You can easily get that Blade Runner sound from it. And obviously running it through the brig and cloudburst is basically like running it through a magic sauce
At first I didn't really understand this synth (or it's original ancestor of course). But I gotta admit, I think it's one of those kinda synths that there's sort of a magic to the limitations of it. Like it begs to be used in a different way than other boards by virtue of those limitations. It forces you to get hands on with it and play it.
Exactly… you hit the nail on the head… i’ve been messing with synths since the 1980 and owned countless models over 40 years, including many now unobtainable “classics”… trust me, they were never considered classic or even that desirable at the time… anyway, i’ve always had a soft spot for paraphonic synths, not better than mono nor poly synths but certainly not worse, they are unique and can do things neither mono or poly synths could ever do and in my experience are all the better for it.
The selling point for the original Korg version is the "effects". Which isn't really what you normally mean with effects. It's single or double: Sync (oscillator sync) and/or X-mod (Korg:ish for crossmod, which is oscillator FM). This can be the worlds angriest lead synth, literally roaring. The effects can also make all sorts of nice sounding weird waveforms if you want.
I do like this synth and went with it over a Poly D. As long as you do not care about patch storage (I do not) it is great for leads, brass/wind solo and sections, some limited organ work, and definitely pads/drones. I do not consider it a great bass synth despite having a fully capable bottom end like most synths really. For many genres any phasing in a bass track can be an absolute nightmare for EQ & dynamics then again in mixdown. For me the Behringer Cat clone is MUCH better for such patches well over even the Model D IMHO. If they ever ship the MS-1 mk2 I could see that taking the "title" for such sounds, but for now I feel the Cat is tops there and underappreciated as such by some. None of that takes away from the wide range of strengths of this synth...