Korg MS-2000

Extremely easy to use. If you just want immediate gratification twiddle away. Setting up virtual patches is a doddle too!

Knobs!! Oh this is knob heaven. Mod Sequencer is fabulous. Endless varieties. Polyphony could be more there's no doubt, but the sound is just killer so it outweighs this complaint. FX are quite nice too. Minimal but work well to complement the synth.

@#&*ing FANTASTIC! This is the love of my life currently (must apologise to my girlfriend). The variety of sounds is just fantastic. The Mod Sequencer adds many dimensions to the sound. I've never owned a true analog synth but to my ears I can replicate very accurately sounds of artists who have used real analog synths. The Virtual Patching can allow one to have FX orgasms :o)

No problems at all.

Well they've improved the OS so that's a positive thing. Beyond that I don't know.

No way I would sell it. It's too valuable. I would certainly buy it again if I needed to replace it. The only improvements I would like o see are:
1. Improving of key data into the Mod Sequencer. Currently done using numbers rather than being able to assign a note to a step on the sequencer by hitting a key.
2. More poly.

The manual is short, concise and actually very useful. I don't really edit patches too much except to add modulation and reverb but the operation of the MS2000 is extremely simple.

The MS2000 only has 4-note polyphony which works if you have a multitrack recorder. Otherwise, the only option is to buy a MS2000R rack which will give you 8-notes of polyphony. The built-in effects are great! I can run an audio line-in (acappella usually) and tweak the sounds. The vocoder is another feature that made me choose the MS2000. The keyboard is somewhat loose and has rounded tops on the keys. This is ok because, let's face it, noone is playing Chopin on this synth! There is no onboard sequencer but I just hook the MS2000 up to my Roland XP-60 and everything works great. The MS2000 has full MIDI support.

The sounds are what sold me on the MS2000. For $900 bucks, they are incredible. The only other synths that I like better than the MS2000 are the Supernova II and the Waldorf Q. Both of which cost twice as much as the 2000. The 2000 is very inspirational because every sound can be used as the basis for a song. Especially the British Organ! I love that one! The MS2000 is best used for dance music, remixing and/or new age.

So far, 4 months later, I have not had any problems with my MS2000. I don't play live but I think it would hold up with it's metal casing.

I haven't needed to call customer support.

I love this synth! It is worth the $900 I paid. It is everything I expected and more. The other analog modelling synths are quite a bit more expensive and more complicated than the MS2000.

My version is "05" which I believe is the latest. I have owned it for a month now and it's sound continues to amaze me, whether it be the presets or my own tweaked creations. Editing is a breeze and the "original value" light helps a great deal when you are really "going nuts" programming. The manual is good in that it does cover all of the features. One feature I found (not sure if it is in the manual) is when you are adjusting the MOD SEQUENCE knobs, there is a null point around "zero" which helps a lot when tweaking.

Four note polyphony??? Well I have to say that you can make good arrangments with one or two notes and when using a complex patch you can easily muck up your song with too many notes, so I am not disappointed. But if Korg can shoehorn another circuit board in the case to up the notes then I would do that, if only to prevent legato playing from cutting off notes abruptly. Yes, the keyboard is cheap but it may just hold up for my needs.

Expressive? Very. I am into the 70's/80's retro sound and this machine fills the bill. Listening to my Roland MKS-80 has not caused me to regret buying the MS2000. Yes, there are differences between the two but you would be surprised at the similarities. Also, I took a Roland SH-101 and duplicated it's patches on the Korg, by ear of course. The sound was the same! I don't care- VCO? DCO? XYZO? Just listen! Regarding the filter resonance- I really feel that it sounds too low when at the "00" setting, almost like a negative value. Try offsetting it with a "plus 8". "Where does the bass go when the resonance is turned up?"-some ask. Well the Roland Super Jupiter behaves in a similar way.

Don't know yet. I'll bet that it holds up but then I won't be roading it around too much... I would say don't gorilla fist the controls.

I have a fair amount of trust that Korg will come through if I have a defective product. The thought of it ever having to be left at some authorized service center for 2 or 3 weeks does not appeal to me though.

