KORG POLY800 / EX800

DATA KNOB KIT v2: £25

These are also available on our ETSY shop for EU customers.
Read more about buying from the EU HERE.

If you need the install guide for the earlier v1 kit with the separate black polybeast board you can find it HERE.


Theres no denying it, programming the Korg Poly800 is a pain in the ass! Around the time the Poly800 was released, Korg were extremely keen on the 'select parameters and adjust them one at a time' via a LED display method of programming. This is all very well if you can adjust the parameter value with a knob or dial, like on the Roland Juno1 and 2, but like with the earlier Poly61, on the Poly800 Korg decided to use separate up and down buttons to change parameter values.
This is annoying enough in itself, but just to add insult to injury Korg decided to use tactile switches under the buttons that appear to have never been used in anything before or since. As a result, if the up and down buttons start to respond intermittently, you're pretty much reduced to just stabbing at it violently while pleading with it to 'just f*@king work you bastard thing!', as theres no real possibility of replacing them.

Korg Pily800 data entry knob

This kit is designed to add a data entry knob to make programming the Poly800 a lot easier. Turning the knob changes the selected parameter value by 24 steps per rotation, and pressing the knob takes the synth in and out of edit mode.
Due to limitations of the Poly800 hardware and the fact that theres no way you could ever press the buttons by hand as fast as the knob can change the value, you'll sometimes find that if you turn the knob very fast then the parameter changes take a moment to catch up, but with a little practise you soon get the hang of using the thing.

In the kit you get the data knob control board with an encoder already mounted, and a green or blue knob

The only other thing you'll need is some wire. Once you soldered the boards together and mounted the kit in the case, you just have to solder in 7 wires and you can look forward to a brighter future that includes at least 60% less poking at buttons and shouting abuse!

The installation guide can be found HERE.

Our Poly800 'Polybeast' mod kits can be found HERE. The data entry knob is not included in the normal Polybeast kit.

Korg Poly800 data entry knob

Below is a video of this kit installed on a Poly800 mkII

This kit can also be installed on a EX800.

It might work with other synths as long as the up/down buttons have a common pole i.e. the tactile switches under the buttons have one pin connected to the same pin on the other switch.
Having said that, with other synths you may encounter issues with the limitations of the synth hardware, and how fast it checks for button presses. We haven't actually tried this kit with anything other than the Poly800, but if you buy one and it works fine with something else, please let us know.

If you want to buy a kit click on the Buy Now buttons below. You have a choice of a Poly800 mkI or mkII kit. They are identical other than the colour of the knob supplied. Green for the mkI and blue for the mkII

Poly800 mkI (green knob) data entry knob kit:

Poly800 mkII (blue knob) data entry knob kit:

Payments are processed via Paypal, but you can pay using a credit or debit card without having a Paypal account. If you want to pay using some other method, please get in touch via the CONTACT page.