Korg EX-8000 Resources, Tips and Tricks

I am getting my EX-8000 back in working order and I have found resources scattered about the web, so I thought I would consolidate them here, although I am doubtful that anyone will be able to quickly find this page given the state of the web in 2023! : )

Reset

If you have let the battery drain or changed it recently, the data in the RAM is probably now completely corrupted. It can act very strange until reset and replaced with new patch data. To reset the EX-8000, Switch off, hold down 5 and 8, switch on again. All the patches will be completely cleared, so you will need to program them fresh or reload them.

Midi Channel Parameter 

Parameter 84 is how you set the MIDI channel.

Sysex Enable

Param 85 needs to be set to 2 for the unit to receive Sysex data. If it is set to 1 then the synth only responds to MIDI note messages

Latest Firmware Eprom

A few sellers are claiming to have the final firmware available, I have not tried these.

https://reverb.com/item/22516671-korg-ex-8000-v-5-latest-os-update-upgrade-firmware-eprom-ex8000-rom

Checking The Firmware at Startup

???

Old Archived Post to Read About Firmware

https://web.archive.org/web/20190524042212/http://retroactivesynth.com/korg-dw8000/

Thread about troubleshooting a DW-8000

https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=258603

Video Of Patchbase Editor working with a DW-8000

I have not invested in this yet, but it looks cool and modern. : )

https://youtu.be/PGwGY31uwQE

Old Archived Post With Patches & Descriptions Regarding Their Origins

https://web.archive.org/web/20210421113655/http://www.pallium.com/bryan/dwpatches.php

Nice Patch Editor For The Mac!

Working as of Jan. 2023

http://www.artlythere.com/midival.html

Korg DW-8000 MIDI Enhancer

To get the Korg DW-8000 synth to understand MIDI CC messages for parameter control.

https://hackaday.io/project/12541-korg-dw-8000-midi-enhancer

Dyslexic Thoughts

​

Being dyslexic can often mean apologizing for others mistakes assuming they are yours before discovering the truth and feeling like it’s too late to correct the misunderstanding.

-MS - 16 Apr 2018

IUMA! Oh, the things you forget...

My wife and I were watching Halt& Catch Fire the other night and they mentioned IUMA with sent me back! I had totally forgotten. Just Now I was clearing old email and came across a note which I mention my band was charting on IUMA and had hit #31. Nice! Wish I had a screen shot.

Things to remember...

I have rarely met a person from whom I had absolutely nothing to learn.

-MS 2018

Kids need scary tech stories...

As adults, We have Black Mirror and Electric Dreams, but is anyone producing kids shows that act as a cautionary tale about tech run amok? They arguably are the ones who need to be warned.

The Phillip K. Dick version of goosebumps.

Brains continue to develop into the mid 20’s

Although this seems to be true...

I think the important thing to remember is that it is likely that brain development could be described as a progression with a slowing curve rather than a switch. You mature gradually and should be given respect befitting your age as well as be expected to show a similar amount of responsibility.  I think we are not giving young people the respect and responsibility that they deserve and crave and then suddenly we snap our fingers and ask them to be completely mature. That’s a tough thing to ask of them.

We should not use this science as an excuse to treat young adults as kids or let them use it as an excuse to act like children. 

AI should be different from us

We are trying too hard to make AI “relatable “, instead we should be making it as different from us as we can stand. In any form it takes, even below average humans and children should be able to easily tell that they are communicating with something artificial. Don’t strive to make it hard to detect with a Turing style test, don’t give it gender, don’t make it sound like a kind and friendly human pal who is there to solve your customer support problems. NO! It should stand apart from us and the line should be dead simple and clear by custom and perhaps by law. If we don’t differentiate NOW, I can see a time when the tech will get away from average people and be used to manipulate and control the masses. Understand, I am not as worried about the AI acting badly as I am about how humans will misuse it.