KORG MONOPOLY Analog Synth DEMO | Mono Poly
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- (c) 2010 by AnalogAudio1
I played the Korg MonoPoly sometimes with a Roland DEP-5 for delay effects and a Lexicon MPX-500 for reverbs.
The Korg MonoPoly came out 1981 and was the last analogue monophonic synthesizer from Korg in the eighties. Actually, the MonoPoly is a monophonic synth - but you can play it polyphonically, too - if necessary.
The Korg/Mono Poly is a very flexible synthesizer: It has 4 oscillators, oscillator sync, cross modulation, PWM, noise generator (white noise), 24 dB Filter, 2 ADSR envelopes, 2 LFO's with many waveforms, ARPEGGIATOR, CHORD MEMORY and portamento. The built in microprocessor makes many things possible: chord memory, arpeggiator, key assign and polyphony.
It is built around SSM chips like the Korg Polysix. I think, with the MONOPOLY Korg wanted to produce a synth as an alternative to the Minimoog and Sequential Circuits Pro One. Please don't expect it to sound like a Minimoog. The Minimoog remains one of the best sounding analog synths, and the Monopoly (like many others) can not compete in terms of sound quality. The basic sound is a bit "lo fi" but not too much like the MS series. It is a flexible instrument with an amazing potential.
The most characteristic thing on the MonoPoly is the arpeggiator, when it triggers the oscillators in poly-mode. Every step of the arpeggiator triggers a different oscillator - unique patterns can be produced.
The MonoPoly is a great synth with awesome sounds - it produces fat basses and leads - but also FX sounds, bells, like you can hear in the video. - Наука та технологія
That part from 5'30 - 6'30 is just utterly beautiful, sounds like nothing else
Very good demo!
Yes I remember it very well. We were all looking for the next best thing as always back in 1982. C 64 was our 1st affordable PC & MIDI was still a secret. Then DX 7 hit the stores, hmm a Digi Poly synth.
But I'm still making payments on my Prophet 5 & my CS 60 or was it CS 70 ?. Yamaha grr was almost giving them away at $1150 I asked then to throw in a Hand truck they took off another $50. So I stopped at Sears on my way home & bought the 1st one of many.
This M/P was the only Korg Synth
I took back to the store I did get a Poly 6, Jupiter 6, DW 6000, DW 8000 a M3. But I refused to buy a DX 7, I had a Prophet VS on Order. Kurzweil, Kawai K3 & K5 keys & rack modules of each plus 2 Oberheim Matrix 6 keys & module,
A huge 32 input expanded mixer Studiomaster. Dave Smith had someone call to says forget the VS buy a DX5 ? Sold out to Yamaha
They closed up shop , sold the factory to Yamaha was this a con _ synthrocy ? Voyetra was going down, I ordered a Memory Moog waited over a year for it ! It did'nt work (shhhh ) by now I had enough
& little need for Mono Analog.
Had 2 Pro One's & 2 Moog Prodigy, Tarkus I, bass pedals sold it. Why ? Told by my friends at Moog our new one Tarkus II kills ! It was the Radio Shack Moog on a mic stand ? No 32ft VCO, Ok I could now see the knobs & reach them to make changes but the sound was caca ppuke. No balls my Tarkus 1 Ate Black Widow speakers all day Peavey asked me to stop buying their 15in cabs. Even sent me 2 spares & told me to replace them myself here's 2 open UPS call tags, with RMA's.
I still had my Rhodes Suitcase a dual manual YC 45 Yamaha Organ
2, 760 lLeslies. A Yamaha YC 30 piano, 360 systems eprom playback synth. 360 MIDI bass module. I was playing more than ever but the guys in my group said
please ! All this heavy gear is killing us, even the Roadies were whining buy a DX 7. NO. It does allot & weighes half. Ok ok. I had enough MIDI shhh i'll lighten my
setup. The Yamaha rep gave me a TX 7 & a pile of free patches. It was ok, So I bought a Roland JP8
& JX3p. I found sounds to use but I was never as happy as I was with my analog & poly keys. I sold it all after my 1st back surgery. It was an unrelated injury 4 disc & 4 crushed vertabre. Workstations
Became my new Synths, Korg Trinity ex plus, plus. The Triton a used JV 2080 this is killer $200, that guy gave it away, a Kawai
K5000, and My favorite Kurz's K2600 & 2661.
Finally, I gave up my vendetta for Yamaha & I have A MOXf7, & still kept my 3rd Mini Moog. Hammond Xk3 powered speakers 450 watt 15s & horns, 2 Barretta keyboard cabs 15s & horn tweets.
