Korg MS-2000

This was my first every synth to both play and own. I've learnt about synths because of this one. The layout - all the knobs (there's like 50!) make this totally awesome to perform with in an improvisatory way. I never get bored. Even if I have lines or chords I need to stick with, I can still make it sound different each performance because of all the knobs. I only give it a 9 because not EVERYTHING is accessible with the knobs, you have to use edit menu on the LCD screen for some options. But the possibilities of sounds you can make and ways you can vary them are seemingly endless and easy to do. The manual is great, it explains stuff really well.

So yeah, like everyone else, 4 note polyphony is a slight bummer, but this is a synth! not a keyboard! I don't find myself wishing for more than 5 notes anyway. Otherwise the texture would get too thick, in my opinion. Especially if you're trying to use this as if it were a real analogue synth. This thing has so many features that after 2 years of using it, I still find new things I can do, new ways to affect sounds.

I rate this at 10 - FOR A DIGITAL SYNTH. It gets sooo close to sounding analogue.
When I bought it, I was shown the ms2000 and a Roland synth. I was told the main difference between them was that the ms2000 had more retro sounds and the roland was quite modern. I play in a band that plays late 70s - early 80s synth slow disco tunes, and I have received so many compliments at my ability to just about exactly match the sounds in the original recordings, and how the ms2000, whilst digital, almost matches the warmth of analogue synths, much better than any other digital synth around today.
Being a pianist, I found I had to practise to adjust to the touch of the unweighted keys, but again, this is a synth, not a keyboard and I have gladly adjusted. It's perhaps even good for me, I think, to be able to play an unweighted keyboard. Helps my play my 70s Yamaha organ too, with its unweighted keys.

I do depend on it and I do use it at gigs without backup (though slightly paranoidly nervous about that). I did however spend a lot of cash to buy a really good case to protect it.

I would be devastated if I lost this. It's so versatile and I use it in two quite different bands. And I love it, it's pretty, and I love how it allows me to improvise in performance. You don't just program it and then use it, but I actually get to freak out on it. That's really my favourite thing. If i did lose it, I could only try to replace it with another ms2000 or buy an analogue synth. I really don't dislike much about it. I love it so much that I put up with it. Just like my boyfriend ;)

Pretty easy if you are used to synthesis. Doesn't take long to learn.

The major downfall as mentioned before is the 4 note poly. I wish they had made a seperate board to get more voices. I understand that Korg was trying to keep costs down, but I wish they offered an upgrade. That said, I love the delay and instant access to the knobs. The microkorg has the same synth engine, but for a little more money you get the access to almost every parameter of the board. I give this a 7 for the lack of poly

First off, I have owned many virtual synths(nord lead 2...not my thing..., roland jp8000...never cut through..., yamaha an1x...thin..., oberheim ob12...horrible..., creamware minimax..which is pretty authentic... etc). For the type of music I play(brit pop/indie/synth rock) this board cannot be replaced. There is something about the board. It can have a soft feeling to it, but can also be low and tough. I have even gotten good electric piano sounds out of the unit. The sound effects possible with the ms are amazing. Basses and leads are good. strings are usable, and the vocoder is a nice touch. Every time I try to find something else, I always come back to this one. It cuts through a mix like none of the others. I just tried out the r3 to see if I wanted to replace it, but it didn't have the same feeling. It was too techno for lack of a better term. Plus it lacked all the knobs. In my opinion, I can get good analog sounds out of the board as well as loads of other sounds I had never heard before. Maybe there is a better board for true sounding analog, but for me and the type of music I play, this board is amazing.

Never had any issues with it

never had to deal with them

For the price and features and sound, you cant go wrong, just wish it was 8 voices instead of 4. You can get a module to expand the voices, but I dont want to carry around 2 power packs and 2 modules, though I may not have a choice.

Easy as pie. The panel is laid out like a wannabe vintage analog with knobs and buttons. I'm sure it's not like the real thing but it feels comfortable. You can also opt to do your editing via the lcd menu, and some parameters can only be accessed this way.

I have the original blue version with the original patches.

Editing patches is a breeze. Sometimes all you have to do is tweak until you hear something you like. Really simple.

The vocoder is extremely easy to use. Many of the sounds can be set to vocoder. Tweaking them for optimal sound is usually merely a matter of adjusting the attack and decay to get a more biting sound.

The manual has all the information you need even if the layout of it is a little silly.

