REI <==> Reverse Engineering, Inc.
Old Crow's Synth Shop: Korg Mono/Poly Upgrade & Repair
Overview
Welcome to the Mono/Poly synth shop at the Old Crow's Network. Here you
will find detailed, fully illustrated information on how to make repairs
and upgrades to the now-vintage and classic Korg Mono/Poly 4-oscillator
music synthesizer. This machine was designed and built by the Keio
Laboratories of Tokyo, Japan in 1980-81, and was available for retail sale
from 1981 to 1984. Over 10,000 of them were sold, and today are highly
sought after (as with most real analog gear from the 1970s and 1980s)
for their razor-sharp bass capabilities. Of course the Mono/Poly is great
for all sorts of timbres, not just bass, but that seems to be the main
interest in it these days.
The Mono/Poly has all sorts of modulation routings, but curiously absent
is a sample and hold (S/H) function that provides the familiar random
voltages for filter and pitch modulation. Adding S/H to a Mono/Poly is
pretty easy, however, and a fully-illustrated procedure will be provided
here in the near future. For now, however, I will show the schematic of
the S/H add-on, along with a few notes as to installing it. Pictures will
soon follow.
Contents
Scott Rider -- oldcrow@oldcrows.net