I'd buy it again. It helps me with my ideas. There's a ton of good gear on the market now, both new and used, and you have to study up on it. . I studied up on this stuff. I happen to like the MS2000 btter than the Roland JP-8080 and the Waldorf products. When I was in the store I would go over to various synths and strip away all effects such as delay and chorus from the patch. The Korg had a sound that I wanted whether it had 4 note poly or 32...and it looks great.

Is my first attempt with this kind of synth, and is incredibly intuitive. Virtual patch fetaure is quick, and real time knobs give a hands on feel. Manual is actually not as long as war and peace.

4 voice polyphony (could be more...) This baby is all about the sounds. Rarely have I heard a new school synth make synthetic sounds seem so natural, and for a begginer like me, not having to navigate too many menus is great. I use the midi well, but I think it could do more.

Feels more like an instrument and less like a computer than other synths I've fiddled with. Sounds are amazing, but obviously isn't made for realistic instrument sounds, but fortunatley i wasn't looking for them.

just got it

n/a

I am a beginner with synths (am primarily a bassist), and make music around my bass. I use the ms200 primarily to add textures to my music, and I couldnt have made a better by IMO.

9.1 Almost everything on the front panel and at MY age, and with my eyesight that's important!

9.5 The virtual patch bay...well, what can I say. This kicks ass like nothing else i have. I have an old MS-20 and the MS-2000 makes patching a breeze. This is the coolest ergonomic feature on this synth in my opinion. Hats off to the Korg designers.

Okay, here is where Roc Doc earns his money. I have a WAY HUGE collection of vintage synths for my vintage ears. Not bragging...i have some hearing loss from these monsters, but let me give you a point of refernce. I have an Arp 2600, a Minimoog, a Serge Modular, a Moog Prodigy, a Juno 60 and Juno 106, and a Roland MC202, as well as an Oberheim OBXA...and I can make this new MS-2000 sound like nearly all of these synths...i'm not saying EXACTLY, but close enough to get the pay check at the end of the gig. Got that...now, Doc says there are only a couple of synths in the Dog's bag of synth tricks that still can humble this whipper snapper from Korg. One is the Roland JD-800, which remains the bonafide Space Music Monsta' of all time. If you want to sound like you have just been jettisoned from a pod, in a Federation deep space funerary probe, one where the lights go out but the ears stay on sampling the vast stretches of cosmos before coming into orbit on some deep space prison planet, THEN GET AHOLD OF A ROLAND JD800. Now, the other synth that can humble the MS2000, but only in a very limited but montrous way, remains....tah dah, the KORG MS-20...alias THE HAMMER. If I come to the end of a gig, and there are still dental filings remain in place in the front row, I go to the MS-20 and I do some extractions...i always come up with the gold, so to speak, with this box. It is the all time earthquake inducing, concrete cracking, universe recentering, thunder of the analog gods. Put another way, it has a filter envelope that makes you feel like you're being electrocuted. The MS-2000 can't do the hammer trip...nothing but judgement day, can...but it does a VERY respectable imitation...well, not imitation...it actually seems to deliver MORE low bass...if you have the subwoofer for it, but the attack, the cut, the edge, the wave...well, tis not in the same league as the hammer, but then, as i said, the hammer rules.

Don't know yet

No reason for it. But in the past Korg has been great.

ROC DOC SEZ...TWO THUMBS IN VALHALLA

my first korg was the Z1.i loved the fattness of the bass and the x/y pad was great,but other than that the thing was a beast to program,the manual was juat as bad , overall it was elusive and hard to compehend.that being said i sold it and bought the MS2000,OK, so its not as fat in comparison to the Z1 and maybe even a little thin up agaist its competition the NOVA,which my band mate has.but its still sounds fat and has some earcandy sounds, besides i have plenty of that FATTNESS in my synth collection,this thing has got loads character and programing is a piece of cake, i love how easy it is to synch up and tweek, the mod seq is a riff factory . i'm going to stand by this little classic for a while until i get it to do what i know it can do .if you want to spend more time making riffs and less time programing sounds chsck out the MS2000

