Monotron Delay Mods

[@GikiOfficial]

5 years ago, omg i remember have this monotron and see you video

[@tocacuerdas]

Duuude awesomeeee I want to make one myself😈😈

[@TinyDiodes]

That's wonderful! Happy to inspire.

[@sunnymuffinsmuffysunnins4744]

Love it! The distortion sounds amazing.

[@TinyDiodes]

Rock.

[@Cyndaqueer]

Love the work hun 💕

[@TinyDiodes]

Thanks so much for checking it out. Seems like another life now.

[@maxmatson1578]

I would love to know a mod that allows to bring back resonance to the ms-20 filter in it and allow for the LFO to modulate the delay time

[@hrnekbezucha]

Another thing I would go for is a momentary switch for infinite feedback.

[@TinyDiodes]

That is a great idea.

[@OCEANSINSPACE]

this is is sicck. I did some mods but could not wire it as well as you did. Nice work!

[@TinyDiodes]

Thank you very much!

[@conorshipsey5108]

Could you do a mod making it a externally controlled via like a midi keyboard or something. Love the LFO and simplicity of the synth just can be really hard to find a sound useable in a track due to lack of musicality often when using ribbon. I'm new to this whole scene but would love to learn how to do this.. thanks

[@TinyDiodes]

Thanks so much for watching. Yes, being that these are analog devices that run of of traditional Control Voltage I'm sure that is possible and I'm certain multiple folks have done it. That all being said, this was prior to any 'engineering' work I had done. (Even though it still counts technically) My engineering desires are minimal and I like to keep it experimental, and the type of 'music" I use my instrument design and mods for is not for playing 'notes' so much as they are for sonic exploration, meditation and sound-scapes. If you check my videos on the Monotribe you sill see that it is a larger version of these smaller synths and there is already a popular Midi Mod on the internet which I did install and works reasonably well. (Also, KORG made it so that you can actually plug in Control Voltage Sources directly but I have no CV equipment myself, can't afford that stuff so I make my own things.) And if you like my videos please check out the M1 synth, it is my scratch built and personally engineered analog synth. (It don't play no notes though, lol)

[@fuguestate2994]

i rly like how yr personal synths are developing into a full fledged furry microsystem! with more vactrols and LFOs the possibilities for communication between them seem totally endless. also also yr pot destruction trick to get switch action sounds brilliant. always packing my panels super tight and this trick will noo doubt helpp my lil switches and spaces max their potentials.

[@martinhansen6466]

Tjek extralife, here He makes use of it CV. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4XCkGCYfZ2EZtE

[@nebulabeyond]

YOOOOOO!!! This is sick!!!

[@TinyDiodes]

Thanks so much for watching! Hoping someday to return to this hobby, mostly paint miniatures these days.

[@hrnekbezucha]

How do you get only so few subs with all this content? Thanks for these vids

[@TinyDiodes]

Well, help me out, Sub! =)

[@AT-eh2eo]

I’ve been brainstorming how to mod it fit a 19” rack enclosure, with the ribbon being replaced by a trigger button and tuning knob…

[@TinyDiodes]

I actually set aside an extra copy of the DUO with a busted ribbon to do something similar but never got around to it. I wanted to build everything out into a larger enclosure. FYI, the ribbon is simply a potentiometer, when you apply pressure it bridges the gap at that potentiality. So all you need to do is match the pot/ribbon value with a standard pot and a momentary button. I was actually going to break down the value intervals into a group of tactile switches as well, in effect, building a mini melodic keyboard. (The duo has a mode where you can play it as a linear ribbon or like a melodic keyboard.)

[@AT-eh2eo]

@@TinyDiodes Thats great, i wouldnt have guess that the ribbon qualifies as a pot, but that means it should just be as easy as soldering a pot in its place right?

[@jahmark9336]

Dude that's fucking fantastic peace and love from Bristol, England

[@TinyDiodes]

Thank you so much for sharing your appreciation! I am having so much fun with this stuff I want to share the experience I am having with others. Once you start, you get REALLY hooked. I am building my own gear from scratch now.

