I think you're doing the best demos for vintage synths on youtube - much appreciated! I just got my mono/poly back from service today - hadn't played it for a couple of years and had forgotten what an awesome machine it is. I love it.
Marc Doty is a great person. His knowledge and the way that he show thing are great! Marc, your voice is also like a great cup of coffee! I'm not an english speaking person (i speak french), but your explanation and demonstration are very dynamics, so I understand very well what you say. Merci beaucoup Marc pour tes excellentes démonstrations! Cheers, Franco La Muerte Québec-Canada
Cool demonstration. I recorded quite a few songs using this thing in the mid to late 80's. Those fat anolog sounds can't be beat. It was my Dad's keyboard. Unfortunately, he passed away two months ago. I have the keyboard now and it's still going strong.
Marc dude, this video got featured in mag4musicians youtube page. Its a german "internet magazine" with video reviews of gear, mainly synths. Theyve added scrolling text for us english speaken gentlemen thankfully. You're getting some recognition for these great demos already. ;)
Hello and thanks for this upload! It is always a pleasure to se such a beauty! I have the vst-version of this one and I have played the real one back in the 80`s. The vst-version is really good! The sound quality depends on your soundcard and speakers etc. The vst-version has much more possibilities. It is more a matter of the feeling of touching this machine for real, the smell, the wood, the knobs..something a vst never can beat not even with a good midikeyboard!
Awesome sound and a truly great demonstration! Best synth ever in my opinon! Check this out for more of this beast: A drum-techno performance with the Monopoly as foundation. Tentakel@Arts Birthday
Very much like this video. A little information on warming up times, as they do vary from model to model: I bought my Mono/Poly off modeless factory and he recapped the whole thing, tweaked and tuned it and even replaced a few VCO components. Beforehand he said it warmed up in 10 minutes (not bad i guess) but now i swear it tunes up in 2-3 minutes! It's like having it fresh from the factory in '82!
I sold mine to get enough money together for my CS80. A fair trade one would say. Still it is the former synth I miss most. I put whole albums together with it as the dominating synth even after I had added a DX7 and a sampler.
You make me feel better - I 'accidentally' bought a monopoly yesterday having not played one for around 35 years, but always remembering I wanted one. I'm hoping for great things, and I still have the CS60 that I had back then when all I wanted was more polyphony. Here's to more oscillators per note in mono! Thanks for calming my nerves over an impulse buy!
@@DoctorJezz You should call it a lucky buy. As soon as you get your head around it's paraphonic limitations (preferably by using it in a multitrack environment) it will start to sing to you. Not that a CS60 is anything to sniff at, mind you, but it can indeed only offer you 1 oscillator per voice.
Cheers Marc, I'm feeling pretty good about it now - helped by your recommendation. I've got quite a lot of polys, but only one mono, so I'm interested in that side of it. Just waiting to get it home now! All the best :)
on a totally different note, a friend of mine halfway accross the country once shipped me a mono/poly that never arrived. that was back in 1999. so somewhere out there there is probably a box in a warehouse with my Korg Mono/Poly in it :(
Because of this comments like this: "one of the most powerful analog synthesizers that is not modular." Try: Xpander/Matrix-12, Omega 8, Memorymoog, Prophet 5/10 w/ MIDI, Poly Evolver, SunSyn, Andromeda, OB-Mx, Jupiter 8/Super, Buchla 200e etc. The Matrix-12 has *sixty* LFOs alone! I dig the synth all the same, but this clip and your response is sprinkled with ridiculous statements. "It is that analog."
Totally agree. There's almost a sort of "romance" with the MonoPoly in this video. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, I have the same love for the PPG Wave 2.3 that I'm emotionally attached to. But yeah, I think we need to come down to earth a bit on calling this one of the most powerful analog synths that is not modular -- the modulation routing is just basic and when you stack all 4 oscillators up, it's surprisingly thinner sounding than you would think. Before I got mine brand new back in the day, I used to lust over the specs in the brochure and was very disappointed, thinking I was going to get something that sounded more powerful than a Minimoog -- afterall, 4 oscillators beats 3, right? Hah, this synth is not even close in either character or functionality to the Minimoog.
When I was 15 I saw one in a pawnshop in Indiana for 100 bucks. Didnt have a job didnt have money:( Then an older friend went in the shop fiddled with the pitch bend mod told him it was broken and they sold it to him for 30 bucks.. Imagine the frustration when I saw it on his living room floor!!! Since then Ive always wanted one...
