Got the MS20M (module) and it'll never leave my place! Also, PWM. :) The only true classic synth tone that I needed to own. No Moog or Buchla or Sequential for me! Korg is the punkish brat with attitude that I need. :)
I wanted an MS20 since I was a kiddie in the 80's, but wasn't keen on the teeny one. The module had some extra features from memory? I ended up with one of the FS re-issues (in army-green, they ran out of black) and love it (apart from the freaky envelope behaviours)
But would one argue the original is more nasty too? I played on a ole 80’s model and fell in love but it’s like 5000 monies now since none are near me (need shipped) So would you guys vouch for the ms 20 mini? I just like having fun like this and it sounds squelchy and amazing to my ears!! I personally love that knobs are as janky as my life lol. Seeing them for like 150-200 quid these days so curious.
I own the Ms-20 Mini and the Ms-20 FS and i absolutely love them. Sure, there are lots of alternatives out there, but i always loved the sound of the MS-20 and the originals are sometimes expensive. And i don´t have any problems with wobbling knobs. And i use especially the MS-20 Mini a lot.
I dislike mini-keys so I got me the “Kit” version back in 2014. In a nutshell: way too expensive, full size, pretty good build, both filters available (one noisy and one not), assemble-it-yourself. It sounds awesome and I love it.
Kind of proving the point that it’s not really the gear but the musician. Get whatever you can afford then practice and make the best music you can with it. A shaved monkey with the best flagship synth will still always sound like a shaved monkey trying to play a flagship synth.
I love my MS-20 mini. A trick I saw on UA-cam and implemented immediately, it has 2 outs, main and headphones. Use the headphones out as your main and use the main out as a patch in the ext. in for feedback. Did you think it sounded fat before? Tweak the signal level and it goes insane.
My first synthesizer, purchased in 1980 by mail. I had never played an MS-20, and completely depended upon the Korg name and the fact that Joe and Gino Vannelli mentioned them in Keyboard magazine to inform my decision. I never found it a very good lead synth and mostly used it for bass. When we bought a home just a few blocks away from the local AM radio station tower I discovered I could “play” the radio on my MS-20, as it would pickup up the RF and when I triggered the VCA and VCF the radio signal would pass to the output. That was a good bit of luck to discover alternate sound sources for electronic music.
Whoa!!! Nice!! Yeah i often hear stories of people who lived near by an AM transmitter site and how easily they could hear the AM stations from objects like kitchenware (pans and pots). But i never heard of a synthesizer's circuits being affected by AM broadcasts. But it makes sense :D
killer like usual, but the end part with the synth voice shout outs, is legend. those sounded amazing. As far as the MS-20, I have the K-2, but still want the OG version.
hi! i find the k2 incredibly capable and faithful reproduction!!!!!!! + the ESP is imo more useful for design application (perhaps one of the places it loses its 1:1). whats making you want a korg original ?
I absolutely love this synth, whether OG or reissue, full-size or mini. The sound, the look, the filter. So grimy. The K2 sounds as good, but the form factor of the 20 (full-size or mini) is just rad. For some bizarre reason I have the 20ic as well which I've never used.
Have one standing next to me from 2013, the knobs and keys are as tight as when I bought it. And yes it got lots of use over the years. Great video btw, nice inspiration for some new patching ideas 😀
Man.. Jam 2 sells this son of a korg so hard. I'm very pleased that you chose to upload ALL of the video, and not just jam 2... By doing so, you protected my wallet from sudden deflation and my sanity from deep despair and suffering.
I have both the MS-20 mini and the K-2, which provides additional filter options as the latter isn't as noisy and have a 1/4" output. That being said, some patches just sound better on the noisier MS-20 mini, so the combo allows it to tick the missing 14% of those boxes 😂
Bless you mate for another fantastic episode. A friend of mine bought one of these, I was truly shocked at the build quality, kind of reminiscent of a interactive kids toy at a Future Museum which had been mashed up by 1,000 coach loads of special children. 😂
does the release of the new Teenage Engineering KOII mean we will see an appearance from the original TE KO on BadGear soon? maybe accompanied by the wooden TE nutcracker choir
No regrets selling this one, brought it when it came out and yea nah I can't get it to work in my music.. It sounds cool in other peoples stuff but I prefer my original 700s over the gnarly MS-20 mini. Build quality is shocking, if Behringer did this the internet would be on fire. Interesting points are this was supposed to ship with both filters but last minute they decided against it. If you look at the circuit board the space is there for the second filter type. I think I am the second person in the world who did this tho theirs as I modified my mini to have both filters. The other issue is a massive DC thump on the K35 when pressing a key from not matching the transistors that's not a issue on the original and I could go on
that was my dream synth ten years ago. i got it this year on third hand market.... before watching i thought the hate would be towards the size and the filters... but i was surprised to see build quality in there! but fair enough. i like that it isn't as heavy as the original so i can carry it around easier.
Fixed the noise issue by using a filter used by audiophiles to clean the ac power. Forget the brand I used but it worked on my friends ms 20m when it first came out.
Lost it at Cronenberg and differently social, but I expect to a few times per Bad Gear. Was not expecting the deep (and wet) nostalgic tone of the Wub House demo-DAMN that bangs.
I have this one and a k2. The ms20mini sounds awesome, the k2 is almost there, but both of them at the same time are awesome... Funny thing is that the k2 has better build quality lol
Great as always! Nice idea with the TE choir guy. That was actually pretty cool! The MS-20 Mini has definitely appealed to me over the years, but I never picked one up. Not that I have the money now anyway, heh. I didn't know about some of those issues, either. Guess it makes more sense why it made it onto the show!
When it comes to the keybed. I've got an old MS-10 here. I can't imagine a worse keybed. But ... the filter let me forget the build quality. And it looks nice.
Hahaha brilliant! I'm surprised it took so long to get on here. Yeah, I'd have loved having an original or the full-size reissue, but I can't justify the price. I'll more than happily make do with my mini despite the wobbly knobs because I love the sound.
