13 thoughts on “Monotron, The Music Video

  1. Monotron: The Lipstick

    Monotron: The Eyeshadow

    Monotron: The Fingernail Polish

    It was very cool. And not only did it look like the title sequence of a James Bond movie, it was pretty much better than the last couple of James Bond movies.

  2. Question about Monotron Duo — About a week ago there was an interesting thread, “Inside Synthesis ā€“ Getting Started With FM Synthesis.” The FM synthesis video said that when you use one oscillator to modify another, that is FM synthesis. The Monotron Duo includes two oscillators. Does that mean the Duo (for something like $47!) can be used to experiment with FM synthesis? Any tech people know the answer?

    1. I don’t own any Monotron, but MusicRadar have written the following:

      “The real magic comes from the fact that VCO1’s frequency can be modulated by the output of VCO2, with the level of modulation determined by the X-MOD INT knob. It’s vaguely similar to the effect created by modulating pitch with the LFO on the original Monotron, but the Duo’s two VCOs both respond to the keyboard input, rather than the modulation frequency being fixed.”
      http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/keys-synths/synthesizers-compact-synthesizers/compact-synthesizers/monotron-duo-526288/review

      1. Thanks, G!

        With all due respect to MHO below, that sounds like a type of very simple FM synthesis to me.

        I’m really intrigued by this Korg’s Monotron series. (The Monotron, the Duo, the Delay and the Tribe.) The combination SEEMS to be able to do a type of very simple EVERYTHING and they’re all pretty inexpensive.

        So Korg has the Monotron line. The microKeys line, including the microKorg. The Wavedrum line. And the Kronos. And other stuff, too. I don’t own any of those, but that’s a pretty cool set of products for any company to offer.

  3. I think the monotron is using a filter to modify the oscillators.
    I think every synth is different and uses a different way to shape the sound and so have different options.
    A Fm synth is using an oscillator ( modulator ) to modify the other oscillator (carrier).
    But like the logic fm synth you can have an option called fm and that you can use like a filter.
    So ,I don’t think I have an answer to your question. šŸ™‚
    I’m not sure ,I’m probably wrong because I really don’t now ,I think for fm synthesis you need a sine wave for carrier.

    1. Isn’t it more interesting to think or speculate about how the Monotron line of products — because output from one can be plugged into the input of another, and the Tribes can be synced — the Monotron line is really a very, very cheap analog modular synthesizer that lets you arrange “modules” any way you like, and manipulate the settings of each “module” quite a bit?

      Isn’t that more interesting and fun than a post which added nothing to the fun getting tossed?

  4. no, you cant do FM synthesis on a monotron (the blue one) the device doesn’t have a use one carrier and one modulator option, you would need to route each osc. out of the monotron independently and then through some external FM synthesis device that would have an insert for modulator and carrier much like a vocoder.

    i have an electribe emx and i can say that i am very proud of it but the things that korg is putting out lately sounds, feels, and functions like crap. they are playing off of peoples likelihood to collect things and also the analog fever that many aspire to acquire. i kind of wish they would start trying again, instead of making gimmicky products and redesigning the modern guitar tuner every year.

    1. Darren M – I’m so glad you like your Electribe – do you have any of the Monotron series? I do – all of them, and i’m very proud of them. I also have an MS20, Monopoly and a Polysix as well as lots of other stuff. And you know what? the Monotron series is great – really good fun (remember that?) really inspiring (i’ve written several tunes based on the noodling i’ve done on them) and really creative (i use them live all the time). They might not work for you, but don’t hate them – recognise that they, like your Electribe, are just tools for people to be creative with. If you think these particular tools really suck, put your ‘Electribe EMX – The Music Video’ up and we can then give an honest appraisal of how much better it is than the Monotron…..

  5. apparently nobody really knows what FM is ans how it works. FM stands for frequency modulation, and it works like this: take an oscillator and use it’s output to modulate the frequency of another oscillator. basically you use the amplitude of one wave to modify the frequency of another. the first will be called modulator, the second carrier.
    for FM to work the modulators frequency has to be more than 20hz, i.e. inside the audible spectrum, otherwise you just get a vibrato. of course you can do FM with multiple oscillators (or operators as yamaha called them) with different confgurations.
    asyou see, it’s got nothing to do with vocoders, that’s another type of technique altogether.
    what the monotron duo does can be called FM in my opinion.

  6. even the black monotrons lfo reaches into the audiorange, but i think to call it fm, the lfos speed has to depend from the played notes pitch, so a static lfo still isnt a modulator or am i wrong ?

    cause i want to build an fm synth based on a few monotrons, and a supersaw based on a few others with arduino as midi to cv controller šŸ™‚

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