Should you buy an MS-20 MINI (Late Night Tips)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Check out my EP on Bandcamp: romeostatic.ba...
...and on UA-cam: goo.gl/E3rB3X
Yes!
Elektron Octatrack + Elektron Monomachine + Moog Slim Phatty + Korg MS-20 Mini + Nord Drum + iPad Samplr + Electribe 2 + Ensoniq MR76 + Korg Volca Keys + iConnectMidi4+ + TC Electronic Dittox4 + Line 6 M9 + Line 6 M5 + iPad Samplr
Additional samples from Yamaha MK-100.
FB: / halution
Bandcamp: halution.bandc...
The MS20 is a total gateway drug.
4 years later, and I now have 9 more synths
Can Confirm!
IT also kind of spoils you for other subtractive synths because it's so awesome.
Seriously "LOL Squirt" dude, on repeat! 🤣🤣🤣
Its aggressive af. Is a must if you into industrial and raw tek
Yeah I love it for its rude voice. You can patch some chaos on this little beast.
Oh yes, but is excellent with ambient aswell, very versatile little monster 🎉
Bought the MS-20, was broke for a couple weeks and I hated that. I'm already saving up for an Odyssey or Behringer 2600 right now... hehehe
It's a gateway drug!
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial It REALLY is 😂😂
"It can be a gateway drug"- love that! Yeah synths are crack and heroin for music synth nerds and geeks like us.
oh yeah!
well be thankful it is way cheaper than aviation and exotic cars! I am a pilot not commercial and that is way more expensive to rent or own a small Cessna or Piper! At least when you invest in decent gear it provides years of enjoyment without additional cost. A small Cessna 172 costs 50-60k used and if you ever need a new engine that is a 40k cost plus yearly annual inspections! I switched from airplanes to music gear as it is just as fun and WAY less expensive!
Love mine
I actually got rid of mine but mostly due to space restrictions :) It's an awesome synth!
Greetings from Montréal!
Do you have a video with the mic plugged?
Nope, never tried that.
Is it that noisy cause I need to record it and need clean sound.But if the hiss is minor I'll be alright.
is the MS20 mini by KORG his price worth?
Yes. MS-20 mini is the price worth, u got the most experimental semi-modular analog sound synth. u need to know what are u doing. it's not a main synth. With SQ-1 or SQ-64 together a killer-drum-machine, with bigsky or valhallashimmer an incredible ambient synth.
ms20 is ok.... a korg radias is better!!
I had an ms 20 back in the day..... ok for multi track stack sound work.. mono only...
now the radias has more!! poly too!!
and on the radias r you can add it to a m3 88 keybed for full scale...
tangerine dream used the radias units!!
if you want a real synth work horse save your money and buy a larger korg unit!
like a kronos!!
less fast access control than a modular system..
but better bang for the bucks!!
Yeah Radias is a powerhouse! Thanks for watching!
Great video!
I play guitar in an indie rock band "Victory Through Sound" and we've been thinking about adding a bit of keyboards into the mix....I can't play keyboards but we're only looking at small bits to add to songs that would be easy to learn....
My question is......can it be plugged into a mixer or amp?
Sorry for amateur question as I am a guitarist.
P.S. Check out our UA-cam channel "victory through sound" 🎶
Hey! Thanks for watching! A mixer would be a much better option for you, as the amp will probably color the the sound too much. For a mixer you can use a stereo headphone jack into two 1/4 jacks and plug it into a stereo input. Keep in mind that analog synths like a bit of reverb or delay (or both) to really shine. And also, if you're not a keyboard player, you might want to get something with an arpeggiator (for a rock band arpeggiator + latch + easy tap tempo). A microbrute can be a nice alternative and I always thought that Roland JDXI looks like a perfect fit for a live rock band, so you might consider those as well.
The hiss you hear is not coming from the noise source but is inherent to the design of the ms 20 filter. My doepfer ms-20 filter clone modules have a high noise floor as well.......
So it's not a bug... it's a feature! Thanks for the clarification, it's good to know that it's not a problem with my unit.