This video explains every problem i have with korg for the most part...the moment the screen said 'no thats not clipping it sounds that way out the box'
Well done Florian, but I think it's long past time for you to see if you can manage to pull your intro theme out of the wild and wacky Hydrasynth line. No easy task, I assure you! 😎
If Korg made an MS-20 filter module it might tempt me into modular! I think I'm happy to leave the rest of it behind. I feel extra lucky to have caught Arturia's giveaway of their MS-20 filter plugin--it was free for a few weeks when it first came out.
Ms20 might be my favourite synth of all time. I have the original as well as the mini. The noise thump on the mini is indeed annoying but it has one huge advantage over the original. And that is the portamento circuit is after the midi in whereby with the original it is before the trig so there is no glide when sequencing :-(
I loved it so much I bought mine off the showroom floor years back! Mojo for days and kills at lead and bass, but eventually the loud VCA really got in the way of using it in the more esoteric ways I wanted to. So I got a eurorack version of the filter with even more options so I could sell my MS-20 mini. But it’s still the meanest, punk, and pissed off sounding synth I have encountered. I still have my mini and I think it is the main synth my GF would be mad if I got rid of 😂. My knobs are pretty sturdy and probably had been gorilla groped by many before crossing my path lol. Maybe a kit or FS will grab me the same way someday. Thanks for the vid! Surprised, yet not to see it on here but I would have thought you would have gone nuts for the MS-20. It’s like an alien Predator technology that some punk from the future witnessed, but was sent back in time naked to the 60s, the Soviet army tried to extract what they could of their memory to recreate it, however due to incompatibility of the specimen the project was discarded, they escaped to Japan but died in some Akira type vibes, and the deciphered alien technology and spirit of this punk became the MS-20. I think that’s what my manual says, but I may be misremembering?
Speaking of guitar synths, have you ever thought about featuring one on the show? The fact that Roland has produced quite a few over the years should make one ideal for the show.😄
Wie immer, gut gemacht! I picked up an MS-20 FS last year, and I had similar complaints about the keys and the build quality. Couldn't believe the MS-20 cost more than twice the Uno Synth Pro (FS) I also picked up, but the build quality was half of the Uno Synth Pro. Now, if I could somehow mate the MS-20 and the Uno Synth Pro, THEN I'd have a babysynth that was seriously playable, tweakable, and monster sounding all in one piece of gear. Should also add, despite the lacking build quality of the MS-20, I think it sounds ball-busting great.
I bought this in the early 80’s for 500.00 and loved it. It was the first analog synth I bought and didn’t own another one until the Moog Modular’s came out a few years ago (I own three of them). At the time this came out there were no true affordable analog synths with patching like it. Not sure why they came out with again, but for the time I owned it I got a lot out of it.
For all the valid caveats there are to this synth, this only makes me want to learn to use my further! All of those jams were straight up bangers. Genuinely curious, how did you use your Beatstep to modulate it? I didn't even know it could modulate things other than pitch via Midi? Great video as ever, and oh boy, the Lossy meme is so real, yikes. 😅
"Input for external signal processor would of been nice" ... wait I though there was one? What and how are you processing the volca drum on 1:38? It sounds so good! Do you have to hold one of the keys down? Is that the criticism?
I got the korg legacy collection when it came out and have the ms20 controller that came with it. I would never give it up. I had wanted to get the ms20 mini but never did. Looks like i didnt miss much. Im very happy with the software and controller. I feel the build quality is better on the controller. Also through the software it can be made polyphonic which is an advantage over the hardware. I know some people feel that the software is dated, and also arguably not the same since its digital, however ive done some great things with it and im completely satisfied with it.
Had a shot of the (VST) plugin for this and was pretty surprised by the quality . No wobbly knobs - Pardon the expression . I'm looking forward to see the new Behringer clone of the old UB-Xa. as the original is VERY Expensive Oh . Quality content .. Thanks
Tested it and rather have chosen a lot better made Behringer with both filters. Anyways, still really glad that Korg are doing those and are not Rolanding. All the best! ;-)
I nearly got one, but bagged an MS20-FS last year instead, which only comes with 10% of the noise issues. While build quality is better, the keyboard is still nothing to write home about full size but it plays nice and fast. You need any amount of external devices to vaguely modernise it. It's paired with a Minibrute 2S which seems to be the cheapest standalone thing that can do Hz/V, but I still have to jury-rig S-Trigs using Softube Modular, a bunch of logic circuits and a DC-coupled audio interface. Seriously, what would it cost them to add PWM, sync, velocity and/or aftertouch and a V/Oct/Normal Trig switch? Oh, and in the release year of our lord 2022 you could still have any MIDI channel you like as long as it was 1. All for nine-hundred and fifteen of your British pounds. There's my only-slightly-not-as-Bad Gear review. Can't get that sound anywhere else though (but nice try Arturia-Korg)
@@AudioPilz it's good because you get both filters (the remaining noise is only from the MkI filter), but honestly I'd rather have the MS20-M (though I do like mine in blue). And Cascadia has redefined the MIDI/CV-in-one-semi-modular state of the art for me. I know the MS-20 is *supposed* to be primitive but *some* cheap QOL improvements would be nice...
Well, thanks you just saved me $400 that might have been spent on an abused MS-20 Mini with the knobs falling off. There are few synths that have that super-dirty sound and I still love the ring mod. But I'm looking at the Waldorf Rocket as a close substitute. Do you have any suggestions for similar-sounding monosynths?
When it launched it really looked like a miracle - a fully featured reissue of an old analog synth from one of the Japanese giants that for a decade or two were acting like "Analog synths? Oh, you mean virtual analog?". I wonder if today the MS-20 Mini or the Behringer K-2 is of better quality?
Is that this genre? No lie Audio Pilz made me love whatever he did at 7:41 hahaha. Is that Wub House? I may have to just sub to this patron for anything he makes… is fucking golden haha. Reminded of of 90’s psytrance but more intricate and better! (I dislike psytrance for it being so boring and predictable) but this was fantastic!!