Great demo- great synth. How much do you think a true analog 4 oscillator synth would go for new these days ? I picked up 2 of these thru my local music store for $35 total in 1991. When wavetable synths hit the scene in the early 90's, everyone who had bought one of these traded them in for next to nothing. My local store took in so many of them the boss just wanted to "get rid of them."
i think the ms 2000 is a great bit of hardware for anyone wishing to learn the basics of synthesis and develop that intuition that one finds after working with synthesizers for a year or so, but ultimately i think the engine is lacking in a couple of respects, those being the quality of the oscillators (which can sound a touch thin compared to a true analog osc) and the filter (which very much has that plastic software filter sound).
Do you have any tips for triggering Arpeggios out of the Mono Poly with a drum machine? I'm using an AKAI XR-20 an about to start using an 808. Thanks, Your videos are extremely helpful and informative.
@AutomaticGainsay now im really jealous-! My only analog claim to fame is i once owned a mellotron until it got ruined in a flood in 1991- ive owned alot of old gear but not a minimoog or arp2600- alas i still have an arp axxe- a prodigy- a satellite- a micro korg 700(pretty much my most used synth if you can beleive) by the way your videos are great!
Seriously thinking about getting one, is there anything major to watch out for when browsing for a monopoly? Great demo by the way, only makes me want one more :)
@KevinDolin Really? I never knew that Kevin. Well, I suppose we should all thank you for sharing such personal experiences with the rest of us, however inappropriate they may be.
@ancientoceans owned a mono/poly since the late 80"s, ....bought it for just £175! what a jem of a synth! the only downside (especialy for gigging!) is the weight! it sure does weigh in, but i think its worth it! as we know, any quality instrument normaly weighs in!
Yes I do, I was actually thinking of between 4 and 4:30 when you're changing some of the waveforms and it oddly still sounds the same. don't get me wrong I understand what you're doing but for a good portion of the video I feel like "theres the stacked detuned osc sound" and "theres the stacked detuned osc sound" and "theres the stacked detuned osc sound again" I know I'm a jerk... not intending to be.
I mistakenly thought you were suggesting that there was some sort of phase cancellation that happened as a result of multiple oscillators occurring. If you're just talking about phasing, then I don't understand what you're saying. The more oscillators you add, the louder the sound will be. I don't know how that can be argued with, phasing or no. All analog synths have oscillators that phase. Whether it is good or bad is certainly subjective. But not wrong.
The pulse width is also not "actually a square wave" because you're controlling the pulse width at all times. The wave is only square when the pulse width is exactly at the right width.
This is the Korg MonoPoly, one of the most thin sounding analog synths with 4 oscillators. :) . And technically this synth is at most, quad-phonic. It's a marketing thing to call it polyphonic as polyphonic really implies each voice path has it's own independent set of filters, EGs, etc. I've always thought this synth was thin sounding even with all 4 oscillators open compared a Minimoog with it's 3 oscillators open. The harmonic content of each of the MonoPoly's oscillators is not as rich when compared to the Minimoog and an Arp Odyssey. But the REALLY nice thing about the "Poly" mode is when you have all 4 oscillators open and are doing oscillator sync sounds with two note paraphony -- that really sounds great.
I'm afraid I must disagree with you on nearly all counts, Steve. I don't think this synth sounds "thin" at all, in fact, the one in this very video had a very full, broad, warm sound. I don't know if there is a difference between versions, or what, but I would've gladly held this thing up against any of my Moogs or ARPs as far as its sound. As for what "polyphonic" means, I would encourage you to watch the 16-part series I just released regarding the history of synthesizer polyphony and terminology. In short, anything that plays more than two notes is "polyphonic," as the term only addresses how many notes a synthesizer plays, and does not address the articulation of those notes, as that is a different matter. Polyphony ISN'T a "voice" count, it's a "note" count. As for "harmonic content," anything making a sawtooth with its oscillator has essentially the same harmonic content. It's often the filter that challenges harmonic content... like in the ARP 2600s Orange and Black version, which had severe limitations in its high end. But either way, the filter on the MonoPoly is no more or less limiting than the filters on either of those synths.
I respectfully disagree -- on all counts. I've been a student of synthesizers for over 40 years. The Korg MonoPoly is NOT truly polyphonic. Yes is very true that it can play more than one note at a time via it's microprocessor assigning one or more oscillators to given note/key but that is not true polyphony as we define it in electronic music. Musicians may define polyphony another way but we are in the context of an electronic musical instrument. The best way to technically define what the Korg MP is, is to call it, at most, quadphonic. If we go by your definition of polyphony, then my Moog Sub 37 is polyphonic. It is not. The Moog Sub 37 is at most, paraphonic -- meaning that it can sound two different notes at once. but it is not polyphonic because, though there are two oscillators in the audio path, those two oscillators use only one filter and one envelop generator and those components are not separate or independent voices. I REALLY disagree with you on harmonic content of an oscillator. If what you said were true, there would be no difference in the sound of Minimoog versus and ARP Odyssey, versus any other synth. in subtractive synthesis when the the low-pass filter's cutoff frequency is wide open, the filter is not filtering anything -- it's wide open and the oscillator is outputting it's full harmonic content. As an owner of the Monopoly since it came out, opening up the filter and opening up one of the MP's oscillators to my ear sounds very thin in harmonic content compared to say, a Minimoog.
