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!

The presets ar just ok, but they give you rough guide for what it can do. I always tweak them before I use them. Overall I think its easy to edit the sound and I like the the modulation matrix which which is deadeasy to program and gives you plenty of ways to manipulate the sounds.

I use it mainly for bass, lead, vocoding and audio in. The more I use it the more I like it. The filters are a bit digital and hard. Thats not a problem though if you like that sound. I recommend you to play different sounds thru the vocoder and play with the knobs.

Fx is alright, mostly use the delay wich is alright.

Polyfony is not great if you compare. Not an issue for me. Would not have bought it if it was. As somebody stated, use it as a monosynth instead.
Midi covers my needs. Works nice in cubase anyway.
Havnt used the seqenser much. next area to discover.
The patchcord system is very easy to use and have given me lots of joy. Could have been more extensive though.

REalistic? I didnt buy this synth to play piano with so I cant comment.
For elctronica of all kinds its very good. Audion in is very nice feat, with vocoder.
FX: moderate.

Very realable, not a single problem in 24 month.
2000r.

Downloaded a patch without a problem

Dont know if I would buy another one, but I would like to get anotherone from the insurancecompany.
8 years producing. Have some softies and a sh-101 and emulator.
Love the vocoder audio in and tweakability.
Bought for the value.
Which it had an oppertunity to use the highpass filters and the lowpass at the same time as ms20.
It helps me to be creative.

Have a nice day.

Turn it on. Twiddle. Achieve enlightenment. Some of the things really require using the manual, but not many, and the manual is very helpful.

Many people have criticized the limited polyphony of this instrument. With respect, these people are missing the point -- rather than finding 4 notes limiting, one might think of this keyboard as a monosynth with three bonus voices. Making this instrument, say, 32-note poly would have destroyed the retro vibe completely. And does anyone complain that a trumpet or a flute is monophonic, or that a violin is no more than two or three-note at a stretch? No, they don't. If you want a polysynth, go away and buy a polysynth. In any case, the MS2000 is dramatically enhanced by the 3-track analog-style sequencer (instant wavestation!), fun arpeggio, distortion switch on the amp, powerful filter and extremely impressive vocoder.

The sounds are wonderful. Of course, the presets tend to cater for a dance audience which is a drag if you play rock and blues, but these things can be edited. Inside the silliness is an ancient minimoog trying to get out. Or at least a Pro-One. And the pad sounds brought tears of joy and recognition to my eyes. This was the crappy string-machine sound I'd always wanted, only without the crap. When I turned it on and played it I felt I hadn't had my hands on such a lovely machine in years. And I am a rather antique player.

Clearly you have to have the right mind-set to appreciate the MS2000 for what it is. Trying to get the sound of a decent monosynth win an easy and reliable package, I bought one of the first Korg Prophecy analog modelling synths in the UK. It sounded OK, but the limited interface was alienating rather than involving. Then I owned an old Sequential Pro-One, which sounded great but of course had no memories, making it difficult to use at a gig. The MS2000 has the advantages of both and the disadvantages of neither. It looks and feels like an old-style monosynth, but with extra polyphony, inbuilt analog sequencer, effects and all kinds of lovely stuff. It doesn't drift out of tune, has lots of memories and is readily tweakable on the fly. Really, what's not to like? And at a reasonable price, too. I bought this on eBay for just slightly more than a third what I paid for a new Prophecy, and somewhat less what I paid for a Pro-One. It also fits into my somewhat old-fashioned live all-Korg rock rig of M1, BX3, SP200, and DS8, none of which are MIDI'd together.

This synth is very easy to learn. If you read the manual from time to time you will master it. Dont judge this synth my the factory presets. Learn it first and you will be suprised of what this blue beast can do!

The features of this synth is limited but there are great features that make it unique. Mod sequencer is one example. The ability to route cutoff and other things through the mod wheel is another. Audio input a must on modeling synths. Use the filters on say a drum track and it gives your music flavor.

This synth has given me years of inspirational sounds. Just when I thought I heard everything this synth can do I create or download a patch that I thought was out of its range. The effects are pretty good. Delay is excelent. Flange is weak. The resonace isnt as good as say a roland Juno 106. The distortion is usable. You get what you put into this synth. If you dont take the time to experiment with it you wont get very good sounds. I repeat dont judge this synth my its factory presets!

This synth is reliable for the most part. I have had keys go out and mysteriously come back over time.

This is my second MS2000. I was on the waiting list before they were released. I scratched the hell out of my MS2000 just by lugging it around without a case. I found one in a pawn shop for dirt cheap so I sold the old one. To tell you how I feel about this synth when i reset the presets to factory I literally chocked up. I had patches that i worked on for years. I backed them up of course and I had another that was brand new waiting to load the patches but still I got emotional. This synth is my right hand in the studio. Dont get discouraged by these reviews that say its cheap sounding. Like I said you get what you put into it and i guarantee that they didnt give it much.

Pretty easy to edit, all the standard features of an analog synth are there. There are dozens of usable presets, the manual is pretty straightforward. The component patching system is fairly good but needs more than just 4 patches to be really powerful.

The polyphony being 4 voice is a bit limiting, especially when taken into consideration with the rather limited quality of sound. Why are there not quite 4 octaves on the keyboard? The onboard sequencer is passable but needs twice as many steps. The built in vocoder is very usable and the presets sound great. There are a lot of waveforms to choose from but none of them sound particularly great. Its response to standard MIDI messages is adequate but there are some quirks around setting the volume by remote.

This is where the thing falls down. For the most part it's difficult to get a clear expressive sound out of it - take all the effects and filters off and listen to a plain saw wave - it sounds more like a whine than a growl. The filters in particular are HORRIBLE - grainy and distorted, and turning up the resonance just makes things worse. I use this mainly for a vocoder and the occasional pad layer. Before calling me an elitist, fans of this keyboard should try playing a REAL analog synth, or a Nord, or a Noah, etc. MS2000 sounds often get lost in a mix because of their lack of clarity. If they had put another $500 of quality components into this synth it might actually be very usable - but it's more glitz than actual quality.

Never had a problem with it, but the dials dont look like they'd take much abuse. Other than that, works reliably for me.

Never need any support, the manual is pretty straightforward.

