Korg Monotron Delay Reviews

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

Noisy delay

Well, it is a simple synth with a delay.

Very nice for making sfx sounds.

The delay is a bit noisy.

fun toy

Loved this little machine for almost two years before selling it because i was tired of the noise. If you dont mind that, its a very useful gear. Delay is amazing, it can creates some wild sounds or adding depth to a beautiful synth or bass. Filter is quite good too. For that price, you cant go wrong, just prepare for a huge amount of noise coming out of that little box.

A must have for Techno production

The 'shortcomings' like noisiness are an asset when using the monotron delay as an effect. It's no high end unit what is expected looking at it's price.

I use it a lot in my techno productions for its character.

A noisy toy or musical tool?

This is my second time buying this. I returned it, thinking it was just a toy and I have no need for it... Until I rediscovered a sample I made using the Monotron Delay and a simple pocket Radio, where you can hear people talking as I slowly opened up the filter. The gritty noisy character of the delay gives it a haunting feeling and I knew right away; I have to buy this again!

So, realise it isn't perfect. It is noisy, it is small and handles like a plastic toy (because it is).

But also realise that for the price, it can't be beat. Great filter, dirty repeats, lofi character.

Definitly worth the money!

Very fun

This is great fun to mess around with either on its own or with a synth.

Only issues are:

It has a plastic feel to it but still feels reasonably sturdy. This is to be expected though, given the price tag.

It can also sound a little white noisey at times depending on what you are going to do with it. It would be great if it didn't this problem but I'm sure it can be somewhat eq'd out if necessary. This can also be a good thing though if you are after something more lofi.

On the plus side I would have to say that it can be great fun and very easy to use. As a relative novice in the world of synths and delay / modulation effects, I was able to quickly and easily get it to sound great and produce some incredibly spacey sound effects. Just messing around with any of the knobs while a simple synth loop plays through it can immediately make it sound so much more interesting and professional (although maybe a little bit more on the lofi side of things given the slight static / white noise aspects of it)

Overall though, given the price, I would say that it is a great purchase and has tons of possibilities!

My first synth

Love th filter of the synth. Really warm korg sound.

Great value

This is a great small synth and a lot of fun to play and experiment with. Cheap plastic build is the only con.

Fun delay unit

I bought the Korg monotron delay as i wanted to play around with an analog delay unit for a budget price.

The build quality is ok, as with all the monotron range it is made out of plastic.

There is a ribbon synth but the markings are not in any scale but this can produce some interesting sounds. The filter is good quality.

The overall sound quality is a bit grainy but that can be ok if you are into that kind of effect.

overall for the money this is a fun little unit to play around with, however i do not find it to be much use for recording as i finnd the final sound is a little bit noisy for my liking but very fun to play with.

What a toy!

This is pretty fun to mess around with! Just wish it was a little bigger. Still you can create some interesting sound effects with this thing. Sound quality isn't amazing but not disappointing also.

Absolute Fun on the go

You will definitely play with this monotron delay for hours. The ribbon keys are perfect for changing notes and pitch. It can be easily connected to speakers or headphones with 3.5mm jack. So much fun in a little box. Korg sound quality the best.