Programming the KORG monologue
After spending some time with the KORG Monologue and working on my Analog Singular soundbank for it, I took some notes on what I liked and didn’t like and what this compact analog synthesizer has to offer. Let’s dive in!
It has the looks!
When you take it out of the box, it just looks really good. I love that KORG used metal, plastic and even some wood on the back for this most compact synth with keys of the ‘logue line’. It measures 350 x 276 x 76 mm (W x D x H) and weighs about 1,7 kg. The knobs and switches feel very solid and while the slider was a bit strange at first, I got used to it after a while. The mini-keys are indeed a bit smaller than usual, but personally, I don’t see any problem with that at all.
Connectivity
The monologue offers a practical set of connections. From left to right – while looking at the back of the unit:
- Power Socket
- On/Off knob
- USB-B – MIDI
- MIDI Out on DIN
- MIDI In on DIN
- Sync Out (3.5 mm)
- Sync In (3.5 mm) for Volcas and similar gear
- Audio In (1/4″ TS)
- Audio Out (1/4″ TS)
- Headphone Output (1/4″ TRS)
I was looking for an power adapter, but KORG decided not to add it in the box. I found that a bit peculiar, but since it runs on batteries and I have rechargeable AA batteries at home, I tried that first to power it and listen to the oscillators. But before I wanted to do that, after I turned it on I was surprised by the beautiful OLED screen, the automatic tuning and a little game I could play while I waited for it :-).
The Oscillator Section
The monologue features two VCOs and offers more options than you might expect at first glance. Oscillator 1 gives you the usual suspects: saw, triangle, and square. Both oscillators include an interesting shape control, which adds wavefolding-like behavior to the saw and triangle waves. It also acts as pulse-width modulation for the square wave of Oscillator 1. You can even reduce its pulse width to zero.
Oscillator 2 replaces its square wave with a white noise source. But don’t be completely sad, as a shaped triangle can cover square-like duties – although different – fairly well, so it remains musically useful. The only real limitation is that the noise source itself cannot be shaped. It would have been nice that you could change the color of it with the shape knob. I think this is a missed opportunity. But KORG probably had their reasons for that.
The oscillators sound just good. A bit ARP like, and certainly not cold so to say. After all, it are VCOs, so they drift a bit. I would love to know more about it as I can’t find that much about it online. But Tatsuya Takahashi (KORG at that time) told in his conversation with Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) they tune themselves when there is no sound active.
Hard sync and ring modulation are also available and sound good for more aggressive or harmonically complex tones. Both oscillators have their dedicated mix knob and that’s not only nice for performing but also for, well let’s park that for later.
Returning to that OLED screen: if you listen to the oscillators with an init patch, you can see what you’re doing through an oscilloscope. Since firmware 2.00, you can deactivate it, but honestly, I wouldn’t, because it looks very good and you can use not only your ears but also your eyes. For example, you see what the filter does and that is especially nice when you see the overtones appear in a filtered triangle wave when you have the cutoff low and you lift the resonance towards self-oscillation.
The filter
The monologue’s 2-pole analog filter has a character reminiscent of a Korg35 MS-20 style filter chip, giving it a pleasant fullness in the low end. While I don’t know exactly how they did that at KORG headquarters or which MS-20 filter they used – since there were several used for the MS-20 back in the day – I honestly don’t mind because it sounds great!
The filter can respond to velocity and will self-oscillate when the resonance gets pushed. Because it tracks pitch reliably, it can be used as a third oscillator if needed. This filter is kind of unique and – to my ears – sounds very impressive for a synth in this price range.
Modulation
The KORG has two dedicated mod sources easily accessible from the front panel: an envelope generator (EG) and a low-frequency oscillator (LFO). There is no dedicated mod matrix and everything you can modulate (destinations) is accessible from the front panel via not only very good looking switches, as they feel good too!
The EG consists of three modes – Attack/Decay (A/D), Attack/Gate/Decay (A/G/D) and Gate. The envelope is fast and, in A/D mode, very suitable for things like fast percussion sounds or plucks. It’s also suitable for slower leads, although the A/G/D envelope might be slightly better suited for that.
The Gate (3rd) envelope can be nice for organs or bass sounds – where you just shape the filter and not the VCA for example. It reminds me bit of the Roland Juno series. It can modulate global pitch, pitch 2 or the filter. Just pitch two is very convenient to get typical soaring sync sounds when sync is enabled.
Although the envelope is a bit basic, I think it is good enough for this synthesizer. Has anyone complained about the simple 303 envelope? So I think it will become more appreciated over time.
The LFO offers three modes – Fast, Slow and 1-Shot – covering everything from subtle modulation to audio-rate effects.
- Fast: up to 2.8 kHz
- Slow: down to 0.05 Hz
- 1-Shot: As the name suggests, it triggers the LFO once. It can work like an extra envelope to give some extra snap to the filter for example.
It can modulate global pitch, the filter and shape. When going into audio rate it is really getting special. If you for example use a square wave at very high rates you can achieve a sort of bitcrushing. I found that very rewarding.
You can apply modulation depth positively or negatively using Shift. The LFO can also be tempo-synced and with some creative use, such as a square LFO on the filter, you can achieve delay-like rhythmic effects or incredible filter audio modulation.
