I modded my Korg Monotron so that I can play it like a normal synth (+ Arturia Keystep love)

The schematic I built in this video can be found here: www.dinsync.info/2010/06/how-t...
More info about the Monotron: www.korg.com/us/products/dj/m...
More info about the Keystep: www.arturia.com/keystep/overview
Support what I do on Patreon: / dhilowitz
Find my FILM & INSTRUMENTAL music here: davidhilowitz.bandcamp.com
Find my ROCK MUSIC here: manwomanchild.bandcamp.com

[@leonmatthias321]

With the reverb the sound is really spacious, it sounds massive and its such a small cute synth. Wow!

[@outaspaceman]

I did this mod on my Monotron.. I use a Korg SQ-1 to “control” it.. On the “linear” setting there’s a chance to nudge the tuning to get at least 6 notes in any given scale close to in tune.. It’s always thrill-ride…

[@akdm82]

That is really cool. I have a Monotron Duo on the way and I’m definitely doing this. The sound you got out of your Monotron was amazing

[@JoshIsMakingMusic]

Such a cool little mod. I've just ordered soldering stuff for a different project, but seeing this makes me want to do a CV Monotron project too!

[@Ty-ri7dy]

You are now my least favorite person in the world because you introduced me to this. I've been wanting to get into hardware synths for a while now and Frankenstein stuff like this really makes me tingle. Also, I LOVE the Arturia keystep series. Saving up for a keystep pro just for this kind of crazy stuff. Thank you.

[@parasiteunit]

Got a strong BoC vibe to that. Such inspirational boxes aren't they?

[@JeremyWentworth]

great stuff as always!

[@goldensyrupgamingshow2978]

Sounds good, I like the imperfections

[@RocketManRC-Electronics]

That was wonderful Dave and a great start to 2021! I hand built an analog synth about a hundred years ago which I still have in a box somewhere and this really inspires me to dig it out and try to get it working again. I'm pretty sure it was 1V/octave as that was definitely the standard back then but I don't remember having those pitch drift problems.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Thanks! You should definitely dig your synth out! So my sense about the pitch drift problems is that it might actually be the tiny, low quality variable resistor I used. I may rebuild the breakout board this weekend. :)

[@RocketManRC-Electronics]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic Yes I think you are probably right about that. Maybe just put use a fixed value resistor to replace it temporarily and see if the pitch still changes over time before doing too much work on it. I remember that I used some pretty exotic components in my build back then but I will have to resurrect some brain cells to comment further.

[@donaldferguson7777]

every 12 seconds lol that was funn bro. glad u had yhe patinece to show us this despite the challange in tuning. cool mod. i would watch more korg mini mods like this.

[@TeraGreene1]

Well, that was just the most gratifying video I have watched all day. Thank you. :) I just got one of these and you came up in the search. So much potential for this little synth ! EDIT: do you have recommendations on where I should turn to learn how to solder and do what you did, starting with other little projects first? You just reminded me I used to play with circuits and stuff as a kid in one of my science kits. May be time to repay that hobby a visit, because you lit my eyes and hear up! Take care.

[@TilliKommunikation]

Great work!

[@JamiesonM]

The beat created sounds nostalgically like the end title theme from a Sega Genesis game called Sub-Terrania. Sounds so good! Fun mod

[@donaldgregg9250]

Your sample song reminds me of The Mind's Eye from way back! Great sounds 👌

[@bleepfox]

I love Raum, I got it a while ago for free and it's become my go to reverb ever since

[@gaborb6577]

Amazing 🎹

[@anttikinnunen7904]

Nice, wouldn't thought you'd get enjoyble tune out of that.

[@BillDerBerg]

Precursor to MIDI was DCB. Digital Communication Bus

[@AppleOno]

Great video, the info about "tuning" the CV was new to me and very interesting. I'd also be curious about a circuit that could automatically modulate the settings of various different knobs, where you set the lo & hi values and the speed...

[@maxgomart]

Hi David. I've been wanting to create my own VST instruments for months now and thanks to your amazing videos on Kontakt instruments, I kinda made my dream real. Any chance you will explain how to create a sampler synth (like the kalimba or the PVC tube one) using JUCE ? That would be literaly awesome. Please continue your great work.