The 4 note polyphony is too limited for most. The keyboard action is typical plastic crap. At least they're not mini-keys (microKorg?) Velocity sensitive, no aftertouch. Why there are 44 keys instead of 49 I will never know. At least there are dedicated pitch bend and modulation wheels, a real plus in this day and age of 'alternative' panel designs. Still, must give it low marks for lack of some basic features like the aforementioned.

Vocoding and talk boxing is possible, you just have to know how to set it up. These two capabilities are really the only things keeping me from selling this thing, sadly.

The built-in reverb leaves much to be desired, but that's what dedicated outboard effects units are for anyway. With mindful tweaking the reverb is decent on some sounds, and there are always creative uses.

No on-board sequencer, and limited step-based arpeggiator. Tiny plastic knobs. The features are the downfall of this synth.

With little imagination, you can coax a host of atmospheric, slightly spooky, dreamy sound effects from this synth. That takes very little work. With more dedication, fat bass tones and exciting leads are within reach. Don't expect to be impressed by any of the presets. This is a synth for those who create their own sounds.

It sounds undeniably VA. If you want that classic polyphonic analog sound or fabulously lush sounding pads and strings, look elsewhere! Also, this does not emulate any instrument faithfully, this is not its purpose.

The vocoder is thin unless you find a really perfect setting for it. This involves finding the best OSC wave, filter, attack, decay, etc. I've heard others use a talk box with it and was surprised. Pretty decent talk boxing.

I would say the MS2000 is best used as a supplement to an existant synth setup. Wouldn't make a great MIDI controller. Certainly not a stand alone sound module or workstation by any means!

Korg has been churning out some less than fully-realized product in last decade, but aesthetically, the build quality is pretty decent. I haven't heard of anyone having to repair the chasis or inputs in the back or anything. You can almost always find a used one in top condition. However, the side wood panels, though cute, can chip easily.

You could gig it. It's very portable, light weight, and looks awesome.

Korg's website still has manuals and other ish for both the original MS2000 and MS2000B (black version), and the rackmount. Very professional website. Haven't had to deal with them directly so no comment on that.

Overall, I am rather unimpressed. I definately would have kept my luchi ($$$) and tracked down something else like an Oberheim OB-12 or Nord Lead 2, but that's due to my style of production and personal tastes. The MS2000 is a welcome addition in the studio's of producers of various forms of electronic music like ambient, lo-fi, and for psychedelic and/or trippy elements, sound effects, and the occasional cool arpeggiated effect. The vocoder is a welcome feature.

It's just not something I would desire to keep in my studio for long. You however, may find many uses for it.

pretty intuitive interface I think , having owned both the rack and keyboard.

4 note polyphony not that great, but not that much of a problem either I think.

If you're after thick and piercing sounds that sound closer to real analog, you're probably better off with an ion, virus or nord. At the same time this synth definitely has a very distinctive character, which a lot of people making more atmospheric and psychedelic music have always loved. The sound is best characterised as thin and interesting.

pretty good so far.

I've had both the rack and keyboard, and if it was lost would get another - it might not be the biggest sound, but its just too useful in too many situations to get rid if.

this is NOT an easy keyboard to program as a first synth, imo... in fact, any synth w. a modulaton matrix can be confusing. if you want a simple pad machine, pick up a juno, a one oscillator synth. it will sound much fatter than the ms... also, i think i listened to all of the presets available on the web, thru the yahoo groups, etc... and i never heard any user presets that were better than the factory presets... unless you like thin, whiny warbles or formless blobby basses... this reinforces my idea that it is not the easiest board to program... despite all the knobs.

4 voices, decent kybd action. good sequencer, i always loaded and saved patches thru sysex... their is a utility called "patch buddy" available thru the yahoo group which is very good for organizing your patches and banks.

midi timing is said to be suspect, but i didn't have much problem...

fx are ok, but again, it seems like it has a certain grainy harsh sound that i couldn't get beyond.

since its a 4 voice synth, this is designed for bass, leads, and fx... i personally didn't like the sound on leads (thin) or bass, but it is nice for cutting, squelchy sequences.

it might just be me, but there is a whole line of va type korg products, the ms2000, electribes, even the new radias, etc., that have a very characteristic sound that i don't really like; it is definitely not a warm sound... not saying it can't be used effectively in a mix, but don't expect lush pads here...

the connector for the power supply (on the back of the keyboard) can go out... when i took it to get repaired, the tech told me it was common for this to happen.

also, the knobs etc. are plastic and kind of cheepo feeling.

i sold it, but, for $350 or $400, it's not a bad piece, keeping in mind that it is really for special fx and cutting, biting sequences... i know some use it for bass, but i didn't like the tone, and i know some use it for leads, but i didn't like it for that either.

i don't think i'd pick another one up... for basses, i use an se-1, for pads, i have a juno60, and i'm waiting for a supernova 2 i just bought which has about 20 times the spec as the ms2k...

for that "ms2k" thing, those sequences, etc., there are alot of other synths / vsti's up to the job...

