Korg • MS-20

Korg MS-20 Image

The MS-20 was one of Korg's first major successful portable analog monosynths and even today it is still a great little machine! The MS-20 is the big brother to the MS-10. It is an analog two-oscillator monophonic lead and bass synth with hard wired and patchable connections. The hard-wiring can be overridden however, using patch-cords. This type of hard-wired but patchable design was similar to the ARP 2600 of the late seventies. Of course the 2600 was much bigger and better. But the MS-20 offered a lot of flexible control and great sounds at a more affordable price.

In addition to two analog oscillators, the MS-20 featured two resonant VCF filters, two VCAs, sample and hold, a noise generator, an assignable mod-wheel and lots of knobs! The VCF filter section is capable of high-pass, low-pass, notch and band-reject which is unique and different than your basic lowpass style filter. External sound sources can be routed through the filter section as well. In fact William Ørbit uses the filter in his MS-20 relentlessly to filter and tweak his samples, beats, delay returns, vocals, etc.

There's also a Pitch-CV converter for triggering sounds from external sources. Aphex Twin makes quite a bit of use of this, feeding the input stage of his MS-20s with drum sounds and other untrackable audio to get the synth to make a wide variety of crunch/squawp/screech noises by mistracking the filters, etc.

As for its sounds, the MS-20 sounds great! It makes a great alternative for Minimoog-seekers. The MS-20 is great for just about any type of analog synth sound you could want! Fat round bass sounds, percussive bass or sounds, noise effects, squiggly-bubbly sounds or sinuous-worm leads are all waiting to be unleashed from inside this classic beast. The MS-20 is not only a great sounding instrument, but a great learning-synth. It is fairly easy and intuitive to operate but in doing so you can learn and understand more about synthesis and signal-flow. It is used by William Ørbit, Aphex Twin, Hardfloor, Air, SkyLab, Stereolab, Vince Clarke, Astral Projection, Biosphere, Apollo 440, Mr. Oizo, Jimi Tenor, The Prodigy, OMD, Freddy Fresh, Luke Vibert, Einstuerzende Neubauten, Add N to (X), Daft Punk, Coldcut, Die Krupps, Skinny Puppy, Electronic Dream Planet, Jimmy Edgar, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, The Legendary Pink Dots, KMFDM, Severed Heads, Royksopp, The Faint, The Shamen, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Portishead.


VISITOR COMMENTS

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sitonka
Posted 73 days ago
Had one of these for only a couple of months and it shows me new tricks everytime i use it. sometimes it feels like it plays itself! The depth of the subs you can create can only be heard on big speakers. I actually scared myself the first time I used it live as I thought I had broken the sub speakers on the P.A.
Alex
Posted 86 days ago
Solar Fields use it too
AndrewCameronZahn
Posted 97 days ago
ALSO "THE FALL" USES THIS (I CLEANED ON UP FOR THEM BEFORE A SHOW A FEW YEARS BACK IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK)
parker
Posted 100 days ago
the ms-20 .pdf file link doesn't work anymore :[ can we re-upload it?
svzig
Posted 112 days ago
I wish to have Korg ms 20.

I will give Polivoks, In exchange on ms 20


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