My impressions of the Mono

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T12:11:46.000Z

Now that I own a Mono I am no longer surprised that I have not found any videos showing the Mono being played (as per one of the Elektron demos for the A4K), all the videos I have watched show the Mono being sequenced.

Because I sit behind an 88 note weighted keyboard my first reaction to any sound (except percussion) is always to run my hand up and down my keyboard. When looking at Lem’s Immortal patterns I can see that the man has been extremely resourceful and creative in making some great patterns but I also noticed when I dissected the patterns that the individual sounds he used in the patterns don’t particularly lend themselves to being played in isolation on the keyboard.

Maybe the sound engine of the Mono is more suited to being multitrack sequenced as opposed to playing individual sounds, which is fine by me and I can certainly adjust to that. There are plenty of synth presets where my first reaction would be to apply an arpeggiator.

I don’t think the Mono is different to most other synths (it has no feature which is new to me), overall it reminds me of the Korg Radias. Obviously the way Elektron implement features is different to the way other manufacturers implement the same features. The Mono is far from being the only synth that allows you to do things in a huge variety of ways WHOA!! (download the manual for the Korg M3 if you don’t believe me).
[font=Calibri","sans-serif]If you think the thread is so pointless why bother responding ?

Housecliche · 2015-03-22T13:10:32.000Z

I don’t think it’s pointless I just think you set yourself up for some “stick” (pun intended) when you posted on a forum populated by Elektron “enthusiasts” and proceeded to mostly deride a much loved machine. To be fair, I appreciate your honesty and fresh perspective - maybe just a question of presentation and tone that hurts folks in the butt sometime. It’s fine to say you don’t like something on here, you just have to tread on eggshells a bit - welcome to the Internet.

As an aside - the .com has its 30th birthday this year - 30 years of interwebz - we’re still learning how to talk to each other in this relatively young medium.

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T15:35:02.000Z

I thought the Elektronauts forum the most appropriate place to post my comments because I knew the Mono would be defended, which is only fair. I don’t normally post such adverse comments but the Mono really did surprise me soundwise. It is not a cheap synth and with only 6 note polyphony on a digital synth I expected something stronger, even considering it basically dates back to 2004.

I did an awful lot of research prior to purchase, including going back over 200 pages of the old forum (after deleting other candidates I still had to choose between the Mono or the A4). I had seen previous comments about the Mono’s sound (and the same responses) repeated a number of times, although many complainants used the phrase “too digital” which led me to believe some people were expecting it to sound like a Moog.

I don’t wish to offend anyone, but I still stand by my initial comments, sound and FX wise I don’t think that the Mono is amongst the best that’s out there (though I am sure that it could be providing the exact sound some people are after).

I was never looking for advice on how to make the Mono sound better. Its inherent sound quality will not be improved by the length of time I own it (though my ears will become more used to hearing it), by exhausting all possible parameter and trig combinations or by learning how to play the trumpet or violin (though I am sure I would appreciate the Mono more after hearing myself play a violin). Like any synth, a software update or component change is required to alter the basic tonality of the instrument.
[font=Calibri","sans-serif]I think that the Monomachine is a fine musical instrument and to match what it excels at you would have to buy one of the other Elektron boxes (and even then you may not equal it, which is why I chose the Mono over the A4).

jasl · 2015-03-22T19:59:58.000Z

""Stickhit"":

Now that I own a Mono I am no longer surprised that I have not found any videos showing the Mono being played (as per one of the Elektron demos for the A4K), all the videos I have watched show the Mono being sequenced.

Because I sit behind an 88 note weighted keyboard my first reaction to any sound (except percussion) is always to run my hand up and down my keyboard. When looking at Lem’s Immortal patterns I can see that the man has been extremely resourceful and creative in making some great patterns but I also noticed when I dissected the patterns that the individual sounds he used in the patterns don’t particularly lend themselves to being played in isolation on the keyboard.

Must say I am not in the least surprised to read your post above. I am now really wondering what research you did before buying one, what you actually wanted to get from a Monomachine; what or how you expected it would perform as a synth and mostly, why do you still own it?
I am not being rhetorical or trying to wind you up - I am genuinely interested because I think you would have been much happier with an A4!

rikrak · 2015-03-22T20:23:26.000Z

""Stickhit"":

I recently purchased a Monomachine SFX60+ MkII. Wow, the sound engine is definitely weak and the FX are poor (apart from the delay which is OK). Even if I had purchased this in 2004 my opinion would have been the same (especially if I compare it to say a Yamaha EX5R which came out in 96).