With all those knobs editing is just easy. Everything is spot-on : LFO, good waveforms (Except the "DWGS" - Waveforms, which sound rather thin and digital), the modsequencer is a cool feature, like a programmable LFO. However, most of the presets are just plain useless, but editing is so easy that it wasn't a point at all

Polyphony is the biggest complaint I hear, but I must say that this isn't a problem at all. This is not a Nord Lead 3 or a Acces Virus T1. This synth is for more retro style synthesis, especcialy psychedelic sounds and vintage sounding leads.

Overall, the features are exactly what you need for these sounds. the filter section is alright (which is the most important vor a good sound, ofcourse), and 4 patches for 2 LFO's is cool. It's got everything you'd expect from a decent symth

This is NOT for realistic sounds! As I stated this thing is really good in making:
Leads
Psychedelic sounds and noises
SFX/ Noise.

And that's it. It does these things perfectly. The effects are OK, and that's it. The chorus sounds a bit too digital for my taste, but the phaser is cool. My only complaint is the distortion, which really sounds awful. It sounds not at all like distortion or overdrive, it's just a button to make your patch sound shrill and ugly. Within 2 months I was so pissed about this that I slapped a EHX Big Muff between the MS2000 and my amp. This is highly recommendable, it sounds delecious.

Velocity curve is a bit strange sometimes, but its not a major problem,

As a stone, never had problems with it.

Never had to deal with them

If you're looking for a synth for all music styles this isn't it. It does certain kinds of sounds, but perfectly, but I wouldn't recommend this for say, Industrial or techno. Use it as a vintage synth with edded feature and 3 bunos polyphony tones.

the presets are mainly meant to show the capabilities of the synth, but about half of them are absolutely useless. there are however really great presets. it's extremely easy to edit the presets, and also quite easy to create completely new sounds. i mean, with all these knobs...

the poly is 4, and this is bad. the unit has great pad sounds, but with a limited polyphony they aren't very useful.
the built in effects just do their job.

if you want realistic sounds, this instrument is not for you.
it is extremely good for leads, psychedelic sounds, noises. the only fault is that is very hard to obtain usable fat bass sounds, since we have a lack of bass frequencies no matter how we try to adjust the filters settings... on the expresiveness side: with all these knobs (four of them are assignable) you can be really expressive in a live performance; you can turn a melodic sound into pure noise in about 0.5 seconds only by turning a single knob... this is the greatest feature of this synth. if you plan to use this only in the studio, buy something else.

rock solid. in 3 years probably the only bad thing i didn't to it is throwing it out of the window... and it still works like the day i bought it

i would not buy it again, but only because i'd like to buy a true analog. if should buy a virtual analog with the same price of the ms2000, i'd buy the ms2000.

This machine is a pain to use if you don't like sub pages that are accessed through multiple sub-pages, enough said. This is made more difficult by displaying the pages on a 16*2 lcd display {easy to loose where you are in the process of making that sound you had in mind...). The manual is helpful but could have been made of a more robust material than paper, primarily because multiple references will have to be made to it....... Let's not forget, this is NOT! a hardware synth, it is software (no curtis chips here), and as such has bugs that have to be taken into account when using.. Unlike the McCoy of yester year.

The MS2000 is abundant with features. However,it is a pity that most are are unusable for one reason or another. For example, the arpeggiator, the reason why I bought mine, has difficulty in locking onto my system clock pulse (despite the claimed fix in O.S. 1.07}. Equally, the vocoder has a thin and weedy sound, no matter what the settings. Arguably, this can be resolved by taking the time too set it up (yep cost me a fortune in studio time). Equally, I have seen more action on a stylophone keyboard than my MS2000.... Why? because corners have been cut and carbonised rubber inserts are used instead{I'm sorry, but I grew up with keybords have that true contact feel..}.

There are sounds to be had out of this beast.Indeed, voices can be made to work with any style or grove. However, don't be fooled into thinking you have the be and end all. For example, the demo tunes hide the fact that the arp'tor doesn't lock on and that the setting of a numerous parameters (per voice)takes time.... Indeed, enough time for your other synths to be half way through a bar before the MS2000 realises what it is doing... Sonically though, if I could get it working faster, the MS2000 is ace...