If you could do a scathing review of the Korg/Arp 2600-M next and make the price crash on the second hand market, I would be very grateful. It's been on my wishlist for years now. The MS-20 mini is a beast, I love mine.
The tracks were killer - honestly, I've never lusted for one of these. I'm just here for the cool music made with it. That said, I have nothing against it - they are cool.
You can use the volca’s as a paperweight at least 😅 I low key love this synth. Watching him bring the best out of units is always awe inspiring. I loved the original from the 80’s but refuse to pay like 3 grand for them due to people with garage inflation lol. The mini wasn’t that bad sounding here!!
There are a lot more options now (from Moog, Arturia and others), but at the time it might have been the only in-production analogue synth with a substantial patch bay. That not only made for more creative patching, but allowed for interesting integration with Eurorack (as long as you had a Hz/V adapter). The noise floor took me aback when I first heard it direct from the headphone out, but I never really noticed it in a mix. I’ve had a lot of fun with mine, but I’m not sure I’d go for it now given the alternatives.
You always do this! 7:55 became my favorite genre of music whatever that jam was xD you’re a genius man. I genuinely cannot find a video I never A laugh so much with the comedic jams, and B enjoy myself watching another gear nut just go ham at his craft. You. Are. A gift 😂❤
We have definitely too many mono synths... I have a strange feeling that this one is not so much different than other in the same price range category. Interesting review. Cheers!
I certainly agree that there are a lot of monos out there, but for myself, having owned far too many monos and sold most of them, the MS-20 is the only one that I really look back with fondness, and sometimes think about grabbing again. There's something about this incredibly noisy and leaky circuit, accessible and sometimes odd patch bay, fake duophony, and general "vibe" that really makes this one stick out to me. Definitely get a chance to try one out for yourself sometime. There's a reason why there is a mild cult following around this one. For extra fun, check out the other ones in this series, like the MS-10 which will lead you to die hards who believe that's the true MS series king. Ultimately, you are correct in that it's "just a mono", but sometimes the whole is more than the parts! I would say that AudioPilz is excellent at riffing on synths, but they do tend to skew more conservative in the palletes they share, while the MS-20 really shines and standouts when you start pushing it into weirder territory! For example, they mentioned struggling with the noise floor, whereas in my opinion, that's one of the charms and draws of it! Good luck!
@@FatherSaccharine Thanks for sharing your experience. Personally I have only a few Craves (also semimodular and these work nice in triplet) and my beloved desktop Uno Synth Pro with extremally easy use and powerfull tripple morphing oscillators, double filter and expensive modmatrix. I don't feel I need more analog monosynth than these two models. ;)
@@FatherSaccharineyes, this synth gives you a visceral feel like no other unique to itself. I thought the demos were a little tame. Where is the Wonky Royksopp melody, meets crazy Goldfrapp vocal, but reran through the esp for extra dirt, over a sequenced EBM bassline that would have lead to a dance party under a bridge that you really actually want to be at?
Another great episode ! I am glad having saved money by getting the volca bass instead 😊 Obviously for an upcoming episode we definitely need that (not so) "pocket" operator new ko 33 "field" !
Man if anyone can’t get this thing to sound good, they’re the problem. My only gripes about this thing are how noisy mine is and the key bed, other than that the thing sounds fantastic
I agree with you regarding the sound but the build "quality" is a definite concern. The patch points in particular don't exactly give reason to be confident in their longevity.
@@MisAnnThorpe It was my first synth in 2016, when I was a fairly careless 17 year old. I didn’t take great care of it, but it still works fine. No chipped keys, no scratchy knobs, no bad inputs. The only real “damage” it’s sustained is that the ring around the signal out fell off a couple times, but I just put it back on. Compare that to the $1,300 Novation Peak that had knobs falling off after one year of sitting on my desk, barely being used.
I notice that if you don't start making a track using a MS20, its sound just doesnt fit. (as you mention aroudn 4:48). Makes it a very characteristic synth I guess. Nice.
The Volca Keys is indeed a noisy bastard as well. I had mine side by side with a Volca Bass and I was driving the Bass really hard in the mixer to distort it (which actually sounded pretty good) but it's hell doing that with the Keys because of the high noise floor at high frquencies.I combined it with the Boss OS-2 once and well, that's noise on more noise. I wonder if the delay circuit is to blame.
Almost bought one back in the day, but decided to wait for the MS-50 mini. The weird input processor of the 20 is a fave, every synth should have some envelope follower/comparator/tachometer thing! Even if it's not accurate you can still correlate events in interesting ways. Honestly I prefer my NTS-1 over any vintage Korg, an MS wouldn't get 1/10 of the use that this little thing does.
The knob issue would be definitive for me. Of course the MS-20 has a very unique sound signature, but part of the allure of the original is the user experience / playability, and the sturdy and extremely fast potentiometers are a critical part of that. I've never encountered a smoother or faster filter cutoff (or attack, decay, envelope amount, etc... ) in my life (and I've encountered many).
Yeah I kind of agree with you Florian, it's like they are all pumping out this line of simple miniature versions of past grandness, building on lost childhood dreams and fond memories of the past, kind of like all these Arm-based miniature consoles with emulators running games from the past. It's all about pumping out the money of that nostalgia while it last. Is if fun? Sure - if you have a bunch of miniature instruments with mono or a few polys jacked up with a few effect pedals, and a rythm box - you can have a lot of fun. At the end of the day, you're a musician - and eventually I think this is a passing fad that will die out, and they will all end up on Reverb from that time were everyone tried to publish some kind of underpowered thingamajig doodad with twistyknobs and feels.
Niiicccceee!!! I bought one of the first batches of mini's and within days I had to superglue the nut holding the audio output in place to prevent the jack from collapsing inside and becoming unusable. this wasn't easy to do with a pair of tiny tweezers. Patching S+H is only barely audible on the off chance it decides to work at all and I can't think of any keyboard with worse keys- the cheapest Casio feels better to play. BUT I LOVE IT ANYWAY. Korg knows exactly how to edge suckers like me.
