audiobriefs
10:58in productionCh. 1 · Bridging the gap/ 10:58 · ceiling 15 min
Synths & drum machines

Korg Mono/Poly

Korg

The Mono/Poly isn’t half-polyphonic — it’s monophonic with four oscillators fighting over one filter.

The Mono/Poly is a 1981 analog synthesizer with four VCOs, a 4-pole resonant lowpass filter, dual LFOs, and flexible key assignment modes. It operates either as a monophonic synth using all four oscillators or as a four-voice paraphonic synth. It was the only monophonic synthesizer with an integrated quad-VCO design at launch. Each VCO offers triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and pulse width modulation waveforms. Every VCO can be individually adjusted for octave, volume, and detuning relative to VCO 1, which has Master Tuning. Only the fixed pulse width and the amount of pulse width modulation are shared across all VCOs. The Mono/Poly features a 4-pole resonant lowpass filter with ADSR envelopes modulating both the VCF and VCA. It has two LFOs: one with four waveforms targeting multiple parameters via the modulation wheel, and a second triangle-wave LFO dedicated to pulse width modulation and arpeggiator tempo.

Synths & drum machinesThe eightiesSound designSynthesisThe eighties across the network →
Chapters & takeaways6
  1. 1:16
    Bridging the gap

    It was built to sit between monophonic power and polyphonic convenience — not as a compromise, but as a new category.

  2. 2:36
    Four oscillators, one fate

    You can stack all four VCOs into one monophonic voice — or split them across four notes with shared filtering and no per-note control.

  3. 4:02
    Unmatched monophonic weight

    It remains the only monophonic synth of its era with an integrated quad-VCO design and a 4-pole resonant lowpass filter.

  4. 5:16
    Dual LFOs, fixed jobs

    Two LFOs serve rigid roles: one for expressive modulation, the other locked to PWM and arpeggiator tempo.

  5. 6:09
    Waveform freedom, PWM limits

    Each VCO gives triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and pulse width modulation — but pulse width settings apply to all four at once.

  6. 7:24
    Paraphonic by design, not choice

    Paraphonic mode is limited: one filter, one amp, one envelope shaping every voice simultaneously.

Worth your time?

Yes. Use the whole thing.

4/ 5
What works
  • monophonic bass
  • gritty paraphonic leads
What does not
  • what people made with it
Use it if
  • players who want monophonic thickness or lo-fi paraphonic texture
  • players who value hands-on, immediate tone sculpting
Skip it if
  • anyone who needs stable tuning
  • anyone who needs patch recall
  • anyone who needs integration into a modern DAW workflow
The written brief2 min read

What it is and what it was built for

A 1981 analog synthesizer built to bridge monophonic and polyphonic synthesis. It was positioned as a complementary instrument to the Polysix — monophonic in focus but paraphonic in capability.

How it works, in terms a player would use

Four VCOs feed a single 4-pole resonant lowpass filter. Each VCO offers triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and pulse width modulation waveforms. You tune each VCO to its own octave, volume, and detune relative to VCO 1 — which has Master Tuning. Pulse width and PWM amount are shared across all VCOs. Two LFOs: one with four waveforms routed via the modulation wheel; the other is triangle-only, dedicated to PWM and arpeggiator tempo. ADSR envelopes control both VCF and VCA. Key assignment modes include Unison, Poly, Chord Memory, and Unison/Share.

What it does better than anything else

It delivers monophonic weight unmatched by any other 1981 synth: four oscillators feeding one aggressive 4-pole filter, with full per-VCO tuning and waveform control. No other monophonic synth then offered integrated quad-VCO design.

What it does badly

It cannot play chords with independent articulation per note. The paraphonic architecture means one filter and one amplifier shape all voices at once. Chord Memory stores only one chord. There is no velocity or aftertouch. The arpeggiator lacks rhythm variation or sync options beyond its internal triangle LFO.

What people made with it

The sources do not specify what people made with it.

Who should use it, and who should not

A player who values hands-on, immediate tone sculpting and wants monophonic thickness or lo-fi paraphonic texture. Not for anyone who needs stable tuning, patch recall, or integration into a modern DAW workflow.

Is it worth your time

Yes — if you need thick monophonic bass or gritty paraphonic leads that cut through a mix without digital polish. No — if you need true polyphony, independent voice filtering, or modern reliability. It demands hands-on adjustment and tolerates no automation.

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