Time machine: KORG Polysix
The Korg Polysix’ main features are six-voice polyphony (with unison and chord memory voice assignment modes), 32 memory slots for patches and cassette port for backing up patches, and an arpeggiator.
On its release it was, along with the Roland Juno 6 released around the same time, one of the first times a polyphonic analog synthesizer was available at a cost effective price ‘for the masses’. It cost about twice as much as the competing Juno 6 but had far more features and ‘real’ VCOs in place of the Juno’s DCOs. It also had on-board patch storage and back up which the cheaper Juno lacked until the upgraded Juno 60 model.
Korg developed the Polysix with an eye on the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, trying to provide some of the features found on the more expensive synth in a compact, reliable and much cheaper design. While not as powerful, it used SSM2044 4-pole voltage-controlled, giving the Polysix a warm, rounded and organic sound.
Although the Polysix only had one oscillator per voice, it also featured built chorus, phaser and ‘ensemble’ effects (using a ‘bucket brigade’ analog delay line design), to provide a fuller sound.
Background info:
(c) 2012 vintage synthesizer track by RetroSound
“Rainy Days”
all sounds (self-programmed): KORG Polysix (1982)
I use the Arpeggiator for the line and the internal effects Ensemble and Chorus.
recording: multi-track without midi
fx: a little bit delay and reverb
more info: http://www.retrosound.de and
http://www.facebook.com/pages/RetroSound-Marko-Ettlich/265713782347