I may be willing to concede the argument that the filter of the Korg M/P could be subtracting some harmonics of the oscillators even with it's cutoff freq knob fully open. The fact is, unless we can put an oscilloscope lead on the output of an oscillator circuit before the filter, we'll never really know the oscillator's true harmonic content before the filter stage.
Steve, if you want to talk about credentials, I might ask you to Google my name. But we don't need to. You probably don't have two hours, but I'd really encourage you to watch my documentary on polyphony. It addresses literally everything you're saying, and demonstrates the literal history of the terms, where they came from, why they were coined, and what instruments inspired the terminology. And, I'm not just some musician... I'm a professional synthesizer historian that was the archive and education specialist for the Bob Moog Foundation, and am currently the historian at Buchla. I've spoken at every major synthesizer convention, and have interviewed many of the iconic synthesizer designers in addition to having access to archives and documents most don't. In short: the term "polyphony" was coined at a time where there was no way to generate individual voices, and the term is not tied to voices. Also, if you'd like to know why the Sub 37 was called "paraphonic," do a search on my Facebook page where I talk to the designer, Amos Gaynes, about it. Secondly, your Sub 37 is "duophonic," and there is no reason to apply the term "paraphonic" to it. Of course, synthesizer oscillators have different harmonic content... there is a video where I show the waveshapes of various vintage synthesizers in my course The Foundation of Synthesis that is currently available on macProVideo.com. For an oscillator to "sound thin" on its own, it would need to actually lack the fundamental and some of the harmonics that make up its waveshape. If you put the waveshape through an oscilloscope, it wouldn't be the waveshape its labeled, because removing harmonic content from a waveshape, especially from the low end, changes the waveshape into something different. Typically, a "thin" sounding synthesizer sounds "thin" to some due to the filter.
No, I'm not particularly interested in talking about credentials. I have a lifetime of experience with many synthesizers - Subtractive, FM, Additive, Wavetable, etc. I'm sorry man but people in the industry would consider your definition of polyphony misconstrued with what music theory defines as polyphony. I didn't make the rules, I just know them. Ask any keyboard tech on the road if they think the Korg MonoPoly is truly polyphonic and they'll say no. That has nothing to do with your credentials or how many videos you've produced on the subject.
All square waves are pulse waves. A pulse wave can be a square wave if its duty cycle is 50%. That's what I meant. The point is that the "square wave" is simply a type of pulse wave... but that isn't what the average synth player thinks.
Marc or anyone, care to compare/contrast Mono/Poly to the Prophet-5? Seems similar, not necessarily in the precise sound, but in the structure and routing, for example the 'polymod' section. Obviously, the polyphony is handled somewhat differently. Thanks for the fun and edifying vids! I've watched all of 'em here and at sonicstate.
There's no comparison of a Prophet-5 to a Korg MonoPoly. The Prophet-5 is a true polyphonic synth and it's unison mode is far thicker. They are both a different class of synthesizer and it would be unfair unless you compare unison modes. The MonoPoly is basically a mono synth that has a microprocessor trick up it's sleeve which divides it's voices among 4 notes in poly mode. But its not a true poly synth like the Korg PolySix, Prophet-5, Oberhiem Four Voice, Oberhiem OB-Xa, etc.
You are aware, aren't you, that many synths have what is labeled a "pulse wave" in addition to what is labeled a "square wave." Any pulse wave that has a different duty cycle than 50% is often called a "pulse wave," which has a different sound, as you know, than a square wave. The markings on the MonoPoly don't say "square wave," they only indicate that it is a pulse able to be adjusted or modulated. I was merely, and perhaps not clearly, indicating that it wasn't JUST the "pulse wave sound."
and your statement wouldn't have been ridiculous if you time-qualified it; the "most" quote is verbatim right from the beginning. Digital interfacing and regulation is not a bad thing at all and does not break up the linear circuit signal path that is referred to as "true analog." The Buchla i threw in because it has comprehensive patch storage, totally unheard of in an modular system, just to raise that initial modular bar even higher.
Thanks for the info...I bought one for $25 and I thought that it didnt work...but after it warms up it plays...I want to Ebay it...needs a bit of cleaning...but from what they seem to be bringing near $1000 US.