2 400w, 12x floor monitors. Studio Logic wood weighted 88. But i still can't play a job without at least 2 Work Stations I do mix it up. Taking any 2 of them is good fun
But I might be a player/ buyer on Behringer's Mono Poly or is that a Monopoly keyboard. No its Mono or Poly and no its, Not made by Parker Bros either ok.. Thanks for listening. Yes its been a hell of a life cycle a Magical Mystery trip of
the revolving synths ? I spent time learning & editing. When I should have spent it on having kids and
a wood working hobby. Not a multi track studio & Hi Fi audiophiles of equipment. I'm almost over It. The truth it all it all sounds great.
The newest & best is a circle that never ends. The best is icing on a cake. Its like having doz's of cup holders & far to many Air Bags only to learn 98% didn't work any way
& the jerks that made them didn't care about anyone's safety. Their only concern was making money.
The music business was almost
gone in the late 80s early 90s.
No where to play, who needed gear. The virtual DAW gave some hope a Rec. Studio in a PC for a few hundred bucks. That once cost $250k a small pro hardware
setup. Today can be had for $10k
gave new hope & interest to a new generation of musicians singers
and we have more choices than we ever had. But we must learn from the past history has a way
of repeating itself. Best wishes
I've had a ball & id do it all again.
Love what you wrote awesome ❤
After the successful re-release of the MS-20, the Mono/Poly could be a prime candidate for the next reissue. This one or the PolySix. Incredible machines.
This is one great sounding synth! I cant believe people say there thin on bass! this synth kicks ass!
The sound at the end, including the reverb, was unexpected and marvellous!
We didn't realise how great these were at the time. Bring it back.
You don't know how sorry I am that I sold mine in 1990. That was the best analog keyboard I have ever owned and now they go for an arm and a leg. I blame the music stores for pushing the latest digital gear and making you feel foolish for not moving on. Never again
1981. Back when synth build quality actually counted for something. Great video, by the way - excellent demonstration. And what a fantastic looking (and sounding) synth! :-)
thanks!
Great video!
I am really fascinated with analog synthesis techniques.
It would really suck if I owned one of these and a few choice stomp boxes to run it through. It would suck even MORE if I also, had a Polysix to sync it with.......and a few more stomp boxes.
wow great demo. i used to see these in used shops in japan alot. should have tried to get one
Oh my god I thought the Oberheim SEMs were great, but this is the most incredible sounding synth. Why didn't more people use this?!
It came too late. The glory times of monophonics was over in 1981/82
Beautiful demo of this synth - I really love the dreamy trippy arpeggios. I hope Korg do a re-issue of this beast.
I wish they would update and reissue this marvelous machine!!
This synth is phat! Great filter sweeps, envelopes and arpeggiator... definitely retro sounding. Thanks for sharing this great demo!
I always loved the KORG sounds. KORGs arpeggiators are great to work with (I like the one on the KORG DW 8000).
5 *
Robin :o)
Great demo! Finally a high quality musical demo worthy of this amazing little synth. I think I'll go play on mine now...
One of the best and most musical demo's on this instrument ever made. You are really making me want to buy one!!! Is $1500 the going rate these days???
Great demo. I lusted after one of these for awhile but never found one at the right price. Maybe when I have more cash I'll try looking again. They definitely seem like cool synths.
sounds crazy man... really nice work and a great demo.
Its sounds really great how you can layer up different timbres in Poly Mode (Arpeggiator) !!
Cool, sounds good
Yes this synth sounds great.... in the right hands! It's probably a lot easier for the likes of you and me to make it sound bad. This is even more impressive when you consider that he's using it in poly mode, which is not generally considered the MonoPoly's strong suit. I'm not dismissing the MonoPoly in the least, merely pointing out that if you understand synthesis like AnalogueAudio1 does, have good taste in sound sculpture and have the playing skills to match then you really can make any synthesizer appear desirable..... even an Akai Timbre wolf!
Wow! At the end of this clip you used the effects of cross-modulation, which for me are the most attractive feature of this synth...
I think your comment about the Minimoog sounding "higher quality" is off base. The majority of the timbral difference is derived from the filters. Having played both, I prefer the darker tone of the Korg filter to the more squirrely sound of the Moog.
It is a matter of taste, moreso than quality.
+Kaleb Smith The same filter is used on Octave's Cat SRM2, Kitten 2 and the wonderful Voyetra-8, for example... There is nothing dark about the filter itself. Somewhere in the synth is a low pass filter, between the oscillators and the filter. The oscillators, with filter fully open have an unpleasant honk. Everything is subjective of course, but if you like the raw sound of the Korg Mono/Poly over a Minimoog, I personally think you're thoroughly bonkers. Mods can be done. The oscillators are obsolete (good!) and can be replaced with discrete component VCOs that bear no sonic similarity to the originals, yet perform the same functions. I love my Mono/Poly because of it's incredible layout and mod options, not the horrid, quacky oscillators :-)
It's by far not the filter alone. The oscillators act differently together, thus they sound different, the waveforms sound different, the envelopes sound different, the VCA, simply everything is different. The Moogs have a special sound.
