All good points on the effect order.Pepe wrote: ↑Sat Aug 15, 2026 8:25 pmWhen the KORG PME-40X arrives, be sure to change the order as follows, because it increases the performance and sound of the Octave V and Wave Shaper significantly:
1: Compressor (as most octave effects work more reliably with a compressor in front - but don't kill the dynamics, either, because the Octave V has a very lively sound when used with a dynamic input signal)
2: Octave V (generally, octave effects need to be early in the effects chain, but you all know that already)
3: Wave Shaper (using the Wave Shaper before the Octave V is fruitless, but in front of it, the Wave Shaper generates more distinct synthesizer sounds in a much more pleasing way, especially if you use the low octaves only)
4: Graphic EQ (the Wave Shaper can sound quite harsh, despite its own Mid EQ knob, and you can achieve great sounds using the KGE-201 with tamed highs after it)
Be careful with the volume knobs of the Octave V when combined with the internal distortion, and especially with the volume of the Wave Shaper! These units have enormous headroom.
Should the Compressor turn out being noisy or distorting, it will need a new set of capacitors and an adjustment of the single trimpot, which can easily be done with the circuit boards without the module chassis put inside the pedalboard. The nine capacitors and my preferred replacements are as follows:
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2 x 1µF/50V Panasonic NHG 1µF/160V 3 x 1µF/50V bipolar Nichicon MUSE ES 1µF/50V* 1 x 10µF/16V Tantal 10µF/16V Tantal 1 x 10µF/35V Panasonic FC 10µF/50V 1 x 100µF/35V Panasonic FC 100µF/35V 1 x 220µF/16V Panasonic FC 220µF/25V *WIMA MKS2 1µF might work as well, as there is no space issue, but I haven't tried it yet. Nichicon MUSE or Rubycon bipolar electrolytic capacitors sound great, though.
I have gotta say I am very excited to begin collecting these modules. I dont have a direct download link but the PME-40X service manual includes schematics for all the units minus the synth modules and the digital modules. And they all look promising! Theres a lot more happening in the phaser than I expected.