@@AudioPilz I thought I was doing something wrong, so I watched Automatic Gainsays, very cool, tutorial(s) and I was doing it correctly, only my particular Mini is faulty as it is barely perceptible in volume- and even so- as you said, disappointing sounding even in the demos. Anyway- still love it, but swap for a Hades or typhon? In a heartbeat.
At first glance the MS20 Mini is ticking 86% of all the boxes
Best line ever on your show
Thanks!!!
tight
@@AudioPilz you are genuinely just so funny dude
@@AudioPilz you've been sitting on that for how many episodes.?
Yet the lunatics on some synth forums can't measure the amount of humour and banter!
When i bought my MS20 my downstairs neighbor rang my door asking what all the obscure rumble was, all windows were violently shaking.
😂😂😂
That demo track at the end made me über proud to own an MS-20 mini. It still sounds freaking killer.
Thank you!!!
You need to own a Florian Pilz as well, but I heard they don't come cheap.
@@phpn99see if Klangfabre will loan you one
@Frikoppieinsane. The ms20 is one of the most brutal mono synths ever created. It’s very inspiring. You can tame it easily with talent.
@Frikoppieyeah what a great monosynth the 9 string hellraiser is
Got the MS20M (module) and it'll never leave my place! Also, PWM. :) The only true classic synth tone that I needed to own. No Moog or Buchla or Sequential for me! Korg is the punkish brat with attitude that I need. :)
Agreed!!!
Same
I wanted an MS20 since I was a kiddie in the 80's, but wasn't keen on the teeny one. The module had some extra features from memory? I ended up with one of the FS re-issues (in army-green, they ran out of black) and love it (apart from the freaky envelope behaviours)
Best mono-synth there is IMO. I like the fact that it does not sound clean - makes it sound more alive.
👍👍👍
But would one argue the original is more nasty too? I played on a ole 80’s model and fell in love but it’s like 5000 monies now since none are near me (need shipped)
So would you guys vouch for the ms 20 mini? I just like having fun like this and it sounds squelchy and amazing to my ears!!
I personally love that knobs are as janky as my life lol. Seeing them for like 150-200 quid these days so curious.
I’ve gotten lots of use out of mine in the past 10 years that’s for sure. And the filters are just wonderful.
The music you were making on the MS20 sounded bloody awesome!!! Loved it!
Thank you so much!!!
@@AudioPilz I wish mine sounded ike that :(
I own the Ms-20 Mini and the Ms-20 FS and i absolutely love them. Sure, there are lots of alternatives out there, but i always loved the sound of the MS-20 and the originals are sometimes expensive. And i don´t have any problems with wobbling knobs. And i use especially the MS-20 Mini a lot.
Nice!!!
Is the FS much better quality in terms of knobs, build, noise and keys or the same, just bigger?
I have to agree I love mine and no wobbling of knobs either 👍
Same
You timed this perfectly because I’ve had a mini for a while and I recently decided to figure out how it works
Nice!!!
The first thing I noticed when I got mine was that cheap pressed wood panel board on the back. Like an old TV or radio from the 70's.
Oh, I thought it was plastic;)
@@synthetic24 pressed-sawdust "wood" is still wood
@@synthetic24 so is the back cardboard or what?
That's hilarious
I dislike mini-keys so I got me the “Kit” version back in 2014. In a nutshell: way too expensive, full size, pretty good build, both filters available (one noisy and one not), assemble-it-yourself. It sounds awesome and I love it.
I want one too!!!
the fact that people reviewed the ms-20 mini bad enough that it got onto this show, shows that reviews are almost never accurate
There is some valid criticism tho
@@AudioPilz yeah wobbly knobs do kinda suck
@@therealtony2009 What about knobbly wobs?
@zackcolbourne6921 those are the worst!
Always come out with great sounding tunes, no matter what gear you're using.
Thank you so much!!!
This is true
Kind of proving the point that it’s not really the gear but the musician. Get whatever you can afford then practice and make the best music you can with it. A shaved monkey with the best flagship synth will still always sound like a shaved monkey trying to play a flagship synth.
I was thinking the same thing! You bring out the best even in bad gear!
genuinely love you're compositional techniques@@AudioPilz
How dare you!!! 😂 I’ve bought and sold so many synths over the years but my MS-20 mini has never been for sale.
Nothing personal;)
I love my MS-20 mini. A trick I saw on UA-cam and implemented immediately, it has 2 outs, main and headphones. Use the headphones out as your main and use the main out as a patch in the ext. in for feedback.
Did you think it sounded fat before? Tweak the signal level and it goes insane.
Love it for Moogs too!!!
You're vids are amazing on many levels. Helpful/informative, funny af, and the music you make with this gear is top notch.
Thank you so much!!!
My first synthesizer, purchased in 1980 by mail. I had never played an MS-20, and completely depended upon the Korg name and the fact that Joe and Gino Vannelli mentioned them in Keyboard magazine to inform my decision. I never found it a very good lead synth and mostly used it for bass. When we bought a home just a few blocks away from the local AM radio station tower I discovered I could “play” the radio on my MS-20, as it would pickup up the RF and when I triggered the VCA and VCF the radio signal would pass to the output. That was a good bit of luck to discover alternate sound sources for electronic music.
Nice!!!
Whoa!!! Nice!! Yeah i often hear stories of people who lived near by an AM transmitter site and how easily they could hear the AM stations from objects like kitchenware (pans and pots). But i never heard of a synthesizer's circuits being affected by AM broadcasts. But it makes sense :D
killer like usual, but the end part with the synth voice shout outs, is legend. those sounded amazing. As far as the MS-20, I have the K-2, but still want the OG version.
Thank you!!!
hi! i find the k2 incredibly capable and faithful reproduction!!!!!!! + the ESP is imo more useful for design application (perhaps one of the places it loses its 1:1). whats making you want a korg original ?
