//posted this a few days ago, but for some reason it did not get through//
Not side by side, but I have owned a Polysix, a DW8000, played about
with a MS2000 and currently own a DSS1
IMO, it's down to the filters.
The MicroKorg is basically a MS2000 engine, and the MS2000 is
basically a re-engineered MS20. It's sharp and bleepy. A very extreme
filter, I think 2-pole. I've not owned any of these, but from playing
about with them, I would say that they are very different beasts from
a DW8000
The Polysix has a superbly smooth filter. IIRC, it's the same filter
chips as a Prophet-5, and much better than it's close rival, the
Juno60. The Juno has a better oscillator section though. Both the Juno
and Polysix have rather distinctive sounds, and you can often hear
both of them on albums recorded about 1982-3, notably Simple Minds'
New Gold Dream.
The DW8000 is a strange one. It's a complete failure at what it sets
out to do - basically to use complex waveforms as the basis fo the
sound instead of simple ones. The piano waveform for instance does not
sound like a piano, and you don't have the control that you need to
shape the sound into piano shape. The filter is on the weak side - it
neither has the smothness of the polysix, or the nastyness of the
MS20. But despite the failings of the DW range (I understand the
DW6000 is just plain crap), the DW8000 does have a good (but again
very distinctive) feel and sound to it. But it either works for you or
not - It's a love it or hate it synth.
The DSS1 is everything that the DW8000 wanted to be and wasn't. If
you're familiar with a DW8000, you'll recognise most of the
programming parameters, but inside, it's a different beast
alltogether. You sample your own waveforms, the new-improved 2-4pole
filter has all the qualities I loved in the Polysix, and it sounds
fan-tas-tic, all this without really coloring the sound so you can
tell what it is in a mix. Of all the older Korgs, the DSS1 is the one
synth you just cannot argue with. It is awsome.
I know that Korg included a lot of the old DW waveforms and then some
on the MS2000, but they will sound different with the MS2000 filter -
it's no substitute for a DW8000
--- In DW8000@yahoogroups.com, Stefan Rinass <st@r...> wrote:
> yazzofever wrote:
>
> > The korg microkorg boasts 64 of the dwgs waveforms of the old
dw-8000.
> > I have the microkorg and these waveforms sound AWESOME!! I have been
> > told that essentially the microkorg sounds just like the dw-8000. is
> > that true?
> >
> > has anyone ever checked them out side by side?
> >
> Nop, the DW (i have the EX) sounds imo totally different compared to
the
> KORG MS-2000 (which is nearly the same like the Microkorg). The DW
> sounds after all better, more "analogue" (who�s surprised: the DW/EX
> -is- analogue, except the Wavetable-Oscillators, the MS2K/Microkorg has
> a (slow) DSP inside). Can�t understand why the MKorg/Ms2K should
have 64
> different "DW"-Waveforms; the original DW has 16 WF (together with
> OSC2=so seen 256 WF). The MKORG has so seen four Oscillators and the
> DW/EX 8000 eight.
>
> I think that the DWGS-Waveforms are rather unuseful on the newer
> machines, they�re imo only good for emulating weird organs. The
> MS2K/MKorg is good for short leads and effects while the DW has more
its
> strenght in smooth strings/"emulating" flutes etc and -some- basslines
> and afterall it sounds more "fat". So they�re imo absolutely not
> comparable together. The MS2000-DSP-driven Synths from KORG are,
> referred to the sound, so seen "alone" between all other KORG
> Synths=>they sound good, but not like KORG (bcoz of this was the
MS2K so
> seen a big flop, they wanted to produce a MS20-successor, but it didn�t
> succeed and the Microkorg/Legacy Pack is the rest of this era) . Ever
> heard a MS20, Polysix, Mono/Poly? I know, they are expensive (specially
> the MS 10/20, but i don�t know why the Polysix is nowadays such
> expensive=>it isn�t -that- special machine, as everyone believes!)....
>
> Greetings
>
> Stef