Hey fellow MS20/mini peeps - there was a recent thread, but i want to come at this from a different direction although i think the sentiments will converge to ‘mini love’ at my end too …
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MS20 mini, new, day 1 …
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Right . . this synth makes unbelievably beautiful sound and is a little powerhouse for creative boundary pushing - i like exploring limited systems or restrictive ideas - infinite possibility makes for infinite time drain
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so, i’m all over it and the sound it makes is simply peerless, goose bump material
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picked it up last night (researched the heck out of it before btw) - all good then spotted the thumps and hiss bleed - googled the heck out of it again (adding noise and thump)
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there’s tonnes about this - the noise is primarily an aspect of the mk1 filter design (korg 35) and that’s very easy for me to make peace with - it’s loud and whilst characterful, it’s a pity it’s not ‘optional’ - anyway - the thumps, they’re a different matter altogether - as one private reviewer eloquently put it it’s like banging your flute into the mic stand twice a note - it happens on key down and key release (unless you hold EG2)
with all oscillators off, to me, the whole thing sounds like a dolbyless tape recording of dropping the needle onto vinyl twice (slightly rolled off) - it appears to be some DC offset thud and it is there all the time (when keys are used) - not an issue when the MS20 mini is screaming or you have a more gated env setting, but it’s when you go softer (or silent) that it becomes a charming/charmless? artefact
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based on the sounds it generates and it’s hackability it’s absolutely a keeper - but i’m wondering about batch variability, not only on noise bleed but mainly on this thump - can i trim it out - i can see the wheel is quite asymmetric voltage wise and the lowest octave is a bit sharp - so i’m hopeful it’s just been trimmed sub-optimally - anyone have any thoughts on this - also noted that in certain settings where there is no modulation amount assigned that the MG led can result in a gated clicking and other wandering voltage anomalies
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read plenty on gearslutz (not a member) but despite some insights it mostly descended into brawling and i’m wondering if anyone would care to do a comparison with mine - so i can gauge whether swapping it is worth my while - i’m also keen to know how much the original may have suffered from this thump (esp mk1)
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I’m worried i’m warming to it (the thump/hiss) as i love the sound so much, it is astonishingly musical, characterful and alive and real … and therefore losing my critical objectivity
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anyone ? mini/mk1/mk2/kit/20m etc thoughts/comparison
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Try this: - all oscs off (highest oct scale), all cables out, all modulation zeroed, all EG params zeroed - then EG2 Sustain 10 & EG2 release 5
= plenty of hiss/bleed and a thunk at key down/up - now vary EG2hold to delay the 2nd thunk !
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How thunky is yours ?
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Edit: This link also referenced/contextualised below
I got one very early on and it had a lot of the hiss you describe. No oscillators on, but the hiss was still controlled by key gates. I made recordings and sent them to sweetwater. They had nothing to say and had me send it in for a replacement. I waited months behind preorders before getting a new one and… it sounded exactly the same. I think it just is what it is. Too bad because I think it renders the machine useless for deep basses, but the other sounds it is able to produce are worth keeping it around.
cheers … indeed, the noise
it’s noisy, I suspect they are all this way, I can live with that
it’s thunky, I also suspect they are all this way, I can also live with that
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my concern is that my level of thunkyness really ought to have lead to more online reports, so I’m wondering if my VCA is more clicky than most
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it’s worth adding that the issue is certainly exacerbated when doing deep listening through the 'phones
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the irony is that I then set about trying to create hissing thunking evolving machines with it, it’s so rewarding sonically - everything you touch has glorious results - I just don’t want to rule out sweet floaty leads if my unit is a bit out of tolerance
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spoke to Korg, who totally gave me the company line, so no surprises there, I just need to do a comparison to check I didn’t get an unusual case whilst I can still swap it with the retailer … then the hacking begins 
I’ll find that thump somewhere in fiddling around looking for sounds on my mini. I just fiddle my way elsewhere and it goes away. There are other synths here as well. And I think that was the key for me. Mini was my first fast no menu type synth, and I grabbed one quickly, so its limitations were a lot to live with while ms20 was my primary synth. Once I got more setup, and ms20 was relegated to being abke to stay away from its downfalls, it shines so much more on my recordings.
I actually have 2 that I connect for lots of duophonic, and patch bay fun.
Bottom line, ms20 is a rad synth when you are doing the rad shit it can do.
When you are forced to chase after what it cannot, ms20 starts getting annoying.
yep - it’s one of a kind, I’m hoping mine was one of a kind as I hope to swap it - korg wanted the 1st one sent back to tweak the voltages for the other wayward levels - but I have not heard any other examples as thuddy as mine when the gate is on/off - the synth is stunning - but the thumps are too extreme for most normal usage cases, hoping the swapped unit is a bit better though I expect the issue to be there - other samples I’ve heard have been nowhere near as thuddy - but the best test case is a gate style EG2 0 Atk Full sustain with a bit of release (ie 2 or 3) so it’s not sudden off - the thud is at key on and key off - pre release - extremely loud in my case and easily audible even with tri at full volume
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i’ll post a wave soon - I hope it’s a one-off bad example
I did a quick test on my mini last night using the settings you describe and got thump and noise from the phones jack but pretty damn clean from regular out - is your issue with phones only?
I’ll try again if not - did it real quick and didn’t listen too hard on regular out as the difference was huge.
thanks for giving it a whirl 
yeah -it’s certainly an issue on signal out too, but there seems to be an emphasis of this prob when using the phones - I guess it’s important to rule out levels when comparing - it wouldn’t be an issue if the problem was just with the 'phones out … it would be a pity as it’s a good way to grab a quick wave recording e.g.
