 |
Korg MONOTRON 16-Key SynthesizerPowered by two alkaline aaa batteries, the compact monotron can be held in one hand. although small enough to easily carry with you, the amazing
 |
 |
Korg Kaossilator Dynamic Phrase SynthesizerMeet your new musical addiction: the KAOSSILATOR from Korg. Play it alone or add it to your rig for over-the-top, music-making mayhem.
|
Before Korg made the MS-10 filter with a oscillator attached (the Korg Monotron), the Gakken Sx-150 required some assembly but does a lot of the same things. Similar to the improvements in car design, the Monotron has many important changes.
The Looks
To start off, the modern design of the Korg Monotron easily wins over the bulky, moog-like Sx-150. The Monotron is able to be played with one hand, as all the knobs are close to the ribbon controller. Besides requiring a stylus (I’m sure you could hack it if you really wanted to), the functions on the Sx-150 would be difficult to adjust while playing.
The Insides
When deciding, it is important to not overlook that the fact that most of the time, companies do not build copies of existing software. Products always have a differences in components. The Sx-150 has more unique components than the Monotron – a stylus (although I find it kind of irrelevant), LFO wave shape control, an AD envelope for the amplifier, pitch envelop control knobs, and a resonance switch for the filter (on/off). The Monotron has only three unique components – a feedback LED under the LFO knob (visual, representing LFO rate), a key map on the ribbon controller (which is finger or plastic-stylus controlled), and very important volume knob. Unless you are running it into a mixer, I would highly value the volume knob, as the human ear does not hear bass at the same loudness as treble and both require specific amplification.
Assembly Might Be Required
Related to appearance is construction – meaning how it is put together. The Sx-150 actually requires some assembly (I was never into Legos, I don’t like putting things together, especially if I already pay for them), whereas the Monotron is playable straight out of the box. Of course both require batteries, and I’m sure the hacking community has wall outlets for both units, a volume knob for the Sx-150 and sequencers. As stated before, hacking really isn’t my thing, I want it to work out of the box.
To Filter, or Not To Filter?
Based after the well known MS-10/20 filter, the Monotron possesses a very high quality filter. If used in conjunction with the headphone output and auxiliary input, the filter can be patched into any system. This was the lynchpin for me when originally deciding on the Monotron. The beautiful filter makes everything decent sound great and everything great sound even better.
The decision is difficult, and should be made after careful research. If you are looking for a full fledged synthesizer, then I would definitely suggest the Roland Gaia. Remember, try to get the right product the first time, it will save you money and headaches.
Related posts:
- Glass Lamp Shades – Modern or Classic Style for any Home Uplight Lamp with Crackle Glass Shade A unique accent for any room, this uplight table lamp has a trendy crackle...
- Under Armour Versus JanSport ...
- Coffee Versus Espresso: What Is The Difference? Coffee People, Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers (Pack of 50) No description available Green Mountain Coffee Keurig Breakfast Blend...
- Modern Jump Bikes- Fly High! Mongoose Menace Boy’s BMX/Jump Bike (20-Inch Wheels, Lime Green) The product is Mongoose Menace Boy’s BMX/Jump Bike (20-Inch Wheels, Lime...
