Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

masstronaut wrote:But if it's a MicroKorg killer then surely there won't be any net increase in Korg's profits?

because people are buying new microkorgs off the shelf at $400 retail? the product cycle of the microkorg has surely run its course.

samuraipizzacat29 wrote:

masstronaut wrote:But if it's a MicroKorg killer then surely there won't be any net increase in Korg's profits?

because people are buying new microkorgs off the shelf at $400 retail? the product cycle of the microkorg has surely run its course.

It's been on the market for a decade and still selling like hotcakes...we'll see what happens...

Having a misfire with the quote function. You can see what I was replying to now if you still give a s***.

And no obviously it isn't a MicroKorg Killer. For one thing that assumes all those bands buy MicroKorgs purely to pose with. Which is bollocks. It's actually because they're cheap and light and everyone else has one so they don't have to think about it too much.

What I mean is that's a daft notion and we need to stop mentioning it starting now.

xanadu97 wrote:

space6oy wrote:it was 600 euro earlier in this thread.

That's $800! I thought I read somewhere that it was going to be $500?

600 Euros is around $800, but the 600 Euro price includes VAT,which would be around 20%, so it's possible that it would be around $625.

Infrasound wrote:Damn, only Midi in.

There are a bunch of jacks and stuff on the front panel if that's what you're looking for.

Walter Ego wrote:If that happens, I will have my cake and eat it to...get a new MS-20 AND snatch up the discarded MKs...damn useful instruments.

I see them used for $200 every day, there's even one for $175. I don't think they'll be any cheaper. The Mini MS-20 will be like Fender's Classic Series of guitars. They still sell the Standard Strats because some people prefer the modern sounds. Korg will still sell MicroKorgs because some people want a polyphonic synth with a hundred different sounds.

Ned Bouhalassa wrote:

Kronik wrote:

Ned Bouhalassa wrote:For all the potential buyers of the new MS-20, with its great price, there will be some, I think, who will be put off by the lack of preset memory.

Pro One, ARP Odyssey, 2600, Axxe, Minimoog, Multimoog, MS20, MS10 (original) etc. none of them have patch memory, but people pay still way over the top for them... memory's not an issue.

But hopefully this will bring things back down to earth.

IMHO, your list is more for power users like many of us than for the kind of buyer that would not normally spend a lot of money on a synth. I'm talking about newbies.

There was a time, we called it the 90s, when newbies all bought the cheap crappy old synths from yesteryear because that's all they could afford and there were no Microkorgs to buy as a first synth so we had to make do with $150 Juno 6s, $400 MS-20s, $500 SH-7s etc. None of them had presets so we had to actually learn what all the knobs did so we could make the sounds, but we turned out OK.

masstronaut wrote:

bouzoukijoe1 wrote:Sure it's not a 4-voice poly, but I think it can still be a MicroKorg killer. I really hope this becomes a big success so Korg can hopefully produce more analog synths in the future.

But if it's a MicroKorg killer* then surely there won't be any net increase in Korg's profits?



* joking of course, I don't think it really much makes sense to talk about it in those terms anyway.

I think it does make sense to compare because the MK is one of Korg's most successful products ever and because I think one of the biggest reasons "mainstream" musicians even bother using MKs is because of their portability and smallness which is a) convenient to carry and b) looks good upfront on stage (as opposed to being obscured by a giant keyboard which makes you recede rather than being in the foreground.

I don't think many MK users are necessarily really buying them because they're the best synths in the world, nor because they are good polysynths either (nor the best for the money), so to me an MS-20 to would satisfy them just as much (as a mainstream or dare I say even a "prop synth"). many MK users hardly ever learn to program sounds on it (and the presets blow), so basically they are not being used to their potential. my guess is that the very same users would find the Mini MS-20 much more enjoyable despite the more limited voice(s) and sound palette.

and if enough people buy Mini MS-20s (as much as MKs), that would be even better since that would bring the used prices down. can you imagine Mini MS-20s flooding the market the same way MKs do? a dream come true for all of us.

Interesting that they're releasing this and the 'King Korg' which of course being VA will have polyphony, multiple modelled filters and of course, Korg's latest klller acronym XMT, Extreme something or other.

I've been listening to the Kronos, and I'm surprised at how good some of the analogue modelled synthesizers sound. The MS20 engine sounds great as does the Poly 6. It would be amusing if the King Korg sounds as good as the new MS20. Perhaps Korg sneak an MS20 engine inside the King and do a double blind test and no-one can which is the real MS20 and which is the King Korg.

I've seen two MS20C controllers for sale in the last few weeks, one for $250, and the other for $350. I was a little tempted on the cheaper one, perhaps if I was able to get the guy's price down, but now I may pay $100, or be patient and wait for the real MS20.

I've been wanting one of these for about 13 years - when I first came across the MS20 they could still be had for around $500, but they were growing in value daily, to the point now where I see people thinking they own a gold mine or their own mint. Hopefully with the MiniBrute, the new Moog Fatty (I hate that f***** phat c**p), the MS20, and all the other cheap mono's around, prices may become more sane on analogue synths.
Hopefully soon we will see some new polyphonic instruments - DSI are set to announce something today I believe.

A proper VCO synth with a lower price would be a nice thing to see. I'd be very surprised if DSI did it, but Arturia or MFB could be contenders.

Infrasound wrote:prices may become more sane on analogue synths.

Then that would be a total triumph of the market itself, since, "sane" here really means highly affordable. I might have my history wrong, but it was Korg who first released a synth under 1000 USD with the Poly 800. Or maybe that was only the first poly at that price point...regardless, synth prices have traditionally been enormous, and in general, new synths are cheaper now than ever. Certain vintage pieces command relatively high prices, but most of them still compare favorably to their new release prices. It might really only be market demand (and cheaper technology) that has driven prices so low...

.....

Pics when you get it finished, Don!

nvbrkr wrote:

dustinh wrote:This is a bigger deal for me and for most consumers. At 600 euros, that makes the mini ms-20 accessible to a h**l of a lot more people than the 3000-3500 moog voyager. Also, the voyager is a different synth than the minimoog. I find the mini ms-20 interesting because this is the first time that a company has done a straight up re-issue of a vintage synth that's going to be very close to the original.

Nope. Tom Oberheim redid the SEM a while ago.

Doh! How could I forget the SEM? My fault. So second time a re-issue has been done? At any rate, it's the first real re-issue done by the one of the big 3.

Stylophone.

Taurus.

Synthi. (OK, that was never officially discontinued).

Don T wrote:Oh, if anyone is considering dumping their Monotrons, let me know, I have three of them (2 originals and 1 Duo) that I'm planning on building a large semi-modular with, and I could always use a few more!

Okay...this probably does say something about my mental health...I actually had a dream about this particular post last night...

I was communicating somehow with Don T about my 'trons (I have a DUO and a DELAY), but I started eating the outer case of the DUO, making sure not to damage the chips inside...it felt and tasted like marzipan or something...I think I was doing it to get the components out, but I was eating it like a little kid might eat a PB&J sandwich...biting off the outer parts to leave the best for last, except of course I didn't eat it. I was very conscientious not to damage any of the components, and I had in mind to send them in the mail like that.

I need a different hobby...

In all seriousness, I might consider donating one or two to your DIY cause.