Uh, yeah. Thanks. Listen... on an analog synth, it's pretty challenging to tune 4 oscillators to exactly the same pitch for long enough and with enough precision to generate what you're talking about. As such, adding four not-quite-in-phase oscillators ends up, at the very least, generating a LOUD sound, which is the point I was making. It IS a stupid thing to do, though... so I agree with you on that. Thanks for informing me about "uber-basic" stuff.
I'm on the verge of buying a Mono/Poly BUT a few things are putting me off. The whole battery leaking thing......is this likely to happen? Is it ok to buy one which has had the battery replace with a Lithium battery? Also, is it ok to buy a reconditioned one?
@AutomaticGainsay Of course, you know, whatever production company Korg hired to do the English cassette demo might very well have gotten it wrong. It's not like there's never been a misunderstanding between one language and another ;)
I would dearly love one of these, but lack of finance means I will have to compromise[r] and attempt to simulate the myriad great synths with my P08 (which is very good). I envy you Marc!
I had the choice between buying this synth for 900 $ or a Roland JX-8P w/ PG-800 for 500 $. I choose the JX-8P and tho' it is a very great synth in my opinion I still regret cuz I should have bought both !
ah sorry my comment was meant as a reply to "That skull in the background just bothers me for some reason.". but for some reason my replies never get below the right comments... nice demo btw :)
Help, please. I dusted my korg purchased when I was young. I have a doubt about the effects section. When the orange key is off should not they act VCO1 effects? I've noticed that in no way act on VCO1 effects. Is this a fault of my keyboard? Thanks...
I know; you don't need to tell me any of that. I'm not the one who made a faulty statement. You clearly pointed to the wave-form option on an oscillator which was called the pulse-wave, and said it's "actually" a square wave. This is just a misguided, misleading and amateuristic thing to say, and I pointed it out. You're only reacting by feeding the exact information that I was pointing out back to me, as if I'm the one who stated it unclearly.
You think it sounds nasal? Despite the 24 dB per octave filter and pleasantly variant oscillators? Weird. I'm glad no one wants them, though. That's why these are so easy to get a hold of.
Wow, I picked one of these up at a garage sale for $50 recently. This old couple was cleaning out their basement and I guess this had belonged to their son. They didn't know what they had, and neither did I until now. Two dead keys and some dirty pots...I hope it's not too expensive to fix. Then again, can I complain? BTW, I'm not a keyboard guy, I just like garage sales.
I think you're doing the best demos for vintage synths on youtube - much appreciated! I just got my mono/poly back from service today - hadn't played it for a couple of years and had forgotten what an awesome machine it is. I love it.
Marc Doty is a great person. His knowledge and the way that he show thing are great!
Marc, your voice is also like a great cup of coffee! I'm not an english speaking person (i speak french), but your explanation and demonstration are very dynamics, so I understand very well what you say.
Merci beaucoup Marc pour tes excellentes démonstrations!
Cheers,
Franco La Muerte
Québec-Canada
Love this synth, been looking for one for a ages to add to my gear... the search goes on! Good vid!
Fantastic instrument, really interesting clip - this is better than TV! Brilliant!!
I followed your instruction on my monopoly VST and I finally realized that there is a HUGE difference!
I love this synth. I made alot of basement tapes with this thing back in the day. In fact, my dad still has it. I might make him an offer.
Nice video, just picked one of these up, look forward to noodling with it.
Cheers!
I totally second that. Marc, your videos are excellent and informative.
Cool demonstration. I recorded quite a few songs using this thing in the mid to late 80's. Those fat anolog sounds can't be beat. It was my Dad's keyboard. Unfortunately, he passed away two months ago. I have the keyboard now and it's still going strong.
Marc...My brother just bought a Mono/poly and can't wait to play It and please PART 3 of the Korg MS-20 series! GREAT STUFF!!!
Great video Marc, as usual :-)
I've always wanted one of these!
Highly informative. KORG bless your soul.
this is a really quality demonstration
Wow! Love your enthusiasm, and the synth is really killer...thx!
This looks like the coolest synth from korg. Man!
Marc dude, this video got featured in mag4musicians youtube page.
Its a german "internet magazine" with video reviews of gear, mainly synths.
Theyve added scrolling text for us english speaken gentlemen thankfully.
You're getting some recognition for these great demos already. ;)
Hello and thanks for this upload! It is always a pleasure to se such a beauty!
I have the vst-version of this one and I have played the real one back in the 80`s.
The vst-version is really good! The sound quality depends on your soundcard and speakers etc. The vst-version has much more possibilities. It is more a matter of the feeling of touching this machine for real, the smell, the wood, the knobs..something a vst never can beat not even with a good midikeyboard!
Hey - you give a great demonstration!
