Synth Wizards, Episode 12: Dust to Dust: The King Gizmo Polysix

Some three years in the making - thanks to COVID - the Synth Wizards custom-build a special Korg Polysix for a high-profile client, and get it delivered to Los Angeles. It's an opportunity to take a look at the leaking-battery problems that plagued some older synthesizers, and explore how to repair that damage.
Thanks to KORG USA and to KIWITECHNICS - and to our generous Patreon supporters - for helping make this episode possible! And don't forget to Like and Subscribe...
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[@comradecam]

This is peak KZbin content, informative, entertaining, masterfully produced, and just wonderful.

[@jairhenryrodriguezperez2607]

I still remember a few years ago when the cuban government allowed people to have acces to internet,one of the first video i saw was a Synth Wizards episode,since then im always waiting for the next episode,SYNTAUR really inspired me to work in synths restoration and repairs.Love you guys

[@russellszabadosaka5-pindin849]

@Jair Henry Rodriguez perez this is such a cool comment. Best of luck to you in everything you do!

[@stm7405]

So sad about Gerald. I didn't know him but I loved his grumpy counterpoint to your enthusiasm. I'm sure he is dearly missed.

[@chrisfromaus9394]

"All the electrons go home for the night". I love this channel. Please keep making videos, so interesting!

[@ringsystemmusic]

Synth Wizards is proof that quality trumps quantity when it comes to KZbin videos, at least to my mind!

[@kid_missive]

The poetry in the intro gives me chills!

[@Syntaur]

Thank you! I had fun channeling Rod Serling. But the dyed hair now leaves me looking a bit like a mortician...

[@jerzilla3795]

Absolutely lost it when I saw Sam looking like Rod Serling 😂 It’s cool to be fixing up my own Polysix at the same time of this release. Another great episode guys!

[@anonymoushuman8344]

Wow. That thing rocks. King Gizmo has the king of Polysixes.

[@MuzixMaker]

Fantastic content and a step up in production values. Kudos!

[@IanWaugh]

Heck! These episodes ought to be on TV! Awesome production 👍

[@egylion1479]

man .. whoever worked on this material .. is very talented ... you really have put lots of style in your episodes .. its not just fun to watch .. its original .. keep it up!! 👍👍👍

[@johan.svensson]

I love this channel.

[@BlackDragonStudio]

I've been watching this series for a years and I just returned to it, and I am shocked at how good your production quality has gotten!

[@MatthewChristianMurray]

LOVE that Twilight Zone intro.

[@IAm-ld6ob]

Loving the intro

[@waves7250]

Syntaur just keep raising the bar with content like this. Absolutely phenomenal! Better then anything you’ll find on the idiot box.

[@andrewduncan529]

That distortion circuit sounds really nice on the synth!

[@joni.sirvio8867]

This vid appeared to my youtube frontpage. I ended up binch watching all episodes streight. Now im watvhing this second time. Pure class

[@simoncrabb]

I've binged the whole Synth Wizards Season 1 over the last few days. Glorious. Season 2 please!

[@pareshmota]

Super 👌

[@maykstuff]

Never been this early to one of your vids! Looking forward to this one :D

[@johnvcougar]

Must say that the quality of the entertainment aspects in your clips has come along in huge strides! Loving it! ❤

[@DangerAmbrose]

That opening was fantastic!!!!

[@RobFlaxMusic]

That distortion!! Bravo, great choice!

[@KarlMiller-DjKarl]

It would be a great idea to make soft synths out of these synths that have these internal batteries... I very much like these synths like the Ensoniq SQ 1, SQ 80 and all the old Ensoniq synths... Very much like the look of the Korg Polysix... Would very much like to see them immortalized in a plugin vst, and au... Long live all the Synth Wizards, and Syntaur... ☮🔥🎹

[@garethjenkins3933]

There's been a polysix VST for about 20 years. It's made by korg

[@KarlMiller-DjKarl]

@@garethjenkins3933 Yeah there is a free Ensoniq SQ1 and SQ 80 vst as well no presets though... Would like to have all the presets

[@hexbeat9832]

One of the best episodes so far! Thank you.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Man you guys are absolute wizards 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🔥

[@topofthemornintoya]

never stop!

[@orangeflipflop485]

Yay! New episode!!

[@supermonkeycollider]

GERALD

[@MusicFed]

Synth Wizards.... I love your work. thanks!

[@andretibian2635]

I hadn´t watched your vids in a long while. Sad to hear that Gerald passed, but let me tell you, you guys always capture me with the narrative of your videos. Cheers

[@jimthesalad]

Welcome back! Your videos always make my day. And damn what a video it is! About the first old synth I ever bought nonetheless. And guess what... Mine also leaked. Obviously. 🤦

[@Jonatho1337]

Nice! Really tasteful job, guys! I love the musical panic button.