I have an original ms-20. I never noticed anything like that.
you can't hear the circuit noise if the vca is closed of course.....
adds character :-)
Cozmovox it has a damn loud noise EVEN when the vco volume is at zero. Unusable for recording. Original MS20 did not have this loud noise. Shame on Korg!
"ms20 mini is a gateway drug..." great line, and being the last of your 'cons' list. Good mini-review, might've pushed me just over into the 'buy it' column for me, cheers.
Thanks for watching. I'm still holding on though: still no modular for me :)
Here's my tip on buying an ms-20 mini.
Yes. Buy it!
Thank you for attending my TED talk.
Agreed. Pro tip right there!
I love mine
ms20mini rules
You didn't mentions that it's a different variant of CV from eurorack, so you can't use it with any other modular gear. It works great solo, but to integrate it to modular setup you will need some converter.
And no velocity! Huge drawback.
SQ-1 takes care of that, Harvestman English Tear is impossible to find.
3:45 ghost.
Yep! Having two cats in a tiny apartment and having enough time to clean will do that for you!
Can it be used as a midi controller, are all the faders and rotary knobs assignable?
Classic synth the MS20, I went for the Arp Odyssey rev3.
It makes think a bit of a Roland Juno with two oscilators. A bit smoother.
My favorite synths for the money:
1. Moog Sub 37
2. Korg MS-20
3. Virus TI2 Polar (EXPENSIVE!)
6.56 Your cat appearing in the shelf (top right) from nowhere :)
Everyone knows that cats can teleport :)
Henning Pedersen 6:56
Never got to realy enjoy the patch bay section, Sold mine to help finance a Analog Four no regrets depends what your looking for..
Very true. The A4 is definitely much more versatile and capable and could probably replicate many of the sounds; the only real advantage of the Ms-20 is its tactile experience and its filter.
HalutioN yes indeed those filters are amazing no doubt!! cant make my a4 scream like that ahah!!
Maybe Minilogue is a better option instead of MS20 mini ,especially combined with the Volc beats.
Its a shame you didn't explore the patchbay... Its the best thing about the MS 20. Its a bit idiosyncratic but it makes the sound shaping possibilities very expansive and without it the Ms 20 is a pretty limited synth. Once you get into the patch bay and start exploring tricks you are only really limited by your imagination (and it being a monophonic synth - though you can of course patch it to a limited duophony).
That said, sounds like you are enjoy the A4 so what ever works for you I guess ;)
I agree with your sentiments on midi. I've noticed that it's being phased out altogether on most keyboard controllers in favour of usb. I'm personally disgusted by that, as it alienates those like myself who deal soley with hardware instruments...
Yeah, lack of Midi thru is inexcusable in anything higher than a volca :)
The original had no MIDI at all.
I'm here from the future to say: Nice work! "Gateway drug" yes indeed!:))) Cheers & happy modulating!
I guess I was full of shit here, cause I never went modular... Thanks for watching!
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial Oh no way am I going "modular"--- those euro-rack set-ups look so... "prissy?" --- I'm "faux semi modular" only. Since I commented I've added a bargain-priced Behringer K-2 (which is set up full time w/no keyboard for vocal mic thru the external in, I can play drumset & sing a synth bassline which shakes the walls & floor, very fun!!:) Also found a cheap ebay nib Behringer model D for 3 oscillator adventuring, very trippy. I'm kind of on a " f̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶ synthesize while Rome burns" mental health strategy for 2023. Cheers & loved that you got back! :))))
Yeah: semi-modular is the way to go. For me, all I really need is the 0coast from Make Noise. What a machine!
First I have had the controller, same size as the mini. The software I bought a few years before, so no big probleme. In august 2021I bought the new FS (Full Size) version (in blue) and I would never change back to the mini or the controller...
For an analog synth, this is the bargain deal out right now. Add in a Mother 32 and Minitaur and rock like crazy live without hauling lots of big heavy gear. What sequencer and mixer would you recommend to hook up all these gears?
There are so many of them right now. I'm not objective as an elektron fanboy, but I would go with the DIGITAKT for monophonic synths. I've also seen people getting great results with Social Entropy Engine.
