Korg Monotron Delay

Best 'toy' synthesizer for it's money

So I bought this synth back in 2022 to explore music and get back into that hobby and I still have it to this day. Works like a charm and I've dropped it a few times already. Pros: - sturdy construction - suuuuuuuper cheap for what you get - You get a literal delay pedal inside a toy synth that's less expensive than harley benton pedals - The sounds this little synth can make be fucking huuuuugggeee - full control over feedback and time of the delay. - built in speaker and headphone jack for speakers or headphones (duh) - formfactor is amazing. Fits inside your back pocket if you'd want to put it there. super easy to bring with you to jams, chills and hangouts as a party trick cons; - the ribbon keyboard is not very accurate, but does the job - batteries rattle inside, fixed with a few pieces of tape on inside of lid - built in speaker does not do the synth itself justice... - knobs are a little small and could be spaced apart a tiny bit more, but I'm nitpicking by now. I want to add to this; plugging this synth into some good speakers unlocks it's full potential. The little speaker inside does it's job, but if you got a subwoofer and some decent monitors and you plug this baby in and start ambient-jamming? You'll be surprised by the massive soundscapes you can make with just this tiny little 'toy' synth. Honestly, this synth reinstigated my love for music and I still use it every now and then to have fun with or use as a delay FX unit. Do yourself a favor and buy it already, either for yourself or as a present for your music-nerd friend!

Great for beginners & up

I bought this for my son to play with & was very surprised with how much you could do with it

Great gift and great for long journeys

I bought this for my brother and he loves it! It's a seriously good tool for using on the move and even in the studio if you're a little shy on gear.

Nice Analog Delay with Filter Soundgenerator and Looper

A small device with great sond and possibilities. Its analog. The delay and filter sound very good. The Soundgenerator lets you generate the psy sweeps as well as the classic dub siren telephone sound :D

Also can use it to create bass samples.

Or just noisify some audio or use as a filder device. Fun and usable!

A very trippy toy with serious potential

GENERAL OVERVIEW

I bought it as an fx unit to integrate with my synth setup, as the title implies this isn't intended to be a serious tool for music production but I personally always find a way to snuck it into serious (paid) projects because of the flavor it adds to sounds.

PROS

-compact and easy to carry around (nice party gimmick too)

-very intuitive and you will build muscle memory fast with it

-entirely plastic but feels quite rugged

-ms 20 filter makes everything you feed it sound fantastic

-the delay circuit sounds veery analog and definitely has a flavor

-the delay can self-resonate giving really interesting tones when coupled with the filter

-the aux input is easily overloaded giving the signal a very nice clipping (clipping a piano and then adding delay sounds fantastic)

-you can circuit bend it if you have the know-how and the unit overall is quite simple to take apart and mod (the internet is full of guides on this)

CONS

-VERY noisy, if you use it on a main mix element you will need to fix it in post

-powered by two AAAs, they need to be swapped regularly (this is why I modded mine to accept a micro-usb cable as a power supply)

-the synth part is useless in a musical setting, good for SFX tho

Overall I really enjoy mine and I would buy it again, it would be a cool gift for a musically incline friend too :)

Cool gadget

Very cool and suprising sounds can be achieved through feedback loops.

It is not very controllable, so trying to recreate something will be nearly impossible. That is also it's charm. The output works pretty well and is usable for recording.

It is a toy but its is ANALOG!! Which is a real nice change for someone usualy operating VST's

Fun but too noisy

A really fun gear... is really cheap so you pay what you get. If you enjoy Lo-Fi textures you will find it attractive.

Bit of fun

I've seen some YT videos of people who've embraced its low-fi chic with good results.

It is however, very overpriced!

Brilliant!

Very nice, cheap as chips, handy!

Fun instrument/effect

This little portable unit is a lot of fun. I use it as a simple synth for sound effects, and as a simple delay effect with my mike. For the price, it's quite useful. Also suitable as a toy.

Downsides:

- battery power only

- limited functionality (duh)

- noisy

- connection to DAW/mixer requires Y-cable

- may get you hooked on full-price synths and effects