Released by Korg in 1978, the MS10 is a very cool monophonic single-VCO analog synthesizer. With the authentic look of a mini-modular synth, the MS10 (as well as the MS20) became an instant classic because of its iconic 12dB/oct lowpass filter. Just like Moog or ARP filters, its signature is instantaneously recognizable and is capable of a wide variety of sounds from soft brassy leads to demonic self-oscillating stuff!
More than thirty years later, Korg got back in the analog playground by releasing the Monotron, a tiny monophonic synthesizer that looks like an old cassette tape (if someone even remembers what that is…). Despite its size and its lack of… well, pretty much everything, Korg had the genius idea to embed their old MS10/20 filter which brought a surprising musicality to the Monotron!
So, to celebrate the Korg MS10 40th Anniversary, I decided to extensively modified a Monotron to pay tribute to its old ancestor!
I called it the MS-X.
- Scale: 32', 16', 8', 4'
- Waveforms: Tri, Saw, Pulse (with PWM), VCO off
- Variable pitch control
- Glide control
- Sub Oscillator
Voltage Controlled low-pass Filter (VCF):
- Cutoff Frequency control
- Peak (Resonance) control
- Keyboard tracking switch
Voltage Control Amplifier (VCA):
- MS10 VCA clone
- Feedback loop
Modulation Generator (MG):
- Waveforms: Triangle, Saw & Square
- Frequency control
- Frequency modulation of VCO & VCF
Envelope Generator (EG):
- Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release
- Frequency modulation of VCO & VCF
- Amplitude modulation of VCA
Features:
- CV/gate
- Drone mode
- Manual gate trigger
Photos:
Analog Spaghetti
Enclosing
Front / Rear
MS-X Front
MS-X Rear
Video:
Pink Floyd - A Great Gig in the Sky
(Richard Wright Tribute)
Schematics:
Please read all the instructions before butchering your Monotron.
Feel Free to send me pics and videos of your own MSX, I'll be glad to publish it!
UPDATE v1.3 (12/2019):
Some corrections in VCO section.