I was disappointed with this piece of gear, overall. I wish I had spent twice the money and got a real usable keyboard. If it was lost, I'd just try find another unit that could do vocoding.

Most things have knobs or buttons, basic setup for midi etc is done through a lcd paging system thats perfectly fine in my book.

I put an 8 in this category, the polyphony is a bit low, but I use this machine for bass and lead sounds.. I have other gear for pads

This unit has a sound of it's own. I have a load of other gear and the "tonal" quality of this baby is very different from them(for example roland jp-8080). If it's good or bad is up to you really. I tend to get more aggressive sounds out of the MS2000 then from other gear. Also trance leads are really strong in this unit.

The whole Mod/Sequeence feature is really cool, but I hardly use it. I tend to sequence the same type of stuff with Logic Audio anyways, I just prefer to work that way.

The Vocoder is really good compared to the vocoder in Roland JP-8080

had it since they started selling them, I even had a beta os in mine. No problems whatsoever. Funny thing about the beta os is that it couldn't dump sysex. But Korg released upgrades so when I finally installed those everything worked fine.

never delt with korg

I have a love/hate kind of relation with my MS2000, it's such a fine piece of equipment. But musicaly it doesn't do it for me. I purly stick to it for a couple of sounds I can't get from any of my other gear, but I want to get rid of it.

However, I would still recommend the ms2000 to anyone, it's not bad, it just isn't for me

this synth is great

poly is 4 which i dont care becuase im mainley a industrial keyboardist that play on the synths not on computers like most people do and not pushing one button and hold to create a song learn to play piano synths are ment to be played not a gay dj unit with no talent.

the sounds are great ive been playing for ten years and when i first tried this unit out i was impressed you just have to know how to program to get good sound they dont come to you.......

depeche mode and other bands cant be wrong there pros and been doing alot longer than most people buy the way they use this synth if you want a good industrial and electro and are not lazy about programming this beast and thsi is the synth for you ............grave

i m using 1.7 version-seems fine. it is very easy to work with,i am very impressed with it! manual is well written...

i wish it had more polifony koz those strings and pads are awesome! its built in effects are pretty good but they dont give enough bite to sounds( chorus is simple but very nice sounding!).midi thing is ok but sometimes slow(my nordrack 2 is quicker than this)it is flexible and its vocoder is nice

this is not synth for acustic instruments but for creating your own new sounds! for me it is better than nord and the rest and i created some trully mad sounds with it! basses are excellent and pads,strings...dwgs and motion seq gives you wavestation style sounds!!!

no problem

ok

if it were lost or stolen i will maybe buy it koz i would like to have wavestation a/d!

I am still a beginner at analogue synthesis. I find this keyboard ideal for people like me as it's fairly easy to get into even if you're not exactly sure what your doing as you can tweak the knobs and listen to the results with your ears without getting too lost (esp. if you use one of the presets as a starting point).

Bad Points
----------
The 4-note polyphony and fairly poor keyboard are a minus (the action on my old, very cheap Studiologic SL-161 is better). I have a Roland A-37 in my set up and it picks up the MS200 when I select the midi channel from Cubase so I have another option if I want.

Good Points
-----------
There are plenty of knobs and buttons to tweak/press which is one of the main reasons for buying this keyboard - very hands on which I like. Great step sequencer - can be used to create some interesting results.

The sounds are great and they work really well when I play it on songs using my array of real instruments (accoustic guitar/bass, dulcimer, greek bouzouki etc.). With the lack of polyphony I use the MS2000 to create some inspiring atmospheric sounds (think waves and wind for example). I listen to lots of industrial and electronica and this keyboard works well for the sounds I need.

I've owned mine for over 2 years and it's still going strong. I would gig with it no problems.

The only contact I've had with Korg was to get my Kaoss Pad repaired. I sent it off recorded delivery and was about to phone them a 13 days later to find out what was going on when the postman arrived at my door with a parcel. Korg had repaired it and delivered it back free of charge! I've had no need to contact Korg about my MS200 as it's been behaving itself.

I love the usability of the MS 2000 loads of tweakable knobs, easy to use, not a mindfield as its laid out well and I rarely get lost in amongst buttons, knobs and l.e.d's like I've done on other synths.

It's not an up front keyboard as it works best within a mix and adds a suitable balance of electronic synth to accompany my live accoustic sound.

Would I buy it again? Only if it breaks

The Korg ms2000 setup is great. Virtually every available adjustment is available on the panel as a knob or button. There are a few things you need to use the lcd to access but this are broad settings and are where they are expected.

This synth is amazing to use and the user interface is rather intuitive and provides a nice flow. VERY easy to come up with sounds.. I highly reccomend it - especially for a beginner.

The presets are ok... editing is a breeze and you can pull some great fat basses and leads.

The manual is laid out greatly.. anyone with synth experience will find it easy to use.. likewise the onboard notes on the right side of the panel are great for quick reference.

I don't know of a ynth that is EASIER to use as far as editing goes... which speaks volumes.

The Korg has 2 huge cons in my opinion.. which are offset by the positives:

The worst part about the korg is that it only has 4 voice polyphony. 4 voices just covers leads and basses (and sometimes does not). Despite this weakness.. the strength of the korg is it's easy sound editing... and with that in mind I can live with the weak polyphony.

The second worse part is that there are no strict user banks or initial sounds. This is not a huge deal as you can simply overwrite the presents.... or store your data on the computer via midi dump. Additional memory would be nice.. but again it is a shortcoming I can live with because of the ease of use and easy sound creation capabilities.

The onboard sequencer is quite nice as well and very easy to use.

The onboard fx are so so.. but it is wonderful to have them there on board.

This rating is low because of the polyphony.

The best features are that virtually every parameter is controlled by a knob.. or button directly in front of you.. no hunting through menus.

The instruments are not realistic which is the beauty. Is very capable of fat synth leads and basses. The polyphony leaves pads lacking a bit but they are certainly possible.

It is amazingly easy to create sounds with this... and sounds that are great sounding at that. This is the easiest to use synth I have ever worked with.. Pulling out leads, basses or whatever is in your head is easy AND it sounds great.

I have no problems with the smaller unweighted keyboard - in fact I quite like it.

Works great for ebm, industrial, and electronica of any kind.

