KORG MS20 Syntheziser

Also beeing one of Vince Clark (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure) favourite synths, this is really my favorite synth of all times! The MS20 came out in 1978 along with it's little brother the MS10 ,the all modular expander MS50, and the SQ10 sequencer which I am really longing to get hold of. This weird looking synth is a normaled semi modular with fixed routings that can be overriden with a patchbay of connections. The MS20 is a 2 VCO synth and the VCO's can be overdriven in the mixer section for extremly warm fatness! It is probly the fattest synth ever along with the early moog stuff, much fatter than a Oberheim OB8 or a Moog prodigy for example. It has 2 envelopes that can be triggered externally and made to modulate almost anything and eg2 have a reverse output.. The LFO is not very advanced but you have non-quantized waveshape control of the triangle and square and they have separate outputs in the patchbay. There are two independent noise sources, pink and white for modulation or audio, and VCO1 can also be set to noise mode.

Then of course, you have a true sample & hold circuit that can accept any input as sample input and clock for a extremly versatile modulation section. There is also a separate VCA for modulation. The biggest and most rewarding aspect of the MS20 however, is the 2 filters in serial. One HPF and then a 12db LPF, both with screaming resonance and 2 modulation inputs. They give the MS20 a very harsh electronic quality when they are active, in contrast to the very warm VCO sound. A cool feature in the VCO section is the ringmod , you can for example control one VCO's pitch w the mod wheel when in ring mode! I really miss sync though, any modders out there!

The built-in signalprocessor section is a rare circuit that can be used and abused in a variety of different ways. You can use it to control the MS20 pitch, envelope shape and trig from an external SOUND source! I have tested to sing the MS20 and it worked perfectly, or you can send it a sawtooth sound from a midi keyboard and control it from the computer without CV gate interfacing. I also use it as a modulation asset where the trig detect and CV adjust along with the bandpass and , notch filters can really screw up the sound/mod signal.

I really love this synth and I wouldnt part from it ,ever. Not even if offered a Jupiter 8 or a MiniMoog!

SAMPLES SOON TO BE ADDED!!!