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I’m still very keen to hear anecdotal feedback/evidence if you have the time - it helps me in my dealings with dealer/korg
- I’m not trying to back out of the deal - I love it, just want to ensure I’m not stuck with a marginal example with extra thumpiness
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I’ve heard a few samples which lead me to believe mine is unusual, but it’s really important to have the EG2 set up with h0 a0 d0 s10 r3* to hear the thud ahead of the final release - if it’s actually moderately thumpy on yours @housecliche then it gives me a bit of hope ! - it’s tricky as this can be a bit subjective - i’ll post a sound file here to illustrate this
Uploaded a test wave here
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Please audition with headphones or in a monitoring environment to hear the low freq DC offset thuds, particularly on key up
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VERY keen to learn if this is an unusually bad example, my investigations say it is, but the EG2 settings are critical, as is normalising against a reference tone - easy test to do - but keen for anecdotal feedback too
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all MS20 minis will have noise bleed and thumps, but to what extent is this variable - the Thump on this one is sitting around -17dB (that’s about 15% of the peak level - whole file normalised at -3dB, little difference between the signal/headphone takes after separate normalisation)
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thanks for listening/commenting
anyone ? thumpitybumpity
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totally convinced I have a bad example of this issue on both fronts … noise / thump … need some ammo to fend off the fob off !
Hi,
Can’t help you I’m afraid BUT it sounds TERRIBLE !!!
Contact Korg ++++
Funny thing is, even despite this I will keep it in a heartbeat if it’s typical/normal -it is just sooooo damn fine/rewarding in every regard - i actually try to introduce clicks and noise in my sound design, it’s just that i’d sooner choose when/how - i’m quietly confident this is an extreme/marginal case, hope to test one later this week, but still need evidence to back it up.
Every time i sit down with it i simply get lost despite this … incredible instrument, warts and all, probably the finest self-contained sound maker per buck i’ve ever had … except perhaps this aspect
ps - something made the soundcloud wave sound very nasty in the saw parts, but the clicks/thuds are representative
OK ! I was worried… 
I tried the new MS 20's and a friend had an old one - they sounded very paricular an strong - never tried patching but I emagine it can be fun.
Enjoy !
Last bump for existing mini owners who could test their units:)
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getting the runaround from the retailer now and korg won’t have any until next year !
same thumb here…what helps -> put the hold of env2 above 1 …
okay, many thanks for the confirmation that you have env clicks - I know these exist and I know how to mitigate them, that suggestion is posted above - however, I’m solely concerned with establishing if the level of clicks I am experiencing are unusually high and thus pointing to an underlying problem beyond the general design idiosyncrasies - I’ve next to no evidence that my issue is typical, mostly it points to it being exceptional/extreme - I also have a very badly calibrated wheel, which may or may not give me hope that it can be trimmed out better elsewhere to tone it down to ‘normal bad’
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I’m not asking for a trivial favour essentially, but if someone could say with some confidence that that sound clip and image reflects their unit’s behaviour wrt the key up then I can confidently go about getting the calibration sorted knowing it’s not a lemon
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the issue is more important for me now as korg won’t have these until next year now - so I’m basically having to mothball this for fear of damaging it as i’d sooner swap it for one with a more moderate keyup issue and one that has been better calibrated -i’m stuck if I can’t be confident that this is basically normal (albeit massively undesirable) and that most reviewers/users don’t mention it
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i’ll have to ask korg to record my test settings if I can’t get an independent comparison/opinion (i also have no access to another unit to compare) -unfortunately korg aren’t just going to fess up on this one, I need evidence - otherwise I’m in limbo for a long time with it (and modding is on hold) or worse still I keep it in its box only to find out next year’s replacement is identical - meanwhile my return window and warranty period tick by
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Isn’t there a Korg forum where people could help out?
The korg forum is a dead place - so seemingly is muffs and electro-music when it comes to ms20mini discussions
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I’m asking the uk distributor to test this afternoon, they probably won’t - just need to know if it’s exceptionally affected or just a normal case (mysteriously under-reported) - i’d have to return it now and then wait which i’d sooner not do - so, it’s not too late for any of the dozen or so ms20-using 'nauts to bail a chum out
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will try Korg forum if I can find my password Peter !
Tried these settings, and there was a slight “thunk”, not quite as loud as the noise. Changing the EG2 hold removed the “thunk”.
I’d def say you got a dud.
Good luck convincing Korg.
Edit: After listening to your soundcloud example, I think thats similar to mine, your pushing the mini to the extreme to hear this.
I dont hear this when making sounds, you need to use the mini accordingly.
Let me know if I can do anymore tests for you.
P.S. How awsome is the MS-20 ?
Lots of awsome.
It is absolutely incredible as a complete instrument - hands down, the best little mono i have - incredible patching options too with a little ingenuity, so powerful - i am in no doubt about that
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A retailer did a comparison, but screwed the test (despite the very simple test case asked for) - but it sort of reveals that i may be right
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I’m attaching the screen grab of the full audio level thumps (at zero vco1 level) - it’s obvious why i am noticing this
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However, as it was performed incorrectly, i’d be delighted for a second comparison file - i would ad though that the headphone out may clip your recorder, so keep the main vol at 10 and drop the recording level, just so the minis are on the same settings on the 'phones outlet
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thanks for feedback btw
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