Vintage Synth Explorer

Korg • Poly-61

The Korg Poly-61 was released in 1982 as the successor to the Polysix. It was somewhat of a step up from the Polysix, as it has 2 DCOs for better reliability. It also retained the arpeggiator of the Polysix. It has a very dirty sharp sound much like the Yamaha DX7. This is good if you are into the lo-fi sound of electronica. The Poly-61 can provide cool gritty basses or trippy analog sounds and fx.

Also added is the familiar Korg joystick, which can be used to modulate the VCO or the VCF. However, its filter only has 7 steps of resonance and is not as fat as the Polysix's filter. It also uses the same method of programming the Poly-800 and Yamaha DX-7 use, so it's not a very useful synth for real-time-tweaking junkies. The first Poly-61s didn't have MIDI, but the Poly-61M released in 1984 corrects this. Overall, the Poly-61 is still a decent synth, and it can be acquired for practically nothing! It has been used by FM Static and The Faint.

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Pepe

Posted 459 days ago

This was my first synth and I still have fun with it. The sound is indeed dirty, although I don't understand the comparison with the DX7 in the VSE description. But I really like the sound. It has got its own flair. The Poly-61 doesn't offer lots of functions, but it does its job very nice. It is so easy to use and it's a good tool for beginners. The 7 raw steps of resonance are a pity, but that's the only thing I don't like. I love the machine for it's keyboard. It is so smooth and I can play very fast phrases due to its good response. That's why I use it so much when it comes to lead parts.

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