Still I did my research and was not expecting or needing a sonic powerhouse. The sequencer/arp is sweet and with a bit of movement and complimentary tracking I will be able to come up with some useable sounds. Plus, with up to 12 midi tracks, I can use what the mono is good at, drive other instruments and VSTs.

I like the layout, my encoders seem fine and the buttons are OK but a little noisy. The display is excellent and most of the controls and menus are very immediate and well thought out. Though I don’t understand why the file menu is inside Global or why you would need 8 Globals in a snapshot. Also it is strange that the level encoder can’t be used to scroll through the longest lists (snapshots, kits and digibanks).

I needed a standalone device of a specific size that could also add something to my computer based setup and the Mono fits the bill. All in all it should keep me amused and hopefully will contribute to my music making.

100% agree with all of this and the Monomachine is my favourite synth of all time.

bluewolfse7en · 2015-03-22T20:26:41.000Z

[quote=“” jasl""]

I am not being rhetorical or trying to wind you up - I am genuinely interested because I think you would have been much happier with an A4!

[/quote]

+1

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T21:01:11.000Z

For your information my requirement was for a small, standalone device (i.e. it could be used to compose at least the backbone of a song), which also added something to my main setup (I didn’t want a device which I only used when I go away).

The only feature I could identify that added something to my main setup was a very hands-on step sequencer which would allow me to input notes via my keyboard. There is not many items that fitted my requirements and I chose the Mono over the A4 because the Mono provides 12 tracks of sequencing against the A4’s 4 (I don’t do CV).

As I have purchased a Mono I think I am entitled to express my opinion of it. What surprises me is that the responses I should be getting should be on the lines of “hell no, in my opinion the synth engine and FX on the Mono sound just as good as or better than synth X, Y, Z.” I think it is telling that a lot of responses start with “the Mono makes a weak first impression”.

I know you guys love and make great music with the Mono and, believe it or not, I expect I will to. It is just that I think that a less biased response to my critique would have been something like “Yes, in comparison to other digital synths the synth engine and FX are not the Mono’s strongest points BUT the huge advantages it offers elsewhere will make this of little consequence once you have learned how to make the most out of the Mono”.

Please, every time I adjust the Mono’s filter my ears tell me that it is not as pleasant as when I adjust filters on other digital synths or VSTs.

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T21:44:03.000Z

The thing I have seen highlighted several times is that some people think the sound is weak, other people don’t think the sound is weak, and other people initially thought the sound was weak but have since changed their minds.

Obviously the people who think the sound is weak in comparison to other digital synths are wrong because you say so. Amen.

bluewolfse7en · 2015-03-22T21:59:53.000Z

[quote=“” Stickhit""]

For your information my requirement was for a small, standalone device (i.e. it could be used to compose at least the backbone of a song), which also added something to my main setup (I didn’t want a device which I only used when I go away).

Both the A4 & MM fit this description.

The only feature I could identify that added something to my main setup was a very hands-on step sequencer which would allow me to input notes via my keyboard. There is not many items that fitted my requirements and I chose the Mono over the A4 because the Mono provides 12 tracks of sequencing against the A4’s 4 (I don’t do CV).

A4, way better sequencer & you can input via midi keyboard.
Sequencing external kit is obviously a major issue

As I have purchased a Mono I think I am entitled to express my opinion of it.

Absolutely

What surprises me is that the responses I should be getting should be on the lines of “hell no, in my opinion the synth engine and FX on the Mono sound just as good as or better than synth X, Y, Z.” I think it is telling that a lot of responses start with “the Mono makes a weak first impression”.

[b]I think the responses are honest.
I think people are just saying, ‘hey man, yeah it’s a little different, stick with it & you’ll get it’

Interestingley the default filter settings on the A4 are dialed in a bit, think the MM would have benefitted from this also.
[/b]

I know you guys love and make great music with the Mono and, believe it or not, I expect I will to. It is just that I think that a less biased response to my critique would have been something like “Yes, in comparison to other digital synths the synth engine and FX are not the Mono’s strongest points BUT the huge advantages it offers elsewhere will make this of little consequence once you have learned how to make the most out of the Mono”.

I think from what you’ve said, the A4’s Osc, filters & fx would be more to your liking. Maybe try one out. Obviously you’d have to look elsewhere for midi sequencing duties should you decide to switch.

