With the MonoPoly, Behringer has succeeded in creating another clone of a cult synthesizer: the Korg synthesizer of the same name from 1981 is still considered Korg's answer to the Minimoog, but the opulent equipment alone gives the MonoPoly a unique selling point. The analog synthesizer is equipped with an easily playable 37-key keyboard. In contrast to the original, the Behringer MonoPoly has the angled control panel as a nice feature; so you can always easily find the best operating position for yourself.
The four analog oscillators in the MonoPoly provide a solid sound foundation and hold the waveforms triangle, sawtooth, PWM and PW in four octave positions (16", 8", 4", 2"). The distinction between PW and PWM is due to the "effects section"; there you set a fixed pulse width with PW and at the same time let the LFO modulate the pulse width of another tone generator (PWM). After all VCOs have been tuned in volume, they enter the 24dB lowpass filter, which is based on the SSM2044 chip. This is known for a fat sound at low frequencies and a straight overdrive behavior. Connoisseurs have also heard this filter in the Korg Polysix, the PPG Wave 2.2 and the E-MU SP-1200. Additionally, and thus independent of the voice configuration, the noise generator can be mixed in.
This section is effective, but reverb or delay are not the topic here. This refers to the modulation assignments for the oscillators. There is a control to manually adjust the pulse width of all (selected) oscillators, another one controls the intensity of the pulse width modulation and uses LFO 1 (four waveforms), LFO 2 (sine only) or the filter envelope as source. Detune detunes the four VCOs against each other; creating very dense and lively sounds. In addition, there is the cross modulation, which is sonically very rich and covers from sync sounds to FM a lot.
Here it is very classic; two ADSR envelopes are permanently assigned to filter and VCA. In addition, there are two LFOs, but they are equipped differently. The first one has the waveforms triangle, sawtooth, ramp and square, the second one sine. Both are assigned to their destinations in the Wheel and Effects sections and their intensity is adjusted. The oscillator modulations have also found their place in Effects. As a playing aid, there is also an arpeggiator with various modes, which unfolds its potential especially with the rotating voices and also provides the classic "Italo disco flair".
Since the MonoPoly has a filter and a VCA, the instrument is monophonic or paraphonic depending on the mode. Four tone generators want and can do more than just be tuned to each other. The powerful unison mode is actually the classic mono mode, because here all oscillators sound at the same time, whose volume is higher than zero; all four detuned against each other is thus a very fat mono sound. The chord mode is also located here, up to four notes can be played with only one finger after input. The first poly mode means the pairing of 2x2 sound sources (double mode/share), the second (poly) addresses a "new" oscillator with each note played. The latter captivates by the fact that you literally play the oscillators sequentially.
The original Korg model is over 40 years old and finding a good one and maintaining it is an expensive challenge. There are some nice software emulations but you can't beat getting your hands on hardware. With a nice key-bed, solid construction and USB-MIDI as standard the Behringer MonoPoly presents a very versatile and relevant sound that will lift any track.
Had to wait 6 months for this beauty to arrive, not the fault of DV, but the wait was thoroughly worth it. Superbly built synth from Behringer. Great service from DV once they had it in stock. What a machine this is. The heavy weight build is of exceptional quality, with the wooden sides complimenting the metal casing well. The sound this beast produces, through its four oscillators, is thunderous and the arpeggiator steals the show especially when using its poly mode function. The classic analogue sounds of the original Korg but with the ability to interface easily with modern studio equipment. Looking forward to hours of fun working with this synth. Behringer have produced an absolute gem here.