korg ms 2000 woes

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Helmetsand

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im looking at an ms 2000 - does anyone have any comments or suggestions about something similar, better, cheaper, or that has more voice polyphony?
 
When I was considering a new virtual analog synth, I compared the Korg to the Roland JP8080, which is probably much much nicer. I ended up getting the Korg because of its price (I got the rack model). I haven't checked prices, but the Korg has fallen a lot in the past year in price, perhaps the JP8080 has also. It's more expensive, but you get more too.

Of course Nord, Access, Waldorf and Novation have many models to choose from, all of which will have lots of modulation possibilities, and will definitely sound fantastic (though I've read more than once that the Korg has the truest "analog" sound... if you trust reviewers). But those brands are going to cost you much more than the Korg. If you test and like the sound of the Korg, consider getting two to get double polyphony (though this is implemented in an "even / odd" way that I am not clear on). Even buying a second one will be cheaper than getting a Nord or Novation.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a synth cheaper than the MS2000R with a nice feature set, unless you shop around for second hand deals. Of course, soft synths open up new opportunities if you're up for them. And so much cheaper.

Hope this helps some,

marcus
 
sucram said:
....(though I've read more than once that the Korg has the truest "analog" sound... if you trust reviewers)
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I recently got an MS2000R, after heavily investigating it and all it's peers, and I agree with these reviews.

Here's my take on it. For a given price point you can buy a certain amount of processing power. Assuming the designers know what they're doing, different makes and models of synths in the same price range are somewhat of a choice between how that given processing power is spent.

For example the Korg MS2000 and the Novation A-Station place their emphasis on the different aspects of their "analog modeling synthesizer" nature. The A-station spends most of it's processing power on the "synthesizer" side, with more polyphony, sequencing, and modulation possibilities. The MS2000 on the other hand spends the majority of it's power on the "analog modeling" side, and it's individual voices have a much richer, warmer, "true analog" quality to them - at the expense of reduced functionality.

So when I chose the MS2000 it wasn't because I thought it was better than the A-station. I chose it because it's better for me. My style of writing music in Acid is such that the multi-voice/polyphonic thing isn't very important to me. I chose the MS2000 for it's tone, not it's functionality - and of course price was a big consideration:).

Your balance of priorities may be different, so choose accordingly.

barefoot
 
I totally agree with barefoot! I recently also got the MS2000R (rack unit and an Oxgen 8 to control and play on it) and LUV it for it's warm analog sound! For the relatively few buxx I've spent ($470.-) I got all the sound I wanted. Just a few weeks ago I also got an Oberheim OB-12, which of course is much more expensive -- but is completely different in sound. I wouldn't wanna miss my MS2000 :-) I think the MS2000 is a great addition to almost any (home) studio. Even though you might want to get some more expensive synths later, you'll always come back to the MS2000 and use it's for it's warm analog sound.
 
thanks on and on

thanks for everyones response. i really love the sound of the ms 2000 but giganova do you think you could tell me a little more about the ob-12... i've been looking at those as well. everyones responses really helped a lot.

barefoot - what kinda stuff do you write? got any for download?
thanks again
 
Oberheim OB-12

do you think you could tell me a little more about the ob-12... [/B]
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well, I think the OB-12 is an awesome piece of equipment! It's hard to get, though. musiciansfriend.com has it on sale for just $599.-, but they don't seem to have it on stock since January.
You'll find tons of reviews on this website:
http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/oberheim_ob12.cfm
Funny thing is that the OB-12 polarizes people a lot. Some people HATE it, others LUV it. I clearly love it. It's built like a sturdy tank and weights a lot. As you might know, it's 12 polyphone (hence the Name "OB-12") and you can produce killer sounds! Unfortunately the 256 presets are all totally useless and sound like crap. I guess most people are disappointed because they expected it to sound like a "vintage" Oberheim (e.g. the Matrix 1000). However, since this gadget is not even built by Oberheim but by an Italian company, it doesn't have anything to do with Oberheim other than having that name. The OB-12 has a cool display. Each time you tweak a knob the display shows you in a graphical mode what you've changed. If you go to the official OB-12 website http://www.ob12.com/ you can listen to some demos. Check it out.
 
So the OB-12 *doesn't* sound like an Oberheim? Personally, as far as I've heard (which really isn't much), Oberheims have a very smoothe sound. I keep thinking of Prince's "1999" synth melody. Lots of sheen on it. The OB-12 has that morphing feature too, right? That seems really bad-ass.

And all those knobs and sliders...

$599, eh? Hmmmm...


-marcus
 
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