Korg is asking for your thoughts on a Mono/Poly Remake.

[aciddose]

Right...

[BONES]

Yes, most of the time you will have it all racked up and connected but sometimes I like to just sit on the lounge with a synth in my lap and headphones but you can't do that with a module.

I do that all the time. All the synthesizers I've built myself are modules with the control panel but no keyboard. It makes them far more flexible!

Yes, because you can change any parameter you like but, because you can't actually trigger a note, you'll have no idea how it sounds. Great way to literally waste an evening.

[v1o]

It's actually a link to a "back from the grave" type of article... half of those will be cloned by Behringer anyway, while Korg keeps losing steam - a few years back they were riding the n.w.o.a. (new wave of analog) , and now they're left with a handful of obsolete Volcas... not good, Korg... not good at all...

What are you talking about. Have you seen just how much the retail price for Deepmind 12 has fallen? Even the resale value has completely collapsed. Its looking like a bomba.

[v1o]

They need to focus on modules (boxes) or rack-mounts and forget about miniaturization or cheesy little keyboards.

Creating a high quality MIDI-CV module is cheap and easy. They could simply buy one (probably $30,000?) and use it in less than a week.

A re-issue seems interesting until you remember there are plenty of things to improve about any design such as the MS-20 or Mono/Poly. So when such a device is accurately re-created or miniaturized people should be asking "but ... why?!"

The Minilogue sold like hot cakes. And the Microkorg is the best selling synthesiser of all time. Old timers like to bash minikeys everyday on forums, but the youth are buying them because they don’t take much space.

[himalaya]

Minikeys - maybe it's a state of mind

The minikeys do not pose any issues for this guy. Love this:
(minikeys solo from 2min15sec, not sure if the YT link will play from the bookmarked time...EDIT: and sure enough, it doesn't. Somethings broken with YT 'start at' sharing feature)

https://youtu.be/ADWYsIz42hA?t=133

[JCJR]

The mono/poly was a rather pitiful excuse for a synth. But hey I thought the same of the MS-20 so what do I know?

Why do you think that? The Mono/Poly was one of the better featured monos, with some unique features: 4 oscillators (seldom seen in mono-land!), Hard-Sync, X-Mod, PWM, 4-note unison, arp that can work in the usual manner or cycle through 4 oscillators (unique!), chord mode, resonant 24dB LPF....it has so much and it sounded superb! I know some criticise its 'tame' filter' but in context of so much sonic power it hardly matters.

Was just as perceived thru my own "usefulness filter" at the times. Not interesting to me but am not claiming it generally uninteresting to everyone.

MS20 seemed limited, lofi and squawky. I couldn't have figured out a reason to tote one to a gig or try recording it. Looking at youtube ms20 reissue videos even with korg demonstrators, it still sounds really distorted to me. The only synth I admired for its "proud over-the-top distortion" was the Polivoks, but maybe for some the MS20 is kinda the same vibe? Dunno. If so I was too narrow-minded to see it that way at the time.

By the time of the mono/poly, I was interested in poly, not mono. 4 oscs paraphonic wasn't very impressive.

I didn't use arpegiators, "dumb looped step sequencers", chord memories, then or now. Any synth comes out with those features, its like the advertisements on web pages-- I never see ads on web pages regardless how obnoxious. I just don't even notice whether a synth might have an arpegiator or step sequencer or even consider such features in my evaluation of the synth. I don't care if the synth DOES have an arp, but OTOH don't care if the synth DOES NOT have an arp, because I know I'll never use the feature.

Some of the youtube mono/poly demos sound purt kewl, but I'd not play the kind of music which showcases that sound. I'd just get bored hearing that kind of repetition after a few hours max then what do I do with the thang?

Now granted all music needs a certain percentage of repetition. It is just a matter of each individual's taste what might be perceived good repetition vs boring repetition.

[idfpower]

What are you talking about. Have you seen just how much the retail price for Deepmind 12 has fallen? Even the resale value has completely collapsed. Its looking like a bomba.

What are you talking about. I was saying there's more likely to see a Korg clone coming out of Behringer's factory rather than a revamped classic from Korg. What does DM12 have to do with that ?!? Or are you by any chance under the impression that Behringer is going belly-up, lol?!?

Anyway, the point was: at first Volcas were cool because in spite of being very limited machines, they were cheap and portable. But nowadays, with stuff like Uno, there's no need for half-baked products anymore.

[BONES]

Agree completely - Uno has changed the game yet again.

The Minilogue sold like hot cakes. And the Microkorg is the best selling synthesiser of all time. Old timers like to bash minikeys everyday on forums, but the youth are buying them because they don’t take much space.