[@jahmark9336]

Tiny Diodes go for it man Have you seen "Look mum no computer" s channel ? He shows how to make an oscillator etc Merry christmas! peace and love from Bristol, England

[@DECIMA1]

Can you post a how to build these mods??? Please!!!!

[@TinyDiodes]

I believe I explain it in the video. Beyond that, this was YEARS ago. You wanna send me one to make a video of modding? Maybe then I would do it again. It's kinda late for a monotron mod video though, lol.

[@DECIMA1]

@@TinyDiodes Ahh I understand. Maybe I just want to see a full schematic of the hack :P I don't currently own one but I'm thinking of getting one :)

[@azeriustv]

And i thought someone was able to let it Sound nice

[@TooSlowTube]

Okay, I figured out how the LFO speed increase switch was probably done, but on my Monotron - I don't own a Monotron Delay. The trick is to short two pins together on the LFO pot. From the schematic, I wouldn't expect it to work, because at full up on the LFO Rate knob, I'd expect them to be shorted together already. Apparently, not. The pot mustn't be able to go to full throw. With the top off, and the keyboard strip facing me, the pins to short together with the switch are the middle one, and the one on the right (on the one with the clear plastic knob). Shorting the middle one to the one on the left makes it go to the slowest speed - or maybe even a bit slower? Shorting the middle pin to the pin on the right makes it go faster than it does normally. I haven't measured it, but double seems like a reasonable guess. If the schematic is up to date, and matches mine, that's perfectly safe. The right hand pin of the pot is shown as being fed by a 220k resistor from VA (apparently about 5V - I haven't measured it). That gives plenty of protection, because there's not much current available to do any damage. Another way would be to put a resistor in parallel with that 220k resistor (R28, on the schematic for the orginal Monotron, near the box labelled LFO RATE). E.g, you could have a switch that turned on the parallel circuit, a fixed resistor for safety (e.g.another 220k one) and a pot in series with that, so you could adjust it, or just skip the switch and use a big enough pot so it's not much faster than before, at one extreme. The method you apparently used, of just shorting two pins together on the LFO Rate pot, is probably safer though.

[@TinyDiodes]

I didn't touch the LFO rate nob at all. It was the shaper pot on the back of the Monotron. (If I am recalling correctly, this was a long time ago.) I think I just made a momentary switch that shorted the two outside legs of the pot. I also replaced the original micro pot with the full size pot you see mounted to the top of the monotron.

[@TooSlowTube]

That's interesting (3:20 onwards). I guess what you did was shorten one half of the cycle of the LFO then? That would speed it up. The mod I came up with, based on what I thought you meant, for the Monotron, just sets the maximum speed higher, by letting the centre pin of the LFO Rate pot go to a higher voltage. The shape stays the same, as far as I can tell. I haven't looked at the schematics fo the Montron Delay much. I just recently bought the Stylophone Gen X-1, which is kind of a cross between the Monotron Delay, and the old Stylophone, but with more knobs than either. I was thinking of getting the Delay, before I bought that, but I'll probably hold off for a while. I have some vague plans for modding my new toy. I'm looking at doing things to the Montron and the Volca Keys first though.

[@TinyDiodes]

I'm not so much an engineer. I just have a sense for things. I can't tell you technically the why... I just had an idea and it worked. I was a computer tech for many years as well but I wasn't certified at all, I just had an affinity for fixing and modifying things.

[@TinyDiodes]

I do build things and conceptualize though, but I do it in a simplistic way with basic building blocks. I know quite a bit more now than I did when I made these first mods, that was all by feel, now I can incorporate a lot more intention.

[@TooSlowTube]

I try to get an unerstanding of a circuit If I'm going to modify it - including having a look at datasheets for components I'm not familiar with. I don't tend to try to fully understand the whole thing though - just enough to give me a basis for trying to change it, then I scribble some schematics, only ever on paper. I have to admit, I rarely get much done though. Maybe just hacking at things to see what happens isn't such a bad idea :) I watched your home made sequencer synth video. That's very impressive. I can see a lot of work went into it.

[@LoudPaul1]

What value pot is the LFO shape knob?

[@TinyDiodes]

It was a long time ago, I think its a 500K. Looking at the KORG schematic that's what I am understanding. The pot inside can be tested with a meter and may even say on it. Cheers.

