Monday, January 30, 2023

 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