Cleverly done on the vocoder shout-outs.! Nick B should be rolling in meme royalties by now. Loved the Back2thefuture one.
Good ear!!!
I absolutely love this synth, whether OG or reissue, full-size or mini. The sound, the look, the filter. So grimy. The K2 sounds as good, but the form factor of the 20 (full-size or mini) is just rad. For some bizarre reason I have the 20ic as well which I've never used.
Nice collection!!!
Have one standing next to me from 2013, the knobs and keys are as tight as when I bought it. And yes it got lots of use over the years. Great video btw, nice inspiration for some new patching ideas 😀
Thank you so much!!!
Man.. Jam 2 sells this son of a korg so hard.
I'm very pleased that you chose to upload ALL of the video, and not just jam 2... By doing so, you protected my wallet from sudden deflation and my sanity from deep despair and suffering.
Thank you so much!!!
LOVED the finale track! I use my terribly hacked Monotribe all the time and absolutely love it, but always wanted one of these (or the MS20M!)
Thanks!!! Maybe go for the Kit version
Monotribe is hugely underrated. Especially the kick drum which spanks on a sound system
I have both the MS-20 mini and the K-2, which provides additional filter options as the latter isn't as noisy and have a 1/4" output. That being said, some patches just sound better on the noisier MS-20 mini, so the combo allows it to tick the missing 14% of those boxes 😂
Definitely get both;)
Bless you mate for another fantastic episode. A friend of mine bought one of these, I was truly shocked at the build quality, kind of reminiscent of a interactive kids toy at a Future Museum which had been mashed up by 1,000 coach loads of special children. 😂
Thanks!!! Nice analogy!!!
😂😂😂
Hurts per volt. That final jam is evil, nice work Captain. 🫡
Thank you!!!
Yes, Friday after work and new bad gear episode! Happy weekend!
Have a nice weekend!!!
does the release of the new Teenage Engineering KOII mean we will see an appearance from the original TE KO on BadGear soon? maybe accompanied by the wooden TE nutcracker choir
Great idea, thanks!!!
No problem with wobbly pots on mine. Some of the jack nuts can work a bit loose but a quick finger tighten soon sorts that out.
👍👍👍
@1:05 arghhh what is this little riff the intro to? It sounds maybe like a deadmau5 track but maybe not? It's going to bug the hell out of me.
Did I steal another riff without realizing it?;)
No regrets selling this one, brought it when it came out and yea nah I can't get it to work in my music.. It sounds cool in other peoples stuff but I prefer my original 700s over the gnarly MS-20 mini. Build quality is shocking, if Behringer did this the internet would be on fire. Interesting points are this was supposed to ship with both filters but last minute they decided against it. If you look at the circuit board the space is there for the second filter type. I think I am the second person in the world who did this tho theirs as I modified my mini to have both filters. The other issue is a massive DC thump on the K35 when pressing a key from not matching the transistors that's not a issue on the original and I could go on
That sums it up nicely!!!
that was my dream synth ten years ago. i got it this year on third hand market.... before watching i thought the hate would be towards the size and the filters... but i was surprised to see build quality in there! but fair enough.
i like that it isn't as heavy as the original so i can carry it around easier.
Yeah, super compact!!!
Fixed the noise issue by using a filter used by audiophiles to clean the ac power. Forget the brand I used but it worked on my friends ms 20m when it first came out.
Great idea! Thanks for the heads up!!!
That's great to know!
I wanted to applause your vocoder shouts - they were awesome! Also now kinda want one of these now. Damnit.
See Hainbach's ep. on them.
Thank you!!!
Lost it at Cronenberg and differently social, but I expect to a few times per Bad Gear. Was not expecting the deep (and wet) nostalgic tone of the Wub House demo-DAMN that bangs.
Thank you!!!
Finally! All that's missing is the Boss RC-505 loopstation review and I can finally close the playlist of my setup reviewed by Bad Gear
Great suggestion;)
I have this one and a k2.
The ms20mini sounds awesome, the k2 is almost there, but both of them at the same time are awesome...
Funny thing is that the k2 has better build quality lol
Yeah, Uli has really upped his game!!!
Great as always! Nice idea with the TE choir guy. That was actually pretty cool!
The MS-20 Mini has definitely appealed to me over the years, but I never picked one up. Not that I have the money now anyway, heh. I didn't know about some of those issues, either. Guess it makes more sense why it made it onto the show!
Thank you so much!!!
I can see you're following the times with the "knockout" vocoder finish :D
;)
When it comes to the keybed. I've got an old MS-10 here. I can't imagine a worse keybed. But ... the filter let me forget the build quality. And it looks nice.
I owned one in the 1980s. Awesome for bass, and hard kick drums. Great for spaced out sonic drones, too. Especially with a tape echo.
Yeah, these are not exactly Steinways;)
*klok* *kloklok* *klok* - luckily there's a CV and a gate input.
Hahaha brilliant! I'm surprised it took so long to get on here. Yeah, I'd have loved having an original or the full-size reissue, but I can't justify the price. I'll more than happily make do with my mini despite the wobbly knobs because I love the sound.
Thanks!!! One piece of gear at a time;)
Korgs instruments definitely have a unique timbre to them that I i have come to love.
You warming up for the XD?
Great suggestion, thank you!!!
I have come to hate the XD even though mine is in perfect condition!
Once you lay hands on the Take 5 you realize the XD is out of date.
@@htechdance But the Take 5 is double the price.
This video explains every problem i have with korg for the most part...the moment the screen said
'no thats not clipping it sounds that way out the box'
You might wanna call it signature sound;)
@@AudioPilz nah i cant even tho, the lil yellow kaossilator didnt have this issue as much
Well done Florian, but I think it's long past time for you to see if you can manage to pull your intro theme out of the wild and wacky Hydrasynth line. No easy task, I assure you! 😎
Thanks!!! Agreed!!!
