Monotron
Critics received the Monotron series well, citing the synthesisers' analogue circuits, which were a novelty at the time.
The Monotrons proved successful with consumers, especially with electronics hobbyists, who made modifications to the synthesisers' designs.
Korg did not originally intend for the Monotrons to be used for this purpose: rather, it was a consequence of the company labeling the synthesisers' PCB solder points and publicly releasing their schematics.
Korg's decision to release the Monotron in 2010 emboldened other manufacturers to produce their own offerings, making analogue synthesisers popular again.
[6] In terms of its sound engine, the Monotron is relatively bare-bones and only includes the basic elements of a monophonic synthesiser.
[3][6] Concerns were raised about the synthesiser's ribbon keyboard and noisy signal output,[12] but critics overlooked these problems.
According to MusicRadar, a music journalism website:[3] Once you look past the limitations and remind yourself that this is a true analogue synth for a bargain price, the Monotron is a real winner.
[14] The Monotron's simple monophonic sound engine led to some comparing it to Moog Music's Micromoog and Korg's own MS-10.
The magazine stated:[15] While it packs all the charm of the retro Stylophone into a really small, pocketable package, it also manages to squeeze a whole lot of brains into its shell as well.
[16] The Monotron also won the "Hardware Synth Under $500" category at the 2011 Electronic Musician Editor's Choice Awards, with comments made about its "great sound".
[21][22] Its markings—ostensibly representing a keyboard little over an octave in size—are purely decorative and do not correspond to the pitch output nor the ribbon's actual range.
[19][20] The Duo shares the same cosmetic design as the original Monotron but is instead coloured blue, with a yellow highlight.
Part of this popularity comes from Korg's decision to release the Monotrons' schematics online as well as labeling relevant solder points on the PCB.
According to Andrew Dubber, Professor of Music Industry Innovation at Birmingham City University:[31] The [Monotron] has a clearly labelled circuit board and publicly-released schematic, allowing any user to modify and develop the synthesiser for their own ends.The synthesisers' designer, Tatsuya Takahashi, stated that making the Monotron modification-friendly was not Korg's original goal.
It was to provide engagement with real analogue sonics at a price point that I could have bought when I was a kid [...] The low price point and the inherent simplicity of the analogue circuit just happened to resonate with the DIY crowd.Due to the lack of external connections on the Monotrons (apart from audio in/out), the most popular modifications add control voltage (CV) or MIDI capabilities to control the synthesiser from other hardware.
Nicknamed by the digital music resource site Ask.Audio,[37] it is a heavily expanded Monotron designed in the United Kingdom by Harry Axten.
[45] The groovebox took inspiration from the ribbon controller of the Monotron, adding a switch to toggle between "wide" and "narrow" pitch ranges.
[40] In popular music, Monotrons have been used by artists including Ana da Silva (The Raincoats),[48] Martyn Ware (the Human League and Heaven 17), the Dutch producer Martijn Deijkers,[49] Henry Laufer (Shlohmo)[50] and the Portuguese-American musician RAC.
