AutomaticGainsay vs. Behringer MS-5: Envelopes Get Weird

The video quickly flips the script on how these envelopes can be triggered. Sure, you can use the keyboard, but why stop there? Sample and hold comes into play, letting you fire envelopes from unpredictable pulses, not just your fingers. It’s envelope abuse in the best possible way.

There’s also love for external triggers – if you’ve got something spitting voltage, the MS-5 wants in on the action. Suddenly, you’re not just playing notes, you’re orchestrating chaos, with envelopes jumping at the whim of S&H, LFOs, or whatever mad scientist signal you feed it.

Here’s where things go from clever to outright bonkers. The MS-5’s routing options let you assign envelopes to different sections, and the way you trigger them changes everything. AR envelopes get looped by LFOs, essentially turning them into bespoke LFOs with shape control – and then those envelopes can be thrown at the filter, amplitude, or wherever you please.

Stacking LFOs, looping envelopes, and rerouting modulation opens up sound design territory that’s usually the domain of modular rigs or high-end monsters. The MS-5 pulls it off without a spaghetti mess of patch cables, and AutomaticGainsay makes sure you see just how fast things get wild.

AutomaticGainsay isn’t shy about saying it: you don’t get this level of envelope gymnastics on most vintage synths, or even many modern ones. We’re talking about modulating modulations, layering LFOs and envelopes like some Eurorack fever dream, but for the price of a decent night out in London. The MS-5 plays in the big leagues, without the rack rash or the cable spaghetti.