That “vocoder” shoutout at the end is so extra. Definitely worth sticking around for.
Thank you!!!
If Korg made an MS-20 filter module it might tempt me into modular! I think I'm happy to leave the rest of it behind. I feel extra lucky to have caught Arturia's giveaway of their MS-20 filter plugin--it was free for a few weeks when it first came out.
An actual Eurorack module would be awesome!!!
There's plenty of affordable modules and synth pedals and everything that can bring the MS20 sound to your place without this awkward little thing.
Little do you know - you soon will see the amount of MS20 filter varieties and will fall into the rabbit hole - evil voice ends
You mean the Behringer K-2 or one of the MANY MS-20 filter clone modules (many better than the original)?
Yep there's a ton of MS-20 clone filters and more advanced filters with an MS-20 core. I have like 3 😂. I love the MS-20 filter.
Was hoping for the bassline to Operating Tracks by Front 242 :/
Great video!
Thanks!!!
Ms20 might be my favourite synth of all time. I have the original as well as the mini. The noise thump on the mini is indeed annoying but it has one huge advantage over the original. And that is the portamento circuit is after the midi in whereby with the original it is before the trig so there is no glide when sequencing :-(
👍👍👍
I loved it so much I bought mine off the showroom floor years back! Mojo for days and kills at lead and bass, but eventually the loud VCA really got in the way of using it in the more esoteric ways I wanted to. So I got a eurorack version of the filter with even more options so I could sell my MS-20 mini. But it’s still the meanest, punk, and pissed off sounding synth I have encountered. I still have my mini and I think it is the main synth my GF would be mad if I got rid of 😂. My knobs are pretty sturdy and probably had been gorilla groped by many before crossing my path lol. Maybe a kit or FS will grab me the same way someday.
Thanks for the vid! Surprised, yet not to see it on here but I would have thought you would have gone nuts for the MS-20. It’s like an alien Predator technology that some punk from the future witnessed, but was sent back in time naked to the 60s, the Soviet army tried to extract what they could of their memory to recreate it, however due to incompatibility of the specimen the project was discarded, they escaped to Japan but died in some Akira type vibes, and the deciphered alien technology and spirit of this punk became the MS-20. I think that’s what my manual says, but I may be misremembering?
Thanks for watching!!!
Speaking of guitar synths, have you ever thought about featuring one on the show? The fact that Roland has produced quite a few over the years should make one ideal for the show.😄
Great idea, thanks!!!
Been going through the Bad Gear Episodes, and I seem to have missed this one. And that filter-magic at 2:25, woowee!
Thank you!!!
Love how Korg provides you so much material!
Korg and Roland are the best!!!
Korg do produce a lot of legitimately bad gear
Not even a close second to Roland though! 😂
@@AudioPilz Bad dealers!
Wie immer, gut gemacht! I picked up an MS-20 FS last year, and I had similar complaints about the keys and the build quality. Couldn't believe the MS-20 cost more than twice the Uno Synth Pro (FS) I also picked up, but the build quality was half of the Uno Synth Pro. Now, if I could somehow mate the MS-20 and the Uno Synth Pro, THEN I'd have a babysynth that was seriously playable, tweakable, and monster sounding all in one piece of gear.
Should also add, despite the lacking build quality of the MS-20, I think it sounds ball-busting great.
Thank you!!!
I bought this in the early 80’s for 500.00 and loved it. It was the first analog synth I bought and didn’t own another one until the Moog Modular’s came out a few years ago (I own three of them). At the time this came out there were no true affordable analog synths with patching like it. Not sure why they came out with again, but for the time I owned it I got a lot out of it.
Nice!!!
if you ever do a top tier intro list, this one is way up there, sounds really gnarly and punchy, i love it. damn it gas hitting hard.
Agreed, it's in my top5 too!!!
For all the valid caveats there are to this synth, this only makes me want to learn to use my further! All of those jams were straight up bangers. Genuinely curious, how did you use your Beatstep to modulate it? I didn't even know it could modulate things other than pitch via Midi? Great video as ever, and oh boy, the Lossy meme is so real, yikes. 😅
Thank you!!! Just set the BSP to the right CV standard and connect pitch or velocity to the modulation target of choice
"Input for external signal processor would of been nice" ... wait I though there was one? What and how are you processing the volca drum on 1:38? It sounds so good! Do you have to hold one of the keys down? Is that the criticism?
A full-sized jack would have been nice.
1:06 Sold! Who couldn't love that tone? ❤
Classic!!!
I got the korg legacy collection when it came out and have the ms20 controller that came with it. I would never give it up. I had wanted to get the ms20 mini but never did. Looks like i didnt miss much. Im very happy with the software and controller. I feel the build quality is better on the controller. Also through the software it can be made polyphonic which is an advantage over the hardware. I know some people feel that the software is dated, and also arguably not the same since its digital, however ive done some great things with it and im completely satisfied with it.
I used it a lot back in the day, never got the controller tho
Had a shot of the (VST) plugin for this and was pretty surprised by the quality . No wobbly knobs - Pardon the expression .
I'm looking forward to see the new Behringer clone of the old UB-Xa. as the original is VERY Expensive
Oh . Quality content .. Thanks
Thank you!!! Yeah, virtual wobbliness is still in its infancy stage
Tested it and rather have chosen a lot better made Behringer with both filters. Anyways, still really glad that Korg are doing those and are not Rolanding.
All the best! ;-)
Agreed!!! Same to you!!!
I nearly got one, but bagged an MS20-FS last year instead, which only comes with 10% of the noise issues. While build quality is better, the keyboard is still nothing to write home about full size but it plays nice and fast. You need any amount of external devices to vaguely modernise it. It's paired with a Minibrute 2S which seems to be the cheapest standalone thing that can do Hz/V, but I still have to jury-rig S-Trigs using Softube Modular, a bunch of logic circuits and a DC-coupled audio interface. Seriously, what would it cost them to add PWM, sync, velocity and/or aftertouch and a V/Oct/Normal Trig switch? Oh, and in the release year of our lord 2022 you could still have any MIDI channel you like as long as it was 1. All for nine-hundred and fifteen of your British pounds. There's my only-slightly-not-as-Bad Gear review. Can't get that sound anywhere else though (but nice try Arturia-Korg)
Super interested in the FS!!!