Awesome sound and a truly great demonstration! Best synth ever in my opinon! Check this out for more of this beast: A drum-techno performance with the Monopoly as foundation. Tentakel@Arts Birthday
wow.. what a great sounding synth... im gonna have to add this to my wish list... :)
Very much like this video. A little information on warming up times, as they do vary from model to model: I bought my Mono/Poly off modeless factory and he recapped the whole thing, tweaked and tuned it and even replaced a few VCO components. Beforehand he said it warmed up in 10 minutes (not bad i guess) but now i swear it tunes up in 2-3 minutes! It's like having it fresh from the factory in '82!
@AutomaticGainsay Oh thank you ! My brother has bought a Korg Monopoly few months ago and its so amazing .
Take care !
really really cool synth, this is the first one I ever bought!
Top video. Im pressive and to learn from. Good presentation as well.
I sold mine to get enough money together for my CS80. A fair trade one would say. Still it is the former synth I miss most. I put whole albums together with it as the dominating synth even after I had added a DX7 and a sampler.
You make me feel better - I 'accidentally' bought a monopoly yesterday having not played one for around 35 years, but always remembering I wanted one. I'm hoping for great things, and I still have the CS60 that I had back then when all I wanted was more polyphony. Here's to more oscillators per note in mono! Thanks for calming my nerves over an impulse buy!
@@DoctorJezz You should call it a lucky buy. As soon as you get your head around it's paraphonic limitations (preferably by using it in a multitrack environment) it will start to sing to you. Not that a CS60 is anything to sniff at, mind you, but it can indeed only offer you 1 oscillator per voice.
Cheers Marc, I'm feeling pretty good about it now - helped by your recommendation. I've got quite a lot of polys, but only one mono, so I'm interested in that side of it. Just waiting to get it home now! All the best :)
this thing is sooooooo fun to play with
one of the best sounding synths i ever played on
Thanks for the wonderful video and its sequel! I'm hoping to buy one too, analog's always analog. :)
Awesome,thanks!
I miss mine-bought 1984,stolen 1999..
Thanks again for the job body!
Nice demo!
yeah, plus like you said in the video, there is a lot of functionality for each oscillator
love the mono poly!
i second that. statements such as these speak nothing of true synth lovers. Maybe just a kid who typed that. Gotta be. your vids are amazing.
wow... i wish more psy trance producer's could afford such a synth, i would love to hear some of those sounds..fullon
DO WANT!!! We need more synth action in rock these days.
Heh, you talk about the synth like it just came out. Pretty funny :D. Nice vid.
i'm literally crapping my pants. what a gorgeous sound.
on a totally different note, a friend of mine halfway accross the country once shipped me a mono/poly that never arrived. that was back in 1999. so somewhere out there there is probably a box in a warehouse with my Korg Mono/Poly in it :(
Modular means that the patches are reached via patch cables, non-modular means that cords aren't needed
@AutomaticGainsay I concur; some of my favorite synths have only one oscillator!
I used to play with the Korg MP near 1985 when I was in a rock band ^^
Awesome.
I have the Vsti version.
Hours of fun!
Now THAT'S a synth!
Brilliant synth...
Its the feautured vid on their youtube page.
15/08 is marked on it.
Because of this comments like this: "one of the most powerful analog synthesizers that is not modular." Try: Xpander/Matrix-12, Omega 8, Memorymoog, Prophet 5/10 w/ MIDI, Poly Evolver, SunSyn, Andromeda, OB-Mx, Jupiter 8/Super, Buchla 200e etc. The Matrix-12 has *sixty* LFOs alone! I dig the synth all the same, but this clip and your response is sprinkled with ridiculous statements. "It is that analog."
Totally agree. There's almost a sort of "romance" with the MonoPoly in this video. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, I have the same love for the PPG Wave 2.3 that I'm emotionally attached to. But yeah, I think we need to come down to earth a bit on calling this one of the most powerful analog synths that is not modular -- the modulation routing is just basic and when you stack all 4 oscillators up, it's surprisingly thinner sounding than you would think. Before I got mine brand new back in the day, I used to lust over the specs in the brochure and was very disappointed, thinking I was going to get something that sounded more powerful than a Minimoog -- afterall, 4 oscillators beats 3, right? Hah, this synth is not even close in either character or functionality to the Minimoog.
@samaanartist The battery leak thing is a problem with the Korg Polysix, not the MonoPoly!
wonderful
When I was 15 I saw one in a pawnshop in Indiana for 100 bucks. Didnt have a job didnt have money:( Then an older friend went in the shop fiddled with the pitch bend mod told him it was broken and they sold it to him for 30 bucks.. Imagine the frustration when I saw it on his living room floor!!! Since then Ive always wanted one...
