The PolySix was a milestone because, along with the Roland Juno 6 which appeared almost simultaneously, in 1981 the PolySix was the first opportunity ordinary mortals had to get their hands on a proper programmable polysynth. Up until then, you had to be loaded to afford a Prophet 5, Oberheim OB-Xa, or Roland Jupiter 8.

At first glance it looks like a scaled-down Mono/Poly, but really it's not! In fact it had a lot of great new features such as 32 memory patches, 6 voices of polyphony, cassette backup of memory, even programmable modulation effects and Chorus, Phase, Ensemble!

The Polysix has warm-sounding real analog oscillators, softer and brassy-er sounding that the Juno. Engage the built-in Chorus on a simple single-oscillator sawtooth patch and you were pretty darned close to that expensive Prophet sound. But the big ace in the Polysix's hand was the Ensemble effect. Instant Mellotron-like strings.

Like the Mono/Poly the voices can be played in Unison for a 6-oscillator lead sound that was so big, it was often too big! The advanced arpeggiator can memorize and sequence chords across the keyboard. The PolySix has now been recreated in software as part of the Korg Legacy software bundle! The PolySix has been used by Eat Static, Geoff Downes, Astral Projection, Jimi Tenor, Global Communications, Kitaro, Robert Rich, Keith Emerson and Tears for Fears.

mgl

August 20, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

also my first analog synth. mine died after 10 years of dedicated service when the internal battery melted all over the boards--a common problem i've been told. if you've got one, please replace the batteries for the internal memory. the thought of someone else loosing such a valuable friend breaks my heart.

Cabeza de Vaca

August 15, 2009 @ 1:18 am

Analog Renaissance1:

There is not way to do it, I have also a p6 with midi, so i decided to put it back as it was before taking out the midi, and now I use the arpeggiator without any other sound.

il

July 23, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

Very nice synth, one of the few korgs I actually rate (ms20, mono/poly being 2 others)

Analog Renaissance1

July 8, 2009 @ 5:45 pm

I have a Polysix with the 1986 'Korg PS6-MRK MIDI Retrofit Kit'. I have a issue where i don't how to get the Appeggiator to work without recieving midi clock in. I know there's a way that i can restore it to it's initial setting via holding down some combination of buttons when powering on but i don't have the midi manual. Any Help Greatly Appreciated!

Peter-Jan

May 11, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

Aaahh ! My first polysynth. Like a first sweetheart, it still has a place in my heart. What a sound. Always been a Korg fan, I find the sound much warmer than the Yamaha's and Rolands. This beauty proved it again comparing it to its rival, the Juno 6. The VCO's together with cjorus or ensemble: unbeatable at that time. Allas, I had to sell it because I fell for the majestic Rhodes Chroma......

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