@@AudioPilz it's good because you get both filters (the remaining noise is only from the MkI filter), but honestly I'd rather have the MS20-M (though I do like mine in blue). And Cascadia has redefined the MIDI/CV-in-one-semi-modular state of the art for me. I know the MS-20 is *supposed* to be primitive but *some* cheap QOL improvements would be nice...
Well, thanks you just saved me $400 that might have been spent on an abused MS-20 Mini with the knobs falling off. There are few synths that have that super-dirty sound and I still love the ring mod. But I'm looking at the Waldorf Rocket as a close substitute. Do you have any suggestions for similar-sounding monosynths?
Rocket is awesome and you might wanna check out Uli's stuff
When it launched it really looked like a miracle - a fully featured reissue of an old analog synth from one of the Japanese giants that for a decade or two were acting like "Analog synths? Oh, you mean virtual analog?". I wonder if today the MS-20 Mini or the Behringer K-2 is of better quality?
Let's put it this way: build quality of the Mini is comparable of what Uli did in the 90s...
My B* K2 feels comparable to my KARP 2600m. Both are much more solid than the wobbly SE-02.
That thing so cheaply made it makes B look like a premium brand. But it sounds so gnarly that make it a no-brainer for certain genres
Agreed!!!
As soon as I saw the thumbnail I laughed absurdly loudly.
that final wub house is awesome !! we need it in a full song release :DD
Thank you!!! Shameless plug: there's a full version on Patreon;)
Is that this genre? No lie Audio Pilz made me love whatever he did at 7:41 hahaha. Is that Wub House? I may have to just sub to this patron for anything he makes… is fucking golden haha.
Reminded of of 90’s psytrance but more intricate and better! (I dislike psytrance for it being so boring and predictable) but this was fantastic!!
If you could do a scathing review of the Korg/Arp 2600-M next and make the price crash on the second hand market, I would be very grateful. It's been on my wishlist for years now. The MS-20 mini is a beast, I love mine.
Great idea;)
Picking up my korg ms-2000r from my former home this weekend!
Nice one!!!
The tracks were killer - honestly, I've never lusted for one of these. I'm just here for the cool music made with it. That said, I have nothing against it - they are cool.
Thank you!!!
Agree with all of the problems listed and yet I still love the sound of it. Mine has been collecting dust but I think its time I brought it back out.
Definitely give it another shot!!!
Wow, this building quality makes the Volcas look like Roland Botiques
Lol
You can use the volca’s as a paperweight at least 😅
I low key love this synth. Watching him bring the best out of units is always awe inspiring. I loved the original from the 80’s but refuse to pay like 3 grand for them due to people with garage inflation lol. The mini wasn’t that bad sounding here!!
There are a lot more options now (from Moog, Arturia and others), but at the time it might have been the only in-production analogue synth with a substantial patch bay. That not only made for more creative patching, but allowed for interesting integration with Eurorack (as long as you had a Hz/V adapter). The noise floor took me aback when I first heard it direct from the headphone out, but I never really noticed it in a mix. I’ve had a lot of fun with mine, but I’m not sure I’d go for it now given the alternatives.
True that!!!
"Interesting sound that wouldn't work in a track" you say?
Well that's the kind of thing I take as a challenge. :)
That was more of a provocation as most more elaborate patches on the MS-20 sound like this;)
It's my ringtone 😄
Yes again!!
Another great Bad Gear Episode!
Thank you!!!
The slim keys are okay for a mono synthesizer. This instruments is not meant for playing Beethoven piano concerto's
The size is just one of the dealbreakers. They're really crappy too;)
@@AudioPilz Crappy? Not for me...
Absolutely loving the jams here. Bravo.
Thank you so much!!!
The noisy VCA was present on the original ms20…
Normal noise is one thing but did the original really come with that amount of actual leakage?
You always do this! 7:55 became my favorite genre of music whatever that jam was xD you’re a genius man. I genuinely cannot find a video I never A laugh so much with the comedic jams, and B enjoy myself watching another gear nut just go ham at his craft.
You. Are. A gift 😂❤
Thank you so much!!!
Waited already for the EP-133 K.O. II video but it probably doesn't tick all the boxes ;) Great video as usual :)
Hey Tom, do you already have one?;)
4:15 Temporary Secretary sequence?
;)
We have definitely too many mono synths... I have a strange feeling that this one is not so much different than other in the same price range category. Interesting review. Cheers!
Thanks!!!
I certainly agree that there are a lot of monos out there, but for myself, having owned far too many monos and sold most of them, the MS-20 is the only one that I really look back with fondness, and sometimes think about grabbing again. There's something about this incredibly noisy and leaky circuit, accessible and sometimes odd patch bay, fake duophony, and general "vibe" that really makes this one stick out to me. Definitely get a chance to try one out for yourself sometime. There's a reason why there is a mild cult following around this one. For extra fun, check out the other ones in this series, like the MS-10 which will lead you to die hards who believe that's the true MS series king. Ultimately, you are correct in that it's "just a mono", but sometimes the whole is more than the parts! I would say that AudioPilz is excellent at riffing on synths, but they do tend to skew more conservative in the palletes they share, while the MS-20 really shines and standouts when you start pushing it into weirder territory! For example, they mentioned struggling with the noise floor, whereas in my opinion, that's one of the charms and draws of it! Good luck!
