Korg MS-20 Mini

Picked up one of these to up my modular synthesis game without spending a crap-ton of money. It's definitely delivered on that front! The patch panel, while daunting, is extremely powerful and a great introduction to true analog synthesis!

My only complaints are the flimsy build quality...it doesn't feel very solid, the pots aren't very smooth, and it only offers 3.5mm out! Yikes!

I bought my Korg MS-20 Mini because I liked the way it sounds. It's lots of fun to create sounds with and it's playable, but this thing only has 1 MIDI channel. Why Korg? Why? I barely use it since I got my Behringer K-2 which not only sounds just like it, but performs a lot better and best of all has 16 MIDI channels. I don't know what Korg was thinking, but it made me apprehensive about buying their ARP Odessy and I'm glad I did because I have the Behringer Odessy and it turned out to be great. MIDI channels matter...

I had the original MS-15? or MS-20 a long time ago, and it was pretty great. This is a little smaller, but the keys are sort of mid-sized, so they're playable. Using this with other Korg analog gear like the really, really inexpensive SQ-1 and any of the Volca boxes is really easy. Or you can just control it via Midi, and it complements eurorack modular gear well too.

This is the synth that made me realize to focus on the simplicities of sound design. I learned a lot about synthesis using this synth, maybe more than any other synth as Id bring it down stairs from the studio when I would take a break to watch tv and continue my learning with this synth. This little guy can make just as phat sounds as my voyager however with a complete different taste and color. It is also really easy to make sound fx such as lazer bleeps and bloops. This is really all I could make when I first got the thing as I said, it taught me a lot about sound design.

Every day I walk into the studio and say "Karp, I hate your little keys. Some day I will likely replace you with a full sized model"

It's kind of noisy. But it's great at making noise. I like to make blippy noises. Sometimes bleepy noises. Sometimes screechy noises. Right? So right.

The little keys make me angry in case you didn't notice. But this synth sounds angry so I guess it's ok for now. It makes for great sampling fodder, especially little angry percussion bits.

If it broke I would buy one with normal keys. Or no keys.

great analogue remake in the 86% format!

I own the MS-20mini for a few years now. So far, I had no problems, neither with noise nor with the processing, However, I do not patch too much and use it exclusively in the studio! Nevertheless, I think that the processing of the KORG / ARP Odyssey is a tick of high quality.

Regardless, I like the mostly dirty sounds, especially if you let the filter scream, the headphone output sends back into the synth or the OSC derb against each other.

But the synth can not only elicit Bleeps & Blops, experimental and sick bass, he can also have very nice classic leads, especially with a natural delay / reverb

The 86% keyboard is perfect for me, because I have relatively small fingers and anyway come from the guitar where different neck thicknesses / lengths are on the agenda. Personally, I do not need a 100% keyboard, but I am glad that there are no mini keys (50%)!

So, if you like the MS-20 sound, you can choose between the 70s original, the original size (as a limited assembly version) of the MS-20m rack version or this 86% remake, which sounds more like 96% :-)

Noisy in both the good and bad ways, but can be smooth and tame if required. The dual filters provide a stunning range of timbres for a subtractive synth. Some settings of the "RING" mode make up for the lack of PWM. The smaller keys are fine for a monosynth.

I use the Korg MS 20-Mini in my Set-Up for synth sounds to give additional colours to e-piano sounds and other instruments. The handling of the MS 20-Mini is not very easy and more complex compared to other synths. To change to presets always takes its time and appears more difficult on dark stages. But the sounds of the MS 20-Mini speaks for itself!

It is fun to patch it up. Crazy screaming filters. Great for studio use but as a solo electronic performer it is a bit cumbersome to cart around for live shows so sample what I need from it.

Small keys are a bit of fiddle.

This synthesizer is extremely fun to use. It has the same beautiful analog sound of the original along with all of the other features musicians loved. The filters are a stand-out on this machine, they sound beautiful and completely characterize the robust MS-20 sound. The modular section adds another level of fun, although it can seem complicated to some.