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Average rating:
4.1 out of 5
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For the money this synthesizer is awesome. Very good unit for techno/house music. Strong on basses, fat hoover leads, warm pads and sweeps. Not as fun and quick as the keyboard junos but very simple interface. Sturdy steel box.
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The first "professional" synth I owned was an Alpha Juno 1 and I really didn't like it. Or rather it didn't really fit the bill for what I needed at the time. Several years later I've become more involved with writing and recording electronic music as opposed to just playing synth in a rock band and I found the MKS-50 (the rack version of the AJuno) recently for $100 so I leapt on it. I dunno if my MKS-50 was owned by a stellar programmer or what but this MKS-50 destroys the AJuno I had. Specifically: The strings and brass are more and thicker than I remembered; the PWM more complex; the drum patches are punchy and in-your-face; even the leads are tasty. I've completely changed my initial assessment of this configuration as well as the 1980's Rolands. This will be the 4th '80s Roland polysynth I've owned (the AJuno, a JX-3P and a Juno 6) and I've never really been impressed with them. Until now. The MKS-50 will be staying in my gear rack for sure!
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I got this for little money so I´ll give it five marks ;)
It sounds cold but direct into your face. Most of the presets must be replaced - they try to sound like a GM Module ;)
It´s capable of some synthetic "hammered string" sounds that are different to warm-sounding synths.
It can sound like the pad sound of "Slacker - Fusion" and the arpeggio of Slacker´s "A Million Dreams". Also a sick modulated poly synth that reminds on "Cassius - The Sound Of Violence (Rock Reggae Remix)" can be produced.
It sounds pretty cool when the sound is modulated between Organ-Type and Synth-Pad Sounds. It´s also good for weird noises.
Without the chorus the noise is low. The sound quality is good.
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It doesn't have a filter that great, but the PWM on both waveforms and the non-standard envelope settings make up for that. Those are the things, together with the noisy (in a positive way) chorus that make this synth unique. Its also the key behing the hoover and makes the synth overall very old skool techno sounding.
I sadly bought it when it was very popular over here (the haydays of gabber, do I need to say more), I now see it for half the price I bought it... so its definately worth its current price.
Anyway, check out EZAlpha if you got a Windows PC, because although its not a PG-300, its a great editor to make up for the lack of buttons.
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Alex, i have got both (MKS-50 and MKS-70). Mks-70 is supposed to be a better machine but it lacks PW/PWM ratio, so in many ways mks50 is better. Mks-50 is noisy and fatter, Mks-70 is softer but clear. Mks-70 is more powerful, but i prefer the 50..de gustibus.
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