見てるだけで欲しくなります！
big sound, man, great
Great demo- great synth. How much do you think a true analog 4 oscillator synth would go for new these days ?
I picked up 2 of these thru my local music store for $35 total in 1991. When wavetable synths hit the scene in the early 90's, everyone who had bought one of these traded them in for next to nothing. My local store took in so many of them the boss just wanted to "get rid of them."
i have one again now ,..its great fatt en expressive
For anyone that cares..............
There's a Mono/Poly on sale for $1,349.00 (+ $150.00 shipping) on Ebay until about the 26th of January 2013.
Good review, but it's hard to watch - that skull is just too spooky!
i think the ms 2000 is a great bit of hardware for anyone wishing to learn the basics of synthesis and develop that intuition that one finds after working with synthesizers for a year or so, but ultimately i think the engine is lacking in a couple of respects, those being the quality of the oscillators (which can sound a touch thin compared to a true analog osc) and the filter (which very much has that plastic software filter sound).
@skizofrenik Thanks! It's an Automatic Gainsay song called "What You Bought," and you can see the video here on this channel, if you look for it!
anyone else notice that between 2 and 3 minutes it seems like nothing it does changes the sound?
Do you have any tips for triggering Arpeggios out of the Mono Poly with a drum machine? I'm using an AKAI XR-20 an about to start using an 808.
Thanks, Your videos are extremely helpful and informative.
@AutomaticGainsay now im really jealous-! My only analog claim to fame is i once owned a mellotron until it got ruined in a flood in 1991- ive owned alot of old gear but not a minimoog or arp2600- alas i still have an arp axxe- a prodigy- a satellite- a micro korg 700(pretty much my most used synth if you can beleive) by the way your videos are great!
Seriously thinking about getting one, is there anything major to watch out for when browsing for a monopoly?
Great demo by the way, only makes me want one more :)
@efitzpat2011 do you know about subtractive synthesis? cause it could be working if the envelopes are lfos are set to do that.
@KevinDolin Really? I never knew that Kevin. Well, I suppose we should all thank you for sharing such personal experiences with the rest of us, however inappropriate they may be.
@Brainbox97 but do you have the special korg edition? its a few hundred dollars more, and is easily affected by temperature
@ancientoceans owned a mono/poly since the late 80"s, ....bought it for just £175! what a jem of a synth! the only downside (especialy for gigging!) is the weight! it sure does weigh in, but i think its worth it! as we know, any quality instrument normaly weighs in!
Mind you, it refers to the device's uni and poly modes.
Yes I do, I was actually thinking of between 4 and 4:30 when you're changing some of the waveforms and it oddly still sounds the same. don't get me wrong I understand what you're doing but for a good portion of the video I feel like "theres the stacked detuned osc sound" and "theres the stacked detuned osc sound" and "theres the stacked detuned osc sound again" I know I'm a jerk... not intending to be.
hey what s hthe music we hear at the beginning ? it rocks !
I mistakenly thought you were suggesting that there was some sort of phase cancellation that happened as a result of multiple oscillators occurring. If you're just talking about phasing, then I don't understand what you're saying. The more oscillators you add, the louder the sound will be. I don't know how that can be argued with, phasing or no. All analog synths have oscillators that phase. Whether it is good or bad is certainly subjective. But not wrong.
@AutomaticGainsay Hrumph! I think the sound of the Juno 106 is well worth the maintenance costs.
@str3123 i sold my digital synths (microkorg and alesis micron) and started collecting analog stuff now, it's really worth it!
The pulse width is also not "actually a square wave" because you're controlling the pulse width at all times. The wave is only square when the pulse width is exactly at the right width.
it actually REALLY IS a square wave with a 50/50 duty cycle
Johnny Natrium pack your shit Johnny , you’re a fucking loser . You’re fired.
get used to hearing that
This is the Korg MonoPoly, one of the most thin sounding analog synths with 4 oscillators. :) . And technically this synth is at most, quad-phonic. It's a marketing thing to call it polyphonic as polyphonic really implies each voice path has it's own independent set of filters, EGs, etc. I've always thought this synth was thin sounding even with all 4 oscillators open compared a Minimoog with it's 3 oscillators open. The harmonic content of each of the MonoPoly's oscillators is not as rich when compared to the Minimoog and an Arp Odyssey. But the REALLY nice thing about the "Poly" mode is when you have all 4 oscillators open and are doing oscillator sync sounds with two note paraphony -- that really sounds great.
I'm afraid I must disagree with you on nearly all counts, Steve.
I don't think this synth sounds "thin" at all, in fact, the one in this very video had a very full, broad, warm sound. I don't know if there is a difference between versions, or what, but I would've gladly held this thing up against any of my Moogs or ARPs as far as its sound.