@@FatherSaccharine Thanks for sharing your experience. Personally I have only a few Craves (also semimodular and these work nice in triplet) and my beloved desktop Uno Synth Pro with extremally easy use and powerfull tripple morphing oscillators, double filter and expensive modmatrix. I don't feel I need more analog monosynth than these two models. ;)
@@FatherSaccharineyes, this synth gives you a visceral feel like no other unique to itself. I thought the demos were a little tame. Where is the Wonky Royksopp melody, meets crazy Goldfrapp vocal, but reran through the esp for extra dirt, over a sequenced EBM bassline that would have lead to a dance party under a bridge that you really actually want to be at?
or do we...?
Your last jam is my favorite yet!
Lol I was just talking about getting an MS20. Maybe I’ll just save for the FS!
Thank you!!!
Another great episode ! I am glad having saved money by getting the volca bass instead 😊
Obviously for an upcoming episode we definitely need that (not so) "pocket" operator new ko 33 "field" !
Thanks!!! I really need one of these!!!
I thought "field" signified their overpriced line... but if so, it should've been "field choir" and "field clothing".
TE made it cheap because they knew that people would buy the outfit.
Yeeeeee! I believe half my gear is "Bad Gear" now, thanks to this addition.
Bad Gear Bingo!!!
@@AudioPilz The center is always free.
Man if anyone can’t get this thing to sound good, they’re the problem. My only gripes about this thing are how noisy mine is and the key bed, other than that the thing sounds fantastic
Agreed!!! That one comes with so many classic tones!!!
I agree with you regarding the sound but the build "quality" is a definite concern. The patch points in particular don't exactly give reason to be confident in their longevity.
@MisAnnThorpe I bought mine in 2014 and it's still holding strong
@@MisAnnThorpe It was my first synth in 2016, when I was a fairly careless 17 year old. I didn’t take great care of it, but it still works fine. No chipped keys, no scratchy knobs, no bad inputs. The only real “damage” it’s sustained is that the ring around the signal out fell off a couple times, but I just put it back on. Compare that to the $1,300 Novation Peak that had knobs falling off after one year of sitting on my desk, barely being used.
2:13 This immediately reminded me of that synth bass in Donkey Kong Country 2's "Disco Train" at around 0:27
I notice that if you don't start making a track using a MS20, its sound just doesnt fit. (as you mention aroudn 4:48).
Makes it a very characteristic synth I guess.
Nice.
Agreed!!!
The Volca Keys is indeed a noisy bastard as well. I had mine side by side with a Volca Bass and I was driving the Bass really hard in the mixer to distort it (which actually sounded pretty good) but it's hell doing that with the Keys because of the high noise floor at high frquencies.I combined it with the Boss OS-2 once and well, that's noise on more noise. I wonder if the delay circuit is to blame.
AFAIK it's mostly the delay...
Analogue (BBD) delays are almost always noisy - same with the one in the Behringer Neutron.
One of these days I'll learn not to watch Bad Gear this close to pay day. Today is obviously not that day.
Definitely don't get the Mini;)
Man, this just reminded me of 2008 when I wanted to get a Nintendo DS to mess around with Korg DS-10
That one is actually really fun!!!
I wish Roland made an ms20 clone… would be a hell of an episode!
Lol, great idea!!!
i wish behringer would clone and roland clone of an ms20 :D
@@acidbat4441 Don't give them ideas.
@@acidbat4441 waiting for it at the synth memes!!!!
An ACB clone of the MS20? I'd like to see that for the hell of it.
The Richard Devine spilled coffee on OP-1 photo made it onto Bad Gear in record time.
That one broke the internet;)
i would never regret buyin this synth...own it and love it😍
😀😀😀
Almost bought one back in the day, but decided to wait for the MS-50 mini. The weird input processor of the 20 is a fave, every synth should have some envelope follower/comparator/tachometer thing! Even if it's not accurate you can still correlate events in interesting ways.
Honestly I prefer my NTS-1 over any vintage Korg, an MS wouldn't get 1/10 of the use that this little thing does.
NTS-1 is awesome!!!
I LOVE my Korg Volca LFO ! Never selling...
😂😂😂
Epic Patreon shoutout segment!! I’m betting even @Weaverbeats will enjoy it! 😉
Love his channel!!!
@@AudioPilz He ripped TE for the doll set, while watching your review!
DOOM timeline. the k2 serves me well. anyone care to share reasons they think it doesnt live up to the originals ? im curious
I'd like to know too!!!
The knob issue would be definitive for me. Of course the MS-20 has a very unique sound signature, but part of the allure of the original is the user experience / playability, and the sturdy and extremely fast potentiometers are a critical part of that. I've never encountered a smoother or faster filter cutoff (or attack, decay, envelope amount, etc... ) in my life (and I've encountered many).
Yeah, quite a buzzkill...
Yeah I kind of agree with you Florian, it's like they are all pumping out this line of simple miniature versions of past grandness, building on lost childhood dreams and fond memories of the past, kind of like all these Arm-based miniature consoles with emulators running games from the past. It's all about pumping out the money of that nostalgia while it last. Is if fun? Sure - if you have a bunch of miniature instruments with mono or a few polys jacked up with a few effect pedals, and a rythm box - you can have a lot of fun. At the end of the day, you're a musician - and eventually I think this is a passing fad that will die out, and they will all end up on Reverb from that time were everyone tried to publish some kind of underpowered thingamajig doodad with twistyknobs and feels.
Very well put!!!
Niiicccceee!!!
I bought one of the first batches of mini's and within days I had to superglue the nut holding the audio output in place to prevent the jack from collapsing inside and becoming unusable. this wasn't easy to do with a pair of tiny tweezers. Patching S+H is only barely audible on the off chance it decides to work at all and I can't think of any keyboard with worse keys- the cheapest Casio feels better to play. BUT I LOVE IT ANYWAY. Korg knows exactly how to edge suckers like me.
Yeah, I found SH disappointing too
@@AudioPilz I thought I was doing something wrong, so I watched Automatic Gainsays, very cool, tutorial(s) and I was doing it correctly, only my particular Mini is faulty as it is barely perceptible in volume- and even so- as you said, disappointing sounding even in the demos.
Anyway- still love it, but swap for a Hades or typhon? In a heartbeat.