The Microcon is a modern-day little analog monophonic synthesizer module emulating the simple design and sound of classic Roland TB-303 and SH-101 synths. They are made by Technosaurus, a Swiss company best known for their high-end Selector modular synths. It is handmade using the same discrete circuits found in its bigger brothers.

The Microcon is a totally analog table-top synth module that's slightly smaller than the original TB-303. It has one main oscillator capable of either sawtooth or square waveforms, just like the TB-303. The addition of a sub-oscillator is more like SH-101, which can help beef up your bass sounds. The analog lowpass filter is switchable as either 2-pole (12dB/oct) or 4-pole (24dB/oct), which is better than the TB-303 or SH-101 offered. The LFO can modulate the filter cutoff frequency with either triangle or square wave and the VCO can be modulated by square or triangle waves. Simple attack and decay envelope controls and a Glide effect round out this fairly simple to use and highly affordable 303 clone. The Microcon only uses CV and Gate for being controlled externally.

The Microcon II adds MIDI, making this cool little mono-synth available to the masses! The Microcon II has all of the features of the original, but adds MIDI IN for performance and control of parameters such as accent, cutoff frequency and glide. Also new are a filter input to process external signal sources, CV/Gate outputs added, and the Microcon II can be used as a midi to CV converter for other CV/GATE gear.

Sclr

March 21, 2013 @ 10:12 pm

This is a great analog mono synth for the price. The midi is a pain to sort out. example: a modulation wheel can control the pitch bend(?). Its a little odd with the routing, midi etc but its a bassy little beast. It sounds nice, the square and tri are really quality.

Preston

May 26, 2012 @ 4:54 am

I've got one for sale. MelodicDreamerPDX@gmail.com

crystalmsc

December 10, 2010 @ 3:10 am

The Microcon II is my dearest portable mono synth. The tone is just there! I think simplicity and great components are the keys to the audio quality. It's limited, but for what it is, the synth reacted so good to the voice in my head, which means a lot to me. Love the buzzy 12db filter, the square osc and lfo. When the CV on the VCF section switched to on it gives a slight tone variation with increasing pitch. The Sub Oscillator gives a big support to the already great sounding main osc. When switched to gate in the VCA section, it gives an additional control by bypassing the Envelope to follow the gate signal. It's handy for some situation. The owner Jurg Oldani is a very supportive person. This synth is the biggest, small monster in my studio!

thispoison

October 22, 2010 @ 9:28 am

They can be very fiddly to use due to the compact size, and I found the multi-functional nature of the jack-sockets (including mixing "in" and "out" through one socket!) made connectivity a nightmare.

This was further multiplied by being fortunate to source all four (Microcon, Microcon II, Cyclodon and Effexon) but the sonic quality made it all worthwhile.

Eventually I wired them all to a dedicated jackfield and I have to say I've never looked back. Great fun.

skunk3

April 25, 2010 @ 9:25 am

A lot of people say that this is a sort of unofficial SH-101/MC-202 clone but I disagree. It is definitely great for acid and fat bass! I love these synths, I have a Microcon II (paid $350 on Craigslist... sweet!) and I wouldn't sell it unless times were REALLY dire. They are really small, built great, and sound fantastic. Plus, if you have a Microcon II it works as a midi to CV converter, which is a nice bonus. I really hope Technosaurus starts making gear again soon, because I'd love to get an Effexon! If Technosaurus made a Microcon III with a built-in sequencer, it would become legendary.

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