I just got this used several days ago and although it is not the sturdiest thing it looks like it will hold together fine, even for gigging.. It is built sturdy enough that if you take good care of it you should have no problems.

I would buy this again if it was lost or stolen... you can find some pretty decent deals on these used - on ebay or craig's list.

THe beauty of the korg ms2000 is its amazing sound capabilities and th best thing of all how easy it is to unleash these great sound capabilities.

I also own an e-mu e synth and Waldorf Q... oh which I love both... and although the q especailly has many more features, and is altogether a much better board.. the korg certainly has it's place... it is amazing easy to use... I never get lost within it's parameters like I am apt to sometimes within the q.

I highly reccomend the ms2000 if you want great sound capabilities that are rather easy to access. For example I have duplicated sounds on skinny puppy records, made morse code and the like within minutes... Granted additional features would be nice.. but I also believe that these additional features would hinder the strength of the ms 2000 - great sound easily editable... and bescause oif this it helps song composition tremendously - if i get a sound in my head I can quickly pull it out of the ms2000.

This would eb THE ideal synth for beginners... if you want to get into syntheis i would highly encourage you to strongly consider this as your first synth.

Only thing that would make this synth tremendously better would be increased polyphony. because i relaly do hate the 4...

My version is the 1.07. If you want to edit the presets, it's easy. If you want to make a sound from scracth it's not so easy. You must be at least an average user to do this. But the manual of course says that, try first to edit the presets. This is normal, analog synthesis(any synthesis) want some time.

Okey, as far as the polyphony i have no problem. It's the kind of music you play that this element becames major or minor. If you are into electronic music, no problem. This kind does not requare big polyphony.If you are into more traditional kinds, you must have .
All the other elements generally is good.

Amazing.This is how the MS is sounding. This is the most powerful analog modeling synth in the market. I play music of Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream etc, and this is the right synth for that kind of music. nuff said!

I have it almost a month and i have no problem.

I have not dealt yet with the customer support.

Well, i love my MS. The only synth that i think is superior, is the ANDROMEDA but i didn't bought it because of the ridiculus price tag. If you want to have a versatile studio, you must have also a general purpose synth like the MOTIF or the TRITON.
AND YES, IF IT WAS STOLEN, I WILL BOUGHT IT AGAIN!

As far as ease of use.hmmm If your gonna use presets and plug in and adjust presets with knobs then its fine. But if your a person who likes to create your own sounds you might get lost with the whole concept of all the knobs and then stuff that doesnt have knobs. User manual you would have to work for korg to understand it. I wonder if they even understand whta they wrote. I've had one for about a year and a half and still dont completely understand the manual. When making your own sounds it gets frustrating. Youll have a good sound coming along from scratch and then youll turn one knob and loose control over the sound.

Okay heres where i bash ms2000. 4 note polyphony??!!! Are we in the stone age? I understand its analog but i mean couldnt it be a little higher? I mean you can make great sounds but sometimes you make a great sound and still have to use another board to add into it because you start loosing notes so you gotta take another board and try and match the sound which is why im buying a motif 6. Midi doesnt respond as fast as i would like it to. Due to the fact of barely any polyphony you cant do what lets say a motif or a kurzweil would be able to do. Where you can use the sequencer to use more then one voice and trigger it off with another sequencer. So you can use only one bank at a time. And when you do trigger it to switch a bank you get a lag. So for example you use an akai like i do and are slaving the ms2000. One beat your using bank H8 and then the next seqence uses bank H9 you would have the beat playing for like a measure and hten it would finally kick in. Thus the need for another board to work with the MS2000.

The presets sound great. Not to fond of the way the sequencer works as you can only do modulation with this seqencer you can actually user other presets or user presets together. Unless you put them in a dual mode but then again the polyphony program kicks in if there is too many voices. They really give you nothing to work with for polyphony. And i find alot of the time i come out with the same PWM wave sound alot of them time no matter what i move or adjust. So getting new sounds is hard unless you know analog synths very well. Which i dont. But if your gonna just adjust presets then youll have alot of new sounds. But building from scratch i have alot of trouble. But then again this is casue korg cant speak english in their manuals. Arpagiator is good. Distortion is either on or off doesnt give you different types to use and youll find yourself adding a pedal or effect rack to add more effects. Dual or split programs certain things work off each other. So if you change the chorus one on program and your using two programs together you just changed both chrouses. So as far as doing what a motif would do for effects,sequencing,and midi you might wanna buy a digital board and put a good analog exapansion on it.

Oh this is where the fun kicks in. I got a good sound going on im sequencing with the akai mpc2000. So i start using the akai to record my midi information on my knob modulations. And guess what the ms2000 wasnt the strongest piece of equpiment made. So the knobs are the cheapest flimsyiest pieces of shit youll find on the market. Almost all my knobs are loose from making modluations during sequence recording and i do not abuse my equipment. Go to a store and turn a ms2000 filter knob a few times and see how it wiggles. Then go to say a motif and turn those sturdy non cheap knobs. Keys are cheap and not even semi weighted. And another factor is the female connector in the back of the keyboard burns out. And you have to call korg and order one and wait like a week for it to come in if they have it in stock. But dont worry if you have access to one of those shit groove boxes that korg made you can rip that out open the board and solder it in and itll work again. Thats what i did. And be ready for either bench time or learn how to open this board and tighten all the knobs before they break youll be doing this at least once every 2 months depending on the abusing the knobs get. With this board not much takes the knobs to the limit.

Never called korg. Other then to ask a question on the karma and triton serious before i noticed the motif. And to order that plug which was a joke. Cause i live in NYC the warehouse that had it was in long island NY. A hour drive for me to get my board up and running asap. But im not allowed to go and pick it up myself or buy it direct from there. So i gotta wait two weeks to get a piece. So they gotta wait in chicago to get it from long island, then it goes to chicago then back to NY? What if i had a show hte next day? No help on that part. Thanks Korg

Okay right now it at $749 at GC. Affordable. Good sounding voices for certain styles and has the warm phat analog voice that alot of people love. Sequencer kinda sucks but if your using it wiht another digital synth its a decent combo. But i would suggest looking into a more european synth thats more expensive such as waldorf,moog if you want analog. But I think its better to buy digital with a good expansion analog board.

Most current software version as of 40-20-2003
Who uses the presets anyways but they sound great.
This thing is amazingly easy to play with... and lots of fun.

