NSD: Behringer MS-1 (mk I)

[MrShake]

I was looking around online for something else the other night, and spotted discounted MS-1s on Amazon, Sweetwater, etc. Seems like a Mk II is in the pipeline. At $200 my wife insisted we cash some of those gift cards we'd had as an early birthday gift.



For $200 ($230 with the 3-year unlimited warranty she got), I'm willing to overlook some of the alleged inexactness or shortcomings. All I wanted was something I could MIDI Sync for clock and trigger in for those sweet, sweet early acid house rolling bass sequences. Seems like the hiccups with that got worked out in early firmware revisions?

Either way, I'm totally geeked. I BASICALLY know what I'm looking at from the VCO on over to the Envelope, academically, if not practical sonics.

Ironically, I've been way more into my SP-404, and making hip hop beats lately, my acid house skills are dusty.

Luckily, with the 404's new looper, EVERYTHING is going to get funky Prince squiggles and big, fat G-Funk basslines for a while.

Will be a long, slow learning process. But I've finally snagged my trifecta - clones/knockoffs of the 808, 303, and 101. The 909 is my all-time, but I had to loop back around to drum machine upgrades, I'll get there soon.

What are your experiences?

[redchapterjubilee]

I had one a few years ago and didn’t much care for it. Turns out I don’t like a single Roland oscillator unless it’s got chorus on it to make it move some. PWM helps but I’d want multiple LfO’s to make things move too. So I let it go. I do like behringers sequencer on those and I also think it’s cool they come with the mod stick and a strap. Nice touch. At $200 it’s a fun synth. I love that one can affordably get their x0x series together.

[MrShake]

I had one a few years ago and didn’t much care for it. Turns out I don’t like a single Roland oscillator unless it’s got chorus on it to make it move some. PWM helps but I’d want multiple LfO’s to make things move too. So I let it go. I do like behringers sequencer on those and I also think it’s cool they come with the mod stick and a strap. Nice touch. At $200 it’s a fun synth. I love that one can affordably get their x0x series together.

All fair points. Actually, my last "element" will likely be some generic "Swiss army synth" that can do swirly poly stuff for that movement and body. Likely something like a Microkorg, etc - one that can fill whatever arrangement gaps I need.

But you're right about affordable x0x options. I've been wanting to make acid house stuff since I was a tween in the early '90s, and DAWs are great, but don't really inspire me to be creative. Since actually acquiring tools with which to even learn the skills was a major barrier to entry (a high schooler who didn't know what he was looking for couldn't afford a 303, 808, 909, et al, much less a mixer and outboard effects), I'm just over the moon that I CAN, whether or not anybody else likes it, haha.

Having meddled with it a bit, I think I'm figuring out the voicing characteristics, it's time to start digging into the sequencer - I really enjoy playing Triggered lines on my "303" (as dictated by the RD-8), so now letting that do the full-on sixteenth stutters and having the MS-1 run a slowly-unfolding bassline-type sequence is going to open up a lot of "live in the room" improv options for me.

It may be derivative, but damn it, I LOVE the way these sounds fit together.