The Korg Megatron (Monotron Mod)

Korg Megatron Monotron

Saturday Synth Porn: Jacob Watters wanted more from his Korg Monotron, so he created the Megatron, a MIDI and voltage controlled bass synth, based on the Montron.

Mods include:

  • MIDI Control – using the MIDI-IF kit.
  • Re-Enable the Ribbon
  • CV Control – This is a simple mod due to the solder points on the Monotron’s PCB.
  • Pulse Wave – using a comparator, he created a pulse wave from the Monotron’s saw wave. The comparator has a control for the width of the pulse.
  • Sub-Oscillator 1 – A second comparator is used to generate a square wave that clocks a 4040 divider. The first output of the divider is an octave below the sound source, and is used as a sub-oscillator.
  • Sub-Oscillator 2 – The second output of the 4040 divider is two octaves below the sound source, and is used as a second sub-oscillator.
  • Overdrive
  • Envelope – a simple AD envelope control to the filter that can be toggled on or off.
  • Power – a 7805 power regulator that uses a 9V DC adapter. This eliminates the need for batteries.
  • Tuning – volt/octave tuning trimpot was moved for accessibility.

Here’s a video of the Megatron in action:

See the Jacob Watters site for details on the mods.

9 thoughts on “The Korg Megatron (Monotron Mod)

  1. Sweet MOD, but he should of built the ribbon part into the case too. Still Nice tho. Would love to see his schematic for it.

  2. What would the ultimate Monotron mod look like?

    Since the Monotron series uses the ribbon–a touch device–instead of a keyboard, wouldn’t the ultimate Monotron mod be a hack that interfaces the Monotron to an iPad in some weird way?

  3. But it’s no problem, markLouis, to connect anything what receives MIDI to iPad…
    All you have to do is to connect any iOS-MIDI interface or even usb-MIDI to iPad, connect MIDI plug to this Megatron and run App like TouchOSC, Lemur or anything…
    Or you mean “in the same enclosure”?

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