Korg MS-10

The MS-10 is a cool & classic analog synth known for its great bass and percussive sounds. It was released by Korg in 1978 as an entry-level, simple monophonic single-VCO analog synthesizer. With the authentic look of a mini-modular its single VCO is patchable using standard 1/4 inch patch cords to the VCF and VCA. It really is a powerful little mono-synth with plenty of knobs and a compact 32-note keyboard. It is CV/Gate controllable. A very cool feature is its external input to filter which allows you to filter external sound sources! Following the MS-10 came the double-oscillator version, the MS-20. The MS-10 is used by The Orb, SkyLab, the Chemical Brothers, Astral Projection, Autechre, Juan Atkins, Underworld, Sneaker Pimps, Luke Vibert, JunkieXL, and Add N to (X).

Specifications
Polyphony - Monophonic
Oscillators - 1 VCO with mixable white/pink noise generator
LFO - One LFO w/ multiple waveforms
Filter - One lowpass VCF
VCA - ADSR with Hold
Keyboard - 32 keys
Arpeg/Seq - None
Control - CV/GATE
Date Produced - 1978
Est. Value - $200 - $700

Roland JUNO-60

Roland JUNO-60

Among the first in Roland's amazing JUNO family! Six analog voices of polyphony and patch memory storage!! The JUNO-60 sounds great, however, like the JUNO-6 it lacks MIDI control. The JUNO-60 includes 56 patches of memory storage. The JUNO-60 is still popular due in part to opinions that it sounds better (punchier) than the JUNO-106. The JUNO-6 and 60 are very rich sounding synthesizers and are great analog machines as long as you can withstand the absence of MIDI control. The JSQ-60 sequencer is an external sequencer controller for the JUNO-60 and is usually worth acquiring. Of course nobody can deny that the wooden side panel look is a true sign of Vintage status! JUNOs have been used by Enya, The Cure, Sean Lennon, Faithless, Astral Projection, Vince Clarke, Rabbit in the Moon, Men at Work, Flock of Seagulls, Olive, Dee-Lite, Howard Jones, Locust, Eurythmics and Add N to (X).

Cool Tips:
The JUNO-60 can have 76 patches. By pressing down nr 5 and 1 or 2, at the same time, you get access to patch 57 to 76.

To access patches 80 to 98, (dead-patch) plug a cord into the PATCH SHIFT connector. Now you can access the test-programs 80-98: Keep 5 down and press 3 for bank 8, 5 and press 4 for bank 9.

Fire the JUNO up with the KEYTRANSPOSE button pressed and the arpeggio mode-switch up to enter MONO-MODE. All 6 voices will be assigned to the last key pressed.


Specifications
Polyphony - 6 voices
Oscillators - DCO: pulse, saw, and square
LFO - rate and delay
Filter - non-resonant high pass and resonant low pass
VCA - level, ADSR and gate
Arpeg/Seq - External JSQ-60 Sequencer
Keyboard - 61 note keyboard (no velocity or aftertouch)
Control - DCB Roland to Roland sync/interface (Roland MD-8 converts DCB to MIDI for MIDI control)
Date Produced - 1982
Est. Value - $350 - $500

Korg DSS-1

A wonderful early digital synthesizer. With eight notes of polyphony, two oscillators per voice, a noise source, two multi-stage envelopes, a resonant filter and auto-bend, the DSS-1 has much in common with Korg's previous flagship DW-8000. But it went much further, boasting twin digital delays, oscillator sync, an improved unison mode, a lush analog VCF switchable between 12 and 24dB, and more. Whereas the DW-8000 got its raw material from 16 stored digital waves, the DSS1's oscillators take their source from sampling, additive synthesis, or even hand-drawn waveforms!

It actually had a warm sound and was great for creating pads and textures, as well as deep basses and drones. The synthesis method is based on altering various waveform samples via 2 data sliders. It can sample and then treat the samples as its waveforms - that includes all filtering and envelopes. The DSM-1 was the expanded rackmount version. It was used by Jean Michel Jarre, Joe Zawinul, Michael Cretu of Enigma, Mark Jenkins, Hiro Kawahara, Paul Nagle, Shriekback, and Steve Winwood.

Specifications
Polyphony - 8 Voices
Oscillators - 16 - 2 oscillators per voice
Sampler - 256k
Memory - 5 sec sampling
Synthesis - 128 Sine waveforms you re-shape using 2 sliders
Keyboard - 61 keys w/ velocity and aftertouch
Filter - Lowpass 2 or 4 pole + envelope
Control - MIDI
Date Produced - 1986
Est. Value - $300 - $600