28 thoughts on “Korg MS-20 Kit Unboxing & Assembly

  1. Just doesn’t make sense. The fully assembled 86% size (or so) mini ms 20 is half the price. Why didn’t they exhange it? Like this one fully assembled for this price, and a DIY kit mini for half the price? For me it would make much more sense though. If I had to choose, i would get the mini.

    So, Dear Korg: Make a Ms 20 mini kit for 300 dollar/euro. Then we have a deal!

  2. Again, I think its completely awesome there’s now a way of getting a new full-size MS-20, I just don’t get why this is a kit. There’s no soldering involved, the labor savings is probably negligible, and it’s twice the price of the mini version. Is it a kit just for the sake of it, like a model airplane? Are we going to start seeing decals and painting tips coming with our synths now? πŸ™‚
    Just charge the extra 20 bucks or whatevs so I can get to the music quicker!

    1. Korg is trying to offer a cool synth and an interesting experience for people that want to know more about how a synth goes together. Also – if you’ve seen how modern PCBs are made, this is probably the bulk of the hand assembly of the MS-20.

      They clearly don’t want to be doing tech support for people that screw up soldering a complex PCB, though, and they would not want to have people reselling official Korg synths that are built incorrectly.

    2. It’s a bit like a kit with pre-boiled vegetables, just-add-water sauce and 3 minutes microwave bag of meat to give you the impression you are a chef, at 10 times the price of the raw ingredients and about the same price as buying it served on a plate in a restaurant.

        1. I have a mopho and is actually analog but digital controlled.
          If I put it to maximum you don’t hear any white noise.
          I think the white noise in hardware synths is always something in the amp of the synth.
          Correct me if I’m wrong.

      1. If you use an envelope for a bass sound and set the low pass filter to a setting for most bass sounds (33%) you will notice very much white noise.
        Even when your not triggering the filter with an envelope you notice a lot of white noise compared to a vintage synth.
        So I’m not comparing it with newer synths.
        There is a discussion about this on gearslutz I think.
        I think someone complained about this problem to korg and they found a 70% solution for it.
        They say that when you’re recording bass sounds you have to cut off some high frequencies with a low pass filter.
        Like I’m writing now it’s a 70% solution to the problem that is NOT a problem for all the consumers.
        For some (like me) it’s hell.
        For some it doesn’t matter.
        It should be a problem with the amp in the synth I think.
        I noticed it when buying this but I returned it because of that problem.
        First I looked for other people with the same problem and it turns out that its a problem with ALL the MS-20 mini synths.
        So if you’re looking for a clean nice bassline this is not your choice.
        On the other hand,it’s a beast.
        The filters are awesome and by for example triggering the synth with audio and so on….
        You can do A LOT crazy and awesome stuff with this synth and the sound is unique.
        I bought it simply for the sound of it but you have to realize that it’s an old design and you have to work with cables to get the best out of it.
        I’m not so old and I’m used to turn knobs and look to a screen so that was a not a good workflow for me personally.
        But again,if you know what you’re doing it’s a wonderfulll beast that will scream your *ss off.
        About the white noise on bass sounds,in some cases I think it can be good in your creations but it will depend on what genre of music you’re in.
        For some a problem ,for some not.
        So I hope with this one this problem is gone?

        1. I’ve just assembled MS20 kit.
          The noise is here, as expected to be.
          It’s the same noise as in MS20 mini and it’s way louder then average synth have to hiss.
          Even if I turn both VCO levels down and leave only open filters, the hiss is present.

          But from the other hand, it’s a full-size and 1/4″-jacked midi-enabled MS20 with ESP and it’s filters.

          But I agree, its real price is somewhat around $600, not $1400

  3. In our era of software, downsizing and of everything done for us, it’s refreshing to see Korg offer a traditional synth with awesome sound capabilities in a do-it-yourself kit. You’re paying a fraction of what original MS-20’s sell for to have one with a MIDI port on it that you built yourself!

    Those that say they can’t build this, if you can build things from Ikea, then you will probably not have any problems with this….

    1. Probably does for most other people too; that’s why Korg is only making a thousand of them! Those who really can’t stand the surface mount potentiometers and mini keys on the mini can have this, more expensive, full-sized version, while those who are happy enough with the mass-produced one can put the extra money towards other things.

  4. What happens when something goes wrong with it or if you f**k up the assembly? Is it all covered under the warranty? Or do Korg just tell you that its your problem as you must have built it wrong.

  5. I’m sending mine to China for assembly. My time is better spent making music. If I’m going to build, I want soldering involved.

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