Within my realm of experience, the phattest sound to size ratio ever has been achieved by the much-hyped Korg Monotron. I received the Monotron in the mail yesterday and was shocked by it’s puny dimensions. Barely larger than a typical smart phone, the Monotron looks like a prop for a Barbie I Can Be a Rock Star set. Putting my judgmental feelings aside, I plugged it into my mixer and was even more shocked by the huge, rich, thick, and chunky tones produced. On the box it says “True analog synthesis satisfaction” and I cannot argue with that statement. Here’s a quick demonstration of the sound quality and depth of the oscillators (one VCO and one LFO). Please listen with proper monitors or headphones. Laptop speakers will not do this justice. Does anything else come close to this as far as the size to sound ratio is concerned? Please add your thoughts below.
Monotron Demo
gigantic sound. What’s more it’s got labeled points on the circuit board for pitch and cutoff among other inputs.
This demo of what you can get out of the thing is flat startling:
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2010/06/25/how-to-modify-a-korg-monotron/
I’ve always been surprised how big little toy keyboards, gameboys and other small electronics can sound when plugged into real speakers. Especially when you circuit bend them.
@Jonathan Thanks for the link! Looks like an awesome mod.
How is it even conceivable that this article could be printed WITHOUT a photo of the Monotron standing on a little stand with Barbie playing it? Such an awesome journalistic opportunity missed…