[@danaoldenburg4772]

Thanks, Sam! I have appreciated Syntaur since the mid-80s! I especially love the SynthWizards series of videos! Thanks for all that you do to keep great synths alive! -And if you ever run across a scat pack for the Alesis Fusion…😉 ✌🏻😎🎹🌴🌞

[@jamesforrest9837]

absolutely one of the best channels on youtube. another banger video!

[@kevinhartnell2075]

That distortion is FANTASTIC!

[@aerickmccullough350]

R.I.P. Dave Smith. You were a legend in the synth industry. Proud owner of a Rev 4 Prophet 5 (10 voice version) (Prophet 10)

[@crabflag]

These videos are so well done! There is so much interesting info. Much more exciting to watch compared to a normal synth demo. THANKS FOR MAKING THESE!!

[@robotussin_synths]

Love this channel. Love these people. Thanks for doing what you do and please keep doing it.

[@sciencebunnies]

This is quality entertainment.

[@patrickpoggensee6333]

Great video and excellent transformation of an already beautiful synth!

[@lunchrevisited]

keep the dream alive!

[@ElectronicazMusic]

Amazing! And that overdrive is sooooo good!

[@GODZINACOMA101]

A bitter sweet watch for me, the Polysix was my first synth. Got it for just £60, sad news is I sold it for the same. Good news is I have a great set up these days and was so satisfied when I managed to replace the battery in the Yamaha DX-21 I got for £80. Love your work guys, some of the best synth related viewing on KZbin!

[@KaleOrton]

🏆 GOLD !!!

[@PORRFNK]

damn i love that intro and this video is just superb A Matrix 1000 with a dead battery wont work properly, in that case the answer could be yes, same with some more modern gear like the elektron machinedrum

[@dbzdude2002]

Seeing this made my day. Love your videos!

[@aloneranger3980]

I bought my Polysix brand new and think I will keep it as it is.

[@robotussin_synths]

I love these guys enormously.

[@larrbaII]

I'm a Korg fanboy and i cant help it, with that said im glad to see you fix an old sinth's.. even the DX 7 witch was a pain to program but still an al-some Keyboard .

[@fergussaint-john2535]

so entertaining. thankyou so much

[@budgetguitaristcom]

That was really, really cool. A lot of work goes into these videos - some of us really appreciate it. What a cool project!

[@Waldemar_la_Tendresse]

Thanks for another interesting and entertaining video, guys! You guys are the original people who inspire me to do my own modifications on my beloved synths and I think I have some pretty neat ideas already to customize some of them, like my Borg Monopoly, that can create such awesome sounds with it's Sync & Crossmod feature.

[@Garflips]

Awesome video. Last year I put the two D cells of my Chroma Polaris in an external metal box attached to the rear. I also replaced the membrane switches. But why these batteries were not designed to be accessible via a small door and isolated from circuits is sad.

[@CaalamusTube]

Man! ...that Intro was really well done! Rod Serling would be proud! :]

[@toomanyclamps130]

This is sooo cool!!! I love watching the process and history and not just another demo channel

[@patrickconnelly2904]

I dig the beardless look. "Just the facts mam."

[@kevlarmusicofficial]

Besides the old Yamaha 70’s synths, the Korg Polysix is hands down my favorite synthesizer I have ever played. I bought a tubbutec midi and sustain modded Polysix this past summer and am absolutely in love with it. Only thing I need to add now as mods ia a stereo output mod.

[@bobbycastaneda9091]

Very cool episode! I love to see old synths Resurrected!

[@justinhavu]

The Polysix was the first synth I ever remember playing around with back in 97-98 when I was around 14. Sadly, it fell victim to the infamous battery leakage, and back then, it would've cost more money to fix than the synth was worth. Wish I still had one now.

[@nathans1978]

Seeing this really added something special to my week. I love the quality and effort put into your videos. What a great video and restoration. The beginning brought back memories of the old series Night Gallery. Thank you Syntaur!

[@smiragnusbrowne4867]

Hey folks, Owen from Dublin, awesome amount of cool

[@annother3350]

Love the suit

[@jeremythornton433]

Now this is a great video! I have an old Korg Polysix that needs to be repaired as well as a Minikorg. Here in Toronto fortunately, we have a great synth repair company called Synths When. I'll be paying them a visit when I can.

[@RayyMusik]

Thanks

[@DEADLINETV]

Great episode, again!

[@marcusholder495]

I love this channel

[@tymiklic6463]

once again folks you have exceeded all expectations with your great content...just want you to know how much we all appreciate the effort you put into these great vids and all you do for the synth/music world.....Ty from s.oz

[@noisemodule]

Sir...SIR. Consider this: My Alma Mater is Antioch College (v1.0), the very same as that of one Rod Serling, where I was educated in (among other things) Serialism and Analogue Modular Synthesis techniques on an original ARP 2600 (under the tutelage of Maestro John Rinehart), so the opening 58 seconds of this video were more than a little surreal!