You can get the statistics from Korgs Website but if you want to hear what this thing sounds like click on the link under the expressiveness/sound field.

If you want to hear what it sounds like click the link below.

All of the synth sounds in all of the tracks were made with an MS2000.
http://www.mp3.com/Ultra86

its been very reliable for almost a year for me :)

I have dealt with customer support (due to my ignorance) and it was relatively fast and easy.

http://www.mp3.com/Ultra86
just listen... this is a pretty wicked synth for beginners and pros alike.

It's as easy as synths of this nature come. Very straightforward layout and the LCD helps with some paramaters that are not knob or button driven. I use the 1.05 software rev and heavnt had any problems.

There are plenty of feature on the MS2000. For one it has a great modulation sequencer that can modulate pitch amongst many many other things as well as a very usefull virtual patch section where you can virtually make routings between different components on the synth (ie LFO 1 to modulate pitch, cutoff, amplitude....) There is velocity for both amplitude and filter cutoff but through the virtual patch can also be set to modulate all kidns of other sections like pitch or LFO 2 frequency (very cool). Also the mod sequencer is a 3x16 (or fever steps) sequencer per timber. Also there is a vocoder.

Do not listen to the analogue elitists like JKM. This synth has its own sound. It is not as in your face as some synths can be but when I use it, it sounds wonderfull in my set up. The range of sounds is great. It CAN do basses. It CAN do pads. I find it's best at really strange fucked up monosynth sounds and percussive arpeggio/sequence lines. Also washes and digital sounds are wonderfull. Wether run through effects or not it sounds good. For the kind of music I do (which is minimal industrial very much in the vein of DAF or early Front 242) I can get some great sounds. Do not listen to the presets unless the words "phat" and "tight" are in your everyday vocabulary. In other words if you produce shit...excuse me generic trance music or some form of hip hop there aren't too many presets that will captivate. I found a couple that sounded good though. The Donna Summer "I feel love" sequence was cool as well as some of the Jean M. Jarre "Oxygen" sounding stuff was very cool. Finally, this is a digital synth. End of story. It has wonderfull sounds and it has its place. I would not limit myself to just VA or just RA. Program the synth and you will find out the kind of stuff it exels at and then begin to appreciate it. It's really good for basic synth sounds as well and can be used as an only synth if you are making very simple music.

Also the vocoder is superb. Great rich and warm but at the same time very recognizible tone.

Velocity went out on one of my keys. I actually went through three MS2000 units. First was floormodel to take home while I waited for my new MS2000 to get in. When I got the new model the middle D key went out and then got my third and final ms2000. The reliability is pretty good. This thing doesn't crash almost at all. Have had ONE incident when it crashed and hasnt happened since then. I would most definetly gig (and actually will soon) without a back up.

Heavn't had to deal with KORG quiet yet.

It is an integral part of my set up. I love the way it sounds with my Korg Polysix and love the sounds I get out of it. For all the strangeness and basic sounds as well as wonderfull washes I would most definetly pick up another one. I must say as an audio processor for vocals (which I use it a lot for as well) I would be hard pressed to find another synth which offered similar features with such user friendly control. Definetly a keeper.

O.S. 1.07 I am a new synth user and so this review is from the perspective of a relative newbie. The presets are hot and cold for me, but I honestly don't pay too much attention to them other than to learn more about the parameters used to make them. Editing the presets is a breeze, and can easily and quickly transform them into something altogether different. The manual is decent, but due to its sterile approach it is better used as a reference than a guide. The MS2000 is intuitive enough at any rate, even for a beginner.

While I would like more polyphony and more than 2 timbres per sound, for the price and other features, not to mention the sound quality of this synth, it is more than acceptable. The mod sequncer and virtual patches are the real standouts here, and together they can produce nearly anything you can dream up. The keyboard itself is a little weak, with toylike keys and a very plasticy feel overall, but they are servicable and velocity registers accurately. Add the vocoder, full MIDI capabilities, and simple but decent arpeggiator, and you have a fairly versatile package. It doesn't have everything, but what it DOES have is great.

Here is where the MS2000 shines. Very agressive and fat, it makes you work a bit to restrain it at times. Like most people say, the basses and leads are top-notch, but I also love the pads. Seriously, they might not be the biggest ever, but with a little virtual patch manipulation and maybe some ensemble effect, they CAN sound very nice. Speaking of virtual patches, they can summon forth shimmering sheets of harmonic overtones or twist basslines into hammering rhythms easily. The synchable, assignable LFOs can modulate various parameters for awesome effects. Very versatile. As for odd sounds, this thing is arguably more absurd than you will ever need it to be in that regard. A great synth for icing, though as some have said, you will want some cake to smear it on. (Another reminder to those seeking nice pads: utilize your virt. patches and don't forget the osc 2 semitone/ensemble double-whammy!) I DO wish there was a midrange EQ to compliment the high/low EQs, but I'll live.

So far every knob and button remains firm and true, though the power supply a cheapo external affair. That and the weak keys are my only real worries. The small plastic knobs are fine with me, and you gotta love a steel exterior :) I fear for it not a bit in live situations.

Haven't had to deal with customer support. My online warranty extension was responded to immediately, but that's all I have had to deal with since. The latest OS was already installed at the factory.

I would buy another, but only after I got my hands on something with a bit more multimbral muscle and polyphony. I bought mine new and it's worth every penny to me. I am a new synth player, and am using the MS2000 to learn synthesis, but I can already tell I will be keeping it around as my collection grows. My only other gear is guitar stuff, but I am eager to run my guitar through the korg filters :) I chose the MS2000 since it was the only thing in my price range that had the features and sound I wanted. It enhances my creative process a lot and generally does what I want it to thanks to an intuitive, hands on interface and flexible sound-generation. The only synth I've ever dug into, but not the only one I have heard, and I will say I would not trade my MS2000 for most of the latter :) (Ok I would trade it and my firstborn for a supernova II, but hey....). Bravo, Korg!

I have an ex demo product from Korg direct. Borrowed it initially for a tour last year and have since bought it from Korg. The presets were usable from the start, but tweaking produces best results, obviously. I did attempt to sit down with the manual a couple of times, but found that trial and error worked best. I like that you can return to the preset after tweaking if you want to start again.

