Sunday, September 09, 2012

Korg Monotron

Monotron Packaging
I've got a nice little new toy since last month;
A complete analogue synthesizer, at the size of a large Matchbox.
The Korg Monotron is a cheap (39 Euro) battery-powered synthesizer, but what a lot of fun i already had with this little thing.

It features one VCO, a real VCF (This true analog filter is taken from the classic MS-10 & MS-20 synthesizer) with Filter-Cutoff and Peak (resonance) Control.
An LFO with variable speed (and an LED that flashes in tandem) can be applied to the Pitch (VCO) or Filter(VCF)

The synth can be played on the Ribbon controller keyboard which is tiny, but can also be played with a stylus (i use an old thermometer that works perfect).

The Aux input jack lets you apply the filter to any audio source and it also has a Built-in speaker.
The headphone jack can be used for private use, but also to export the sound to your amplifier or mixing-desk.
The speaker sounds a bit chirpy (but not extremely bad), but once you've plugged it into your sound-system you really get a feeling on how good this synthesizer actually sounds.

Korg Monotron Analogue Ribbon Synthesizer
I have been using the Monotron for almost a month now, and i find it a very cool little machine.
I have it always somewhere near me... and not really as a sketchbook, but just to make funny sound effects.
The sound quality impresses me every time, considering it runs on just two AAA batteries...
I will try to add a nice little self-made Demo-video to this post if i can find the time to record one...

No comments:

Post a Comment