Because Korg !!! Damn those filters are dope
There is only one ;-)
@@AnalogAudio1 ok
Mines on the way so stoked!! Should play nicely with my polysix (;
How are you finding it? Mine is on the way now can't wait! :) Is it much different than the Polysix?
A brilliant demo of how sweet this thing can sound
Mine behaves same, too. I believe it's got to do with the original VCA and/or PSU circuits' shortcomings as well as the expected ageing of some components. I would like to listen to other users' feedback, too. If you find this hiss really bothersome, you can try this little trick: play your MP (all VCOs+Noise to zero/VCF fully open) in your DAW, insert a denoising plugin like Waves X-Noise or similar & then sample the noise profile. Then record your patch & apply the plug-in.
@AnalogAudio1
awwww, that mixer looks lovely :)
thank you for the tip!
Excellent job!!
Amazing sound at 5:40!
Which settings did you use?
GREAT !!! I love the old synth sound soo much
7:00 sounds a lot like its contemporary polysynth, the Elka Synthex, popularized by Jarre's laser harp.
8 dislikes? I can only imagine that their hearing aids were malfunctioning or that they needed to upgrade their speakers....
5:25 love it. like dungeon synth
Since i have a mono poly and have only just now begun to program it to get decent sounds, i can see what skills you have to make all this great music AnalogAudio1
thank you :-)
I hate to say it, but I genuinely threw one of these in the bin in 1993. It had nothing wrong with it at all. I never used it because I couldnt integrate it in to my all midi studio. it just sat in the studio doing nothing and I needed space. At this time there was no internet/ebay to speak of so I never knew its value which back then would have been much lower than it is today. You could barely sell anything analog back then. I realise now what a versatile and quite unique analog synth it is.
harrymerchant456 terrible of you to do that!! All in the name of using crap like a Korg T3???
That is just plain stupid throwing a perfectly good instrument away ?
Brilliant demonstration ! Thanks so much, man !
Greetings from: LA, California
thank you! You're welcome, thanks for watching
PURE BLOODY HEAVEN!
Thanks for doing this demo. I had no idea just what this synth was capable of. Mine has a few keys with bad contacts that need cleaning.
this thing sounds great
I just realized that i had the same name as the boardgame Monopoly
yeah, let's play Monopoly :-D
+I have an awesome name LOL you're right
Haha, I didn't realize until you pointed it out, even though it's so obvious.
this thing sounds powerful....i love it!!
and now they are!
Sounds very nice. I want one
@clarius1973 Yup, I watched this thinking "Man, why aren't there more M/P's in Berlin School music?"
...This was a brilliant demo, BTW. Thanks!
Great sounding monopoly!
5* + fav!
02:03 nice nice nice - need one haha
I wish they still made INSTRUMENTS like this. Instead of all the pre-set cheese whiz, "virtual"...etc
great demo dude!
greetings from analog amsterdam
this is madness
@AnalogAudio1 Thanks a bunch! I'm pretty close but still not quite there..
@AnalogAudio1 yes, of course. :-)
I was asking about the strange settings of the oscillators...
I just bought one, it's coming from a guy in japan... I can't wait to try it... I will make some video for you good people of the analog world!
very nice sound !!!
That synth with reverb distortion and delay would be perfect for Trance .
shame no-ones listened to trance for about 15 years!
wau.. nice demo.. le voy a hacer lo mismo a los knobs ..ya compre una kmx8 . genio !
Great Demo, where are you sir are you still doing demos❤
I am in Germany. Yeah, still doing videos, but my time is limited since I have a fulltime job as well.
@@AnalogAudio1 Gotcha 👍
@@AnalogAudio1 have you heard the Behringer version of the Monopoly ?
@@LouisTorres-ut4ks No.
this one and a Polysix would make a great couple for me XD
wow what a versatile machine! I never heard of it, I admit. I wonder why...
@Aetila I bought one for 500(about $70) kr in 1990 and sold it a year later for 1000 kr(about $140) in Sweden.
That was a couple of years before analogue had the first "resurrecton" and the prices went through the roof.
ajdå
Amazing synth!
polysix is a true polyphonic synth. 6 filters (one per each voice) in monopoly there is only one filter.
Sweet!
Had one sold it aaaarrrghhh!