As for polyphony, lately I have actually been saving alot of my patches as monosynths, so I didn't even notice lack of polyphony. get another keyboard/module/sampler for that. effects good and easy to use. have had fun with the arpeggiator. managed to create an omnichord effect, which I really like. alot! in fact, it's quite a weak sound (deliberately), so maybe that's turning a negative into a positive. haven't used much midi, as it is part of my live set up.

like is said above, i think some of the weaknesses of the sounds, when used in conjunction with other sounds, in the right context can become strengths. some of the nasty tinkly bell sounds are quite cool with stupid amounts of delay. i really use this alot of the time for "special effects". i.e. non-musical sounds. don't really like the keyboard. doesn't make me feel confident when playing fast lead lines. i have used the ms2000 live for various styles. 80's synthpop, 70's funk, 90's loop/improvisation. definitely wouldn't rely on it as a main keyboard. it is good as an addition to an existing set-up for extra colours.

have used it gigging/touring. no glitches so far (touch wood!). my only problem is having to dial in patches and bank numbers live. can anyone tell me a way of arranging all my live sounds into one bank without losing the original sounds on those patches? thanks!

i bought this direct from korg after they loaned it to me for a tour. agreed a price over the phone and gave them my credit card number. subsequently received an invoice/receipt for this transaction. BUT they had added an extra #125 to the agreed price and charged that to my credit card as well. when i phoned to find out why, they said that they would never have agreed to the original price, as it was below the list price. but they DID agree to the price when i gave them my credit card details. so technically, we had a verbal agreement and they reneged on it. not to mention, in my opinion, possible credit card fraud and theft. thier suggestion was to send back the keyboard, but i didn't want to have to reprogram another keyboard from scratch, and i was in the middle of a tour with it. i suggested they refund the money that they owed me. so far, nothing. that was four months ago. i still have the keyboard, and i still think it's a good product, but korg as a company have really p*ssed me off.

overall, this is a useful product. but only as an addition to what i already use. and yes, it's probably not as powerful or cutting as some other synths out there, but it does a lot of different things fairly well, so is good to have. for live work i also use a fender rhodes 73 mark I, an akai S6000 for strings, mellotron, and odd synths that the MS won't provide, a roland VK-7, and a Korg SP200. i'm thinking of getting a roland XP-30 or VK-88. looking more at roland now mainly because i feel sick when i look at korg stuff now. but i'm sure that will pass!

It has knobs, thus sounds can be expressed in real time. It took me quite awhile to imagine what I wanted and to go after it..The presets suck for the most part, but are a good starting point...At first, this synth is very confusing and to get sounds take alot of effort. But if your programming a synth and you get sounds immediately, where is the adventure?

4 note Polyphony(I used a Casio CZ, so I am used to this limitation)...Velocity can effect frequency, cut off, amp, noise, etc...No memory card..The sequencer is nice, I was programming some public television science sounds that you would hear in Reading Rainbow or a Richard Attenbourough special. While not as rich as analog, it shouldn't matter...
Now to the best part...The delay...Weird kosmische tracks can be made with the delay if you know how to use it..Split keyboard is great but requires alot of patience. But that my friends is an ancient secret shared only by those who seek it.

I love the sound....Though the leads are kinda weird...But I am a pad person(ambient/industrial person)..I made some neat bass lines and organic oceanscapes using the arpeggiator. Imagine Thora Birch as some kind of deep sea fish creature being enveloped by a swarm of transparent amphipods.
I've gotten alot of "asian" sounding stuff out of it, maybe because I listen to Kitaro's "Matsui" alot...I don't really know. But it can make some interesting "alone in the Himalayans during a snow storm flute" drones, gamelan percussion loops, moogy flutes, noise, metallic pads, angry bells...Last week I got very peculiar industrial sweeps that could easily cut through my ear drums like some mantis creature. I like this synth alot, but I am not going for a techno sound. The trance stuff it can do, sounds nice. Deep thick basses..It can do VCS3 stuff with no probelm.
Digital or analog? Who cares...It has lots of sound range.

I should also note it has a nice vocoder and the filter can be used to process samples. Since a large part of my music is based on sample modification, I found this perfect. I would like to check out an Korg ES-1 too.

I can depend on the synthesizer...I haven't spit Dr.Pepper over it yet...But its steel, so it should survive. I would like to have some CV equipment, but thats a pipe dream.

I got it used. Teeny knobs for my tiny girlish hands...

I would get another one...

i cant say i like the presets too much. there are some cool ones, but then ill put on a cd of bands using a jupiter 8 or ppg wave or some synth like that and those sounds are atleast 10 times cooler than this korg. editing sounds is not as easy as i would like it to be. ive been trying to make something like a harpsichord and a piano, i havent succeeded. the manual's helped a bit but not much. A lot of it is common sense that you don't need in the manual and the table of contents doesnt help!

the polyphony sucks! its that simple. Theres nothing good about 4 note polyphony, nothing! the delay is pretty good but the distortion is junk. i like the keyboard action, non-weighted. it is a beautiful keyboard, it's too bad it doesn't sound nearly as good as it looks! i haven't really figured out the step sequencer completely but im not very impressed with the presets with it. there's a lot of un-useable sounds on this. im selling it as soon as i can and getting a waldorf micro Q . its worth the extra money.

there are very few sounds on this thing that I'd use. many interesting sounds, but very cheap sounding. I'm a fan of bands like duran duran, kajagoogoo, howard jones, etc and this keyboard does not work for that! the lack of polyphony really messes this keyboard up i think. the sounds i make sound a lot better than the presets.

It's very light, which is nice but i would be very afraid if it dropped. i like the keys except the first ms 2000 i got had a broken E key after one day of playing it. It stopped making sound. I returned and got another one and it's worked fine. I'd use it without a backup, that is if i'd use it at all.

If it was lost or stolen, I'd be mad because I'd lose something with monetary value, not because i lost a good keyboard. I definitely wouldn't buy another one, or any Korg for that matter. I'd buy a Roland, or Waldorf.

you can basically jump right in this bad boy and start tweaking! Intuitive user interface very self-explanitory...no real need for manual...presets are ok, but why would you buy a synth for the presets anyways? Especially one as fun to program as the MS! Manual is written well if one needs a refrence...

