Korg Monologue - Let's Build... A Bass Patch!

[@24hardkor]

I’ve just had a class at uni with your brother giving us a talk on mastering. He gave you a shoutout, wanted to mention how you’ve taught me a bunch on the monologue and the Digitone!

[@OscillatorSink]

We're out here spreading the good audio word! I'm glad that I could help out!

[@rars0n]

Okay, so I've been playing around with this thing all night. (Mind you, I bought this back in May of 2017 but I just never really used it all that much and it's been sitting and now I'm trying to atone for that.) What strikes me, and I know this is the same for a lot of synths, is that after a bit of practice you can start sculpting sounds very easily with this. My new favorite thing is to just start from the init patch and try to make something cool. After a while, you start remembering how to make sounds and you can easily go right back to the sound you were fiddling with for the last 15 minutes. It's great. In particular, I really like starting with the sawtooth on OSC 1, then adding in triangle OSC 2 two octaves below. That alone sounds good. Then you can add the filter as OSC 3 2 or more octaves above for a low, buzzy, bass with a high end icing on the cake. Add detune and drive as necessary, there's so many sounds you can make with that basic formula. By no means is this a typical "bass sound" but it's fun to my ears. In particular I feel, at least with my headphones (I'm using Sony MDR-7506 just for reference), that dropping the second oscillator an extra octave below the first adds an immense punch. I like the sound of both (one and two octaves below) but I can't stop going back to that two octave drop. I apologize for my rambling, I literally paused the video a few minutes in and spent another 20 playing around on my Monologue (I really love having the ability to use batteries so that I can sit on my couch and just play with it). There's a lot of great stuff in this video and I really appreciate it. Videos like this are making me kick my own ass and figure out what I love about this synth and making me regret not playing it for the last 2 years.

[@OscillatorSink]

Well I'm super glad I've helped you rediscover this killer little synth!

[@andrewstanworth529]

I could watch you Bob Rossing your way around synths all Day! I've come back to the monologue after several years, & so... Getting Reacquainted. Great lil monosynth.

[@rars0n]

Drive is one of the most interesting things to me about this synth. It definitely cuts off some of the top end but adds a lot of grit to the sound. Almost like a distortion, but without wrecking the sound, and at high levels it almost reminds me of a guitar gain. I find that as you reach a certain point, the added distortion almost fills in some of that fizz missing from the high end. Depending on the patch, anyway.

[@OscillatorSink]

Yeah, the drive is great, but I find that on some patches it just makes me go "nope!" and others it fits just right - I guess that means it has a definite character! Sometimes I start the patch with it turned most of the way up and work with it that way rather than mixing it in at the end - that can be an interesting way to work.

[@rars0n]

@@OscillatorSink I'll have to try that out, as I tend to do it the other way. That's a great point though, when I start to learn how to craft sounds I tend to get in the habit of doing the same steps over and over again, so switching it up and doing things differently can surely improve the creativity of the sound design. Thanks!

[@mofuzz]

Great explanations

[@connykomen4237]

u have a lovely voice and warm accent... good storry telling voice!

[@OscillatorSink]

Thank you! I hope you like stories about synths!

[@connykomen4237]

@@OscillatorSink i own a monologue, still a noob tho. Tell more story's and ill have to subscribe.

[@OscillatorSink]

Plenty of synth stories about building patches on the Monologue already 😉

[@Nightingale1887]

I still have minilogue OG, XD, Microkorg OG, BSII and a SH201. I miss the Mono it is a very fun synth minding its limitations. Sold it to a friend who uses it for a key bass like in The Doors. Which it nails because of E to E. Great for rock bands.

[@ChangeOfTone_Experiments]

very nice videos ! ive have the monologue since 3 month, not a musician but I'have a great fun with this synth ! keep up the good work

[@OscillatorSink]

+Lee Thium keep having fun (and if you're making music, then you're a musician!)

[@bigdap100]

Great vid. Maybe not for this application but I like using the sequencer as an envelope generator to get some cool patches.

[@OscillatorSink]

+bigdap100 yesssssss - I've haven't properly shown off this idea on the channel yet, but I will. I did a video where I showed that the LFO can be a 2nd envelope, but I will have to demonstrate how the sequencer can be LFO / envelope 3, 4, 5 and 6! It's certainly one way to overcome the "criticism" that the Monologue has a limited envelope ;)

[@bigdap100]

Oscillator Sink there is nothing like grabbing this baby off the shelf and driving to a place where you can be inspired by what you see, whether it's people or places, you can go anywhere with the Monologue and get your tweak on b/c its battery powered 😃 brilliant!

[@OscillatorSink]

+bigdap100 I really meant to record some outdoor jams this summer, but we got so little good weather that I didn't get the chance. Next year though, and this will be in the setup!

[@patkelly3966]

That may be wishful thinking my friend. You remember the British summertime don't you? Its that day somewhere in June.

[@stonycreekproductions4789]

I came back to these videos to help myself relearn my monologue. It got me thinking about using it to replicate the “burp bass” from Genuine’s “Pony”. Do you think it can be done? Or would you be interested in making a video on how to replicate some popular synth lines with the monologue?!?! That would be epic!

[@1337Ziege]

Do you think the Monologue is a good Synth for Deep/Tech-Housy styles of music? I really like it but it seems its more suited for more hardcore genres.