Thanks! I will have to get some hands on time with both gears. Right now I've been busy learning my new Microkorg which is great fun with the vocoder and super light and good for the money. Between that and learning to play electric guitar, my time is limited right now :-)
i imagine 6 years later you already know this, but in case anyone else is curious:
the noise leak brought up at around 2:20 is due to the ms-20 mini using the rev 1 filter. its the very dirty/saturated filter that gives the ms-20 its character n sound that most people want, it has a bit of background noise and also a very quiet click when triggering the envelope generator.
i have the ms-20 full size reissue and when using the rev 1 filter (the filter used in the mini) it does the EXACT same thing shown in this video. when I switch to the rev 2 filter (a noticeably cleaner filter), the background noise is completely gone as well as said click. (but the rev2 filter has a diff sound and most people seem to prefer the rev 1)
just letting anyone know that there is nothing wrong about your unit or this person's unit and not to be alarmed if you hear noise, its "supposed" to be there.
thanks! for a second i was worried
not sure how to guage it from the video since it just says "amplified"
and btw, do you mean the ms 20 FS has more features? (at least 2 different filter modes)? i figured it was only a size difference
@@rautshsale1948 Hey! No, the ms-20 FS is just a size difference. the only real "new" feature is being able to switch between the old and new filter models, nothing else. Outside of that, there is technically an auto power-off feature if no keys are pressed for 4 hours, but thats not anything note worthy lol. Its all exactly the same as the mini.
Although, having the 2 filter modes turned out to be way cooler than I expected. If you make patches that utilizes a lot of filter modulation and resonance, switching between the two filters changes the sound pretty significantly sometimes. It's less apparent on simpler lead or bass patches though.
@@coolguy2783 thank you for the reply. ironically, after reading your comment yesterday, i went down this rabbit hole and started reading post after post of people talking about the noise on the MS 20 mini, although i really could not understand 'how much more' it is compared to the OG, or the FS. some say it is due to some different chips being used? (could not confirm though) it was brought up several times that exactly for simple leads, etc the noise was too obvious and way too many people simply found peace with it, by saying it adds to the sound lol so really not sure now.
will try to find some actual examples on a blog or so for more critical comparison and try to make my own opinion. coz the MS 20 mini seems way too interesting otherwise
i could live without the 2 filter options, but i still have not made up my mind about the noise
Can anyone recommend a good ms-20 ambient album?
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2
Coil - Time Machines
note: the MS-20 mini is 86% of the original size (not 86% smaller then the original)
Yeah, a total slip of tongue. 865 would be reaaaaaaal tiny :)
Pocket size
For a modular or, semi-modular, your best bet is to search out something like encore midi expressionist or similar et al or, find schematics an IC rom burner/writer. You can then use you rack or, build your custom modules to take midi CC#'s and output control voltages, triggers, gates etcto get serious mileage from your modulars
any chance you could make a video explaining the patch panel? i currently have the vst version and i really enjoy this synth which i'm considering to buy soon enough hardware. and yes you are right it can be a gate to modular synth, this is aboslutely right. me personally, I was already looking into start a modular set and then i thought "uh hang on a sec, i can get an ms 20 mini for the same money i would spend to get a basic doepfer modular synth." and the thing is also that the ms 20 is a semimodular really so i presume i can then integrate it with a modular set. I really love this synth. Anyway returning to my question could you make a video for the patch panel? loooool
Thank you you're great, you have me buying this synth.
Thanks for watching. Sadly, I don't own an MS-20 any more, but once I get my hands on one, that would be a cool video idea!
ive watched Mark Doty's videos but the patching bit is a bit confusing, I'm sure it won't be when i put my hands on deck. I can defo say that this synth is not for beginners though, youve got to know the basics of synthesis. I CANNOT wait to get my hands on one of them tbh. Also, the price is fantastic.
-talking +action
What about build quality? I have read that the build quality sucks
Here's what you can do with just the ms-20 mini. No drums no sequencer or anything. All sounds are just it.
ua-cam.com/video/Au14Xpb-ccM/v-deo.html
damn, I miss mine!