Please, every time I adjust the Mono’s filter my ears tell me that it is not as pleasant as when I adjust filters on other digital synths or VSTs.

Filter design is definitely different. I really like it., I can get some crazy stuff with high Q & modulating wofs & bofs .
However I think it’s fair to say you get more conventional results with the A4 or the Virus.
MM is unique IMO.

[/quote]

Anyway, have fun exploring it, hope it works out for you

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T22:09:38.000Z

Not my intention to insult anyone and if you feel I have insulted you then I apologise.
As you have just stated (and I believe I also stated earlier) sound is subjective so maybe neither of us are wrong.
I was only ever expressing my opinion and I never expect people to agree with my opinion no matter what the subject (I am kind of partial to lively debates though).

pselodux · 2015-03-22T22:15:10.000Z

With all due respect, in your pre-purchase research, did you think it sounded weak? If so, why did you decide to buy it?

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T22:30:00.000Z

[font=Calibri","sans-serif]For me the Mono’s sequencer outweighed the capabilities of the A4’s. Sound locks don’t interest me because I will rarely if ever use the Mono for drums. Micro timing also doesn’t interest me. I am happy to have my step sequences locked to a 16th or 32nd grid and I will always record my live playing straight into my DAW. The extra tracks of the Mono are far more useful to me and I never had a requirement for a great sounding synth (already have that area covered) just had to be acceptable for compositional work when used standalone (which the Mono easily is).

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T22:54:39.000Z

Where I currently live there are no music shops near me that would stock an Elektron product (or any synth for that matter). Also it is difficult to determine the sound of a device from You Tube videos. If a synth is demoed playing the type of music you like you will tend to be drawn to it and if demoed playing music you are not keen on you can get turned off.
So I bought the Mono via a shop which offers a 30 day money back service. The 30 days are over and I still have the Mono. If you read my posts carefully you will find that I have never said that I am unhappy with the Mono or intended to get rid of it. Every synth I have ever owned has strengths and weaknesses and as long as the strengths outweigh the weaknesses I have generally been happy with them. My initial post was an expression of surprise not utter disappointment.

jasl · 2015-03-22T23:36:07.000Z

""Stickhit"":

Not my intention to insult anyone and if you feel I have insulted you then I apologise.
As you have just stated (and I believe I also stated earlier) sound is subjective so maybe neither of us are wrong.
I was only ever expressing my opinion and I never expect people to agree with my opinion no matter what the subject (I am kind of partial to lively debates though).

For me the Mono’s sequencer outweighed the capabilities of the A4’s. Sound locks don’t interest me because I will rarely if ever use the Mono for drums. Micro timing also doesn’t interest me. I am happy to have my step sequences locked to a 16th or 32nd grid and I will always record my live playing straight into my DAW. The extra tracks of the Mono are far more useful to me and I never had a requirement for a great sounding synth (already have that area covered) just had to be acceptable for compositional work when used standalone (which the Mono easily is).

It’s great that you post here and say the things you have - I can’t see how anyone could be insulted as you’ve been nothing but laid back and polite.
It’s obviously challenging to read negative opinions regarding sound and fx when in actual fact your main reason for buying the Monomachine was for it’s sequencing abilities and not necessarily it’s sound. To top that off you say sound locks don’t interest you because you will rarely, if ever use the MM for drums. That’s a bit confusing… I take it you mean parameter locks? …and in which case, they can be vastly configured and are intrinsic to the workflow of Elektron machines. The way they work and can be used is a pretty big selling point.
All being said though, I can kinda get why you still might want a Monomachine but for the things you need it to do and what you appear to be interested in having it do for you, it’s a bit of a waste of an instrument in my opinion.

Stickhit · 2015-03-22T23:44:14.000Z

Sound locks is a feature specific to the A4 whereby a new sound can be loaded on ever step (the A4 also features sound patches which can be saved). This feature allows you to have a pseudo drum kit on one track. Not the same thing as parameter locks.

jasl · 2015-03-23T00:05:42.000Z

Sorry, my bad - I interpreted in relation to MM as that’s what the thread is about not the A4, hence my confusion… and yeah, you are correct about sound locks on the A4 (I use them for all sounds and tweak parameters within them too)

I previously suggested you might prefer an A4 just because of your comments about the sound of the MM.

Back to the Mono…!

