The Making of Sawlytron: Korg Monotron Gone Polyphonic + (Free Logic 9 File)

Limits are proportional to desire- EVERFLY

The Sawlytron is a result of many limits. The desire to harness the sound of analogue while being unable to afford the likes of a Virus, Prophet, Moog etc. The Monotron represents the heritage of the Korg MS-10 and MS-20 with the same analogue filter as its predecessors. This is amazing in itself given the affordability of the Monotron.

If you want a polyphonic analogue synth with an analog filter, the Monotron takes you halfway there. Equipped with a sampler you can take the Monotron the rest of the way to polyphonic bliss.

Instead of just sampling one note and letting the sampler loop and pitch the same sound across the whole keyboard I wanted every note, every temperature varied, imperfect, cent to be recorded. This is part of the imperfection that makes analogue so desirable. The video shows the process of painstakingly sampling each note. Each sample lasts for 10 seconds, though it often took 30 second or more to track a note that was in tune within 3 cents for the duration of the sample.

The sound in the end? See for yourself. One of the greatest things is being able to overdrive the filter which is where pluins often fail.

A tutorial on how to map the samples in Logic's EXS24 is coming soon. In the meantime check out my blog for more electronic music tips:

www.kickbassbounce.com

The EXS24 Sawlytron will be released to subscribers of the blog via download link through November.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• korg
• monotron
• polytron
• sawlytron
• sampling
• logic
• studio
• exs24
• saw
• wave
• diy
• synth
• synthesizer
• polyphony
• mod
• Free
• Logic

[ZaZaZoo22]

This is awesome..i wanted to make a polyphonic monotron..i would love to get that file..do you go to your website?..my name for it would of been the polytron.its a bit smoother saying than sawlytron ..but great sound nonetheless..

[dojodin]

@ZaZaZoo22 Ya man it's on the site on the free stuff page. Polytron was going to be the name, but I figured Korg would probably release a Polytron at some point so that's why I went with Sawlytron instead. Thanks for the comment!

[dojodin]

Be sure to check out the description to get the link for the Logic file and audio samples recorded for free! You don't have to have Logic to use the samples. You can use your own sampler.

[Daryoosh69]

loved it!

[dojodin]

@Daryoosh69 Thanks for watching!

[fabiands10]

GOOD

[RussellmusPrime]

Haha, I did the same thing, and thought i was being cool and original. It's really the only way I've been able to get any useful sounds out of the thing. I plan to do a whole set of different Monotron ESX24 instruments when I can be bothered :)

[subeco]

Thanks for taking the time to do that.... It was an interesting experiment that paid off well. Peace!

[leftaroundabout]

I first thought this was a useless idea - for there are plenty of digital synths that also try to sound analogue by sampling analog synths (but fail!). This here, however, sounds really great - probably because it's not just a single digital wavetable but the full monotron notes. And the filter's analog drive makes it perfect! I think I'm also going to sample my Monotron some time - but I first need to figure out a way to include the ribbon keyboard's portamento possibilities...

[Gianph]

fuckin' best! :)

nice video edit nice sounds... well done man ;)

[Longuncattr]

Wow... That sounds beautiful.

[korizamusicvideo]

man, it's awesome idea!!!