MS-20 mini

[Faldoe]

Do I need it? The synths I have currently: Novation K-Station, Korg Volca Keys.

Whats the good, the bad?

[$harkToootth]

DUDE, get one! Hands down my favorite synth ever. It's just a mean, rude monophonic machine. But it is also very tameable? As UC demonstrated...it really comes to life with a good reverb (I use an Ibanez echo shifter and/or OBNE Darkstar with mine).

You can patch things into it too for that mean filter and the sample and hold. Use it as a guitar synth pedal.

My other favorite popular synth is the VOLCA FM. This leads to the bad. The only bad I can think of is you owning another subtractive synth. The Keys allegedly has the same filter. But the modulation possibilities on the MS-20 mini are way cool (not endless, just way cool).

I have the minority opinion of preferring mini keys (have a KARP ODYSSEY too and I think would prefer it to the original based on size). I also like the keys on the VOLCAS though.

People think the MS-20 mini is noisey. I like it that way but you can mod it. Also no pulse width modulation but that is an easy mod.

[Pepe]

DUDE, get one!

+1!

People think the MS-20 mini is noisey. I like it that way but you can mod it. Also no pulse width modulation but that is an easy mod.

People who think the MS-20 mini is noisy seem to use the headphones output the whole time. The main output has way less noise. AFAIK the original MS-20 behaves very similarly. And the filter in the MS-20 mini is like the early MS-20 filter that is more noisy by design - but it's also the meaner sounding filter.

Overall the MS-20 mini is a great replica of the original model. At the Musikmesse Frankfurt (two years ago) there was an old model and I tried some of the things that always irritated me (i.e. the odd behaviour of the Sustain knob) and the original model reacted in the very same way. So it's all good!

[D.o.S.]

DUDE, get one!

+2!

The MS filter is amazing, and I think you will really dig it.

[UglyCasanova]

I really like my mini, but I don't have much experience with other synths, so there's that.

[Pepe]

Shoo! Shoo! Go back into your cave!

The MS-20 is like no other synth. You either love it or you hate it. It has a sound on its own and it can produce the shittiest noise you didn't ever want to imagine. I dig it!

[friendship]

That guy Luminist remade the Metroid sountrack using just an MS-20 mini if you want to check out what it's capable of. I've never used one but it sounds cool and the white limited edition version is pretty even though the philistines here disagree with me.

[Ev_O)))]

Bruh check this MS-20 only APHX cover:




Dude says it took him fucking months (Layering every note of the chords individually, hell, just transcribing the fucker) but when you compare it to the original you can see just how fucking versatile this beast is. It was a close second when I made my first big synth purchase a month ago and I still kinda want one...

[MechaGodzilla]

That guy Luminist remade the Metroid sountrack using just an MS-20 mini if you want to check out what it's capable of.

*dashes off to google this, leaving a cloud of smoke in the shape of me like road runner*

[echorec]

Pros: it's all knobs, no menus

Pros: it seems fairly flexible, if you need an analog mono synth and are willing to learn how to use it

Cons: no way to recall presets, shitty MIDI implementation (no MIDI out or Thru, you have to use a USB convertor)

Cons: Korg's procedural warranty practices are fucking shit. I got an Odyssey module recently, after over 3 months of waiting on pre-orders to be fulfilled. It died in the first hour of usage (stuck signal and won't respond to external triggering---huge fucking headache and the closest repair center is more than 80 miles away. Korg won't handle direct repairs and the store wouldn't take it back, because I didn't test the unit immediately. It was sitting in its box unused.)

big pro, that no one seems to be taking advantage of: it can double as a physical controller for iOS apps

[Faldoe]

Sweet. For what they are going for used it seemed well worth it.

[Pepe]

It died in the first hour of usage (stuck signal and won't respond to external triggering---huge fucking headache and the closest repair center is more than 80 miles away. Korg won't handle direct repairs and the store wouldn't take it back, because I didn't test the unit immediately. It was sitting in its box unused.)

Ah! I think that's no flaw. Someone in a German synth forum had the same "error" and it was just a slider that was in the wrong position. Better check it out again. I don't know anymore which slider that was. Maybe there's a setting chart in the manual for starting with the synth. I'm VERY sure that you have the same problem.
EDIT: I think it was the VCA Gain slider.

[UglyCasanova]

big pro, that no one seems to be taking advantage of: it can double as a physical controller for iOS apps

*Raises hand*

I do.



Mixing the MS-20 with AniMoog or the Model 15 app is great, or just the iMS-20 app for more oscillators.

[echorec]

It died in the first hour of usage (stuck signal and won't respond to external triggering---huge fucking headache and the closest repair center is more than 80 miles away. Korg won't handle direct repairs and the store wouldn't take it back, because I didn't test the unit immediately. It was sitting in its box unused.)

Ah! I think that's no flaw. Someone in a German synth forum had the same error and it was a slider that was in the wrong position. Better check it out again. I don't know anymore which slider that was. Maybe there's a setting chart in the manual for starting with the synth. I'm VERY sure that you have the same problem.

Unfortunately I shipped the unit 1,000 miles away and then it crapped out. The buyer was an experienced synth user and he spent hours trying to get it to cooperate with no luck. Of course I contacted Korg's technical service (they won't help over the phone, you have to e-mail them) and then passed along their advice to the new owner.

As far as notes sustaining, please check and see if the VCA gain is turned all the way down so you will only hear the sound when the keys are pressed. If LFO Repeat or Auto Repeat switches are on in the ADSR section, notes will also be heard even when keys are not being pressed.

If this is not your issue and the notes are still sustaining uncontrollable via MIDI, as well as being unresponsive not due to a program setting, I would recommend that the Odyssey be inspected and/or repaired at a Korg-authorized service center.

All the unit's slider pots have been reset and the issue persists, so it seems like Korg sold me a dud. ---If this was an easy snag to hit, then perhaps Korg needs to give users a better manual or improve their QC. Either way, I don't like contacting Korg USA---their phone guy is very smug and he always talks over you, like you don't know anything and he always tries to move you along, without admitting that maybe Korg's practices aren't the best.

---The pre-order delay was a joke (>3 months is inexcusable for a large manufacturer).
---The reliability of the unit seems to seriously be in question.
---Refusing to let me return the unit, when it malfunctions in the first 60 days is unacceptable.
---Telling me, "Oh yeah, it's so easy to get this serviced. Everyone's got a nearby Korg tech," wasn't helpful. I'm 80 miles from a service center. That'd likely result in two trips and over 300 miles of driving. Whether I drive it or ship it, getting it serviced is a big hassle and possibly a significant expense, despite it being under warranty.

My vintage Korg stuff has been reliable, but I thought the Minilogue felt cheap and sounded somewhat thin, so I sold it. So far, the Odyssey experience has been an unrelenting aggravation. All of this leaves me quite unimpressed with Korg these days.

Anyway, back to your regularly-scheduled MS-20 programming.

[Pepe]

Oh, that's a bummer.