Noby · 2015-03-23T02:03:19.000Z

When I first got the mono machine I tried playing it like a traditional synth making traditional patches Ect. In that case, I do agree it sounds rather weak and bland. However once you get a great melody going and start using Plocks and slides you realize the potential of this unique piece of gear.
The key to the MnM is the the Sequencer is an integral part of sound designing process. I can see allot of situations where the MnM might not fit in. However for me in my out of the box set up it has changed everything for the better. Most of my songs use all 6 internal slots and 6 ext midi channels.
Of course I use allot other synths as well as the MnM internal synths, but you could make a great song on the MnM alone. It really is a song writing power house, combine it with a few samplers and multi track recording in your DAW of choice and you are on your way.

clunky · 2015-03-23T03:29:37.000Z

""Stickhit"":

Now that I own a Mono I am no longer surprised that I have not found any videos showing the Mono being played (as per one of the Elektron demos for the A4K), all the videos I have watched show the Mono being sequenced.

Because I sit behind an 88 note weighted keyboard my first reaction to any sound (except percussion) is always to run my hand up and down my keyboard. When looking at Lem’s Immortal patterns I can see that the man has been extremely resourceful and creative in making some great patterns but I also noticed when I dissected the patterns that the individual sounds he used in the patterns don’t particularly lend themselves to being played in isolation on the keyboard.

Maybe the sound engine of the Mono is more suited to being multitrack sequenced as opposed to playing individual sounds, which is fine by me and I can certainly adjust to that. There are plenty of synth presets where my first reaction would be to apply an arpeggiator.

I don’t think the Mono is different to most other synths (it has no feature which is new to me), overall it reminds me of the Korg Radias. Obviously the way Elektron implement features is different to the way other manufacturers implement the same features. The Mono is far from being the only synth that allows you to do things in a huge variety of ways WHOA!! (download the manual for the Korg M3 if you don’t believe me).
If you think the thread is so pointless why bother responding ?

you think you know all about it already, good luck with that

m3 m3 m3 i dont believe you

Stickhit · 2015-03-23T11:58:39.000Z

I am sorry clunky but having owned something for a long time does not wash with me as a valid argument for anything (except maybe the reliability of a product). Reminds me of being at school where the second year kids think they are superior to the new boys.

What don’t you believe about the M3? The M3 has a greater number of parameters which the user can adjust so the simple maths tell me that it must have a greater number of permutations for sound design (not that I think having lots of parameters to adjust is a major influence of the sound quality of an instrument - not much you can adjust on a piano).

My son has borrowed my Virus (again) so cannot currently compare waveforms (and with regard to the Virus, whilst I consider that it has a better sound engine and FX compared to the Mono, I am not saying that it is a better musical instrument). I am sure that nobody seriously believes that sampling Virus waveforms and loading them into a digipro machine will enable the Mono to sound like a Virus

To be honest when reviewers like Nick Batt say “lets listen to the raw waveform and then look at the waveform on an oscilloscope” I think Why!, just go ahead and play the finished sounds. To me the sound quality of an instrument is determined by all of its parts: oscillators, filters, envelopes, LFOs and any onboard FX (interestingly the DX7 does not have filters or FX).
[font=Calibri","sans-serif]I also think that as soon as you hit the play button on the sequencer you move into the area of how you can make an instrument perform and remember that step modulation (parameter locking in Elektron speak)is not exclusive to the Mono and is even possible from a keyboard via velocity, aftertouch, pitch bend and mod wheels, sustain and expression pedals etc. (though not to the extent that Cenk employs it).

Stickhit · 2015-03-23T12:15:07.000Z

""Noby"":

When I first got the mono machine I tried playing it like a traditional synth making traditional patches Ect. In that case, I do agree it sounds rather weak and bland. However once you get a great melody going and start using Plocks and slides you realize the potential of this unique piece of gear.
The key to the MnM is the the Sequencer is an integral part of sound designing process. I can see allot of situations where the MnM might not fit in. However for me in my out of the box set up it has changed everything for the better. Most of my songs use all 6 internal slots and 6 ext midi channels.
Of course I use allot other synths as well as the MnM internal synths, but you could make a great song on the MnM alone. It really is a song writing power house, combine it with a few samplers and multi track recording in your DAW of choice and you are on your way.

I agree entirely with the above. I think the crux of this discussion is what people consider to be the fundamental reason why the Mono sounds weak when played like a traditional synth.
I suppose it could be argued that Elektron has provided the synth engines most appropriate to being sequenced and step modulated. I certainly find that basic tones suit arpeggiation better than fuller tones (thinks of Popcorn).