Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Korg MS2000


Steve Nathan

Recommended Posts

A friend wrote to say that his kid wants a Korg MS2000, and he has around $500 to spend on it or something similar.

I don't know this instrument. Was it special in some way, or popular with a certain style of music?

A quick Google/Ebay/Amazon yielded used ones in various conditions, but most would push his limit with either the purchase price alone or the International shipping.

Anything similar to this model worth considering?

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 18
  • Created
  • Last Reply
I never laid my hands on one, but I remember being interested in it when it first came out. There have been a heck of a lot of VA's to come out. Basically, it was an early 4 voice VA physical model of the MS20. Some of the reviews weren't that great of it. Any VA with 4 voices or more would be an alternative option.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not bad, but I would look at a Yamaha AN1x instead. For some reason, it seems to go for ridiculously low prices at the moment, and it's sonically superior in my opinion. Also, it has a 5-octave keyboard with aftertouch, and a ribbon controller.

OTOH, it has much fewer knobs for programming, so it's not as immediate.

Other options to consider for a similar price (used) are Alesis Ion, early Nord Leads and Viruses, Waldorf MicroQ, MicroKorg, Roland JP8000...

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had the rack version for a few years. I regretted not having the keyboard version because of the intimate connection between kbd & front panel. Otherwise, I liked the instrument. I think it was pretty well suited to techno, as the sound was a little abrasive (in a good short of way).

Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio

www.gmma.biz

https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice board. Same basic engine as the MicroKorg (not the XL), but knobbier, with full size keyboard.

 

http://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/ms2000.php

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I auditioned one extensively when it was new, and thought it was ok. I liked the JP-8000 and Nord Lead better, but actually ended up with a V-Synth. The 3 1/2 octave keyboard and four voice polyphony pretty much ruled it out for my purposes. It's not a true one knob per function VA like the Nord Lead and JP-8000 - but close.

 

Speaking of which, I'd advise against getting any knobby synth this old without checking it out first hand. These guys have been around awhile now, and quite a few have developed front panel glitches over the years.

 

If it's for a kid, have them check out the M-Audio Venom - which can be had for around $200 new and just ooze the contemporary edgy EDM sounds I'm hearing so much in today's music. I was very impressed when I played one. It's fully computer integrated too, which may speak his language better than a stand-alone VA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a tough choice between MS2000 and JP8000 when they were new on the market. Spent several hours one Saturday A/B-ing them. Roland was darker and warmer sounding, but the Korg had a sparkly edge that really appealed to me at the time. Ended up narrowing it down to the rack mount versions to save $, and Korg ultimately wound up under my arm...better price and more aggressive tones.

Got lost in soundscapes for weeks. Admittedly, I haven't touched it for nearly a year...just might light it up when I get home this evening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the MS2000R. I used it mostly for the vocoder and occasionally for some fat bass sounds. The routing capability is really nice, especially with up to 3 sequencers. Wish I had taken more time to learn it. Now I'm trying to sell it (among a lot of other items) so I can pay for my new CP4.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just Dan: In no way was/is the MS-2000 related to the MS-20. That was never the design intent. It's a general purpose virtual analog synth. Good engine, with nice modulation and step-sequencer-like modulation capabilities. Decent vocoder, not the best-in-class, but workable (see, I can be critical of my kids!). A great design for learning synthesis as well as just playing, due to it's good knobby interface.

 

Jerry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't spend $500 on one, especially if it's going to be "my kid's first VA synth."

 

Other options to consider for a similar price (used) are Alesis Ion, early Nord Leads and Viruses, Waldorf MicroQ, MicroKorg, Roland JP8000...

+1 (except for the microKORG)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes,the Micro and 2000 were the same engine I believe.

 

My MS2000 crapped out on me after 2 years. Bizarre modulation behavior then just stopped working. I used it on a total of 6 gigs, the rest in my studio.

 

I thought it sounded great but was so cheaply constructed and way too susceptible to ESD unlike any other board I have.

 

I used to be a Korg fan (MiniKorg, Polysix, DW8000) but the cost of repair was too darn close to what I paid for it.

"The devil take the poets who dare to sing the pleasures of an artist's life." - Gottschalk

 

Soundcloud

Aethellis

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the MS2000 for the same reason I like a lot of free soft synths. It is a great platform to learn synthesis.

 

For a $500 player instrument I would prefer a JP-8000 or Radias-R Rack.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

$150 is about the right price, if it's the BR edition (at least that's my recollection of the revision model's name).

 

I owned the blue one, sold it, then bought the black revised edition for $220 at a blow out sale. Then I sold it for the RADIAS, which ultimately disappointed (different story).

 

I still have tracks recorded with the MS2000BR that sit well with other tracks and which take well on the whole to replacing with Polysix and/or MonoPoly (VI's), but there are other tracks that have a special mojo I haven't been able to get with the VI's. I have no regrets selling it though; I learned a lot on that synth and it helped me develop criteria for other synths, but ultimately it's a bit too grainy. Good vocoder design.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then I sold it for the RADIAS, which ultimately disappointed (different story).

 

Sorry to hear that. I've heard people say the MS2000 has a warmer sound vs. the Radias, but I've not played them both.

 

 

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't bother.

Tried the MS2000B as an analogue general purpose synth and couldn't get the sounds I wanted because of the bizarre programming quirks - avoid IMHO.

Not a great keyboard either - I got the Roland XP30 (see other thread)

Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...