If you like to hack, there is the appallingly-named Moog Slayer mod (cutoff and res knobs), or the much more involved Atom/Hawk mods which add greatly to MIDI control and parameter options. Finally, the sound is topped off with the analogue chorus (on/off!) which adds a lovely stereo thickening to any patches. If it were the only synth you owned, the single filter would be limiting, but if it isn’t your only synth, the EX has a unique, endearing effect - it actually gives a particular sound you can’t get with most poly’s. The 8 (or 4 in dual mode) oscillators go through the single filter (paraphonic), which should be limiting, but if you play this synth to its strengths, it really isn’t. The filter itself is a single 24db lowpass analogue with a sweet character, through to a whistling resonance (no self-resonance, but that is internally adjustable).
Like a drawbar organ, this makes for an interesting variety of timbres (each Osc with its own multi-stage envelope) before the filter. The key factors affecting the sound are the DCOs, effectively a kind of additive saw/square wave, where 16’, 8’, 4’, and 2’ can be independently added to the mix (x2). The love is usually aimed at the sound - nice pads, basses, sweeps and leads, all with a lovely vintage tone. The hate is usually aimed at the parameter access system but, as several users point out, you can get to know this pretty quickly - everything is neatly printed on the top of the case. If you look at reviews online, you will find a variety of opinions, from hate to love. The EX-800 synth is the desktop module version of the Poly-800 keyboard. Home > Keys+Modules > Keys: analogue polysynths > Korg EX-800