Korg MS-20 In-Depth Demo

Here’s an in-depth look at the Korg MS-20 – a vintage semi-modular synth design.

While originally released in 1978, modern variations of the MS-20 have been released by Korg, starting in 2013, including the MS-20 Mini, a full-size MS-20 and the MS-20M module.

Topics covered:

0:27 MS-20 intro
2:08 Oscillator/ VCF description
2:42 Oscillator demo
9:38 VCF Filter description
9:50 VCF Filter demo
13:57 Mod Generator description
14:10 Mod Generator demo
16:09 Envelope description
16:33 Envelope demo
17:54 Patch bay description
18:36 Patch bay demo
25:21 DUAL MS-20 4-Oscillator Beast!
37:55 MS-20 Outro
40:20 Credits

via madFame

10 thoughts on “Korg MS-20 In-Depth Demo

  1. I did this with two Korg MS-20 mini’s. Didn’t sound as ‘big’ as the original model. It put me off and sold them long ago.

    I’ll try it again with Behringer MS-20 clone if they put it into production, if things sound good.

    1. ms-20 mini is not a replacement for the vintage nor is the newer full size key and module ms-20m. was really disappointed in the lack of mojo. hopefully Behringer does a good job. I miss that sound.

      1. There’s no “same” when certain components aren’t available anymore. I owned it (resold it after a year), and while I believe Korg did a pretty good job, it’s not as an accurate work as Behringer’s Moog clone.

      2. I wish they all sounded the same but its just not true. I sold my vintage MS-20 thinking I could replace it with first the mini. Honestly is was just ok not even close to the vintage in many ways. Worst part was the noise bleeding from the filter which made it unusable for me. So I replaced that with the MS-20m (Module). Much better build quality than the mini. However, my patches just sounded lifeless on it compared to the original. The filters were not the same. I could make the vintage one filters talk like a Mr. Oizo track not so much the modern ones. Honestly I would even rather own a vintage MS-10 over the modern Korg MS-20s.

        1. LOL. One must have a discriminating ear to hear or care about the sound differences between the original, vintage MS-20 and the MS-20 mini. I can assure you that 99.999% of people who hear the MS-20 mini used in a song will not know or care about any differences.

  2. I have the MS20 mini. It sounds fantastic. Not sure if it’s as good as the original, I’ve never had a chance to compare the two, but the mini sounds like a rocket taking off in my sitting room

    1. i agree, ive had my mini since it was first released, and i still love the sound of it, it’s filters are amazing. i highly doubt most people can really hear the difference between the two. i dug this vid, and can hear the differences between the two filter sets, i would never be able to tell the differences in a blind sound test. i just don’t buy it when people can say they tell a big sonic difference…its all subjective. And dont even get me started on how good the Boog clone sounds.

    1. Hear, hear! I thought the same thing years ago. I’m surprised that Korg hasn’t already made the MS-50 mini. The majority of MS-20 mini owners would shell out a couple of hundred bucks to add this on to their MS-20 mini. This would be a no-brainer money maker for Korg.

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