Make Magazine has nominated the Korg Monotron for its first annual MAKE Magazine Industry Maker Awards, AKA “The Makeys.”

MAKE will nominate (and publish online profiles of) 16 companies that that it thinks have shown outstanding support for independent maker/hacker culture. Four companies/products will be chosen in four categories.

The categories are:

• Most Repair Friendly
• Most Hackable Gadget
• Best Product Documentation
• Best Education/Outreach Program

The Monotron is nominated in the Best Product Documentation category, because Korg went out of its way to support Monotron hacking, noting useful hack points on the synth’s circuit board and providing fully notated schematics for download.

Here’s what Make has to say about the Monotron’s nomination:

In March 2010, Korg, keenly aware of the circuit-bending movement and its interest in hacking old analog synthesizers, released the Monotron—a modern analog synthesizer with a very accessible price point and a simple 16-key “ribbon” keyboard with no moving parts. The analog filter circuit is identical to that found in Korg’s “classic” MS-10 and MS-20 synthesizers. Early Monotron hackers came back with glowing reports of its thoroughly-commented circuit board, and then, in November 2010, Korg published the full Monotron schematic on its website. Even if they do make you fill out a waiver, first, that’s pretty cool. The DIY synth and electronics blogosphere resonated with “more companies should do this.”

Indeed they should. Which is why Korg was a shoe-in as the first of our four nominees for a 2011 Makey in “Best Product Documentation.” Congratulations!

We hope the Monotron’s success, and recognition by Make and the synth DIY community, will encourage Korg and other companies to release more devices that can be customized and hacked.

Winners will be announced at the New York Maker Faire, being held Sept 18-19.

via Make, PalmSound