Korg MS20M kit + SQ1 sequencer

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would be cool to get together a 'modular for the people' project,
using cheaper, readily available parts, to get a system going on
the cheap - it must be possible to build some sort of VCO for
less than 100$ in parts?!!

anyway, most beginners will be delighted to get some filthy
farty analogue monster mono going built out of junk parts.
it might not enter the realms of modular nirvana, but it's a
starting point. what do you reckon?

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anyone have any idea when these kits will be in stock (in the EU) ? ... the Korg rep in the trade show says 3 months, but some retailers seem to indicate 3 weeks.
Last edited by Daags on Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Speaking for the U.S. (I know you said EU), but in the U.S. it would appear that some retailers actually have it in stock already? Sweetwater says that they have it in stock and according to posts on Gearslutz this appears to actually be the case. So for some of the retailers that you mentioned that said three weeks, that might be true as well? :shrug:

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Jace-BeOS wrote: 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 ;-)
Ever thought about getting it modded? ;)
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYII.html

I have the Legacy USB controller too - it stops me from buying the MS20M kit (well, that and a limited budget/or space to put it :D ).

I think my analog arsenal (BSII, Boomstar SEM, Evolver) will remain the same for a while. :)

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Sequent wrote:Speaking for the U.S. (I know you said EU), but in the U.S. it would appear that some retailers actually have it in stock already? Sweetwater says that they have it in stock and according to posts on Gearslutz this appears to actually be the case. So for some of the retailers that you mentioned that said three weeks, that might be true as well? :shrug:

good to know, thanks for the info!

perhaps the Rep at NAMM meant three months for all 1000 to be deployed... so they will be fed to retailers in increments ? Or perhaps he was just wrong : ) Someone is wrong anyway. Someone has to be wrong : )

mainly curious for budget reasons. I'm going to be living on noodles for the next three weeks if that's true...

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T-CM11 wrote:Ever thought about getting it modded? ;)
http://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/synthmod/POLYII.html
Turns out it was modded. The thing had some presets in it, despite that not being possible without batteries inserted (none are). They seemed... wrong, but the clumsy editing left me disinterested anyway, so i put it back on the shelf (it's a freebie from a former girlfriend, who got it as a freebie from a former boyfriend, hah hah).

i finally got round to loading the factory set (via MP3 on iPhone plugged into the Tape In port) and then, after playing with them (a few of which are decent), i went to find out the facts about this thing once and for all.

Fact is, this thing shouldn't have had any sounds. i opened it up (noticing again that the screws seemed wrong and one or two are missing) and found a battery that it's not supposed to have (yes, it's soldered in, sigh), and some wiring that i do not understand (as well as dead insect parts). So, someone gave it a battery backup mod. i don't think anything else was modded. i looked at the firmware chip and it is noted online as the factory version. i looked at the user-made upgrade that adds sysex (mine is the older version lacking sysex), and i determined the mod was outside my comfort level. Same for the filter mod also out there.

i didn't even clean it out. i would have had to take it completely apart to do that. It just doesn't interest me. So i closed it up and put it back on the shelf again. If it was in better shape, i'd sell it. But the knob on the joystick is gone, the paint on the case is rubbed off in various areas, and it's dirty and has dead stuff in it, along with a questionable battery backup mod. i see no point in trying. Do you?
T-CM11 wrote:I have the Legacy USB controller too - it stops me from buying the MS20M kit (well, that and a limited budget/or space to put it :D ).
Yeah, limited surface area for gear here, too. Still trying to figure out how to lay things out so that i am not storing desktop synths disconnected on shelves while i'm using the desk area for other things. And i have NO money at all, really. But, i keep thinking... The Legacy controller can't really be plugged into another device to get weird new modular action... And then there's the zipper noise inherent in low resolution MIDI controls on filter sweeps. i only just realized this was a thing and now i notice it a lot. i'd rather there was an HD-MIDI standard... (any year now)... but all my gear would be before that standard, of course.
- dysamoria.com
my music @ SoundCloud

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Jace-BeOS wrote: And then there's the zipper noise inherent in low resolution MIDI controls on filter sweeps. i only just realized this was a thing and now i notice it a lot. i'd rather there was an HD-MIDI standard... (any year now)... but all my gear would be before that standard, of course.
Have you tried mapping the pitchbend wheel (or any other 14 bit controller) to filter cutoff?

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T-CM11 wrote: Have you tried mapping the pitchbend wheel (or any other 14 bit controller) to filter cutoff?
I just tried setting an Encoder on my Remote SL to 14 bit, and it works, I can do really slow filter sweeps without zipper sound.

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Good idea, thanks!

i just don't like having to remap controls as part of "playing around" i guess.
- dysamoria.com
my music @ SoundCloud

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showed the ms20 module to my girl last night. her response...I think you need one...just buy it...
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.

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I'm liking the fact that it does volts per octave...play nicely with my moog stuff and the microbrute.
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.

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Bit the bullet and ordered it. Last one.
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.

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Congratz :)

Tbh I find it very expensive. But then again I'm not their target crowd, so :)
TELURICA - "Made In ___ [INSERT LOCATION]" - EP.
Available now on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/telurica/sets/ma ... t-location

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werp wrote:Bit the bullet and ordered it. Last one.
:tu:

I'm using the full extent of my overdraft and living on noodles for the next three or so weeks to pay for mine. And then of course paying the overdraft back as quick as possible to minimise interest fees. But, eh, consider it a practically life long (electronic music production wise) dream come true. Wanted an ms20 for years but always had misgivings about price-vs-condition-vs-no-warranty-vs-which-model-vs-bang-for-buck etc. Despite this being pricey (imo of course : ), more pricey than I really think is justified (compared with the ms20mini), it's the model I feel best about, new or vintage, so I'm really beg/borrow/stealing as much as I can to make it happen. Pity it has to be like this, if it would be a general release I'd just take my time and save.

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This seems like the one that they should have released in the first place, but then I suppose people would have been complaining that it isn't accurate. I have a feeling that this one is going to sell out a lot more quickly than the previous kit... so what's a few noodles now over synthesis joy to come! From the Sonic State review of the original kit, I expect that this one will also be fairly solid (as opposed to say the Mini, which is a little bit more wobbly). That plus the new additions and the sequencer make this feel like a winnner. I also like that the sequencer works as a voltage converter, etc, and the fact that this will now play more easily with other non-Korg stuff. :tu:

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