Polyphony is (very) limited to 4 notes..very unfortunate, but the MS's sound is very raw and distinct-I just track one synth line at a time and the 4 notes I do use sound great, but still I would rather have paid a little more and got 4 outs and 16 note polphony-which would have helped the Ms battle the other modeling synths in this price range (nord lead, Waldorf Micro q, novation k-station, etc)

For my tastes-the MS is perfect...it can morph a 303 sounding bass line into some sonic white noise with the twist of a few knobs in a matter of seconds...the step sequencer is the real treat..you can adjust modulation properties for each step (cutoff, resonance, step lenght, etc.) to make some really unique sounds, and the patch function is great as well...route LFO 1 to modulate the cuttoff and Lfo 2 to pan, etc...lots of possibilities here...and take note, I read a review on this site that said the MS needed a step sequencer, it has one!!!! READ THE MANUAL!!!!!

I have had my ms for 2 years and it has not crashed one time...so yes I depend on it in the studio and on the road.

never used

I would and will replace my MS if ever the need arises..hopefully it won't...Bottomline: in comparison to other modeling synths at the time I purchased the MS (2000) -niether the A or K station were out-I went with the MS because I liked the sound and the ability to tweak knobs until it sounded like something I would store as a patch...

It's pretty easy to pick up the basics in one sitting. But to make specific sounds, you'll have to spend some time with the keyboard to learn it's ins and outs. I'm currently using the latest OS revision (1.07). The presets are OK. There are some much better sounds on the net, plus Korg released some more presets on a Promo CD recently. Manual is pretty good and can clear up most questions, but is no substitute for sitting down and hearing what all the knobs will do for you. I'm only giving it a six because it took me a long time to learn to take advantage of all the features this keyboard has.

4 note polyphony. You can buy a MS2000 rack and set it up so it doubles that. Keyboard action is alright. It's a non-weighted keyboard. I prefer a semi-weighted keyboard, but non-weighted seems to be pretty standard for this level of gear. The built in effects are great: delay, chorus/flanger, distortion. Onboard sequencer is pretty basic, but can add movement to static sounds. I prefer to lay down midi tracks on my computer and tweak them there.

The sounds are awesome. Anything analogue and beyond.. You can even get some FM sounds out of it using the cross mod or the dwgs waveforms. I've used a SH-101 pretty extensively to learn analogue synthesis on, but this thing blows it away in terms of features and tonal possibilities.

I don't know how reliable it is. For home or studio use, it would be fine. It feels pretty light and I would hate to drop it though.

I've only dealt with the online resources from Korg and they do provide some good info. They also have reps that reply to message boards which is pretty cool. Having the manual available online in .PDF format is fucking awesome (Unlike ROLAND/BOSS)

If it were lost or stolen I would definately buy it again (especially at the prices now). I've been playing with a SH-101 for four years or so. I've had the MS2000 for 1 and 1/2 years so far and I love it. I also own a Roland JV-1010 and a Korg ER-1. The only thing I dislike about the MS2000 is it's constuction, I've yet to break anything, but it doesn't inspire confidence. I played some other VA synths but they either lack in features or lack in sound quality. The only thing I wish this synth had was more polyphony, but for my playing it doesn't bother me that much. The sounds I make with it are very useful for my music and I have done an entire song using just this synth (drums too!).

I just want to say when I bought this synth, I was very disappointed in it. It sounds pretty good but.. Two patches/ two channels max for midi. That SUCKS! (After hearing the demos, I was expecting an analogue workstation.) A few months later, I stuck it back in the box and never unpacked it after I moved. For some reason I kept it, while I played with software synths on the computer instead. They were okay, interesting at first, but inevitably frustrating to use. I unpacked my MS2000 and started using it again. I was blown away at the sound quality and ease of getting "my sound". Now the two channel limit hardly phases me, I just lay down each track in audio like they did in the old days and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

(disclaimer) Softsynths can be useful and do have their place in audio production, but for playing/composing I don't feel they are a substitute for the real thing.

The Manual explains things fairly well

Needs an onboard step sequencer, can't be used standalone. Limited basically to simple synth lines, no big pads here.

Sounds are decent,

A3 key broke, seems faily tough otherwise

Customer Service is terrible. I broke a key easily on this synth. To get a replacement I can't go through Korg direct, but must use there sevice center. They won't sell a single key, only full octives. They want $40 plus shipping and service charges, which could be over $100. This is stupid, you should be able to replace their cheap breakable keys for less than that. I'm selling it as soon as its fixed. I doubt I will ever buy another Korg.

Im going to get a nice weighted midi controller and sell the MS on ebay. Don't get one unless you've used it before extensivly

This is the first hardware synth I've owned. Before buying this I used only software synths like Reason, FM7 & various other VSTi's. I wanted a hardware synth to give me more hands on control that would also be capable of creating a wide range of sounds. I considered various other synths (Nord's, Novation) but in the end I decided on the MS2000 based on price, Sound quality (Which stood out for me more than any other similar synth I heard) & features. Seing an artist who's album I loved (Ulrich Schnauss) using 2 of them at a festival (Big Chill, Eastnor castle) was another reason I was swayed towards the MS2000.

Compared to something like a Virus I think the MS2000 has more charachter & warmth to the sound whereas the Virus sounds a lot more powerfull & has a much bigger sound probably more suited to trance than the kind of electronica I'm interested in making.

A lot of similar synths like the Virus, Nord Lead & Novation K-station cost around double what the MS2000 does so for the money I think the MS2000 is excellent value.

A lot of analogue synth aficionados would argue that latest range of virtual/analogue modelling synths don't sound anything like as good as an authentic analogue synth. This may be the case but they are a lot less hassle, Have full MIDI capability, Presets, The same level of control & your not going to pick up a VCS3, SynthiA or Moog for what you can get one of the new breed of analogue modelling synths. At the end of the day though you pay your money you take your choice.

Easy to destroy any preset within seconds and create something unusual and weird. Thats good

Lots of knobs indeed. Twist and tear sounds apart.

