Korg MS20M kit + SQ1 sequencer

[Daags]

I expect these will sell out in pre-orders alone, even though it's pricey.

Pricey? Our definition of pricey is not the same

good for you

[Jace-BeOS]

I'm resenting the limited edition nature. I'd never have saved the money for this stuff until it's considered super rare and super sought after on second hand market. I can't afford the initial $1600 to start and it'll cost more once they sell all 1000.

Sigh. I hate being poor and broken.

[SJ_Digriz]

I expect these will sell out in pre-orders alone, even though it's pricey.

Pricey? Our definition of pricey is not the same

good for you

By the way, it has nothing to do with if I can afford one or not. It is not pricey compared to what it is compared to the existing market. Pricey is the Sequential Circuit Pro 6 .. $3800 .. or one of the new Moog Modular outfits that run from $25K to $75K

[SJ_Digriz]

I'm resenting the limited edition nature. I'd never have saved the money for this stuff until it's considered super rare and super sought after on second hand market. I can't afford the initial $1600 to start and it'll cost more once they sell all 1000.

Sigh. I hate being poor and broken.

I think street price is $1200 USD (maybe you were using a different currency). Maybe not much help.

[Daags]

I expect these will sell out in pre-orders alone, even though it's pricey.

Pricey? Our definition of pricey is not the same

good for you

By the way, it has nothing to do with if I can afford one or not. It is not pricey compared to what it is compared to the existing market. Pricey is the Sequential Circuit Pro 6 .. $3800 .. or one of the new Moog Modular outfits that run from $25K to $75K

if you say so pal. why don't we compare it with the price of a kidney transplant while we're at it ?

i prefer to compare like with like. the ms20m-kit is twice the price of the ms20 mini (in the USA, in europe it's more than 2.5 times the price), essentially for some extra plastic (or perhaps the same when you account for the missing keybed), a bit of wood, some extra jacks, the extra filter and a couple of cheap and common mods. it doesn't quite add up to an extra 150% on the price of the mini. so ya, i think it's fair to call the kits pricey (the ms20-kit is actually 2.33 times the price of the mini - judging by USA prices, again probably a bigger increase in europe but I had no luck finding prices for what the kit sold for when it was available here). if you don't agree that's fine, but please don't tell me it's not pricey because you can spend $3,800 on a prophet 6 or a friggin top-tier moog modular for $75k.

[Daags]

I'm resenting the limited edition nature. I'd never have saved the money for this stuff until it's considered super rare and super sought after on second hand market. I can't afford the initial $1600 to start and it'll cost more once they sell all 1000.

Sigh. I hate being poor and broken.

well it really remains to be seen *just* how limited they are... who knows when either of the kits will be re-issued. Wasn't it this time last year that the full size kit was issued ? or was it the year before ? Anyway if you started saving now and have some money put aside for this time next year it could work out for you. PMA ; )

[cocoazenith]

I expect these will sell out in pre-orders alone, even though it's pricey.

Pricey? Our definition of pricey is not the same

good for you

By the way, it has nothing to do with if I can afford one or not. It is not pricey compared to what it is compared to the existing market. Pricey is the Sequential Circuit Pro 6 .. $3800 .. or one of the new Moog Modular outfits that run from $25K to $75K

if you say so pal. why don't we compare it with the price of a kidney transplant while we're at it ?

i prefer to compare like with like. the ms20m-kit is twice the price of the ms20 mini (in the USA, in europe it's more than 2.5 times the price), essentially for some extra plastic (or perhaps the same when you account for the missing keybed), a bit of wood, some extra jacks, the extra filter and a couple of cheap and common mods. it doesn't quite add up to an 150% on the price of the mini. so ya, i think it's fair to call the kits pricey (the ms20-kit is actually 2.33 times the price of the mini - judging by USA prices, again probably a bigger increase in europe but I had no luck finding prices for what the kit sold for when it was available here). if you don't agree that's fine, but please don't tell me it's not pricey because you can spend $3,800 on a prophet 6 or a friggin top-tier moog modular for $75k.

for what's inside/outside it, it is really pricey. I have a friend who is working on a Ms-20 rack clone. he started working on it before this thing was announced. he estimates the cost of everything (minus his craftsmanship) at about €200...

[SJ_Digriz]

for what's inside/outside it, it is really pricey. I have a friend who is working on a Ms-20 rack clone. he started working on it before this thing was announced. he estimates the cost of everything (minus his craftsmanship) at about €200...