[@kontrajelly]

It just amazing. great work

[@sauce_aux]

King Gizmo is someone I would love to have a beer with

[@gabesanchez3895]

No thanks. I didn’t like the cold sendoff and overall uncomfortable exchange. ‘Thanks for driving 2 days to bring me this synth that I will never use, have a nice trip back!” I would have had them stay for a barbecue or taken them out to dinner and showed these guys proper gratitude and hospitality.

[@jfv65]

I love these resto-mod projects! As for those leaky circuit board batteries, i have seen them in car alarm circuitry as well. The leak could cause the car to become a non-starter.

[@ischmidt]

Battery damage also shows up in old computers, arcade games, and pinball machines. Pretty much everything made in the late 70s through the mid 90s when EEPROMs and flash memory took over.

[@TakkiMann]

This is really great content!

[@dalecsaunders]

My experience with the Poly6 was that I loved the instrument but there were three drawbacks. First: was that dirt and grime got inside the little rubber cups that held the contact pieces that completed the circuit for the key bed; (no such thing as cigarette smoke restrictions in clubs and studios during that era). I was advised to avoid using alcohol for cleaning. I am wondering if the KIWI mod solved the second. Every unit that I tried had the opposite of 'stretch tuning' in that the lowest note sounded slightly sharp and the highest note being slightly flat in apparent pitch. Any service tech that I asked this about told me it was not possible to calibrate a correction (similarly to how you could tweak the tuning of a Minimoog). The KIWI has dealt with the third issue being the lack of (at that time) the newly arrived MIDI feature. Ultimately I got a Juno 106, gave the Poly6 to my brother who rarely used it and sure enough the battery leaked on the innards and yes the voice chips on the Roland eventually caused me grief. Absolutely enjoy your productions, both the video presentations and the engineering projects you entertainingly reveal. Kudos!

[@macronencer]

YES! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for another one of these episodes - and it did not disappoint. Fantastic stuff, guys! Loved the intro, and it was great to see a brief glimpse of Gerald again too; I miss him. And the legendary Dave Smith too... You did a great job on that synth :)

[@mimikova390]

Sorry for your loss.

[@rayonism]

What everyone else is saying, taking it to the next level here!

[@fjfrancois]

15:56👍🏻❤ 19:18 Keyboard 🎹

[@FLH3official]

Excellent intro for an excellent video!

[@dittus420]

Great episode, love from latinoamerica

[@Veptis]

Samples the vocal demonstration and make that an additional voice. The love and effort you put into these episodes really pays off. It's a joy to watch them!

[@livefromthepsy-op1170]

Damn, Rest In Peace Gerald

[@artramhead]

Hey there, welcome back! So glad to see a new video from the Wizards!!!

[@FTarquin]

Beauteous and amazing vid!!!!... And thank you for including Gerald 3 times!.. So cool he made the walnut!... Great job on the synth!

[@FarkyDave]

What a great video! You included the history of synths and it was really interesting.

[@DunEddyG]

The quality of your videos… 👌 So much appreciated… Rgs from a fan from The Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@SwishMajor]

Shut up everyone and crab your popcorns and drinks. The synth wizards are back 😭😭😭 Mr Sam Mims should be an actor and he should produce my next album 🥺🥺🥺

[@ScottsSynthStuff]

Something I've considered doing to my PolySix restoration project is installing a hidden Korg NTS-1 inside it, to give the PolySix some reverb, delay and modulation effects.

[@je7647]

the guy who does these kiwi mods sold me his used monopoly about 14 yEARS ago seemed like a niCE guy

[@williamtell1477]

You guys have the best job!

[@ScottsSynthStuff]

I'm in the process of restoring a PolySix right now for this exact reason. I too am putting a KiwiSix board in, as well as their power supply. The horrible particle board cheeks on mine are destroyed, so I bought a handmade solid walnut replacement case from a craftsman who sells them on Reverb. It's beautiful! The PolySix was the very first synthesizer I bought way back in 1986, I can't wait to have this one working again!

[@synthoelectro]

finally, I can get my SY2 fixed!

[@johnpaulpatton9786]

Your videos are just getting more and more fun and amazing to watch!

[@RayyMusik]

The Polysix was my first poly synth; I still miss it. Your video is simply perfect and the best in this category.

[@grahamjeffery]

marvellous, we really appreciate your efforts. these videos get better and better...

[@leapest]

great video brah!

[@cortical1]

Possibly your very best episode yet! And I'm a fan of all of them. Bravo! Wish you'd stopped by my place in San Diego for some fresh lemonade on your way to LA. Next time! Cheers.

[@joni.sirvio8867]

i have now seen nearly all vids in your channel. I can see you focus mainly on old school synths of 70's and 80's. In that era i make request to make story about toys that are still in use in some genres like 808, 909, 303. I also saw glimplse of roland jp-8000 one of your storages. This synth changed trance/ "edm" scene late 90's and that legendary supersaw sound still dominates radio and dance floors.

[@noelghallager4672]

This video is so rad on so many levels. Love your channel guys! 🙏😎❤️