Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2010

On a scale of 1 to 10, we’d rate our enthusiasm for novelty musical instruments at, like, about 11 zillion or something. So, yeah, we were pretty taken by Korg’s latest offering. The Monotron promises classic analogue sounds on the cheap, with a ribbon controller and the same kind of filter used in the original MS-10 and MS-20 synthesizers (and, more recently, emulated by the Nintendo DS-10 game). It offers a limited but nevertheless entertaining array of sonic possi-bilities—a fact that is tacitly recognized by Korg’s decision to market it as a DJ tool rather than a musical instrument. Once you’ve smothered your DJ mix in laser sounds, nobody will notice you can’t beat-match.

Korg Monotron, ¥4,980. Available from major electronics and music stores. www.korg.co.jp/Product/Dance