For something about the size of a cassette tape, the Korg MONOTRON packs quite the punch.  Don't let that built in speaker fool you, plug this little guy into an amp and it can rattle the windows.  The filter sounds great, and can even be used on external audio sources, very cool.  The downside: I can't play the thing in tune!  Too bad it doesn't have some cheap little buttons for keys instead of that ribbon keyboard.  Hitting the exact pitch consistently, for me, seems to be out of the realm of possibilities.  Thank goodness for samplers :)

This week, I have created a free Ableton Live Rack using samples from my Korg Monotron.  Although some might argue that this rack lacks one of the most alluring qualities: the built in filter, it is now a much more playable synth, being that you can control it with a normal keyboard with actual keys.  (Plus I think the filter in Ableton's Sampler and Simpler are pretty nice substitutes).  To take advantage of some of the possibilities offered to us in this computer age, I've done a few things the actual Monotron is incapable of.  First, I layered a few Monotron samples to thicken out the sound.  I've made it switchable from mono to polyphonic (Polytron?),  Portamento and Glide are now options, you have control over Attack and Release, the Filter Envelope now has an attack you can play around with, and another macro knob allows you to select different combinations of samples.  For the purists out there that don't want layered samples, I've included an identical rack, with only one sample and a few different effect macros (chorus and delay.)  For both racks, I have the mod wheel set to introduce some vibrato.  So, watch along in the video and download it for yourself, it's free and most importantly, from the heart.  I think you'll be pleased with just how much punch that little box can deliver.  **Big thanks to Big C for giving me the Monotron for Christmas :) xo **

Last Friday night SuperKid and I put together this live improv jam and video... Enjoy!