Honestly I don't know who these people ( reviewers ) are that are bigging this thing up so much. DO they work for Korg?...
..cause the MS2000 isnt all that great ( in my opinion ).
There is a reason why its so cheap.
The presets are alright ( only 128 though ), and to save your own, you have to overwrite the presets.
Editing the sounds is pretty easy, although the filters arent cutting-edge.
Manual is ok, but everything is scattered all over the place - for example info about midi: is not in one section, its bits and pieces
in every chapter. ( some people prefer that - I don't )

Polyphony = 4 voices!!!....um..that Sucks!! Yea ive read some reviews
where they say " it's all i need " but please, when youre buying a car
you don't say " well I only need to go 100kms /h max..-the more the better!! )......4 is way below todays standards.
FX are average - no complaints there.
MIDI - ok.. YOU cannot assign sounds to channels - ( no multi-mode )..your only option is to have the GLOBAL channel ( which is fine if you want to record one sound at a time )..but I like to hear how sounds sound together before I record them ( having that option is really nice )...the maximmum is two sounds at once and thats in split mode ( or so I've been told by a Korg rep that I emailed ).
It has a 3-track internal "analogue" sequencer - but I haven't used it yet so no comment.
2 oscilators.
Only 1 stereo out.

Sounds are pretty smooth, more soft sounds than agressive ones.
Im into psy-trance and techno, so I wasn't to impressed with what it has to offer for me.
The FX are average ( maybe even better ). Some of the sounds are actually very impressive, but I would expect more from a new Korg machine.

Seems pretty reliable ( although Ive only had this thing for about a month ). the MS2000 looks really nice ( dark green with wood side-pannels, and diagrams printed right on the top ).....
...untill you touch it. It is really light, the keys feel kinda cheap,
the knobs ARE cheap.
I'm sure it would do fine on a gig ( don't loose the wall-wart power supply ;)

I've emailed Korg ( UK ) for inquiries about MIDI channel assignment,
and they got back to me real quick - no problems there.
Din't get upgrades or repairs.

I would NOT buy it again, ( actually I'm returning it cause it just isn't for me ). I will invest more duckets, and get something of quality ( like a VirusB, or Waldorf Q ). It is just too limited with almost everything. IT IS however very inexpensive - and honestly, for the price that it costs - it is not a bad buy. If you have a whole bunch of other kool toys then pick this up, but if this is your first keyboard, then invest some more money and get something better. Korg
is a great company and they make kool stuff, but this one seems to be a econo-synth.

This is probably the most accessible of keyboards in my studio. When I sat down with it in the showroom, I was immediately cranking some really crazy stuff out of it - which is exactly what I was after at the time, i.e. something to use both in the live PA setup and when DJing as a flexible sound effect generator.

Some really nice pads and strings in the presets. I wasn't overly impressed by some of the preset basses, but then this isn't what I'm using this for.

The MIDI synchable delays are perfect for use when DJing. I use a RedSound MicroSync to extract tempo from the decks and drive out a midi clock. The MS2000 synchs up to this a treat!

You might need to drive it through external effects to really get the most out of it.

No reverb! I'm actually quite pleased Korg left this out...

Looks quite nice in a setup too ;o)

I've had several (uninformed) people coming on stage after a gig to drool over it thinking it's an old 70's analogue.

Superb! It genuinely sounds like a vintage analogue to my ears.

The keyboard does take a bit of getting used to though - it's a bit of a cheap effort. I reckon my fingers have almost adjusted to it.

Hasn't been a problem so far - except when the wall-wart power supply got trampled on after a gig.

I actually like the idea of the wall-wart since it means that you can keep a spare power supply in case the one you have breaks down. It's a back-to-manufacturer job for most machines if the internal power supply goes tits-up (as happened with my Z1).

No support needed on the MS2000 yet, but I've had positive dealings wih Korg.

They turned round my Z1 in around 5 days (including delivery times) - I was *very* impressed with that. Korg do seem ready to properly support the pro/semi-pro musician.

I would probably buy another if it were stolen - maybe a few years down the line the options would be different...

I also own (MDID sound sources at least) Supernova 2, Z1, Prophecy, e5000 Ultra, SPD20 - all of which have their uses. I reckon the MS2000 provides a good complement to the rest of my kit - definitely the easiest to improvise with on-stage.

Only drawback is possibly the build-quality. Does seem a bit flimsy. It's very light - I bet if I opened it, there'd be next-to-nothing in there.

