Korg MS-20 Mini

[Analogue Crazy]

Yes it is the Korg 35 filters that produce the background hiss. I think its part of the sound character, much like the original DX7 the bit of hiss adds some grittiness to the sound.

[thestreets]

Also, to avoid any confusion, also listen to the Mini through a pair of headphones without being connected to the interface. You mentioned a "low frequency hum," which I assume is ground loop problem, but be aware that the Mini will always have this low layer of hiss mixed in the sound. If you are hearing the hiss through headphones, then it's not an interface issue. The Korg-35 filter is known to be rather noisy, which might be confused as being defective.

I am getting the hiss from the Filter as well (doesn't bother me), this is something separate. Pretty sure it's a ground loop issue. I've been playing it straight from a PA speaker with no issues, but as soon as I plug into my interface to sample, I get the low hum.

[thestreets]

I cant seem to get sample and hold to work. I patched everything how Nick Batt showed me and nothing happens. Am I missing something?

[Solyaris]

I don't have one, but maybe Automatic Gainsay's video might help?

[thestreets]

Got it! Thank you Automatic Gainsay.

[Jabberwalky]

So the buzz was absolutely obnoxious, and now that it's available no one cares?

[supermel74]

So the buzz was absolutely obnoxious, and now that it's available no one cares?

seems that way. I think the Volcas may have stole some of the mini's thunder for the time being.

[JayEm]

I care. Still waiting on mine to arrive. Moogaudio in Canada claims I'm 12 in the queue of preorders.
Good things come to those who wait, I suppose.

[commodorejohn]

I got mine on Friday, but I had precious little time to play around with it as I was in the middle of a move. Now that things have settled down a little, I've had a better chance to get to know 'er. What a fascinating little beast. I've never gotten to play an original MS-20, so I can't speak for accuracy, but it's certainly interesting on its own merits. It just seems to throw itself into weird, funky noises; just about anything I do with it comes out sounding like it belongs on a funk record at some point in the process. Not to say it's not capable of other kinds of synth sounds, but it just really seems to lend itself to that kind of stuff. It also gets some good distortion tones with ring mod and feedback via running the signal-out into the external-in jack on the patch bay. (Or, better yet, running the signal-out into the ESP and then into the external-in, for amount control and further filtering.) Still gotta try getting some drum sounds with it...

Overall the build quality's pretty good; the keyboard isn't super-fancy, but it feels pretty much like the MicroKORG I used to have, which was plenty playable. I haven't had issues with loose knobs like some people claim, though I do wish they'd used a larger knob for the VCO 2 pitch; it's a bit tricky getting it to rest solidly on an interval you want. Doable, but not good for live tweaking unless you've got a really good ear for pitch. Additionally, some of the parameters seem to need calibration; the pitch knob is actually something like an eighth-tone sharp, and doesn't get close to unison until you get it about ten degrees below center/zero. (Additional gripe: why bother adding numbers to your pitch knob if they don't correspond to semitones?) Still, I'm totally pleased with it. Absolutely worth the $600.

[Bitexion]

Dunno, it seemed quite normal to have a 1-10 marking on the pitch knobs. Should at least be 1-12 corresponding to the note scale according to normal reason..

Also, the S&H circuit is a bit strange, but familiar if you've used modular synths before. You need to input a clock signal, and that signal can be anything, doesn't have to be a steady pulse. That's what makes it fun, you can use other signals not just the usual "step step step step" and get weird rythms.

[commodorejohn]

Except that "-5" to "+5" doesn't really convey any musically meaningful information other than marking out the space so that patch parameters can be noted. Whereas on, say, the Minimoog, the pitch knob goes (in odd-number increments) from -7 to 7 (actually a little further in each direction, but there's not room enough for another number,) which is a fifth as measured in half-steps. That's super-useful since you can easily set an interval just looking at the panel, as compared to my MS-20, where a fifth is a little above +2. Huh? (Adjusting for the mis-calibrated knob, it should probably be 2.5 or thereabouts.) I suppose there wouldn't be room on the panel for every half-step up to the +/- 1 octave range of the pitch knob, but they could at least mark whole steps.

Ah well. It is what it is, I guess. At least fifths are dead easy to tune by ear.

And yeah, the sample-and-hold is pretty neat

[ryryoftokyo]

I never thought I'd see people complaining about a new MS-20 with MIDI for $600

[commodorejohn]

Complain? Heck no. I'm still totally stoked about mine It's just a minor gripe, is all.

[pflosi]

That S/H is actually a T/H...

[mute]

So the buzz was absolutely obnoxious, and now that it's available no one cares?

...not nearly as obnoxious as some chump digging up an old thread just to try and spew some hate. it's one of the most beloved synths of all time and for good reason. deal with it.