Korg Monotron – MS20 analogue filter returns
By Paul Dakeyne
| Posted in Music Technology
As we reported within the madness that was Musikmesse 2010 gear releases last week, the Korg Monotron was debuted to a very receptive audience in Frankfurt. Essentially, it’s a monophonic synthesizer which, for its filter, uses the same VCF circuitry as Korg’s evocative MS-10 and MS-20 semi modular synths of the late 1970s. This filter was more recently reborn via the wonders of component modeling technology in the manufacturer’s software ‘Legacy’ collections. With the addition of a musical keyboard/ribbon controller and a few invitingly tweakable knobs, Korg has now delivered something quite small that nonetheless offers gargantuan sonic possibilities for electronic music makers worldwide.
I did say small didn’t I? Well, it’s actually really small and would probably be an ideal first choice for Mini-Me’s band now that Dr Evil is behind bars! But don’t let the ‘stylophone’ comparisons or any foolish comments like ‘it’s just a toy’ dissuade you from checking this out. The Monotron synth is a battery powered, monophonic synthesiser which can produce single notes or legato sweeps via the aforementioned ribbon surface (again, an adopted feature, this time from Korg’s popular KAOSS range). Its ridiculously powerful filter can be modulated by the LFO dial, addressing either its cutoff or pitch, with an extensive speed sweep from low to high oscillation. The LFO speed is visually represented by a glowing red LED flashing in sync to the outputted signal modulation. The pitch of the selected note can also be manually adjusted in the VCO section.
Truly a portable device, the Korg Monotron features an onboard speaker, a headphone or audio out jack for connection to powered monitors or a PA system, and the thing it most needed to be of real pro-user interest in the shape of an auxiliary input, meaning users can bestow that wonderful MS-20 style (Josh Wink, baby!) filter upon your tired ol’ sounds and any lacklustre noobs in your sonic armory. I can certainly see this as the next big thing (well okay… small thing) in many a DJ or producer’s studio, as well as live on stage, with its appeal spanning global EDM artists to even rock bands with a smidgen of electronica interest. Although the price point is well in the ‘affordable’ bracket, I can’t help wondering just how much extra users woud be happy to pay if this black beauty had MIDI control? Now that would be awesome, fun and double portions of OMG combined…
Korg Monotron specifications:
- Audio Path: VCO, VCF, LFO
- Knobs: VCO Pitch; LFO Rate; LFO Intensity; VCF Cutoff; VCF Peak
- LFO Switch: Assignable to Oscillator Pitch or Filter Cutoff
- Controller: Ribbon Controller
- Volume: Headphone Volume
- Aux Input: 1/8″ Stereo Jack
- Headphone Output: 1/8″ Stereo Jack
- Speaker: Miniature internal (disabled when headphones are in use)
- Power Supply: 2 x AAA Alkaline
- Dimensions: itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny… and weighing only 95g (without batteries)
Screech alert! Check your speaker levels before playing this video..
Tags: filter, korg, Monotron, MS-20