Overall - definitely gets the thumbs up.

The presets are great. You can edit in real-time with over 30 knobs and a ton of buttons. This is easy to do after you make it through the manual once or twice. The manual is very good (compared to Roland's).

4-note polyphony with keyboard action similar to my Yamaha PSR-240. The arpeggiator seems limited at first but it can actually do quite a bit. I was surprised. I like the vocoder capabilities (one of the main reasons I bought it). There is no on board sequencer but I plan to run it into my Roland XP-60. All of the knobs and buttons are great for inspiration because I don't have to stop what I'm doing and try to navigate through a bunch of menus.

I didn't buy this for realistic sounds (i.e., piano, guitar, bells). The sounds on this synth are purely for groove oriented or new age music. They are much warmer and fuller than the average synth. I've noticed the Roland XP-80 sounds a little flat at times when compared to the MS2000.

This unit should remain in my home studio and I don't expect to have any problems with it. I've had other keyboards that have lasted for the past 15 years with no problems despite a lot of abuse.

I haven't needed to call the support line.

I would definitely buy this synth again because it is so easy to use and it sounds so great. My main criteria for a synth is the amount of inspiration it can provide me for writing songs. So far, the Korg MS2000 and the Yamaha PSR series are the highest on my list. My Roland is good but there's so much stuff to muck through before I can get it to do what I want that I've forgotten what I was trying to do in the first place.

Very easy to use. Almost everything you'd want to tweak is eminently tweakable. The virtual patch system is really cool. I think this synth is really strong, compared to the competition, in its ease of real time control, which definitely contributes to the fun factor when you just want to play around and explore. And that is, after all, a major part of what a synth like this should be about.

In many respects I'd say that of all the analog modeling synths on the market, this is the closest to a real throwback to true analog days. Its set up so that you can just start playing and turning knobs -- a very tactile experience. As others have said, a pity that the knobs aren't beefier. Its a beautiful instrument. I wish Korg had put more quality into the build.

The manual is quite good.

I won't bother repeating what others have said about its features. Clearly, you can find modelling synths with more features than this. The features set of the MS2000 works quite well for me. I'm not one to spend 3 consecutive days programming a keyboard. I want a synth to have great sounds and be controllable in real time. That's why this is my favorite synth right now.

The action is OK. It could be better. Again, the build quality just isn't up to par with the sound quality. The keys have a bit of side to side motion that I don't particularly like. The pitch bend and mod wheels are bigger than they need to be, and are hard plastic, not tacky rubber. I wish the keyboard was fitted into a more compact unit. Its hella-cool to look at, but in the final analysis, what's that really worth?

I don't mind the 4-voice polyphony. I don't sequence and I'm not making drum tracks. 4 voices is enough for me.

Like others have said, this thing rocks. Very analog-sounding. I owned a Virus a and was dissapointed in its basses and lead sounds (fantastic for pads and weirdness). The MS2000 is good at everything: basses, leads, pads, bizarre stuff. Basses are its forte. Amazing low end. I run mine through a Tech 21 Tri O.D. pedal and this beefs the low end up even more. This is a very good substitute for all those supposedly must-have analog bass machines.

The effects are OK. If you're really concerned about having a particular effect being great, you'll want to find something better and run the signal through it. I think the onboard delay is fine. I don't think much of the distortion, but then I almost never like digital disortion. That's what the Tech 21 pedal is for. Running the signal through analog effects will give even more analog character, but you'll lose some of the crisp definition of the sound, the filter movement will be shrouded somewhat. That's the tradeoff.

I'm worried about the knobs. I'm going to be gigging alot with this, so finding a case that keeps the knobs safe and sound is important. The odd shape of this thing might mean ending up with a bigger case than I would like. Uses a wall wart, unfortunately.

This is one of the better-sounding synths out there, and there's no question its a great value. You just have to get your hands on the different models and try them out. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. The MS2000 sounds remarkable close to analog. Many of the fancier synths can't compare to it in tonal fatness. But that may not be all that matters to you. Like I said, this is kind of a throwback in terms of its sound, its look, and its relative simplicity. I have no intention of buying a new $2,000 synth every year or so. I'm going to be playing this one for a long time.