[@cloudrun654]

Can you help me? Ii soldered + line to VCC pad and - line to GND pad on the circut board as a power supply mod. However, this added a whistle sound to the audio signal. Tried different V5 power supplies, different wall outlets, and even cables. Any thoughts on how to get a clean signal when adding a power supply mod?

[@TinyDiodes]

I have actually come across several power supplies (ac to dc converters) that added a horrible high pitched noise to my equipment, most of them were salvaged from Goodwill and drove me nuts. I would say first make sure you are using a quality DC converter, like OneSpot or RadioShack, from there if its still a problem, Batteries will never give you that cycle hum. Another thing you can do is wire it to larger amp battery packs for a clean DC source. That is why in my powered case video I made a power supply of a chain of D batteries, because they have the most amp hours. Hope that helps.

[@cloudrun654]

@@TinyDiodesThat helps a lot. Thank you!

[@Decoy303]

Did you add a power supply so you're not wasting AA batteries like crazy? If so would you mod one onto mine? I really only use mine as an effect pedal and a mod like that alone greatly enhances the unit. I love all you've done with yours. I don't have the knowledge, tools, or time to do what it is that you've done.

[@TinyDiodes]

What I did was add a specialized battery input that allows me to hook up to larger batteries, like a rail of Ds for a greatly extended power life. That being said, it is entirely possible to add a plug in hookup to power the unit, it wouldn't necessarily be pretty though, aesthetically. It has been quite a long time that I have done any work in this realm so I suppose it would depend on how much it was worth to you and if it was worth it to me. Please email me at jesseaaah at gmail and we can discuss it there. Thank you for the compliment.

[@a52productions]

How did you fit everything into the case? I've got a simple circuit set up for my own monotron mod, but the inside of the case is so small that I'm not sure if it'll fit, and if it does fit, it'll probably be making contact with things it probably shouldn't be. The buttons/switches are an even bigger problem -- the ones I have have a rather bulky bottom to them, and it looks like they just barely cant fit between the circuit board and the top of the case. Any advice?

[@TinyDiodes]

Oh yes! Totally, thanks for asking! One, small gauge wire, two, patience and precision, three, trimming any excess possible (IE trimming pins down on buttons), four, masking off contact points with electrical tape. (Insulating) Hope that helps! It takes practice. Prior to this I worked a job where I assembled guitar distortion pedals and installed custom mods on them, that really helped. And if you didn't already catch it, try not to detach the ribbon cable unless you HAVE to, its super delicate and breaks down fast.

[@a52productions]

@@TinyDiodes Ok, thanks! I really appreciate it. I was already too scared to detach the ribbon so that shouldn't be a problem 😄

[@Sinsin20tre]

thatz amazing! wonder how to do such a thing on my one.. your a magician! 🤘

[@CybSpaceAtmosphere]

really cool! any how to s?

[@TinyDiodes]

Not really beyond what I explain in these videos, something to think about though.

[@isaiahherrera1122]

i want to learn how to do this wtf

[@TinyDiodes]

You can!

[@exitritual]

Thank you, Shaye St. John.

[@goji9000]

Great 🤘

[@caseyhulteng4309]

Subbed because of horrible 80's carpet and black nail polish.

[@TinyDiodes]

It may even be 70's... but the rent is a steal.

[@caseyhulteng4309]

@@TinyDiodes No complaints! Are you still making music? It seems it's been a couple years since your last upload!

[@intotheblue50]

Mr. Takahashi not happy.

[@TinyDiodes]

On the contrary I think he couldn't be more happy. Specifically designing his hardware to be circuit bender, modder, engineer and student friendly. If you have ever worked on the internals of any of his analogue hardware you would see clear as day that they were fully intended to be worked on after market. He has opened the eyes of an entire generation and encouraged them to pick up a soldering iron and explore their creativity. Robert Moog would be so proud. Cheers!

[@kevinr.3542]

That is so cool. Especially considering the fact other companies are trying to make modding, repairing, even disassembling their products harder and harder. Look at some of the things Apple does with their products.It's BS. Thanks Korg for giving us something like this.