Just got my hands on one of these synths and after watching one or two youtube videos to work out how to fully utilise the patch bay.I find it a great piece of kit to use, also, from what I remember of the noise problem,
apparently it was inherent in the original MS20, it also adds to the character of the sound , but can be filtered out as you move the L/H pass filters up....Nice video.
Do you have a link to the youtube video where the mic is used for cv generation?
Sure: ua-cam.com/video/Dxl_ZQezVAw/v-deo.html
What kind of amp is most suitable for this synth? one for bass?
Possible. I use a ms20 for bass lines mostly. But it is incredibly versatile.
I'm beginner and is this one a good choice for first synth?
A good question. If you want to learn about synthesis it seems like a perfect blend of traditional (normaled) syhthesis and patching, so yes -- a good choice. Get ready for a relatively steep learning curve, though. For complete beginners, I'd recommend starting with a Volca Keys or a Monotron.
Just got mine yesterday. So far my biggest beef is the 1/8” output Jack. Really the patch jacks should have been 1/4” too but that’s not as much of a pain in the azz having to run adapters to amps and pedals etc.
is the build quality good? I heard it isn't that good.
I love my ms20 mini but the keyboard intervals are so badly calibrated I'm a 1/2 semitone out at 2 octaves. I have no idea how to fix it either.
Is the MS-20 mini capable of playing manual chords? Reason I ask is because a lot of the demos I've seen of this synth have all shown people playing monophonic synths. I have yet to see people demo pads or strings with the MS-20 mini.
Let me know. Thank you.
Hello, how much would you consider is a fair price to pay for this synth (as new)? I'm about to purchase one
If you're purchasing it new I guess it's whatever they're selling it for :) I guess 400-450 USD for a used mini is a good price.
Is it possible to plug in a full size keyboard?
Sure! If you get the mini version (the current reissue, not the 70's original) it has a MIDI IN and also will take MIDI over USB from your DAW. Keep in mind that midi is hard-wired to channel 1, so watch out that you don't have another such instrument in your MIDI signal chain.
thanks, getting mine this week. also nice cat
Could you sync this with drumbrute impact?
I bought the 2018 White Limited edition and it STILL has this noise in a big way. Shame on Korg! The original Ms-20 did not have this loud White Noise.
Interesting. I actually didn't mind the noise and someone in the comments here explained why it's happening.
Learn to play.
will do! thanks for the tip!
Great vídeo. Greetings from brasil
Is it recently made model of ms20 you got? It sounds awesome but I find it annoying to have white noise in the oscillator.
This or arp odyssey for 70s mellow leads?
Haven't had the chance to try the arp hands on. The MS is definitely capable of mellow leads, but there's always the unmistakable character of that filter. So, if you're looking for the classic (or, as some might say, generic) 70's vibe, then probably the ARP.
HalutioN I here ya. I've only heard demos myself. Lots of. To me he ms20 gets more bassy and has a thicker/ creamier lead potential. I've heard some amazing demos. The arp seems more for the convential players, and has amazing mid range sounds to cut through a mix. It's impressive
You can definitely get some creamy tones with the MS-20. If you get it, be careful not to abuse the High Pass filter because, as tempting as it is, you can easily thin it out too much and make it difficult to mix in: I made that mistake on my newest EP.
No one vst emulated real synths good. Because of it, i buying real instruments.
On the other hand I tried a blind test between the real synth and the VST and I failed :)
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial Understandig you. But... i have all "arturia v collection", nord stage vst, polivox vst... ufffff... sounds close, but very different. And what i listen in reviews about other emulations - dont like to me too.
Should you buy a Korg MS 20 Mini?......YES
Couldn't agree more!
lol "a gateway drug" indeed. Purchased my first Korg (X3) in 1993 and just today ordered the MS-20, can't wait for my toy to arrive!!
Congrats! You're gonna have a ton of fun with it :)
How are you enjoying it a year later?
Everything I hear from the ms-20 sounds golden and why as of this writing I have not gotten one I just do not know!
It's just a completely unique sound. Start with an app, see how you like it and then hunt one down :)
SIR! YES SIR ! :) :) :) LOL
Great synth except for the build quality which is total ass.
Must admit it’s a bit chintzy. But it sounds gnarly and distinctive.
i know you're just blazed in all of your videos
Am I now?
