Arturia - KORG MS-20

Very early on in Rob's book we are introduced to the various sound sources most subtractive synths offer and he generously gives examples of how each source could become the basis for everyday musical and non-musical sounds.

In my small quest to become better acquainted with Arturia's KORK MS-20 V, I created two further patches I like to call (others might not be so generous) 'Bass' and 'Synth Harp'.

If you want to hear what they sound like please visit my post here: BoBox KORK Patches 02 & 03

Note John did a handful of synthesis basics videos years ago. Search "gurusynthesis" on the main PlugInGuruVideo page on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKxBfrjXMDZZfuP_bfSHFA/search?query=gurusynthesis

@getdunne Thanks for the link, but it wont land on John's @PlugInGuruVideo page for me, but some other @PlugInGuru page. I have to manually navigate there ??? MS Edge truncates pluginguruvideo to pluginguru ... VERY ANNOYING !

@bobox Yes, I find the same thing--very irritating indeed. I'm pretty sure that "other pluginguru page" is a fake one created to pull off some kind of link-grabbing stunt on the real PlugInGuru channel. I will report it; please do the same.

I edited my link above to a format which now works for me. Please let me know if it also works for you.

@getdunne I have tried to report it - but all this large corporation wants me to do is post my complaint to some user forum - so I complained about their help page and then complained about the snatched link through their report widget - let's see if they do anything ??? I doubt it...

Did you get the full link through Wayback Machine ? It seems the only way now to find the actual user account is by searching for a YouTuber's video on that?

Since YouTube have implemented this @.... business I suspect a lot of similar links might get truncated and viewers sent to the wrong place. I also detest the extremely intrusive ads that pop up in twos with alarming frequency - but that's another gripe for some other discussion along with ...

Posted by: @bobox

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Did you get the full link through Wayback Machine ?

No, I just clicked on one of the videos and noticed the different URL, then tacked the playlist suffix onto the end of that and it worked.

Here one I like to call "School Music Lesson"...

A synth trumpet and synth clarinet housed in UNIFY with white noise breath and off-key tuning applied to one of the budding 'instrumentalists' ...

BoBox KORG MS-20 Patches 05 - 06

An easy variation on the 'Synth Trumpet', the 'Synth Tuba'..

BoBox KORG MS-20 Patch 07

BoBox KORG MS-20 Patch 08

Giving my Synth Bass 02 patch an opportunity to become soloist and play some slurs and acciaccaturas...

Poor Bass, all he 'ever' does is underpin the harmony - never get's to see the limelight. [sniff]

Well, here's to the bass!

Enjoy

Off-the-wall, experiment... I call it Aye-Aye-Yip-Yap-Yat!

BoBox KORG Ms-20 Patch 09

Housed in UNIFY with Loudness MASTER added to balance. I think the secret to this sound is Arturia's Bitcrushing FX.

I'll let you guess what sound this is trying to represent...

BoBox KORG MS-20 Patch 10

I think that enough fun for now with the MS-20 from Arturia and I shall go away and concentrate on learning something - I've not yet got half-way through Rob's book dealing with what he calls element one in his 4-element approach to subtractive synthesis... too busy playing.

It might be interesting, once I've finished his offering to see if I've actually learnt something.

I've finally read and hopefully understood Rob's Element ONE - the sound source...

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 11

One thing I'm noticing about this 'favourite' plugin (tomorrow's favourite maybe different!) is it sounds particularly sweet (or convincing) only in a relatively small range (less than one octave) - perhaps as I progress I'll be able to extend that range - let's wait and see.

I also think that like the other arts, sound design may well benefit from 'sleeping on it', ie, leave the sound and come back to it with fresh ears - is it really sounding as good as you 'imagined'? Does it fit well in the mix, how does it compare to your inspiration, be it the real world, someone else's sound you're aiming to 'cover' etc...

"I'll subtract from the cacophony, something new; my best symphony!" - BoBox (May 2025)

Half-way through Rob's Element TWO - the sound shaper...

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 12

I finally know the difference between Low pass, High pass, Band pass and Notch. The solo 'instrument' above is using Band Pass... discovering other things along the way 'chez le' KORG MS-20 V - fantastic plugin !

I'm positively grinning almost from ear to ear at the potential of future synth learning and delving.

 🤗

Finished Rob's Element TWO...

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 13

'GROOVE' supplied by John's rhythmical, pinnacle dance-combo tambo! ..from his Groove Summit v1 sound pack (Click the image below to learn more)

BONUS Patch...

Bobox KORG MS-20 V Patch 04

Yes, I shelved this 'experiment' until I had learnt enough so that I could refine it and use it in a musical context - I now give you my "Singin' Motor!" More GROOVE sounds from John's sound pack (click the image above to learn more) arranged to fit in with a 6/8 rhythm.

