In case our extensive Korg MS-20 Mini coverage isn’t enough for you – Korg today released this MS-20 Mini tutorial:
Looking to learn more about how to program the Korg MS-20 Mini monophonic analog synthesizer? This comprehensive video series will quickly familiarize you with the layout and functionality of the MS-20 Mini’s legendary semi-modular interface.
For more information on MS-20 Mini, see the Korg site.
We should have moved far beyond analog monosynths with discrete circuitry by now. SSM and Curtis designed fantastic analog synth voice ICs in the early 1980s, but 30 years later we don’t seem to have similar capabilities.
Given the vast progress that has been made in computation and fabrication processes, you’d think it would be relatively trivial to make new analog voice chips. But it hasn’t happened, and so we live in a bizarre world where the MS-20 Mini is considered exciting.
It’s not; we’re just retreading old ground.
It’s exciting for anyone who is buying an MS20 for the first time.
Things don’t have to be new to be exciting. I used to own a 20 year old Porsche 911. That was pretty exciting.
Some things will always be exciting.
A good instrument should always be interesting!
About the custom chips – there’d have to be a certain volume to justify them, and many synth fans prefer discrete electronics for the reason of repairability.
Pianos have been around for a long time, and to my limited knowledge, people are still playing them.
The design of my favorite keyboard – a Kawai GM-10K – has been around for centuries. And it has fewer modulation capabilities than any of my other instruments.
It was also the most expensive.