Drive
The dedicated Drive circuit adds harmonics and distortion in a controlled, but musical way. It helps the monologue push into more aggressive territory without sounding overly harsh. Especially when combined with a self-oscillating filter it can really scream in a good way.
I’ve used it a lot to give my sounds a bit more character by using it subtly. But if you want to full monthy, it will certainly do that too. You can always add more drive by adding a stompbox distortion to the feedback loop.
Sequencer
But KORG didn’t stop there it also features a sequencer. Personally I think the 16-step sequencer – combined with the motion sequencer can make the monologue really shine. “Motion sequencer?” I hear you ask, yes KORG decided to add a 4 lane motion sequencer in the mix as well. When combined with the synth engine, it is one of the strongest parts of the monologue if you ask me. The sequencer includes:
- Per step editing
- Step muting
- Swing
- Configurable gate time
- Four motion-sequence lanes
- Slides and rests
- Real-time recording of knob and even switch movements
- A metronome
- Active Step for irregular or shortened sequences
Using shorter step counts (e.g., 12, 7, 5) can produce interesting rhythmic or arpeggio-like patterns. But you can also use it together with Key Trig to create (pitch shifted) echoes. Or – when you increase the tempo via the menu above the normal limit (54 – 240 BPM) – you can go to insane speeds and use it as a kind of 2nd step LFO to create cool arcade style tracker sounds.
It’s even possible to mute all the notes in the sequencer and play only the ones you want to play live. These will then be modulated not only by the EG and LFO, but also by the four motion lanes. Pretty neat!
Other cool stuff
The Audio In lets you process external gear, and a simple TS cable from the headphone out to the audio in can create a feedback loop for even more saturation.
The slider can have a custom destination. Yes, you read that right, not only pitch bend or cutoff can be adjusted by it, but for example, also the pitch of VCO1 or 2 or the shape of one of them. Here is the full list:
- Pitch bend
- Gate time
- VCO 1 pitch
- VCO 1 shape
- VCO 2 pitch
- VCO 2 shape
- VCO 1 level
- VCO 2 level
- Cutoff
- Resonance
- EG int
- Attack
- Decay
- LFO rate
- LFO int
- Portamento
Since OS 2.0, you can also limit the slider range and view the original parameter values, neat!
The monologue also supports microtuning, including several custom tunings designed by Richard D. James (Aphex Twin).
KORG created a free librarian called monologue Sound Librarian, which allows for archiving and loading new sounds, but also to create custom tunings a bit more easily then via the monologue itself. I find this really great and encourage other brands to do the same. Even an editor/plugin like Arturia does with their MiniFreak and PolyBrute would be so cool to have right from the start. Hopefully some of the other brands are listening!
The knobs offer ‘jump’, ‘catch’ and ‘scale’ modes, as you also find on modern VAs – or what am I saying, the first VAs are also older than 25 or 30 years now 🙂
When you press and hold shift, the miniloge displays you which shift functions are available, really nice! So for example Shift + Pitch allows quick semitone tuning.
VCO1 can be tuned as well, via MIDI CC34. Would love to know if there are more easter eggs. The game was already very nice. Perhaps we can play pong on it too?
Also, lastly and not less important: I found this a very interesting read of a conversation between Richard D. James & Tatsuya Takahashi: https://warp.net/editorial/richard-d-james-speaks-to-tatsuya-takahashi
In use
The monolgue is a small wonder if you ask me. From snappy to warm and dirty-sounding basses, old-school vibey sounds to sub-basses, dirty leads to effects, individual drum hits and even complete drum beats – the smallest of the logues does it all!
The filter and drive combination is brutal, yet musical. And the oscillator shape options are fantastic, adding significantly to the standard shapes like sawtooth and square found on so many classic synthesizers.
Not to forget about the sequencer with its four motion sequence lanes and even a metronome included and together with the – let’s call it modern – audio rate LFO. Its is an incredible piece of engineering, especially considering the price.
I never felt stuck with this synthesizer. The ability to process external audio or create a feedback loop via the headphone output is fantastic, as is navigating the editing mode using the sequencer steps as menu options. It’s well thought out. Of course, it takes some getting used to, but after a while, you’ll get the hang of this menu structure.
Conclusion
The KORG monologue is a capable analog monosynth that strikes a balance between sound design, a powerful sequencer, and practical connectivity. Its oscillators, filter, drive circuit and flexible EG and LFO make it suitable for a wide range of sounds, while the (motion) sequencer and micro-tuning options can add depth to the performance.
Thanks to its battery operation, great sound and bright, informative OLED display, it is a portable and enjoyable instrument to use, not only for beginners but also for seasoned synthesizer enthusiasts.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Its portable
- It works on batteries
- The operating system is great
- The display and its oscilloscope are neat
- The sequencer
- The sound
Cons:
- Perhaps the lack of CV/Gate options
- Power adapter would have been nice to have in the box.
- I want to collect all colors 🙂
- Apart from that none
Sound Examples
More Information
For more information about the SH-01A, please visit the product page on the Roland website:
https://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/monologue/
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Buy the KORG monologue here: https://thmn.to/thoprod/401468