Nice demo of an amazing machine !!! ;D
I love my Mono/Poly although it´s a Diva (key- and pot- contact problems)!
@colorform2113 thanks for your help :) but i have to mention that that post was 2 months ago and meanwhile i thougt about what i actually want and i came to the conclusion that i should buy one of those virtual analog synthies: either the microkorg XL (400€) or the akai miniAK (300€). I'm pretty sure i'll buy the XL because it can be connected to a software on the pc (it's also pretty handy). well and i think it can simulate the vintage sound at least a bit :D again thanks and cheers!
I wish Korg would start re-releasing variations of their old analog gear while there is still some interest.
GROOVE ARMADA, On There New Album So Glad They Used Vintage Synths :)
The sound at 2:15 wauuuw
Dig the little intro thing. cool vid
Fantastische Kiste*****
Beware though; you might prefer the original, "hissy" version, on some patches at least. You see, this small amount of noise (assuming you have a healthy mix of VCO levels) adds that little something that constitutes the character of this synth (and helps it cut through the mix, as well).
You asked about a "substitute" so here's my recommendation. Try an Alesis ION. They're out of production now but you can find one on eBay for about four or five hundred bucks as compared to about $1,700+ for the Monopoly (used). It's NOT the same synth (not analog either - digital VA) but has a lot of the same features and you can get similar sounds from it. Just my opinion so don't shoot me down please!
To play one of those, you really have to KNOW YOUR KNOBS!!
Kind of curious if any of these u had running through rack effects? Specifically reverb on last few sequences...? Or is that an out of the box reverb tail?? Shit sounded so effn good...hit me back
call me crazy but i just love the monopoly in poly mode. does anyone know whether the polysix is basically a 6 voice monopoly without the cross mods, etc.?
thx!
the Polysix has an individual envelope for each voice. As far as I know the Mono/Poly doesn't, which makes it a lot less poly.
Bear in mind I haven't played the real stuff though, just heard in polymode. :)
10:26 very autechre-like :) made me smile
great!
Mon Korg MonoPoly Vendu à un Ami Luthier ... Super Synthétiseur Analogique = Arpegiator Sequencers PolyPhonic 4 sounds un vrai synthé de Recherche ....
how did you make the patch at 9.50??? is that just crossmod with triangle waves? sounds awesome. never thought it could do these type of sounds.
thanks! exactly...
sound so fuckimg beautiful
LUVVIT!!!
Nice toy! I wish, i would have one. :( Sounds very nice
love the sound @10:10
SLURP,WANT EAT..!!
Are many months that wish buy here in
italy,but is most difficulty find one.
Compliments Nice video.
CIAO to MAX from Milan.
Where did you get these cool looking orange top knobs ??
Hi, I really liked your video mate, but I read in your description that you said "but you can play it polyphonically, too - if necessary." how can you do this if it is only momophonic ??
best regards and keep up the good uploads
.
Glen :-)
It's basically a monophonic synth with 4 oscillators. But in "polyphonic" mode you can play 4-note polyphonic chords with those 4 oscillators. That means, 1 voice=1 oscillator.
I've got a polysix with midi, I've just finished calibrating if you fancy a swap
Que bajos tan potentes tiene.
From :19-2:02 it sounds just like my Moog Source.....Great sounding!! Disappointed it is not a a full 61 key synth. If It was, I'd be all over it. For that reason plus I own a great mono synth in "The Source" I'd have to lean toward the Polysix for me, which I'm in the market for. The Six would fit my playing needs....But do like the "Mono/Poly" It's up to one's needs and playing style.
skyprop I'll assume this has CV/Gate in so you could use a full keyboard if you really want
i must have a monopoly!!!! wicked!!!
the thing is i have a monopoly but the vco's need serious calibration and the filters are wonky. i'm thinking of replacing it with the polysix ... will it give me the upfront yet warm sound of the monopoly? i really love it to bits ... i think it's one of the best synths i've ever heard .. 1 osc pads are SOOOOO ALIVE and ORGANIC. more so than the monster 2 vco poly's imho
Some sounds are similar to Tangerine dream's "ENCORE" Live album (but they used, if I remember, oberheim 4 and 8 voice for the poly chords)
C.
cool.........
it's quite an in your face sound, love it so much.the monopoly is a very good analog synth with loads of functions and impressive sound.
in a way it's so silly that most companies only focus on digital synths with lots of functions but with a total lack of balls in sound. only few dare to put out analog stuff, we gotta respect Dave Smith for this.
My Korg MonoPoly Finish (to sell)! I am sad ! My Friend Analogic Synthetiser 1983 to 2013! A good synthetiser...
Agreed!