now and then when receiving lots of MIDI data, it would be great - as it is, it's still pretty good. I bought it for $300 (Canadian) back when they were still in stores, and don't feel cheated (I wouldn't pay that much for it now, though!).