Korg MS-20 Mini

[Re-Member]

The iMS-20 share the same property as the new MS-20 Mini as well. Sustain full, closed filter.

That's good to know. I have the Legacy Edition software and can check on that later too. It's been awhile since I've played it, so I can't quite remember. If that functions like the Mini and iMS-20 as well, it's probably safe to assume that the weird sustain function was part of the original specifications, then was later corrected with whatever components were changed for the v2 edition.

My Mini is finally arriving tomorrow, so it's a going to be a fun weekend for sure.

[Kidney05]

The iMS-20 share the same property as the new MS-20 Mini as well. Sustain full, closed filter.

That's good to know. I have the Legacy Edition software and can check on that later too. It's been awhile since I've played it, so I can't quite remember. If that functions like the Mini and iMS-20 as well, it's probably safe to assume that the weird sustain function was part of the original specifications, then was later corrected with whatever components were changed for the v2 edition.

My Mini is finally arriving tomorrow, so it's a going to be a fun weekend for sure.

I'm actually second guessing myself about that now. It's very hard to tell.

Does anyone have a good way to un-route EG2 from volume? I'd like to try to use EG2 solely for cutoff. I was under the impression you could route eg1 to initial gain (last input in the main chain) but that doesn't seem to work for me.

EDIT: I can't figure it out. Sustain at max delivers a dull sound, at halfway you can hear the sweep. It doesn't make sense. If at full(10) you should hear a bright sound no filter movement regardless of decay. I'm so confused.

[pflosi]

Does anyone have a good way to un-route EG2 from volume? I'd like to try to use EG2 solely for cutoff. I was under the impression you could route eg1 to initial gain (last input in the main chain) but that doesn't seem to work for me.

EG2 to volume is fixed and not breakable. However, with a lot of patches it works to just use EG1 to initial gain.

I can't figure it out. Sustain at max delivers a dull sound, at halfway you can hear the sweep. It doesn't make sense. If at full(10) you should hear a bright sound no filter movement regardless of decay. I'm so confused.

This video demonstrated the sustain behavior before they shipped:



It's the same on the original, on the MS10 and also the software. It's a feature not a bug.

[Re-Member]

So I messed with the Legacy Collection version of the MS-20 and it does the same thing. When the low pass filter is all the way down and EG2 filter depth is cranked all the way up with only Sustain, no sound comes out other than this weird wheezing noise. Normally, you're supposed to hear a fully opened sound, so it must be how the design was implemented. The trick to getting a bass drop to sustain is keeping the EG2 filter depth all the way up, setting the low pass filter knob about half way up, then adjusting the decay & sustain envelope knobs from there starting from zero. Hope that helps!

[goldphinga]

My MS20 has the screw AND the 35 filter. I opened it up to check and there it was plain to see.

[loungedumore]

Got it yesterday . Not much of a review , but some points ....

Keys are indeed smallish & skinny , but I like them just fine and I hate micro korg sized keys . Got used to them quick .
Some of the knobs are wobbly ( osc 2 tune/ osc 1 pw ), but the " main " bulk ( OSC / filter /eg amount ) dont feel that way . All in all very happy , sounds like the two MS20s I have spent time with before .

[Kidney05]

follow up question - if I take envelope 1 out into initial gain, should envelope 2 still affect my release? It seems to on my unit. Not sure why.

It's consistent with the app though.

[mute]

the behavior of the envelope isn't even all that uncommon.. the sustain holds the filter at the filters position, post decay. many synths behave this way.. its not the most common, but its a design trait/feature as previously mentioned... with the way everyone was so scared of patent issues back then, it probably had something to do with that.

[pflosi]

follow up question - if I take envelope 1 out into initial gain, should envelope 2 still affect my release? It seems to on my unit. Not sure why.

It's consistent with the app though.

Does anyone have a good way to un-route EG2 from volume? I'd like to try to use EG2 solely for cutoff. I was under the impression you could route eg1 to initial gain (last input in the main chain) but that doesn't seem to work for me.

EG2 to volume is fixed and not breakable. However, with a lot of patches it works to just use EG1 to initial gain.

[Kidney05]

follow up question - if I take envelope 1 out into initial gain, should envelope 2 still affect my release? It seems to on my unit. Not sure why.

It's consistent with the app though.

Does anyone have a good way to un-route EG2 from volume? I'd like to try to use EG2 solely for cutoff. I was under the impression you could route eg1 to initial gain (last input in the main chain) but that doesn't seem to work for me.

EG2 to volume is fixed and not breakable. However, with a lot of patches it works to just use EG1 to initial gain.

Yeah, I've tried that. what I'm saying is even if I connect EG1 to Initial gain, I'm still able to use EG2 to affect attack and release, so what's the point of using EG1?

[kpliver]

Got mine last week and can't get my hands off it. Even the mid-size keys and and lack of weight are great for me. Keep stumbling upon so many favorite sounds from records & old demos. The last couple of nights I got patching ideas at 2AM and ended up jamming around until sunrise.

Only problem I've encountered is that trying to control it with my Yamaha CS-15 is a mess; only a few of the higher notes are in tune. MS-20->CS-15 worked better, but still slightly out of tune on lower notes. Might just be something wrong with the Yamaha. Oddly enough, going from the Minibrute->MS-20 worked surprisingly well using the ESP to trigger & the FREQ (I think?) input.

[Bitexion]

That's odd, the CS synths should all have that Hz/Oct thing Korg used. Maybe they got the scaling wrong in your MS20, or your CS15 is uncalibrated and send out the wrong frequencies.

[pflosi]

Yeah, I've tried that. what I'm saying is even if I connect EG1 to Initial gain, I'm still able to use EG2 to affect attack and release, so what's the point of using EG1?

Yeah that's what I mean with "not breakable", the routing of EG2 to the VCA is fixed and will not be broken when you patch to initial gain. EG1 can be helpful especially if you want zero sustain on EG2 (for the filter), but sustain the VCA. This would also prevent that notes get "sucked out" if you happen to play legato (be it by accident or intentionally). That's why I wrote "with a lot of patches" - it doesn't make much sense if you want attack / release on the filter...

Off Topic

Goddamn three quotations limit...

[sammy123]

That's odd, the CS synths should all have that Hz/Oct thing Korg used. Maybe they got the scaling wrong in your MS20, or your CS15 is uncalibrated and send out the wrong frequencies.

I wonder what my Yamaha SK50D uses. It might be cool to play around with that...

I am looking forward to the Harvestman English Tear converter...I hope that is is under $200.

[thestreets]

Pushed back to the 24th. Who wants to bet that when that date rolls around, they'll tell me another few weeks?

Really seems I am never getting this f**k thing.