The best software instruments for Industrial Music, Part One: KORG Mono/Poly

I'll start this series by briefly pointing out the obvious: just about any synth can conceivably be used to create industrial music, so it may seem a bit silly to talk about the "best" synths for the job. That said, it seems inevitable that while exploring many different instruments and approaches to this genre, some tools will stand out as better suited for the task, for any number of possible reasons. Sure, it's a subjective appraisal, but there's no question for me that among my arsenal of software instruments, a handful of them have become my go-to weapons of choice for industrial-style productions, not just because they're great sounding synths, but because something about their character or approach to synthesis just makes them a great fit with this genre. And with that, I bring you the first of five entries in my series on the best software instruments for Industrial Music, the KORG Mono/Poly synthesizer.

The original hardware Mono/Poly wasn't exactly a huge hit after it's release back in 1981. First of all, it was (fundamentally) monophonic after years of polyphonic instrument production, and secondly, it featured four oscillators but only one voltage-controlled envelope to modulate them (plus one for modulating the filter). This sort of setup led Vince Clarke to famously say about the synth, "It's like playing 4 cheap synthesizers at once."

The modern-day digital emulation of the analog original, released as part of the excellent KORG Legacy Collection: Analog, naturally rectifies the polyphony issue, if not the oversimplified envelope routing. But in my experience, it hardly matters: this synth is an absolute monster, with a richness and thickness of tone (thanks to having four total oscillators, pulse-width modulation, a unison 'spread' knob, and a heap of excellent KORG FX thrown in) that I've found hard to match with other plugins. It may not be a programmers dream synth, but just about everything that comes out of this thing sounds phat, wide and smooth. I've used it for a large number of DWIFH electro-style punchy basslines ('useless children' is one), handfuls of creepy horror-style pads, and a large number of bright, mid-rangey synthlines (usually driven by an arpeggiator). Recently, in working on a new track, I realized that I had eight separate instances of the mono/poly within my mix; that's easily the most that any one instrument has ever shown up in one of my tracks-- so you can see why it's my first choice in discussing the best software instruments for industrial music.

Programming Tips: 

-Crank up the Unison, detune a bit, and then turn the unison "spread" knob -- this is one recipe for wide, phat bass sounds (but try it on anything).

-Make use of the FX -- the KORG fx are some of the best for their time, and like the MDE-X plugin that comes with the Legacy Digital Edition, the onboard FX here are top-notch, not to mention widely varied -- there are 18 total (!) including great tap delays, an exciter/enhancer, a decimator and a talking modulator, all in addition to the usual suspects.

-Use Pulse Width Modulation -- like it's sister synth, the Polysix, the Mono/Poly can crank out some wicked electro style bass by selecting square/pulse waves on one or more oscillators and then tweaking both the pulse width and the PWM knobs (the latter having three available mod sources: the filter envelope or one of two LFO's).