That's ageist, man! I'm 60 and I love mini-keys. I used to hate them because they were rubbish but recent iterations are excellent. In fact, I'd rate my KeyStep as having the most playable keys I've ever owned, mostly because you can actually vary the level of aftertouch quite easily, whereas most other synths with aftertouch are more of an on/off type thing. I'd have bought a Seaboard Block by now if it wasn't iOS only.

[v1o]

What are you talking about. Have you seen just how much the retail price for Deepmind 12 has fallen? Even the resale value has completely collapsed. Its looking like a bomba.

What are you talking about. I was saying there's more likely to see a Korg clone coming out of Behringer's factory rather than a revamped classic from Korg. What does DM12 have to do with that ?!? Or are you by any chance under the impression that Behringer is going belly-up, lol?!?

Anyway, the point was: at first Volcas were cool because in spite of being very limited machines, they were cheap and portable. But nowadays, with stuff like Uno, there's no need for half-baked products anymore.

Behringer still have a lot to prove. The DM12 has dropped dramatically in price. The Model D release date came and went, but several months later they are having issues supplying retailers with the initial allocation of stock they had been promised particularly in North America.

The Uno isn’t in the same price range as the Volcas. The UNO is priced more in line with the Microbrute and Monologue. And I know given a choice I’d take the later two. While you can criticise the Volcas for lacking features, they do at least ooze character and sound good. The Uno sounds like the next Akai Timbre Wolf to me.

[BONES]

I don't know about where you live but here in Australia the Uno ($289) is $100 cheaper than Monologue ($389) or Microbrute ($395) and only $70 more than a Volca Bass ($219), so closer to the tiddlers than the other real synths. Having actually owned a Monologue, I can assure you the Uno is a much better sounding synth - bigger, fuller oscillator sound and a better filter. It's also better featured so it wins on pretty much every level. Microbrute doesn't count because it has no patch memory.

[Shiek927]

I'd rather just have a Korg Triton VST ^^;

[BONES]

Why? It's just a ROMpler. I loved my microX but it is easily outclassed by any half-decent VSTi. A Prophecy VSTi, on the other hand...

[idfpower]

Behringer still have a lot to prove. The DM12 has dropped dramatically in price. The Model D release date came and went, but several months later they are having issues supplying retailers with the initial allocation of stock they had been promised particularly in North America.

The Uno isn’t in the same price range as the Volcas. The UNO is priced more in line with the Microbrute and Monologue. And I know given a choice I’d take the later two. While you can criticise the Volcas for lacking features, they do at least ooze character and sound good. The Uno sounds like the next Akai Timbre Wolf to me.

First off - again: that has nothing to do with Behringer's cloning capabilities; it's a simple matter of demand. As for the Model D, they make hundreds of units a day, and still can't keep up with the demand - that should tell you the ammount of orders they've already got...

As for Uno, I'm sorry, but that's completely bull. It's only 50-60 Euros more than a Volca around these parts. The other synths cost at least 100 Euros more. So it's actually in Volca price range - but feature-wise, there's simply no comparison. As for sound - Timbre Wolf level?!? Are you on something?!? 'Cause otherwise, you need to talk to your ENT doctor immediately!

[aciddose]

I don't care how much you love "minikeys" any more than what flavor of burrito is your favorite.

I am not a Korg customer because they do not make a MS-20 mini without a keyboard. The problem with the "mini" versions is totally unrelated to the keys. It's a UI ease-of-use issue.

If my thumb hits a neighboring knob it means the knobs are not spaced widely enough. The standard acceptable spacing (physical gap) is approximately 1" including the knob width.

You're reading some constructive critique an engineer wrote, not a destructive complaint by a pissant consumer.

Whether or not you like that version of the product is irrelevant, unless you're attempting (clearly, you are) to suggest your opinion is more valuable than mine.

[aciddose]

The official line is that Korg felt that "it would be devaluing to make the new model exactly the same size as the original”. In other words, it's smaller out of respect to the original. I don't accept that for a nanosecond. I think that it was all about hitting the target price, and a full-size model might have made that impossible. But let's be clear, the MS20 Mini is not built into the same case as the MS20iC controller. The keyboard is wider and deeper, the chassis is larger, the spacing between the knobs and sockets is greater and, well, you get the picture.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-ms20-mini

I'm not 100% in agreement regarding price since while the material cost of the chassis would increase... the circuitry and all hardware could remain identical when scaling the chassis up to 100%.

Obviously certain knobs could be larger as the size of the knob increases the rotational precision due to the ratio (much like a gear or pulley.)

My opinion is fundamentally based upon the fact they did not improve upon the product interface much if at all. I believe this was a mistake. The mini version is without a doubt of lower build quality than the original while it should be higher quality.

Stripping or separating the cost/weight of the key bed should easily make up for the difference.