This is why I bought it. Was sick of all these keyboards with canned sounds and this device can get some great sounds from scratch. I like to mangle presets I like I like.
Agree with other postings about the actual keys being somewhat cheap, like they arent exactly installed right, but its a minor annoyance

No problem so far

Korg has been helpful in the past with my questions and servicing over the months

I am a guitar player by trade and I got this for the way it sounded. I dont care about all the tech geek specifications, how does it SOUND?
I tried every synth in the evil bowels of guitar center and this was the only one that stood out. Then again I wanted to make evil noise and the like, and this suited my ears perfectly. If you want a low cost synth to get weird and unique sounds this is for you

It's easy enough to use for the most part, although some of the groupings of controls weren't to my liking.

Like most modern synths the MS2000 relies on stacks of 'features' to compete. Most of these features are just that--features; unfortunately features are useless when they are onbaord a synthesizer with such a weak, compromised sound as the MS2000.

Personally I think the MS2000 is a joke soundwise. It sound terrible. It's digital wank, filled with undesirable dithering and aliasing, is an insult to even VIRTUAL analog, much less real analog.

Unless this synth is hiding behind a wall of effects like reverb and chorus it sounds extremely lame. Turn of the effects one time and you'll see what I mean.

Anyone that thinks this synth sounds good obviously hasn't spent much time around quality synthesizers like the Jupiter 8, Prophet 5, OBXa, Minimoog or Odyssey. If you want a reasonable facsimile of these analog classics get a Waldorf, Nord or an Access Virus. The MS2000 is just a comprimised MARKETING product peddled upon the uneducated synth market.

I wouldn't trust it with its cheesy knobs, terrible wobbly keyboard action and shoddy construction. Why is it that half of the store demo's of these are broken? Take a look at the cheap, nasty knobs they use. This synth WON'T be around for years to come, and after the last MS2000 has tooted its last pathetic sounding burble the analog giants like the Minimoog will laugh at it.

I don't like Korgs much anyways and haven't dealt with them.

It's always been my contention that all virtual analogs are compromise synths--you pay for in sound quality for what you get back in reliability, ease of maintenance and so forth. However, the crappy construction and POOR sound of the MS2000 makes it not worth this at all. A wheezing hunk of junk made for the inclusion in forgetabble music... real synth tonehounds should just avoid this garbage.

For those MS2000 defenders out there, who actually laid down cash to own one of these, take the Pepsi challenge sans effects with an equally dry Nord Lead--or if you really want to feel foolish--a real analog. Don't even try to compare it to something powerful like an Oberheim OBXa or Prophet 5--just compare it to a Juno 106... and realize that you too were a victim of corporate marketing and naivety. Do yourself a favor then and sell it while the selling is good and hook up with something wortwhile. Heck, an Ensoniq ESQ-1 schools this thing and owns its world.

Out of the box you can warp and destroy any preset with a few turns of a knob. Impressive.

I am not a gear dork who is going to complain about polyphony or whatever, what does it SOUND like? Great! Many knobs to tweak, excellent virtual patching. I am guitar player first and there are so many features on this keyboard it will take me some time to get to them all but so far I highly dig it. Every time I use it I can go in a different direction and get great results.

Fat, thick, fresh. Very raw shapes you can mold and edit until you are exhausted. I use it for dark ambient drift sound scapes and it is perfect for textures and atmospheres. A 70s synth lover will enjoy this synth. Unlike Roland, Korg synths really allow the user to get their own identity. No matter how hard you try with a Roland, it still sounds like a Roland.

No problems so far.

I've contacted Korg before about other Korg products and they are prompt and professional in their communications.

Would replace if lost or stolen. I am not a keyboard player by trade and I purchased this for experimental soundscapes and am constantly amazed at the results I get. I have yet to tap its full potential but I am loving every minute of this synth.

Software version 1.05, upgrading to 1.07 soon. The presets are not very usable, but then, I never buy a synth for the presets, but for the sounds I CAN create. Editing the sound is very easy. Even a beginner to subtractive synthesis (analogue or VA) shouldn't have too much trouble creating new patches. Unfortunately, the manual layout seems a bit confusing. However, I still give it a 9 for ease of use (just tweak the knobs and save what you come up with!).

4 note polyphony doesn't bother me since I got this board to have a VA lead version of my 70's mono monsters. I multitrack extensively and prefer to record my leads live, so the MS2K fits the bill well. The virtual patch bay is very useful for creating new sounds. The effects are good, although I wish there would have been more control over them. The keys do feel a little low quality, however, with care they should hold up for a few years. The mod sequencer is very useful for giving the sound life. From what I've heard, the new upgrade should repair the arp lag. We'll see...

The sound...hmmm. My main analogue axe is a 1978 Moog 35 modular. There is NO WAY I can duplicate all the sounds of the 35 on my MS2K. HOWEVER, the MS2K has a very analogue sound to it. The bass sounds are very deep and warm, and I can get very convincing mini moog lead sounds out of it. And no patch cords! I really like the filter, even though it doesn't sound like the old Moog transistor ladder. The only problem I have with the MS2K sound is that the wave form breaks down on the high end, but this is typical of most (if not all) VA synths. I liked the sound of the MS2K so much that I bought two additional MS2000r's. I rent my studio out to younger musicians, and to my surprise, alot of them prefer the sound of the MS2Ks over my Moogs and ARPs! Go figure...

I no longer gig out live, but in the studio these synths have held up very good.

NA

I would definately buy it again. I like the Korg sound. I have too many old boards including a Moog 35 (my baby), a mini moog, two ARP2600, a polymoog that doesn't work, and a Prophet 10 dual manual. I use these along with my Korg M1, Korg Triton, and Yamaha Motif 76 (my main workstation). I even have two Darkstars that I have found alot of use for, but that's another review. IMO this is the closest analogue sounding VA synth I have ever heard. It may not have all of the features or polyphony of those higher priced boards, but if you want classic analogue sound without all the problems associated with old analogues this is the VA to get.