This beast is reliable.. You can depend on it taking your time and money... Simple...

Having discovered the design faults very early on, I contacted Corg and was greeted by a snot-nosed git calling himself an engineer. My arguments that this was not a real synth as such, and that the processor was to slow, were unfounded in his eyes... However, too the point, customer support.... it is there but full of itself...

If it wer stolen GREAT! I could claim back what I paid for this PSUEDO-synth. I will never ever buy from Corg again... Enough said...

This is the first proper synthesizer I've ever owned. It took me one hour to really start getting into it and I've been getting better at using it ever since. A decent read of the manual and one trial-run edit should be all you need. The presets sound like shit, and that's why they're presets. The MS2000 gives you complete control(and very easy control at that)- you can make almost any sound you want(if you aren't the kind of sucker who buys a modelling synth and hopes for realism- get a piano, moron). The shitty presets give you the drive to do this. If you buy a synth, it's your job to make good sounds come out of it and I don't think Korg could have made it any easier without comprimising the degree of control. The manual in itself does a great job of explaining things, and even a novice like myself was understanding a whole lot more after reading that.

The polyphony is four notes. Keep in mind that the name "MS2000" and the general overall structure of the synth would suggest that it's based on the old Monosynths from Korg. In actual fact, this is a monosynth. It's a monosynth with an uncomprimised 4-voice polyphony option. That's a decent bonus in my opinion. If I can remember correctly, the effects are chrorus, phlange, delay, ensemble and distortion. There are also ways you can produce a Wah, but it's not an effect as such. The keys might be pressure-sensitive, but if they are it's so mild that I really am not sure. As for the on-board sequencer, it's there, but it's not the kind of thing I use. From what I can tell, if you're the kind of person who'd use a keyboard sequencer, it's decent enough. The ability to tune this synth is also a definite plus, as I have an air organ that's about half a semitone out(as are all of those, as well as a lot of Harmoniums etc). Have fun with the vocoder, that's what it's there for.

Realism isn't overrated- it's irrelevant. We're talking about an instrument that effectively allows you to design sounds to suit your wishes. I tried, on a whim, to see if it actually was possible to create a halfdecent piano sound, but the best you can do is a sort of cheap electric piano. Those sounds all drifted off course and became awesome atmospheric sounds in the end. One ended up sounding like a sitar that had been shoved through a multitude of effects, and each key produced a different level of bass, treble, feedback... it was so uncertain and weird. What that really says is that you're going to have to experiment. This is great for weird, atmospheric sounds. Try making it do something you've never heard before. Pianos don't have oscillators and pitch-bend wheels, that's supposed to be a clue.

Can I depend on it? Yes. Would I use it at a gig without a backup? Yes.

I've never dealt with Korg.

If it were lost or stolen I might consider a Microkorg, but only because I'd have had enough experience with the MS2000 to make the very most of it. I use a Boss RC-20XL loop station live, and this goes together with it gorgeously. The only thing I don't like about this synth is that it's big, and finding a suitable case is tricky. But that's something to get over. I don't really wish it had anything more, maybe a couple more notes of polyphony but that's needless really. This synth has improved my live act and my recorded work to a standard I hadn't appreciated yet.

This software version is what came on it when I bought in in 2000-
Editing patches is a piece of cake- I'm used to old school vintage synths though, so it might be tougher for someone who's used to new synths-
Manual's fine, but I'd recommend the trial-and-error method so you don't rely on the book-

4 note polyphony- Better than what I'm used to, one note Moogs...
Built in effects are delay, phaser, flanger- They sound great and are easy to slap on whatever you're doing-
Best thing on here are the filter and oscillator mods available-
Haven't tried out the MIDI capabilities-
Sequencer is fairly easy to use, but I don't-

Really sounds very good- And its versatility keeps me coming back to it- I've been able to create great moog tones, and the surfy organ and rhodes piano presets are fantastic- Most of the other presets were a bit too techno sounding for me, so I erased them and made more old school synth sounds- It's nice to be able to concoct a nice thick moogy patch, and then name it/save it-

It's sturdier than I thought- I've played more gigs than I can count with this over the past 6 years and though it looks a bit rough now, it stills works as well as is did out of the box

I sold a Moog Prodigy on Ebay and bought this in 2000- I'm still happy with that decision- Oh yeah, the vocoder is awesome too- Great synth!