A
monophonic analog semi-
modular synthesizer with a 36-note
keyboard. Essentially a scaled down version of the
PS series' huge patchable
synths. Approximately 10 000 units were manufactured between
1978 and the early
80s.
The MS-20 features 2
VCOs with a
noise generator per voice. Available
waveforms for the VCO1 are
triangle,
sawtooth, variable
pulse and
white noise. VCO2 (which is scaled an
octave higher than VCO1) offers sawtooth,
square, narrow pulse and a
ring modulator. Independent level controls for both
oscillators are available, and their
pitch can be modulated by either the
LFO or the
envelope generators.
For
filters, the MS-20 has two 12dB/octave multi-mode
VCFs capable of
high-pass,
notch and
band-reject modes with independent
resonance controls. The VCFs can be modulated by the LFO and shaped with the EGs. External sounds can also be routed through the
unique filter section.
The LFO features multiple waveforms and full control over modulation speed. There are 2 envelope generators: EG1 is internally routed to the VCOs and features
delay,
attack and
release. EG2 is generally used for shaping the VCF/
VCA, and offers an
ADSR envelope with
hold.
Both
hard wired and
patchable connections are included, much like in
ARP 2600. The main
panel consists of several clearly marked
knobs and a small
patch bay. An assignable
mod wheel is also available.
Interfacing with other synths is a problem, since the MS-20 uses Hz-to-voltage (for oscillator
stability) instead of the volt-per-octave
standard.
Third party converters have been made to solve this issue.
Numerous
accessories were made, including the
MS-01 foot pedal and the
SQ-10 sequencer which could also store MS-20 sounds. A cheaper
little brother,
MS-10 was also released.
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