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!

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.

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.

Thankfully analog synths are widely used these days and are still in production. Now I can hand this down to my kids and the it will be even more vintage to them!

This instrument offers all of the standard features of a traditional east coast style analog synth, but adds a very colorful and fun filter. The addition of the patch bay creates a synth that grows with you as your develop a deeper understand of what is possible with synthesis. The envelops are not very snappy so it's hard to get good percussive sounds out of it, and the V/Hz instead of V/Octave makes it difficult to integrate into any other patchable synth without the purchase of a converter. Excellent for sustained or housy basslines, drone textures, arps, and leads

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.

Has a very nice capability. Beautiful for basslines and strings.

Awesome dirty analog

The sound of the inimitable MS-20 is now available to all with the new MS-20 Mini. The same engineers who developed the original MS-20 have perfectly reproduced its circuitry and fit it into a body...

yes but for my opinion the origanl is better

The MS-20 Mini is an odd little synth. It excels at making unusual sounds and squelchy resonant sounds. I don't give it five stars because it's a little hard to talk good sounds out of it, but it's definitely worth the effort to get what it does best out of it.

I love this synth, I use it to trip out in space or to build layers of funky lead riffs! great sound, my main synth!

Bought this two years ago as I wanted to make my way into the hardware synth world. Love it except for not being able to save presets but that is included in the fact its analogue so no complaint there.

Only complaint is the knobs are bit flimsy so its difficult to keep both VCO's at the same pitch without having a slight detune (not impossible,just not easy)

Would recommend it as you can get amazing sounds out of it, but I think I would have rather gone for something which could just save presets now .

I've had two of these, and selling my first was the biggest damn mistake I've ever made. This thing is fantastic!

I use it for classic brassy leads, with a nice gentle envelope. Kinda EMSy in a way. Or I use it for slightly crunchy triangle sub-basses on hip hop tracks. Hell, you can get great 80s synth plucks and bass stabs out of it too!

It's great for fx, bass, leads, drones, you name it. Run it through some compression, chorus/delay, and you're set.

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.

There's not much to say about this classic analogue monosynth that hasn't already been said in the last 30 years.

Although the build quality of the mini is not quite as solid as many had hoped, for the price you really can't go wrong, as sonically it sounds near identical to the original (plenty of comparisons available on youtube to confirm this).

The lack of a preset save feature is a blessing in disguise as it really forces you to think about what you're creating, and each time you sit down in front of it you will discover something new.

Special mention goes to the MS20 filter section, which is not only one of the best features of this synth, but also one of the best sounding filters I've ever used (I even prefer the Korg filter to the Moog, and the DSI Curtis just pales in comparison - blasphemy I know).

If you're not looking for instant preset gratification, this the monosynth you want !

Korg MS 20 mini in action and comparison to ms 20 plugin. Interesting to see the value of the analog hardware.

This synth has so many possibilities !!!

The amount of variety on this machine is amazing. Every time I use it I learn more and more about it.

My only concern comes from mini jack audio ins and outs, yes it has noise and i like that

KORG MS-20 Mini is simply a bad-ass monophonic synth along with other monophonic synths such as Arturia Minibrute, Bass Station II, MOOG Sub Phatty, and the Dave Smith Mopho. But the difference is that the MS-20 is a Semi-Modular Analog Monophonic synthesizer giving you a wide range of sounds and options. I use it for SFX and Bass. But it's also great for leads.

My second ever hardware synth. I love using this for leads and basses alike. I also love layering it to create spacious pads and atmospheres. For anyone wanting to learn to design their own sounds and get a taste for the semi-modular world, this is perfect!

A brilliant synth given the price, and pretty faithful towards the original. You'll be pushed to find an analogue synth like this for the price, and a must have for anyone getting into hardware synthesis.

crunchy vintage sound I want

Great reconstruction of the old ms 20!!!

It's my first synth, i love it! It's a monster, the type of sound you can obtain its near to endless...i play in a band like the bassist player with this, i make electronic music on my own... buy a reverb and a delay and you will love it!!

I never had the original MS-20, but having the mini is not less exciting. Very well priced and it just tastes like 1978. Very nice and rich sounding. Damn! I'll get another one too!!!

If I could give it a 4.5/5 I would. The possibilities with this thing are endless and it has a very comparable, if not better, sound than the original vintage unit according to some. My only real complaint is I think this thing is lacking when it comes to doing bass lines.