Korg MS 10!! By Elizabeth Laberge!!

History It was made by the Japanese corporation Korg in It was the smallest and cheapest one they made at the time. It is a monophonic, analog synth and was known for its bass and percussive sound. It was followed shortly after by the double oscillator version known as the MS 20.

Features It contains: – 1 Voltage Controlled Oscillator – 1 Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter – 1 Voltage Controlled Amplifier – 1 Envelope Generator – 1 Low Frequency Oscillator – 1 Switch To Control Portamento (Glide) – 1 Noise Generator – 1 External input – Patch Panel

Normal Settings!! Before you turn the instrument on, the dials and buttons should be set to their “Normal Settings”, which are shown in the picture below! This is the foundation on which to start creating other sounds. It is recommended that you return to these settings before starting a new patch.

Signal Flow Chart!! The order in which the signal goes through the machine is: It starts with the VCO, then Goes to the VCF and the VCA, and then out. You can attach the envelope generator to these to control the sound!!

VCO! The VCO is the source of all sound for the synthesizer. It determines pitch and basic tone color. Waveform: Selects one of four waveforms (Triangle, Sawtooth, Rectangle, or White noise), each of which has its own timbre. Scale: Controls the octave in which the pitch is played. Pitch: Varies the VCO’s pitch over a range of +/- one octave. PW/PWM: (Caution: This button only works when it is set as A Rectangular wave) Varies the rectangular pulse width (PW). If it is set in the full clockwise position, the pulse width is so narrow that no sound is heard. Portamento: Controls how much glide is present in between notes. Frequency Modulation by MG: Varies the amount of vibrato From the Modulation Generator (LFO) Triangle Wave output. Frequency Modulation by EG/EXT: When not patched, it varies the effect of the Envelope Generator on the VCO. With an external controller patched in, it varies the intensity of the external device. External Signal Level: Varies the volume level of an external Source, which can be combined with the VCO’s sound.

VCF (Filter)!!! The Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter alters the tonal quality of the VCO waveform by removing certain frequencies while passing others. Cutoff Frequency: Controls the point on the frequency spectrum where sounds start to be filtered out. As it is turned counter-clockwise, the higher frequencies are reduced. Peak: Controls the amount of emphasis (Q) given to the frequencies closest to the cutoff frequency. Makes the filter more of less pronounced. Cutoff Frequency Modulation by MG: For a triangle wave, modulates the Filter frequency for vibrato, creates a “wa-wa” effect. Cutoff Frequency Modulation by EG/EXT: Varies modulation intensity of the Envelope generator, allows you to change tonal quality over time.

Amplifier/Envelope Generator The voltage controlled amplifier is pre-patched to the Envelope Generator, so the amount of amplification matches the output produced by the Envelope Generator. Envelope Generator: Hold Time: Extends how long the trigger signal is played for. Attack Time: Sets how long the voltage takes to rise to its peak. Decay Time: Sets the time it takes the voltage to fall from the peak to the sustain level. Sustain Level: Sets the voltage level where the signal is sustained. Release Time: Sets the time the voltage takes to fall to 0 after the trigger signal ends. Modulation Generator: Generates a low frequency oscillator to add vibrato, trills, or other cyclic types of modulation.

Patch Panel The Patch Panel works by plugging in patch cords to various places. It goes in order from VCO to VCF to VCA. For example, if you plug a Patch cord into the VCO input it will affect the VCO. These control whether it is the VCO, VCF, or VCA that you are controlling. You must follow these steps: 1. Where (VCA, VCF, VCO, etc.) do you want the effect and what kind of effect do you want? 2. What kind of control signal do you need for the effect? 3. Which section of the synthesizer will create that kind of control signal? You can follow the signal flow chart shown previously to help you with this. You plug them into the five jacks at the top of the panel.

Changing Patches Changing the patch on the Korg MS-10 = time consuming! There are no pre-created settings, so you must turn the knobs by hand. Here are several websites that contain examples of certain patches, with diagrams of how to create them: Here is an example of the diagrams you will find there: You must turn the knobs to the position that is suggested in the diagram. You can always fiddle with them afterwards to customize the sound to your own preferences. It is recommended that you return to the Normal Settings after you are done using a patch.

Good Luck!!