Regarding the Arp/MidiClock timing problems, there is now an OS update to very dramatically improve the situation
The new operating system, version 1.07 and associated documentation can be downloaded from the following page on the Korg USA website :

http://www.korg.com/service/downloads.asp?A_PROD_NO=MS2000

Daz Richards - Moderator MS2000 Chat Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/korgms2000/

Free MS2K Librarian/Random/Sysex Utilities http://www.btinternet.com/~daz.richards/

Software version 1.05.
Very easy to use, almost everything right in front of you.
Presets are OK but I replaced them all within a few weeks, to many sequences and arps for my taste.
Manual is fine if you read it more than once ;)

4 voice poly isn't much but for leads it's OK (at least for me most of the time). Keyboard isn't the best but it feels OK for me.
Only got a very few FX, the quality of the modulation FX is OK but they are not very flexible. The delay is a bit noisy on some sounds but only when you hear it very loud and got the mod sequencer running.
The Distortion can only be turned on or off but it does the job.
The mod sequencer is nice and can be used very well for FX sounds, basses, pads and also simply to give the sound some motion when used with decent values.
The arp is not really syncable to midi so if it's an important feature for you think twice.
The virtual patch is really nice.
No preset sounds in here, all sounds are editable. No multi mode.
All in all the features of this thing aren't that great but the mod sequencer and the virtual patch system are for me worth a 7.

Sounds are great. Great basses and leads as well as FX sounds.
I use it for electronic/industrial and it fits perfect.
With all the knobs you can tweak the sounds while playing live or record the tweakings to your sequencer, not very static I would say.
You can program a lot of motion into the sounds, nice LFO's with S&H give you the extra random factor for FX sounds.
I really like the sound.

Seems to be reliable. No problems so far. The knobs are a little bit small and they will maybe break if you play live and get into the action.

Very friendly. But they are not able to fix the arpsyncing problem so far.
A 10 for the friendly people, a 5 for not being able to do anything.

If it were lost or stolen I would get a new one. I simply like it.
I also own some other stuff (Waldorf XTk, Waldorf Pulse, Roland alpha Juno 1, Korg EX-8000, Nord Micro Modular and some others) and they are playing very well together.
For me it's a very creative tool, I like to tweak sound while playing/recording and the MS2000 is ideal for that.

OS.1.05. Factory presets sound more professional and are more usefull for melodies compared to user presets from the internet. When editing patches the knobs are to small and to close together. I would never use a computer patch editor, because if I would chose to use a computer I would also use then a soft synth.

Considering it's a solo synth the polyphony is ok. Keybord action is a little to deep and hard for fast licks. Midi capabilities are ok exept maybe that I would like the expression pedal to control the cutoff. It has an onboard "Mod-ulation Seq-uence" which is not an sequencer so you cannot make patterns

For techno it does not have the sound of an Rebirth or TB-303 it is also not as wild as the RubberDuck nor it has the expression of an AXS. But the saw leads and delays sound good. In the mix and compared to sampled sounds leads taste like bear over soft drinks. The cutoff to velocity function is not strong enough. I don't like the basses or pads to much either.

Yes, yes.

I'v upgraded the OS from 1.02 to 1.05 myself from the internet, and I think it sounds better. I have the impression that with the new OS the knobs have a better "bite" on the sound. Could use more user banks on korg's site though.

I think it works best with keybords that don't have front-panel sound editing feaures (like the Yamaha PSR series). It' for playing melodies not techno riffs.

For all Users of an MS-2000: IF you have the Problem with the Arpeggiator (Playing a Sequence and he hangs for a short Time):

Go to the Instument Editor, Locate Side "A25" and switch the "KeySync" to "OFF" and look: IT WORKS!!!! NO HANGING ARPEGGIATOR!

OS V.5

This is a very easy synth to use. 75% of the editing features are right infront of you, KNOBS. The rest of the functions are nested in some very easy to navigate menus.

The manual is very good. It's a short, easy read that gets you up to speed quick.

The preset sounds are very good. There are many soundsets out on the web for free, and even 2 up on the www.Korg.com website.

I give Ease of Use a 9, compared to other synths. I don't give it a 10 because nothing is perfect.

Polyphone is 4. That is pretty limited, but it's certainly usable.

The keyboard is very cheap. The keys don't feel tight nor do they have much cushion when you push them down. But it works.

There is no expansion for the Ms2000. You get what you buy.

The FX are Phaser, Flanger, and Ensemble. They sound good and are easy to use, but they don't touch a nice FX processor. There is also Delay. You have the choice of Cross, Stereo, or L/R Delay. The delay syncs to midi just fine.

The Modulation Sequencer is cool. It does some very interesting things to sounds, and it makes this synth as cool as it is.

There is a problem with the Synth. The arpeggiator lags behind a master midi clock. I and others have tested several different Ms2000's and the Arp starts 25-30 milliseconds later than then when it should at 120bpm's. It runs 45-50ms at 60bpm. That doesn't sound like a lot but you can hear it. So if you sync your ms2000 to a master midi clock to look foward to a tight Arpeggiator. Kor is supposed to fix this (more on that in the Support Section)

The sounds are great. Sounds very analog and very deep. I recommend it to anyone that wants a VA. I also have an Access Virus and the Ms2000 (although not as deep or full sounding) holds it's own fairly well, especially considering the Price.

Well everything works well other than the Arpeggiator. In the older OS version certain Delay FX would make a strange "Static" type of noise, but it has been fixed in the most recent OS.

The case and keys are cheap, thin, plastic. Don't drop it or bang it to hard. No metal here.

I've never had they synth crash on me or get hung notes. So I would gig with it.

Well this is a long story. I've talked to Korg support dozens of times and they have always been very nice. But they are really slow.

I needed to get the newest OS for my ms2000 and it took a while for them to send me an updater for it. From what I understand they didn't have any updater for the Ms2000 previous to my calling, but they did write a simple .exe file that would update the Ms2000 from a Windows PC for me. It didn't work well with my Midex-8 midi interface and left my synth with NO OS, and it wouldn't work! I had a nasty conversation with someone in a "Authroized Service Center" and I ended up doing the update on a soundblaster midi port.

As for the ARP. I have been waiting for months for Korg to fix that. The Arp lags behind a master midi clock alot and it almost unusable. Korg has told me they would fix it but it's been months.

However, they are very nice.

I've had it for 6 months. I wouldn't buy it again because I would rather have a more full featured synth (but this one was a gift from my fiancee and that is all she could afford so I love it and I won't ever get rid of it), plus it sounds good. If I where to get something else I would save my money and get an Andromeda or a Super Nova.

For the money you can't go wrong. It does sound good, not as good as my Virus but close. It doesn't touch the Andromeda (which I have played 3 times now), but neither does my Virus.

I don't think anyone that owns it would be dissapointed.

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.