Minimal Wave Records

Very cool or overrated?
Does anyone here have one, or have experience with it?

I don’t know if they are overrated, but they sure are overpriced.

it’s a great synth but the current price is totally over the top. this once was so popular because it was one of the cheaper synths…

at the moment you even have to spend less to get a sci pro one, which imo is much more powerful, versatile and also has a great arpeggiator. even the arp odyssey costs the same as the ms20 at the moment and it definitely is way beyond it.

if you really need the ms20 filter sound get this the analogue solution’s filtered coffee, which is a good clone of the ms 20 filter section, has lfos, an envelope folower, ....

At first I thought it was the patch-cord panel that made the MS-20 really valuable, but maybe it’s more of a combination of that and the filter?

At the prices that it’s going for, it’s making me look at duophonic portables instead, like maybe the Yamaha CS-15 (not that I can find one. I wonder how much those are going for). In terms of sound, the MS-20 is probably unique, but in terms of portability and programming flexibility, it’s probably worth looking at alternatives.

For a second I was also looking at the SH-101, which seems to go for less, although it’s only monophonic.

It would be nice if there was a good mono or duo portable that could “match” the MS-20 in some other way, but was closer to $1000. $1500/1800/2000 just seems like too much for a portable mono.

Thanks for the Pro-One/Odyssey comment though. That’s good to keep in mind.

Have no idea what it sells for, but it’s a fetish item - the shape, the size, the keyboard, the KNOBS, as well as the sound, it’s just a great, great package. I loved my ms-20.

when talking to musos in their late forties, most of 2008, several people spoke very highly of the soft synth version of the ms-20. Don’t know if that’s of any consequence to people in this forum of course

I’m personally not a die-hard analogue user and I think that VAs are good in their own right, but I absolutely cannot stand using computers for musicmaking. Having to use a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and the persistent threat of latency is just too annoying.

That said, if they crammed a VA of the MS-20, including patching ability, into a nice piece of hardware, I would totally consider it (if it had enough knobs).

Exactly!

I compared the analogue and VST against each other and I was surprise with how similar they sounded… until I dropped them into a mix. You can call it whatever you want, harmonic content, mid hump, transient content, all I know is that there’s nothing like a MS20 that’s about as old as I am - it can do a lot of different things too. All that said they’re so overpriced that I don’t think you should by one right now - I was lucky enough to get mine for $800 not that long ago, I recommend craigslist instead of ebay. It’s my favorite synth for sure

i have the complete MS-series 10,20,50 and must say that the MS-10 is so far my favourite - sounds still very fat with just 1 VCO, it has a fantastic PWM what the MS20 doesnt have - it´s just a simple and good monosynth…

both overrated and overpriced. once the monotron becomes available, you’ll have an external ms20 filter if you want it for about 70$

it’s difficult to resist complaining about vintage prices, but a lot of these synths etc are so expensive because they offer a great sound, that you won’t get without the real thing… for me, if i lost my 808, CR78, SH-101, or MS-20, i would have to buy a new one, even though i bought mine long ago when the prices were OK… to me an MS20 is totally worth $1800+ - i don’t want to make music without it.

if someone thinks an MS20 filter is all you need, then they really haven’t mastered the MS-20 IMO—because on their own, i think the VCOs and ENVs, for example, are both pretty lame, but as a package it all works together to create a sound that is very special and unique. BTW the pitch-to-cv convertor on the MS20 is just as important IMO as the VCF in making it a must-have instrument.

an SH-101 is another perfect example - it doesn’t matter that for the same price you can get a DSI Mono Evolver keyboard (for example) that does so much more - the versatility doesn’t matter because the sound is nowhere near as perfect as an SH-101… sad but true!

but it’s Low Pass only… HP + LP in series is the MS20 sound - without that you are not even coming close - totally misses the point

i have an ms-10, but i highly recommend it. as posted above, the patchbay really makes it for me - if it didn’t have that, it would very limited. as it stands, even with just 1 osc, it’s quite flexible.

I use mine all the time. It’s not cheap for sure, but it’s not overrated.

Few synths has such strong personality and I agree it’s not only because of the filters. The VCOs have a special texture to them, great for reedy or acid washed sound. The enveloppes and LFO also display peculiar behaviors at times. They do feel different than the ones on Roland gear for sure.

The neat thing is how flexible it is when you are looking for ideas or inspiration. The patch panel also offers good options.

I hope Korg reissue the whole original MS serie one day.

P-Pho

I have used the MS20, SH101 and the Yamaha CS15.

For Duophonics the CS15 is amazing, also have the ability to turn up the initial VCO signal prior to the Envelope filter, giving you the ability to make amazing swelling pads, using the eg as a type of aftertouch. For true duophonic sound you need to trigger one of the VCOs via and external sequencer.

The MS20 is amazing - one of the big advantages and sought after sounds is the filter - it is 24db compared to the 12db on the CS15, but you can mod the cs15 to run the filters together giving you a 24db filter, you can fit a switch to return to the 2x 12dbs if you want.

The 101 is a completely different machine and I would not compare it to the other two.

Huh? I thought the MS-20 had a 12dB/oct low pass and 6dB/oct high pass filter.