[@OscillatorSink]

Yeah I think it does that side of things pretty well. I'd also check out the Bass Station 2 in this sort of price point for that kind of stuff. They both have their own character, so it'll be a matter of taste which one you're drawn to the most I think.

[@kristiaanreekmans8574]

good idea ! Looking forward to more ! If you need inspiration , maybe look at the tutorials for the Studiologic Sledge by George Hall, if you don't already have . And have fun !!! :)

[@OscillatorSink]

+Kristiaan Reekmans thanks for watching! There'll be another on coming tonight and then some more over the coming weeks. If there are any particular types of sounds you'd like to see then let me know.

[@synriser6742]

Hello, is it possible to do an in depth tutorial on the microtuning. I don't understand how to put it in use or how to implement this. Sorry for my English if I am not that clear. I am dutch speaking.

[@OscillatorSink]

+Don Segers I'll have a think about how to best show it off, but if you haven't done so already you should check out the interview that Aphex Twin did with Tatsuya Takahashi (the engineer who oversaw the Monologue). It's a great interview and they talk quite a lot about the microtuning: item.warp.net/interview/aphex-twin-speaks-to-tatsuya-takahashi/

[@johnfkay8341]

If you want a crash course in trying to get your head around microtonal music, then listen to a shitload of sitar ragas or Arabic music. Then switch over to Aphex Twin to put it in a more contemporary context. Also some guitar tunes with subtle string bends will also help.

[@jameschilds6946]

Your English is better than most native speakers lol well said

[@Paradroidx]

awesome. does monologue have osc reset? thankd

[@OscillatorSink]

I believe that the VCOs are free running.

[@Paradroidx]

@@OscillatorSink crap doesn't make it ideal for consistent bass lines then.

[@eitangin]

hello! thank you very much for your great video, it helps a lot and very interesting things that you are present in all those Monologue videos. i have a question: when i play a note, and leave it, the sound playing twice- at firs, whet i press, and second time, when i depress it. where can i change this function? appreciate it

[@OscillatorSink]

+Eitan Ginzburg does it happen on an initialised patch, or is it only certain patches? Is your Monologue hooked up to anything else by MIDI or USB?

[@eitangin]

ok, so it is conect with usb to ableton live and when i reconnect it, the issue is gone.. so it good to know that, but is it means that i need to check what is going on with the Ableton?

[@OscillatorSink]

+Eitan Ginzburg that sounds like there was a stuck MIDI note most likely - which just happens sometimes... I'm not familiar with Ableton but there's probably a "midi panic" or "all notes off" button or menu item somewhere which would also fix the issue. Also worth checking you're using the official Korg drivers for MIDI over USB.

[@synriser6742]

Can you sync the LFO Bpm to the sequencer like on the minilogue?

[@OscillatorSink]

+Don Segers absolutely! 4th light along in edit mode gives you access to that feature. I believe I demonstrate it in my "Fake Echo" Monologue Tricks video.

[@synriser6742]

Thank you! These are the best Korg Monologue videos out there. Very educational. I am going to get mine, 2nd hand, on Saturday. Going to have a lot of fun.

[@OscillatorSink]

+Don Segers you definitely are! and thank you, I hope you get to make use of some of the tricks I've shown off on your Monologue!

[@synriser6742]

Got him today. It is the golden one. Already got lost in sculpting sounds. Great little synth. Got it for 250 Euro and still under warranty. This is the bargin of my life. I can recommend this synth to anyone who is looking for an affordable mono synth! Still looking at your videos to get to know all the feature because the manual is very limited. Also, I hooked it up via midi to my MS 20 mini.

[@OscillatorSink]

+Don Segers yesssssss! Enjoy it! Does the sequencer play well with the MS20?

[@barryhomeowner1032]

Be honest: are you Tim Key?

[@OscillatorSink]

No comment.

[@barryhomeowner1032]

@@OscillatorSink I knew it

[@OscillatorSink]

@@barryhomeowner1032 still no comment

[@patkelly3966]

Mo Bass pls

[@OscillatorSink]

+Pat Kelly I'll see what I can do!

[@patkelly3966]

Thanks mate love yr vids really helpful. Sadly I can't seem to install yr patches. It keeps telling me i don't have the midi utility installed when I definitely do and on occasion says it cannot locate mono's midi ports. Easy, direct contact via usb just does not happen with my set-up for some reason!?!

[@OscillatorSink]

+Pat Kelly there's an issue with Korg's midi utility where they don't like it if the Midi device is installed at too high a position by Windows (every time you plug a device in to a different USB port it gets a new number given to it by Windows). There's an "uninstall midi driver/device" that gets installed alongside the Korg stuff. Run that, but tell it to target Non-korg stuff as well - it's safe to do, the devices will just be reinstalled next time you plug them in. Then plug in your Monologue, let the drivers install and then hopefully the utility will see it. Let me know how you get on.

[@patkelly3966]

Hi OS. Unfortunately that didn't work. It keeps telling me to check my midi ports and Mono sys ex if I'm working via midi or " monologue is not connected" when via usb. Still, I guess this will encourage to make more of my own patches. I only have the original 50 factory presets on mine. Whether this is due to being an older, 2nd hand build, I'm not sure.