Hacked!

            Just recently I purchased a Korg Monotron Duo, a small ribbon controlled synthesizer that features the old Korg MS-10 and MS-20 VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter). The intent is to modify the device to create a more diverse, robust, and functional filter to use with my other gear. I already have the Monotron Delay, and I am in love with it for the thick sound it produces but didn’t want that one to be my first modification. So why would I want to modify it in the first place, when I could instead buy something that already comes in a more functional state?

            Well, because it is the old MS-20 filter. The Korg MS-10 and MS-20 semi-modular synthesizers have been highly sought after since they stopped making them in 1983. It wasn’t until recently that Korg rolled out the MS-20 mini, an almost identical twin to the MS-20. And while the new MS-20 is $600, and a vintage MS-20 can be anywhere around $2,000, I decided that modifying the $50 Monotron was the next best option.

            I have stated it before and I will state it again, you can’t beat the thick, full sound of analog equipment. Digital equipment while it continues to get better over the years just does not have the same feel. That is where Korg’s Monotron line comes into play. While they know what you can do with the Monotron is limited, it only has an aux jack, a headphone jack, and a one-octave ribbon controller; they also understand that people will try to modify it.

Korg's schematic for the Monotron Duo.

            The people at Korg, realizing this, so kindly decided to put the schematics for the devices up on their website. That is unheard of! A company that freely gives you their schematics must be crazy, right? Not really, in a sense it is good business, people continue to buy the cheap Monotrons, and not just one, but all of them, and they experiment with them and post their findings. Korg even has a page on their forum where you can share ideas. When information is this readily available, customers are not trying to go behind the back of the manufacturers. Instead there is harmony.

            Korg gets feedback from their customers on what they like about different devices, they even get ideas on what is popular or what should be added, and all for no research and development dollars. The only thing Korg does to protect itself is say that once you open the device and perform any modifications, the warranty is void and any modifications can result in damage to the device and/ or the user. I was asked if I wanted the warranty and the cashier chuckled when I told him what I was going to do.

            Maybe this is a new way to perform research and development, or lead a focus group. Other companies should take note. Korg gives you some leeway, and in return Korg customers stay happy, and I know I will be a returning customer.

I will post an update once I perform the modification
to let everyone know how it turns out.

...My mistake in "Player Piano" was my failure as a futurist. I did not foresee transistors, and so imagined that super computers would have to be huge, with bulky vacuum tubes taking up a lot of space. -Kurt Vonnegut in "Letters"