MS 20 for real beginners

[howardy1965]

Hi everyone.

I have just bought the MS 20 legacy (to take me back to my MS 10 days) however I am a complete beginner on all things soft synth so have a few questions to ask.

Firstly is there any kind of manual available? Seems obvious but I can't find one.

Second how can I get it to be bigger on my mac screen? It's about the size of a photograph and very fiddly to change setting.

Third, when in edit mode four extra columns of buttons are seen which are not on the main screen or the MS20 mini. What do they refer to?

and last I am already sick of adjusting settings with my mouse. I would love the MS20 legacy controller but it seems they are not being made or are unavailable. Is there such a thing as an external controller? I am sure there is but any advice would be very welcome.


Thanks everyone and please be patient with this old newbie.

[Citizen Klaus]

Hi everyone.

I have just bought the MS 20 legacy (to take me back to my MS 10 days) however I am a complete beginner on all things soft synth so have a few questions to ask.

Firstly is there any kind of manual available? Seems obvious but I can't find one.

If you go to the download area of your Korguser.net account and click on the MS-20, you can find a list of documentation specific to the plugin. The installer should also have placed some manuals in the folder where you installed the Legacy MS-20.

If you don't need something specific to the plugin, Korg USA hosts the original hardware MS-20 manual on their site.

Second how can I get it to be bigger on my mac screen? It's about the size of a photograph and very fiddly to change setting.

It's a fixed-size interface, unfortunately. The knobs are larger in Edit mode, however.

Third, when in edit mode four extra columns of buttons are seen which are not on the main screen or the MS20 mini. What do they refer to?

The two left-most columns control global settings for the plug-in:

• a voice controller (which lets you set monophonic or polyphonic operation, number of voices, unison, plus some knobs to control the depth and stereo spread of the unison voices)
• analog drift emulation
• a knob to set the range for the pitch-bend wheel, in semitones
• a knob to set coarse tuning for the entire voice, in semitones
• gain controls for the external signal input
• and a global pan knob.

The next two columns each allow you to specify a control source (velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel, expression pedal, etc.) and route it to multiple destinations (filter cutoff, amplifier gain, etc.).

The original hardware MS-20 didn't have these features, so they aren't on the main menu screen.

and last I am already sick of adjusting settings with my mouse. I would love the MS20 legacy controller but it seems they are not being made or are unavailable. Is there such a thing as an external controller? I am sure there is but any advice would be very welcome.

The MS-20ic is the only dedicated controller, but the Legacy MS-20 supports MIDI Learn for all parameters, so you can map them to the knobs and sliders on a generic controller. I use an Arturia Analog Laboratory keyboard to control my plugins, and it works like a charm.

[howardy1965]

Well thanks for that! Everything I asked for. Ain't the internet grand!!

Your midi controller looks nice but a bit out of my price range. Wouldn't I need 30 knobs to have full control? Looking out for the MS20 controller

[Citizen Klaus]

Well thanks for that! Everything I asked for. Ain't the internet grand!!

You're welcome.

Your midi controller looks nice but a bit out of my price range. Wouldn't I need 30 knobs to have full control? Looking out for the MS20 controller

That's the rub with generic MIDI controllers: never enough knobs for everything, so you have to pick and choose. I try to keep similar mappings across different plugins to avoid confusion, but there's always a bit of awkwardness.

The MS-20 controller would probably be ideal, as it gives you the closest thing to the original analog experience without actually buying an MS-20 mini. It also works as a generic controller, too, so you can drive other plugins with it. The MS-20 controller does have some downsides, though: no pitch-bend wheel, no aftertouch, no sequencer controls, no octave switching, no multichannel split/layer functionality, and no provision for connecting foot pedals.

But if you only want to control the Legacy MS-20 plugin, some of that might not matter as much.