3:55 Anyone here should check out the synthwave artist Gateway Drugs
Thanks, I'll scope him out!
Can I run it into a Marshall amp and/or PA monitors? What’s the best source of sound?
Generally, it's best to run into a mixer and then into the monitors. A guitar amp would certainly be interesting but it's going to color the sound a lot and probably limit some of the low end. Could be a cool sound, though.
Late Night Beats ok thanks. I really thought I wanted the Grandmother but the more videos I watch, the more I actually like the sound of the MS. Except you can run your guitar into the Grandmother and I have read you can with the MS but apparently it’s not as easy to make work. Perhaps for the same reason it’s not as easy to build a Eurorack with.
6:30 nice kitty shelf
Yeah, he loves it there!
i really wanna buy one but the hz/oct throws me back
Nice video! I just bought one for a rather good price, can’t wait to patch it to my 0-coast
It could get really crazy with 0Coast's math section and random generator. Have fun!
Mines is in route.great review
Thanks for watching! You're going to love it!
Sameee, watching this 2hrs before mine arrives!!!!
You don't even need to watch this, Yes you should :), I'm hooked on mine
it's a great synth!
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial I love mine, and I watched it anyway, more ms20 patches would be cool, it's a desert island synth for sure
If you are cool you SHOULD!
Yes, gateway drug is a bad expression...
I guess I'm playing off a somewhat popular meme about introducing your children to modular so that they can never afford drugs :)
Could you sequence this with an Arturia Beatstep (original)
Never had the chance to interact with the Beatstep for any longer, but I would assume that yes. I think MS-20 uses Hertz per Volt not the typical Volt per Octave, so that can cause some issues. I made a video about sequencing the MS-20 from an Analog Four: there should be more info there.
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial I see this as a feature not a flaw. Move beyond 12 TET. Electronic music is not harmonic and in tune in all 12 keys! What the hell are keys?
6:24 Cat finds a place to rest in the shelves.
That's why they're there...
TL;DR
yes it's good.
It is odd that they did not add memory in it.
That would kind of defeat the purpose, as I believe they would have to redesign the whole thing pretty much from the ground up. Right now the only digital element is midi, the rest is all purely analog, all voltage and pots: no funny business 😎
But then Minimoog Voyager has 128 presets and storage.
How I view it is that the Voyager was designed in the 2000's and released in 2002, when digital-analog interfacing was available and easy. The MS-20 is essentially a re-issue of a 1978 synth with modern components, so adding presets would mean re-designing the entire synth infrastructure by adding digital interfacing to each component. Plus there's the issue of the knobs not representing the actual state of the synth, something which Slim Phatty for example mitigates with LEDs.
That makes the MS 20 rather a sound design machine especially with the patches than a performing instrument.
It is a potent sound deign tool, but--not to be a compulsive contrarian--a lot of people play their modulars live so it depends what you're looking for in a synth. I'd say that not many people play their ms-20's live as they're kinda bulky, fragile and generally a pain to move around :)
What the hell is at 3:46?
Probably a speck of dust flying real close to the camera and lit by lamps. I live in a small apartment with two cats, so I pretty much have to vacuum clean daily not to drown in dust 🙀🙀🙀
3:47 Hair on the air, btw nice review !
The joys of having two cats running around a small apartment :) Thanks for watching!
Great review! Want to bye
Glad to hear it. It's an awesome synth!
does it do arppegiator?
No..
Great video once again! It would be great to see a video that ran through the entire patchbay!
That would be a nice challenge for me to make a run-down. I'l study up, and post something when ready :)
check out automatic gainsays videos ... he does a like 10 video series going through the patch bay in detail ... very, very, helpful
@@andersingram I love Marc/AG -- ua-cam.com/video/Dxl_ZQezVAw/v-deo.html -- no but seriously. What a cutie, plus synth enthusiasm & hardcore youtube hands on based
badassery for light-years!
Thanks for the late night tips
No problem! Enjoy :)
Getting one of these beautiful pieces of equipment soon. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to pair it with? Like any drum machines or etc.. I love dark sounding drones and ambient music. Trying to recreate that style of sound/music. Thank you!
