Behringer has officially introduced the K-2, an updated clone of the Korg MS-20.
The Behringer K-2 was originally announced in 2017, along with the MS-101 and four additional unreleased synthesizers, as the K-20. The K-2 follows a wide array of hardware and software clones of the MS-20, but packs the retro synth design into the form factor of a desktop/Eurorack synth voice.
Here’s the official video intro:
Features:
- Analog synthesizer with dual VCO design
- Analog signal path
- Semi-modular architecture with default routings
- First and second generation filter design (high pass/low pass with peak/resonance)
- 4 variable oscillator shapes with variable pulse widths and ring modulation for ultimate sounds
- Dedicated and fully analog triangle/square wave LFO
- 2 analog Envelope Generators for modulation of VCF and VCA
- 16-voice Poly Chain allows combining multiple synthesizers for up to 16 voice polyphony
- Eurorack compatible — main module can be transferred to a standard Eurorack case
- 36 controls give you direct and real-time access to all important parameters
- External audio input for processing external sound sources
- USB/MIDI support with MIDI channel and Voice Priority selection
- 3-Year Warranty Program
Pricing and Availability
The Behringer K-2 is available now with a street price of about US $330.
The only things this MS-20 copy has going for it are a cheap price tag and extremely compact case.
The market is flooded with me-too monosynths, making the new Modal Argon8 is a far more appealing way to expand beyond the analog subtractive synth sound that has come back into fashion over the past decade.
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Post a link to your music please. Would love to hear it. Also you should make a list of SynthMakingSlave certified synths so we know which ones to buy. Keep up the fight we need more “Woke” synth players in the community.
If the build quality is better than the MS-20 mini, it might have that going for it too.
Also appealing to those of us who don’t want a keyboard but missed out on the MS-20m(odule).
Yeah the ms-20 mini really felt like a toy, to the point where it seems useless as an instrument you’d actually want to take out of the house a lot or tour with. Sold it but pretty interested in this.
exactly right abou that module version!
Yeah, the cheapest MS-20m I could find is $1,300. The other one I found was $2,400. Really wish I had picked one up when they were available. Or that Korg would reissue.
the MS-20m was a bit to sterile I sold it after a month. Patches I made on my Vintage Ms-20 did not have as much character / bite on the module. Could not get it to talk like an Mr. Oizo track. I’m hoping Behringer got it right. Also at the price their charging its not much of a gamble. The Korg MS-20 mini will probably be selling for $175-$250 on the used market. The korg ms-20m should drop down as well.
So for $5,280 and a keyboard, you can turn these into a fully analog patchable poly synth! Less than half the price of a Moog One.
I must admit, I like how the video starts with, gasp, music! The only change I would have done to the video is demonstrate the chaining and patches.
What this product points up is that the Korg MS20 is still a good design.
I did that with a Little Phatty and four Slim Phatty’s, a poly Little Phatty is music to your ears 🙂
Looking forward to playing the K-2. Had two ms-20 mini’s didn’t really grab at the time.
yet it still does less than a Moog One….
What’s your point here? Quite obviously it does less than a Moog One
is the CV setup to work as V/Oct or Hz/V?
Good question! From the “quick start” manual (one line, buried in the specs): “Keyboard CV out: 0 to +8 V (exponential)”
So if the output is exponential, then the VCO input is also exponential.
The MS-20mini is volt/octave with a 0-8.4V range – which makes sense for 8+ octaves of range.
Hmm, read the wrong spec, or the spec wrong. My bad.
Hz/V
It’s Hz//V where it counts, so it’s a bit of a hassle to integrate with other Eurorack gear from a standpoint of sequencing.
Support for Hz/V is starting to get a bit more common though, with things like Electron’s gear and the BeatStep Pro, so it may not be a show-stopper for you.
Also the Korg SQ-1 does both V/Oct and Hz/V
Disting has a converter for it also.
Wasn’t Lisa Bella Donna but props to B for including so much music in their introduction video
Wonder if this can be polychained with a Behringer model D
Korg needs to release a compact MS-20 now. Pop an analogue delay in it and a sequencer and call it a day.
The monologue is pretty close!
Monologue sounds very “clean” the MS-20 is pure filth.
16 voice poly-chain ?
How to match 16 of these all with exactly the same patch ?
True, but imagine if all 16 had completely different patches!
That’s what most euro-rack stuff sounds like to me.
Still, all these euro-rack semi-mod’s in a single cabinet sounds interesting.
I have yet to see anybody do anything useful with the poly chain option on synths.
If you need a polysynth, don’t get a bunch of monsynths!
Also, everybody seems to think that you can control all the synths with in set of knobs!
With Moog’s poly chaining MIDI implementation, one set of knobs (switches, etc…) WILL control all the SAME synths in a chain. I used it with 1 Little Phatty and 4 Slim Phatty’s. That is very useful.
yep. Same with DSI synths. One controls all the others. Don’t think the Behringers do anything other than voice distribution.
behringer now do a social engrophy engine type sequencer please.
I have a Korg MS-20 mini. I do like the sounds that I can coax out of it; I like the flexibility and features. However, the build quality and size make it seem like a toy (I literally chuckled when I saw one for the first time in a music store).
Unlike the MS-20 mini, the new Behringer K-2 has the option to select from both filter types that appeared in the now vintage MS-20s. Also, the Behringer build quality is better (I own the Neutron, which is a great synth).
If I was in the market for the MS-20 sound and features, it would be a no-brainer. The K-2 for the price and build quality would be an easy first choice.
Sounds great, good form factor, nice price and warranty. Will likely grab one.
A very slick looking design !
Are people ‘over’ Behringer’s clone hype?
The D is selling at fire sale prices now, it’s easy to get one for half the original price.
And despite Uli Behringer personally hyping the K-2 on FB, it doesn’t have half the hype that the D had.
You’re probably right, apparently only five people have ordered the RD-8.
Why didn’t they add the sync and PWM mods to the design? Seems like a simple thing to make this stand out from the Korg mini units.
Now, that is a great question. Maybe they didn’t want to step on a forth coming MS-10 clone? 🙂 The mods should still work on the K-2 once someone smart digs into it.
If I didn’t already own the MS-20m I’d be all over this. I gotta say that I love what they did with the Model D. It sounds REALLY close to my Minimoog Reissue, and actually has a better midi implementation because it receives mod wheel data. They’re giving a lot of folks what they want, at a not-insane price. If you want crazy cool digital stuff or high end analog there are choices available for that too. We have great problems!
sell your korg ms-20m this Behringer will be at least as good if not better and you can buy at least 2 more behringer synths like model d and pro one.
The sound engines on these Behringer clones are good, because they just copied the originals.
But using them blows, compared to the originals, because the knobs are smaller and cramped together.
Most successful companies only copy the good stuff. Seems pretty obvious.
“Smaller and cramped together” is the hall-mark of euro-rack. Seems to be doing well enough,
Scummy Behringer garbage move.
I don’t about MS20m, but build quality of MS20Kit is very good, compared to the original MS20 (I had 2 of them). MS20Kit was a limited run of 1000 units, AFAIK.