As for what "polyphonic" means, I would encourage you to watch the 16-part series I just released regarding the history of synthesizer polyphony and terminology. In short, anything that plays more than two notes is "polyphonic," as the term only addresses how many notes a synthesizer plays, and does not address the articulation of those notes, as that is a different matter. Polyphony ISN'T a "voice" count, it's a "note" count.
As for "harmonic content," anything making a sawtooth with its oscillator has essentially the same harmonic content. It's often the filter that challenges harmonic content... like in the ARP 2600s Orange and Black version, which had severe limitations in its high end. But either way, the filter on the MonoPoly is no more or less limiting than the filters on either of those synths.
I respectfully disagree -- on all counts. I've been a student of synthesizers for over 40 years. The Korg MonoPoly is NOT truly polyphonic. Yes is very true that it can play more than one note at a time via it's microprocessor assigning one or more oscillators to given note/key but that is not true polyphony as we define it in electronic music. Musicians may define polyphony another way but we are in the context of an electronic musical instrument. The best way to technically define what the Korg MP is, is to call it, at most, quadphonic.
If we go by your definition of polyphony, then my Moog Sub 37 is polyphonic. It is not. The Moog Sub 37 is at most, paraphonic -- meaning that it can sound two different notes at once. but it is not polyphonic because, though there are two oscillators in the audio path, those two oscillators use only one filter and one envelop generator and those components are not separate or independent voices.
I REALLY disagree with you on harmonic content of an oscillator. If what you said were true, there would be no difference in the sound of Minimoog versus and ARP Odyssey, versus any other synth. in subtractive synthesis when the the low-pass filter's cutoff frequency is wide open, the filter is not filtering anything -- it's wide open and the oscillator is outputting it's full harmonic content. As an owner of the Monopoly since it came out, opening up the filter and opening up one of the MP's oscillators to my ear sounds very thin in harmonic content compared to say, a Minimoog.
I may be willing to concede the argument that the filter of the Korg M/P could be subtracting some harmonics of the oscillators even with it's cutoff freq knob fully open. The fact is, unless we can put an oscilloscope lead on the output of an oscillator circuit before the filter, we'll never really know the oscillator's true harmonic content before the filter stage.
Steve, if you want to talk about credentials, I might ask you to Google my name. But we don't need to.
You probably don't have two hours, but I'd really encourage you to watch my documentary on polyphony. It addresses literally everything you're saying, and demonstrates the literal history of the terms, where they came from, why they were coined, and what instruments inspired the terminology. And, I'm not just some musician... I'm a professional synthesizer historian that was the archive and education specialist for the Bob Moog Foundation, and am currently the historian at Buchla. I've spoken at every major synthesizer convention, and have interviewed many of the iconic synthesizer designers in addition to having access to archives and documents most don't.
In short: the term "polyphony" was coined at a time where there was no way to generate individual voices, and the term is not tied to voices. Also, if you'd like to know why the Sub 37 was called "paraphonic," do a search on my Facebook page where I talk to the designer, Amos Gaynes, about it. Secondly, your Sub 37 is "duophonic," and there is no reason to apply the term "paraphonic" to it.
Of course, synthesizer oscillators have different harmonic content... there is a video where I show the waveshapes of various vintage synthesizers in my course The Foundation of Synthesis that is currently available on macProVideo.com. For an oscillator to "sound thin" on its own, it would need to actually lack the fundamental and some of the harmonics that make up its waveshape. If you put the waveshape through an oscilloscope, it wouldn't be the waveshape its labeled, because removing harmonic content from a waveshape, especially from the low end, changes the waveshape into something different. Typically, a "thin" sounding synthesizer sounds "thin" to some due to the filter.
No, I'm not particularly interested in talking about credentials. I have a lifetime of experience with many synthesizers - Subtractive, FM, Additive, Wavetable, etc.
I'm sorry man but people in the industry would consider your definition of polyphony misconstrued with what music theory defines as polyphony. I didn't make the rules, I just know them. Ask any keyboard tech on the road if they think the Korg MonoPoly is truly polyphonic and they'll say no. That has nothing to do with your credentials or how many videos you've produced on the subject.
All square waves are pulse waves. A pulse wave can be a square wave if its duty cycle is 50%. That's what I meant.
The point is that the "square wave" is simply a type of pulse wave... but that isn't what the average synth player thinks.
Sounds like a lot of us need counselling for selling old classics like this for peanuts! ;)
Marc or anyone, care to compare/contrast Mono/Poly to the Prophet-5? Seems similar, not necessarily in the precise sound, but in the structure and routing, for example the 'polymod' section. Obviously, the polyphony is handled somewhat differently.