[@AlOne-xg6dv]

Happy to know that it is possible ... and that i will avoid it to save my nerves.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

probably a wise decision. ;)

[@afraidhishorses]

nice work!

[@toitoitoy]

Nice!

[@singinwhatimdoin]

Shoutout to Sie-Q! I saw you back there lil guy. Also, thanks for explaining why my volca keys can also be slightly out if tune until it warms up. Also, I noticed a hint of the philly accent coming out in those “hoping”s at the end.

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

Happy New Year. Cool... I have a Monotron Duo... that I won :) never even opened it... did not know what to do with it. Thanks David

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Oh, you should definitely mod it then. It really is lots of fun. Happy New Year to you as well!

[@reazallykhan8614]

Can I have it plz??

[@Matoro342]

Very cool!

[@alexwest909]

very nice. i'm trying to track down how to mod for external power, happened upon this on the way.

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

Genius!

[@xneoken]

I have a Monotro Duo. All I could make was beeps & blips sound. I never knew it was possible to make such an amazing sound with it. The music you made from it sound so beautiful. Do you have the music on loop on Soundcloud or KZbin?

[@jonaseggen2230]

I got this synth and it's perfect for waiting for the bus kind of situations. Prevents me from reaching for my phone and has so many great and inspiring sweet spot. Really amazing sound and more fun to play around with than the pocket operators imo. Guess I could make a eurorack module out of it but I don't want to take it apart because it's so nice as it is, so I wish Korg would make a Monotron module. On another note as you mentioned the Volka range, I find them a bit annoying as when they went this far I wish they made them slightly better and bigger for a bit more money, comparably the Monotribe was so good to play on, and or they should make more of the montrone stuff. Many of the Volkas sound great but those knobs are really bad for fine tuning and some of their menus are not well thought out and rather counterintuitive. Korg is a funny company in this way. Some of their stuff is among the best while other products are not that good at all.

[@matrix12x]

very cool

[@CatFish107]

Oooh, with it being so hackable, I wonder if one might be able to solder a few together for a bit of the old fm noisebox action?

[@Dscar1]

Just found this video and I'd really like to do this with mine. Unfortunately I am not that educated when it comes to building this schematic. Do you have a tutuorial for it? Thank you

[@erdreich7]

Thanks for the video and explanations! Am I the only one wondering why the signal isn't passed through the LFO/filter? I also recently built that circuit and had the same result, although the original video from dinsync's blog clearly has a modulated sound, so have others. What am I missing? Either way, awesome little box.

[@leewightman8619]

Iv no idea about haking synths the closest iv got to any diy synth stuff was putting together the nts1 but i want a monotron now and learn how to do this sort of stuff

[@themadduck8784]

That lead sounds unsettlingly like a preset in Image Line's Sytrus

[@gregorio_luque]

Hey! Great video! Really clear. And this is the best way to control a monotron. The schematic link is down.. Is there any other link to access to that information?

[@DarrenOHehir]

I noticed this too, I added "www." in front and it worked for me.

[@jerrybriardy]

Thanks for the video. I have one of these which has so far been nothing but a weird toy. Trying to find a use for it.

[@Ambientnauts]

It's quite interesting that it's out of tune so much. Seems like a feature in a way. Dungeon & Drone genre folks love this thing. Is the OG black one any different internally than the most recent one with the orange and green design? Your run throughs are always refreshing thanks for doing what you do.

[@alexanderbutler8843]

Hey David, if I made the same circuitry, would I be able to control the monotron from my Grandmother? There is a Euro rack output so am wondering if that would do the job

[@channelite]

Where were you able to find the original Monotron?

[@vvalentin69]

is it better than the others?

[@MrDaigoRiki]

I’ve got 3

[@86davy]

You’re like the secret teacher I found for my secret hobby

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

I was always curious if the same mod could be done with a Stylophone Gen X1? That little thing has even more features and would make a great little Monosynth with a better playable keyboard.