Wow, the sky is the limit here and it's highly subjective, so please take my recommendation with a grain of salt. I think the MS definitely needs a touch of reverb, so a reverb pedal would be great. When it comes to ambient / drone a lot depends on how you want to make music. I always think that an iPad is actually the most versatile device for this style: apps like Borderlands or Samplr are awesome for ambient and -- if you get a midi interface for the iPad -- you can take advantage of many non-linear sequencer for slower tempos. If you'd prefer to steer clear of iPads, maybe something like an Elektron Model:Cycles / Samples could do nicely as a sequencer / additional sound source. I believe with the new Digitakt / Digitone update you can process external sound sources via its reverb, so you could get all functionalities (additional sounds, MS-20 sequencing and reverb) in one box. That being said, I used to own a Digitakt and a Digitone and I sold them, because I wasn't using them a lot...
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial very useful information thank you very much! What about any of the ValhallaDSP? It’s all online so no need to buy a pedal etc.
Yeah, so it entirely depends on what you're trying to achieve and how you want to get there. I assume that people want to make music outside of a computer environment, because that's how I mostly do it (only for fun, though; when I have some serious music related work to do, I do it 100% in the DAW). With a DAW your options are really limitless :)
Love your swedish accent! musical!
Hey thanks! Actually, probably every other Octatrack channel is located in Sweden, but I'm actually from Poland :)
Haha. Reduced by 86%. Number noob.
How did you get the hiss to completely disappear around 2:55?
The hiss is really barely audible. I just amplified the audio a lot to let you hear the hiss, but when I returned to normal audio settings you just can't hear it anymore.
what program do you use for reverb? is it free sorry im a newbie
I'm not sure if I remember; most probably it was not a plugin but just a physical reverb pedal. At this time I believe I had an old BOSS RV-6.
Too much talking
Agreed; it is pretty verbose :) Plus, my delivery leaves something to be desired. I guess I wanted to cover a lot of ground in one film. Would you rather see more sound examples in my future videos?
I liked having your explanations and opinions throughout.
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial great review man. I like how you're taking every bit of feedback. The noise problem on the mini is kind of a turnoff for me! Is that just a problem with newer analog synth hardware? Maybe the original MS20 had white noise bleed to begin with and have just aged?
in 2021 would you still recommend this or are there better alternatives?
That’s a very good question. It of course depends on what you’re looking for in a synth. If you’re after the iconing MS-20 sound with two filters and a keyboard, go with the Korg. If you’re more interested in a semi modular patching and playing with modular ideas, I’g go with the 0-coast. I currently own the latter.
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial so the MS-20 is still unique in its capabilities? because I would hate to buy it just to find out that there is a newer synth with the same sound but a more user friendly interface with more features. For example the arturia minibrute 2 im not sure if its better or not but they seem similar.
I guess there could be as many opinions as people. Could you recreate the MS-20 sound on a different synth? I bet you can. To me personally the MS-20 has character (oscillators and filters) that is very distinct and unique. It's not a particularly pretty sounding synth, nor is it beefy: it's just very MS-20. But also it's big and fairly limited, so it really depends what you're looking for.
Haha, cat on the shelf :D
Not sure why I'm so amused, but I was jumping back to see him climb up at 6:23
That's his go-to trick :)
Do you still have this synth, and why not? I am not totally sold on it, 1. The sound 2. Noise problems 3. No PWM 4. Not V/oct
Everything you see in this video is long gone. Mosty because it was too big for my tiny space. It’s a great synth, but you have to be careful with the high-pass filter: when I was recording an album with it I went too far with HPF and ended up with a sound that was a bit too thin.
@@LateNightBeatsOfficial Thanks for the tip, I only have the minikorg / 35 filter in euro and a Volca Keys, and actually never played the MS-20, I am just a little confused why it's getting so much praise, is there something I am missing out on compared to other synths. I can imagine that the dual filter is cool. Can I ask what your setup is now?
I feel that the MS-20 does have a distinctive sound of both its oscillators and especially its filter. I now have an OP-Z and a 0-coast but don’t really have the energy to play these days.