Thanks for the fun and edifying vids! I've watched all of 'em here and at sonicstate.
There's no comparison of a Prophet-5 to a Korg MonoPoly. The Prophet-5 is a true polyphonic synth and it's unison mode is far thicker. They are both a different class of synthesizer and it would be unfair unless you compare unison modes. The MonoPoly is basically a mono synth that has a microprocessor trick up it's sleeve which divides it's voices among 4 notes in poly mode. But its not a true poly synth like the Korg PolySix, Prophet-5, Oberhiem Four Voice, Oberhiem OB-Xa, etc.
You are aware, aren't you, that many synths have what is labeled a "pulse wave" in addition to what is labeled a "square wave." Any pulse wave that has a different duty cycle than 50% is often called a "pulse wave," which has a different sound, as you know, than a square wave. The markings on the MonoPoly don't say "square wave," they only indicate that it is a pulse able to be adjusted or modulated. I was merely, and perhaps not clearly, indicating that it wasn't JUST the "pulse wave sound."
and your statement wouldn't have been ridiculous if you time-qualified it; the "most" quote is verbatim right from the beginning. Digital interfacing and regulation is not a bad thing at all and does not break up the linear circuit signal path that is referred to as "true analog." The Buchla i threw in because it has comprehensive patch storage, totally unheard of in an modular system, just to raise that initial modular bar even higher.
Thanks for the info...I bought one for $25 and I thought that it didnt work...but after it warms up it plays...I want to Ebay it...needs a bit of cleaning...but from what they seem to be bringing near $1000 US.
Uh, yeah. Thanks. Listen... on an analog synth, it's pretty challenging to tune 4 oscillators to exactly the same pitch for long enough and with enough precision to generate what you're talking about. As such, adding four not-quite-in-phase oscillators ends up, at the very least, generating a LOUD sound, which is the point I was making. It IS a stupid thing to do, though... so I agree with you on that. Thanks for informing me about "uber-basic" stuff.
I'm on the verge of buying a Mono/Poly BUT a few things are putting me off. The whole battery leaking thing......is this likely to happen? Is it ok to buy one which has had the battery replace with a Lithium battery? Also, is it ok to buy a reconditioned one?
@AutomaticGainsay Of course, you know, whatever production company Korg hired to do the English cassette demo might very well have gotten it wrong. It's not like there's never been a misunderstanding between one language and another ;)
I would dearly love one of these, but lack of finance means I will have to compromise[r] and attempt to simulate the myriad great synths with my P08 (which is very good).
I envy you Marc!
I had the choice between buying this synth for 900 $ or a Roland JX-8P w/ PG-800 for 500 $. I choose the JX-8P and tho' it is a very great synth in my opinion I still regret cuz I should have bought both !
should i get a studio electronics SE1 or a Monopoly?
Ok, but where are the fake money and the hotels? I don't like this new monopoly....
Robyn - With every Heartbeat / Dancing on my own.
how long you have to wait until the oscillators warm up
thnx 4 dis
Any chance you could demo creating some Tycho sounds? I know he religiously uses the mono poly. Any chance you could demo some analog pads?
OMG! how much would a cheap verson of one of these run?
Ton humour est particulier en tout cas.
ah sorry my comment was meant as a reply to "That skull in the background just bothers me for some reason.".
but for some reason my replies never get below the right comments...
nice demo btw :)
Help, please. I dusted my korg purchased when I was young. I have a doubt about the effects section. When the orange key is off should not they act VCO1 effects? I've noticed that in no way act on VCO1 effects. Is this a fault of my keyboard? Thanks...
Is the name pronounced Mono Poly, or monopoly, or is it interchangeable?
I know; you don't need to tell me any of that. I'm not the one who made a faulty statement. You clearly pointed to the wave-form option on an oscillator which was called the pulse-wave, and said it's "actually" a square wave. This is just a misguided, misleading and amateuristic thing to say, and I pointed it out. You're only reacting by feeding the exact information that I was pointing out back to me, as if I'm the one who stated it unclearly.
You think it sounds nasal? Despite the 24 dB per octave filter and pleasantly variant oscillators? Weird. I'm glad no one wants them, though. That's why these are so easy to get a hold of.
is it wired that i red it as mono-poly?
Wow, I picked one of these up at a garage sale for $50 recently. This old couple was cleaning out their basement and I guess this had belonged to their son. They didn't know what they had, and neither did I until now. Two dead keys and some dirty pots...I hope it's not too expensive to fix. Then again, can I complain? BTW, I'm not a keyboard guy, I just like garage sales.
I'M the n00b, Miss Thinskin. Reading Am Fundamental.