[@leewightman8619]

There will definitely be away you can buy things that connects midi on none midi devices like pocket operators ect so I would assume it would work on a stilaophone

[@jimlampshady]

Excellent mod, making the synth *much* more useful. Could you also send it messages to affect the LFO? If you could sequence LFO movements in your external device (does the Keystep do that? Does it have a sequencer in it?) then the Monotron starts to sound like a very capable synth. One more thing - I'm no circuit bender, but I can imagine a mod that retunes the synth automatically, say, every 10 mins. Is that possible?

[@Bruceanddenise]

Dude! I'm buying you a new solder tip for Christmas!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

haha. I have a new iron with many tips.

[@suntzu6122]

NGL this is basically perfect content for my tastes.

[@DaruthTheHuman]

why does the oscillator need to warm up and out of tune when connected to midicontroller? The monotron has a strip that doesn't seem to be out of tune

[@angelovintelservis]

Скажите, а можно ли в Вашу схему добавить - свето диоды - для индикации - по каждому на (+) ?

[@noiamspartacus8965]

Can the Monotron be adapted to plug into 240 v mains power rather than just battery power?

[@DECIMA1]

Hey, I'm wondering if this will work with Korg Monotron delay?

[@crnkmnky]

I’m guessing it will work fine.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

I believe so, yes.

[@crnkmnky]

I _assume_ the process is equally straight-forward for each model, which means it's a bit over my head. Most of the "good" CV mods I've seen look more complex than David's design. I also see that simply patching into the so-called Gate disrupts octave range on the ribbon. I can't tell whether that was a problem for David. _According to DinSync:_ "Unfortunately the gate point affects the pitch somewhat. There's a few solutions. (a single pitch cv line into the gate socket; a dtc114 transistor to trigger the gate) "By far the simplest solution is to use something like _Silent Way_ by Expert Sleepers or _Volta_ by Motu. After calibration there's no issues whatsoever and the Monotron tracks over 5 octaves nicely." www.dinsync.info/2010/06/how-to-modify-korg-monotron.html _According to mitxela:_ "The gate voltage is not a true gate - its voltage affects the pitch. This is a little inconvenient, but not too bad. So long as we *tri-state all pins when no notes are playing,* everything's dandy." mitxela.com/projects/midi_monotron

[@ozzelot3349]

I bought one just to mess with modding it. Although looking at my TD3, it seems hella moddable too. The Monotron is about the journey, not the destination.

[@DanielMaruniak]

Try playing it with ableton’s auto tuna

[@CR-sj7xd]

i have a Monotron Delay that thing is much worst to play than a original Monotron. Good for noises, but if a want its normal synth sound, i just sample it. less problems with tunning.

[@199ks9]

try using a stylus while playing the monotron so it will be abit more easier to play certain notes, it won’t be perfect but it helped for me so it might work you. I just don’t usually use the ribbon because even with the stylus, I think the effects could be more useful

[@BobForemanJudo]

Is that an er1 on the wall

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Yes, it is!!!

[@BobForemanJudo]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic I have them all from mk1 to mk3 this is my favourite!!! Great video!

[@sowth1967]

The song he made almost sounds like it came out of the terraria calamity mod.

[@Decoy303]

I need a battery pack mod. Thing eats triple a batteries.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

That it does!

[@AppleOno]

Invest in some rechargeable AAA batteries - even the ones you find in the grocery store or Target for $20 are totally worth it - not just for music gear but kids RC toys etc.!

[@vicentecno7055]

link dead

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Thanks for the heads up! Here's the new link: www.dinsync.info/2010/06/how-to-modify-korg-monotron.html

[@vicentecno7055]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic thanks! i have one and want modify

[@Uterr]

But.. you used monotron like an oscillator, not used actual build sound from it, so in the end we hearing all the software filters and effects and not a synth

[@FSK1138]

the nts 1 sort of makes this pointless

[@dodgingrain3695]

Its easier to just spend the time to sample it and tune the samples.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Most definitely

[@TonyThomas10000]

Wow...that was painful! I will stick with my VSTs...

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

"Imprecise" and "hard to play"? Bro, you're supposed to use a stylus for ribbon keyboards, not your finger.

[@rodrigoandresgl]

omg this is annoying wow

[@rodrigoandresgl]

still love you tho don't mind me