Well I've finished Element THREE - Intensity

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 14

Just the last section to do... it is the longest so hopefully it will tie everything up and consolidate my learning !

@bobox

Great to see your excitement to learn.  John's videos have many great insights into synthesis.  A lot of the how-to's aren't necessarily app/synth specific so you can use the knowledge across other synths.

Another fun thing is to delve into how a sound designer made a particular sound you enjoy.  I've learned a lot from a sound designer going outside the box and using techniques outside of what you'd expect.

Guru Sampler in Unify is a great way to get started.  It has a respectable amount of synthesis capability.

@ssquared 

Thanks for your input. We are anticipating greater things with Guru Sampler 2, hopefully by then I will fully conversant with subtractive synthesis and well on my way to understand other forms - though to be honest I think a lot of skill will be immediately transferable !

I've started delving into Element 4 - manipulation

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 15

Already I can hear how this sound needs to be improved and where I need to go to do it !

32% part way through this final section...

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 16

Bass and atmospherics courtesy of MS-20 V, Drums by Cherry Audio KR-55 !

Posted by: @ssquared

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Guru Sampler in Unify [...] has a respectable amount of synthesis capability.

Now that I'm starting to understand what all the various knobs mean and what they manipulate, I can see that Guru Sampler has two ADSRs (one dedicated to the Filter and the other to the volume, LFO, HP-LP-BAND-NOTCH Filters, Sample sound source, plus separate controls for PB up / down and various MW offerings including DELAY (Lag - also included in PB, though can't see a use for this at the moment - it'll come to me later).

It's great to be able to look at black monoliths glistening with dials and follow the signal path through as opposed to looking at it and thinking ... "too many knobs - what do they all do ????," and just messing about in the hope of changing something that might be useful !

Now 54% part way through ... isn't this exciting, No ?

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 17

Drums by John's Fireworks kit - free gift to avid consumers of his weekly live shows.

This patch is but one mono synth with an ADSR applied to the Cutoff Frequency of the LP Filter, overall tone produced by PW modulation.

@bobox 

Lag is a pretty cool feature that seems somewhat unique.  I'd like to see it on more synths, but I also like how it sets Unify apart and makes it special.

Lag provides a slow delay between MW movements.  This allows you to move the wheel all the way up, but the lag will take time to grow to the fully open position.  And similar when moving the modulation wheels down.

The feature is only available in Guru Sampler.  It's such a great feature, I had requested for a general Unify lag effect.  But over the years, so many new Unify libraries with new samples have been released, I have started using Unify (specifically Guru Sampler) for more of my sound design.

Posted by: @ssquared

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Lag provides a slow delay between MW movements.

Yes, I can see that and its use might be useful if you have more than one INST and want a 'humanistic' difference in movement between them. Good for pitch bends on brass (or other) ensembles for added realism, section falls, etc. Thicker modulation as well, but all requiring subtle use of 'lag'.

But in live performance, I think honing your skills is a better bet for slow MW movements? Unless you don't have the luxury of having a hand free long enough and just want to push the MW up to full quickly and let the 'synth' do the work for you. I see it has potential and John obviously found a need for it at some point so it was incorporated into Guru Sampler.

I'm only scratching the surface... lots to learn and understand.

73% part way through !

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 18

I give you the 'harpsichord / Clavichord / Virgil' of the future... Drum grooves found in John's Groove Summit v1 (Click the image below to learn more):

82% of the way through...

Take these simple repeating notes:

Change the velocities thus:

..and feed them into Arturia's MS-20 V (right-click on image and choose open in separate tab to see the bigger picture):

..and we get this:

Bobox KORG MS-20 V Patch 19

Here's what it sound like without the  adjusted KBD CV Output fed into the LP Filter:

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Patch 19b

Interesting? Don't you think...

ELEMENT 4 - 100% completed ...

There is no patch demo as I now have to consolidate all that I've learned, update my former sketchy knowledge and to start from ZERO (as it were) by creating 'better' patches on Arturia's MS-20 V and other synths...

Hope you enjoyed the relatively short journey (less than 2-weeks, much less if you take away the hours dedicated to secular work, household chores, sleep, etc)

😊

In my quest to improve, I thought it prudent to find a good oscillosope and found SOCALABS.com - they have many free plugins both VST and VST3 which ohers might find useful.

Using their Oscilloscope, I was able to visualise the waveform and see exactly what effect my manipulations were producing.

The result? A fun patch, made up of two simple SAW waves and delayed modulation further enhanced with the following FXs: Bitcrusher, Chorus and 2 Reverbs. (Right-click on the following image and choose 'Open in new tab' to see the bigger picture.)

Here's what it sounds like:

BoBox KORG MS-20 V Machine 01