That's BS. I build synths modules all the time. I built out about 60MU, plus whatever I've purchased as modules. The parts for a reasonable VCO alone (not including paneling) is around $100 US. So, for 2 VCO's by themselves you are at your budget. Hell, 1/4" jacks are $1 or 2 each. You'll be at $40 or $50, just in jacks.

[cocoazenith]

Dunno. I tend to believe him as he's quite experienced with this stuff. He's built other clones as well, not to talk about all a great number of modules. From what he's showed me the ms20 is one big panel with all kinds of transistors on it. maybe he gets his components from somewhere cheap and he buys a bulk of them...

[SJ_Digriz]

I don't doubt he has the skills. Although, I would struggle with the PCB and maybe the paneling, I could do most of it. And I know a few people who could do it themselves. Far more skilled than I am. I do doubt the price very much though. Even if he had his own eagle drawings or similar, he would have to source the PCB, which can be expensive. Especially for 1 off. Maybe he has the gear to print his own. Hell I've traced and ironed my own for guitar pedals. But, the one for this synth would take a bit more than that.

So, lets say he has the gear and the bulk sources etc.. to build it, plus the engineering and construction time. How many of you have that? And, stacked against what it would take to do it, how does that value stack up? Pretty well ...

[skipscada]

I'm resenting the limited edition nature. I'd never have saved the money for this stuff until it's considered super rare and super sought after on second hand market. I can't afford the initial $1600 to start and it'll cost more once they sell all 1000.

Sigh. I hate being poor and broken.

Well, now that someone appears to have decided VA synths from the nineties are completely worthless, they can be picked up pretty cheap second hand. Assembling a collection of those small new modules from Korg or Teenage Engineering won't break the bank either. And that's if you feel the need for physical synths. With cheap powerful PCs and lots of excellent free software the situation for "poor" musicians is nothing short of revolutionary compared to how things were before the turn of the millennium.

[skipscada]

For me, the price of the Arp Oddyssey is more or less as I'd expect, while I find the MS20M slightly overpriced for what it is, but that's understandable since it's a limited edition. The SQ1 really appeals to me, since I've been trying to find ways to build a small and cheap one man hardware synth setup. The SQ1 is probably going to be simple to use, but appears to have a decent range of features for its size. Will need to look closer at the specs to see what it can do for me, though.

[Jace-BeOS]

I'm resenting the limited edition nature. I'd never have saved the money for this stuff until it's considered super rare and super sought after on second hand market. I can't afford the initial $1600 to start and it'll cost more once they sell all 1000.

Sigh. I hate being poor and broken.

Well, now that someone appears to have decided VA synths from the nineties are completely worthless, they can be picked up pretty cheap second hand. Assembling a collection of those small new modules from Korg or Teenage Engineering won't break the bank either. And that's if you feel the need for physical synths. With cheap powerful PCs and lots of excellent free software the situation for "poor" musicians is nothing short of revolutionary compared to how things were before the turn of the millennium.

I have some nice gear already that I bought before I went dead broke (such as two VAs that the market now deems inferior, hah hah), so I'm not without hardware (and I do like direct control). It's just that I've never tried actual analog (my second hand Korg Poly-800 doesn't count IMO), and the modular stuff looks fun to experiment with, MS-20 being a nice mix of modular and non. A synth, not a box of mixed parts. I started learning to program my Legacy version with the MS-20iC USB controller and patch cords. Jumping to the real thing would be preferable to investing in a rack of modular parts that would cost even more than this limited edition kit.

[T-CM11]

It's just that I've never tried actual analog (my second hand Korg Poly-800 doesn't count IMO)

Why doesn't it count?

[Jace-BeOS]

It's just that I've never tried actual analog (my second hand Korg Poly-800 doesn't count IMO)

Why doesn't it count?

It's super non-editable. I mean, you can program sounds, certainly, but it's all awkward digital, button pushing, parameter selection and narrow ranges for those parameters. There's nothing real time or immediate about it.

The Korg Legacy MS-20, with its dedicated mini MS-20 controller, kicks the real analog's ass. To think that the Poly 800 was the EVOLUTION of analog synthesizers... It was polyphonic but not at all fun or immediate. That's what I'm wanting in my exploration of analog style synths.

I have fun with my Virus TI because of its controls, but it's not fully exposed and still needs menu diving.

And semi-modularity via cables is fun