menegass
Offline
Brazil

http://www.korg.com/Product.aspx?pd=601




Monotribe highlights:

The powerful sound of true analog synthesis

3-part analog drums, using discrete analog circuitry

Popular Electribe-style sequencing.

Active Step and Flux features for realtime dynamic loop manipulation

Advanced multi-function ribbon keyboard; Chromatic, Continuous, & Wide modes

Auto-tuning provides stable pitch for accurate chromatic playability

Selectable oscillator waveform, noise generator, and versatile LFO

Uses the same VCF (filter) circuit as the classic MS-10/MS-20

Sync In & Out jacks allows synchronized integration with multiple units

Battery operation, built-in speaker and compact size deliver on-the-go groove-making

e.s.c.
Offline
IL, US

any price info yet on these? they look like they could be fun, but i wouldnt pay all that much for one either

TREYFREY
Offline
Philadelphia, United States

I don't understand why Korg doesn't implement midi into these devices.....

Subterrestrial
Offline
The Hollow Earth
TREYFREY wrote:

I don't understand why Korg doesn't implement midi into these devices.....

Like the Monotron, they're going for pure analog here not analog emulation i.e.- Electribe, Microkorg, M-Audio Venom, etc..... Great keys, but not true analog. Sort of makes for a "game changer," so to speak. By not having MIDI, the ability to save and recall patches, etc.... it forces us back to a time when you had to set up your instrument's parameters each time you used it, which is refreshing for people young enough (myself included) to have never had to do this every time you work on a track.

TraceKaiser
Offline
Whitley Bay, England

I thought this was someone posting that they had it! :c

Wish they'd hurry up and release it. It looks amazing. Also, if you just send an audio pulse into the sync jack on it, it will sync, soooo... Yeah. Sync tracks with this and LSDJ? YES PLEASE.

nordloef
Offline
sweden

MIDI is rocket surgery....

menegass
Offline
Brazil

While the new toy is not available ...

http://www.angryoctopus.co.nz/synth13/

menegass
Offline
Brazil

Manual:

http://www.korg.com/uploads/Support/mon … 360000.pdf

Subterrestrial
Offline
The Hollow Earth
menegass wrote:

Active Step and Flux features for realtime dynamic loop manipulation

This definitely makes up for the limitations of having only 8-steps and three drum sounds. Damn, now I think I really want one of these. And you can probably sync it to a Bliptronic, too?

cTrix
Offline
Australia

So I just played with a Monotribe - one of the first review units to arrive in au from jp.  Really fun gizmo but IMO beyond the initial warm / fuzzy feeling is an instrument with at least 3 knobs missing.  The $70 monotron is so simple you have no expectations but for $290...? (price we pay; and our dollar worth more than US? wtf?!). 

My main gripes are: Drums (no way to shape the sounds?! what?!), No MIDI (forgivable), OSC (no sine waveform? no sub osc?!), No ADSR.  Surely Korg could have added a few more controls and made it at least semi-on-par with "the big boys" for the sake of a few bucks.  If this were 2 osc with a detune + sub with a filter ADSR, and had also had a way of shaping up a phat explosive kick - then it would have been in everyones studio worldwide and we'd all be making Acid techno and detuned hard house again.  They'd be so good the government would ban them.

That said, it's a fun analogue "toy" and I'm hoping that peeps will start modding them and unloack the additional features and controls.  Apparently the PCB is marked up quite well but I wasn't allowed to take the case apart and and look!!  So here's hoping...

Subterrestrial
Offline
The Hollow Earth

Thanks for the hands-on review. I hope to lay hands on one myself at some point.

TraceKaiser
Offline
Whitley Bay, England

Afaik, if you open it up there are labelled pads to solder to so you can add pots to alter the drum sounds - Korg seem to have produced it with hackers in mind, once again.

I'm hopefully gonna get one tomorrow - a few UK sites are showing that they have them in stock now - so I'll give you some feedback. I guess it all depends on what you wanna get out of it in the end though - personally I think it looks amazing to mess around on and I fucking love Casio drums so simple analogue sounds it alright by me. I fully understand why some people are a bit disappointed though

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

read this on another forum i frequent where someone got one

Ok, well temptation got the better of me and I opened it up, looks ripe for modding, easy enough room to add some extra mini jacks along the side or front, easy to take apart the thing thanks to some ribbon cables, labels on main PCB for:

HH decay
HH out
SD noise out
SD noise decay
SD frame out
BD out
BD decay

Quite cool.

There is also a unused header on the PCB labelled serial and some more marked points, one of which says reset hmmm.....

Think this thing will be good for modding once the schematics appear hihi

wedanced
Offline
San Francisco

aaaaaaawwwww snap. looking forward to using/owning a real analog drum machine. it has been a dream of mine for a while.

TraceKaiser
Offline
Whitley Bay, England

Getting one today, gonna go out and buy it in a few minutes! So hyped.

Also, here is a video where somebody has added a BD decay pot - skip a little bit in once they've stopped having a random loop with just the snare and it sounds pretty amazing!

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

he's getting some swing from what he's clocking it with..

yah i'm wanting one of these more and more..

it would be pretty fun to pan everything hard left then pan hard right a click track to clock the monotribe..