Korg Monotron Duo Reviews

Great deal for the price

You can do a lot more with this instrument than it seems

small and fun

fun, but would like more from such "toy" :)

Bought as a toy, used as an instrument

As the title hints, i first bought this synthesizer as a gift - toy for a loved one - but Korg once more proved that they know what they're doing - now i sometimes "steal it" to use it in my studio!

Pros: Very cheap, fun, analogue synth

Cons: None

Brilliant!

Very nice, cheap as chips, handy!

Can't really complain at this price not too impressed.

I already had the Monotron DELAY which is great fun and I've even used it professionally in the studio on several commercial recordings. So I decided to get this one as well.

I must admit I was a bit disappointed. The DELAY was more of an effects device that could be used standalone with good results. This one... not so much.

First of all, this one works better when it's actually PLAYED rather than just making weird noises. But unless you mod it for MIDI it's rather limited. The small ribbon "keyboard" worked great for making effects with the DELAY but not so much for actually playing melodies on this DUO version.

A lot of the mojo of the DELAY was... well, the delay. Remove the delay and it quickly lost it's charm as a standalone device (even though the filter was excellent!). The DUO just doesn't impress me as much as a standalone device. It really needs to be used with other effects to get the best out of it in my opinion. And then it quickly gets less interesting because then you might as well start patching up a bigger and better synth.

The strength of the DELAY was that it was instantly fun and usable, even when used as a standalone device. Just patch it straight into a console or DI and you'll get great sounds. The DUO just isn't very exciting unless it's processed by external effects in my opinion. It's usefulness is also severly limited by the lack of midi connections.

Get the DELAY instead.

Fun and Versatile.

It's a very fun and versatile synthesizer. The ribbon and knobs are very responsive. Even though it doesn't look it, there's actually a lot to play around with and tweak. Great for coming to terms with subtractive synthesis. The only thing that let's it down is the built in speaker but for the price it's a great and cost effective synthesizer.

Good

This mini sintetzador it's great as a complementary oscillator. His sound is great for styles such as hardcore, industrial, breakbeat, dubstep, etc. But note that you must use special audio cable. Also note that you must add a MIDI interface, because it does not have midi interface. The ribbon is small for larger fingers, but it has different modes such as step mode, in addition to this, if you add a midi interface, do not need the ribbon. If you want to perform DIY modifications, Korg kindly send the schematics.

Amazing value mono synth - great fun

This is a really fun little bit of kit. I've actually got all of the variations and they are amazing for the money - especially when plugged into a decent sound system. Truly analogue sounding little synth with a huge amount of potential. Possibly not the greatest synth for serious music but for general synthy and sci-fi sounds its absolutely great!

Cool gadget

The thing I love about Monotrons is how they're kinda the in-between of music toys and serious musical instruments. It's good for just messing around and in the beginning you probably won't find it very usable besides that. It's way too noisy.. very bad output. Best part is that It has a truly amazing filter (the famous Korg filter from the original MS-20). It's bad that it doesn't have MIDI or CV which means you can't program any patterns on them, but again, it's just a pocket size gadget. Though, I am sure you can do a lot with it if you practice with it and learn how to handle it well. It's the best one of the Monotron series (imo). The ultimate in compactness.

Korg monotron duo

I've had this monotron for over a year now and I still use it and it still functions perfectly.

Handling: It takes a while to get used to it, you really have to be a knob twidler so to say. But once you know the controls you can get the most amazing sounds out of it.

Features: I still discover new sounds from it, it is amazingly versatile. I use it in combination with a pedalboard which opens even more options.

Sound: The speaker inside the monotron is decent, not great but decent. It really shines when you plug some speakers in, it's like a new world opening.

Quality: I was a bit scared at first, it's all plastic but after using it for this long it really is quality made. Everything still functions great, not even some scratching when turning knobs, everything still goes smooth.

The monotron is great fun, especially if you're into weird synth sounds.

A well rounded kit.

This Korg product features a really great filter, two oscillators and a very entertaining x-mod knob that can really help make a really gritty sound.

+ Well rounded features

+ Four ribbon modes: continuous, Minor, Major and Chromatic.

+ Great filter

+ Value

- Lacks an LFO

- Finicky to play notes on the ribbon despite the various modes.

This product would fit great for playing melodies. If you'd rather do that than create sound effects and atmospheres I'd recommend the Monotron Duo over the Monotron Delay.

Fun

It's fun, very high noise floor which becomes kind of a problem with external audio input since it only gates by itself when using the keyboard.

There seems to be an easy buidable noise gate (by soldering): . Also I believe that I will turn this thing into a Eurorack module or similar to be able o have external cv/gate and save some space on my desk...

Regardless a great product for almost no money at all.

Pocket sized monopoly

Batteries included, pop them in and fire this little synth up, you can choose how the ribbon reacts, therimin like sweeps, of chromatic scaling. The ms20 filter is here in all its glory with the ability to pipe external audio through it. But the jewel on this synth is the cross mod section, allowing you to add metallic FM like tones to the signal before slamming it into the ms20 filter. For the more DIY inclined you can pop it open and modify it, all the major circuit points are labelled and there all instruction on the web allowing you to add more control options.

Best enjoyed with a lead patching it into a PA system.

dont really get much use outta this..

thers not really enough playability with this product,other than using the aux in to dirty up drums or other,which i still didnt find inspiring...maybe ok for sci-fi type sounds,but limited enough...

great toy with a big sound!

for the price it is amazing, lots of fun, running external audio thru the filter is a nice bonus. the only negative is the noise, there is a constant loud hiss which is due to the nature of the circuit design. it wont be a problem for everyone but it was for me. its most noticeable when the filter is nearly closed, which makes using the filter as a studio production effect not an option, for me anyway.

if you have the patience you could record samples of each note and use a noise analyzer/reducer on each sample to clean it up. then use a sampler for poly action!

the cross modulation can give some really big and aggresive techno pads when both oscillators are slightly detuned.

this tiny Korg would be a perfect introduction to analog synths, I have owned some classics in the past and sold them all but buying Monotron Duo brought back my love for synths!

Fun little synth with personality

The Monotron Duo is a cool little box with plenty of fun sounds in it. Just don't expect too much from it. Adding a second oscillator and an x-mod to the original monotron design provides more cool sounds and possibilities. The filter is the same and sounds very juicy and breaks up really nicely at extreme resonance settings. Plus, you can use the filter to mangle any outside source you plug into it too! This is a real analog synth, so it sounds very alive and a little unpredictable.

I feel that it's a bit of a mix between a toy, and effect box and a real instrument. The filter, the oscillators and the sound are great, but a couple of things prevent me from taking it too seriously. Firstly, the little ribbon keyboard is pretty hard to play if you want to play melodies with it. The second thing is the noisy output, leaving a moderate amount of hiss to everything coming out of it.

I'd describe it as a cool gadget that can add spice to your music, or be fun to just play around with and create all sorts of weird and wonderful sounds. Can't beat the price considering it's fully analog!

Much more than a toy

The fact that Korg built a pitch quantizer into this unit makes it vastly more useful in a tangible musical way than the original Monotron. The sound is great and the addition of the 2nd oscillator as well as the X-Mod effect provides it with some cool new tones. A great buy for any synth lover.