Although it is not something I personally would be able to afford, I think there is a revived market for analog synthesizers, and I believe Moog releasing a polysynth would be a warmly recieved move. Professional studios would be a huge part of the market I’m sure, and I’d love to walk into a music store and be able to play one. Anyone else? Your thoughts?
No one here has ever thought of that, nor discussed it in any post.
We tend to stay away from polysynth discussions, get too testy. They say Bob Moog did not have an affinity for them.
Every time this topic comes up, it gets roundhouse kicked into oblivion by Chuck Norris
I woudln’t go so far as to say that we “stay away” from polysynth discussions. A search for them will pretty much result in the fact that weve said all we can say.
And now DSI stands alone in the analog polysynth department.
Beware of april fools.
Allow me to quote from a comment I wrote in November 2008 - on a thread called “What should Moog release next?”
"What should Moog release next?
Honestly, I have no idea. The only thing I know is that it has to be something that helps them stay in business and survive the global recession. Thus I know for sure what they should NOT release, the item that currently has most votes: a polyphonic synth. A high quality polyphonic synth is not what consumers can afford during a recession.
In due time, I hope that Moog will release a more modestly priced Moog Guitar.
I also hope that they will release a Little Phatty RME for 800-900 US$. Ideally, it should cost 750 $. More people would afford it during the recession, and the wealthy among us could order four for the price of one Voyager, and get a polyphonic synth with four voices. For the price of two Voyagers, you`d get eight voices… "
Well, I’m happy to notice, two and a half years later, that they did indeed release a more modestly priced Moog Guitar; and that the suggested LP RME aka Slim Phatty did arrive in due time, and currently costs something between 800 and 900 dollars - actually, Moog’s product page says: $849.00 - and the street price is apparently 795.00.
And I still think this is the closest we’ll get to a polyphonic Moog in the foreseeable future.
Link:
http://www.moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1955&start=195
Professional studios would be a huge part of the market I’m sure
Professional studios have been dropping like flies over the past 10 years.
Hollywood is filled with buildings that used to be major studios.
The appearance of the Voyager XL suggests that Moog is capable of some very unexpected moves. In light of the “not during a recession” point of view, who could have foreseen Moog’s release of a massive $5,000 monosynth? It didn’t seem very practical at the time, nor does it now. But they did it anyway. So, maybe a polysynth is also a possibility. Moog certainly seems to be experimenting with the notion by chaining Slim Phatties together - an idea which was causing substantial salivation here even before it had been achieved.
polyfonic moog ?? 
what a good idea !, strange nobody thought of that before 
Does this count?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stobfk1Mfjk
That was awesome. It’s always important to wear your safety goggles when working on the polyphonic theremin.
I was waiting for this years item. Very well done! Better than the auto detune!
It seems to me that Moog has made a custom poly synth. Just buy as many Slim Phatties as you need.
Dear Analog Organist:
thank you for not scoffing at my bringing up an exhausted topic.
Now, I know it had been discussed to the point of no return, but as the Analog Organist said, regardless of how Bob felt about polyphony in synthesizers, that is the most logical direction for Moog to take at this point. You can only do so many variations on a monosynth before the innovation runs out. And innovation is synonomous with Moog’s name. How would Bob have felt about a Moog Guitar? We may never know, but my point is that Moog is doing things that they feel are appropriate, and Bob, while being the founder of Moog Music, is no longer in control of the company. I stand my ground. I still think it would be a great move on their part, and I think as long as we have interest in seeing something happen we should continue to discuss it. Moog, after all, does seem to take our opinions very seriously.
My bet is that if they haven’t released on already, then they won’t. They have done their best to allow for a polyphonic system, but that’s never enough. Poly’s are awesome, but not much better than mono’s for the price. Also, isn’t what Moog all about music, and not technology? The musicality of a multitimbral 5 or 10 voice synth is overkill if you ask me. I know you guys are mostly analog guys, but I bet most of use digital synths or at least digitally controlled synths. I have heard good digital oscillators through an analog filter, specifically the fooger filter and the model d filter, and it sounds as good or better than a memorymoog or prophet. And the memorymoog was not that great of a product, in my opinion because moogs werent meant to be polyphonic, when someone thinks of a moog synthesizer, they thinks leads and bass, not pads and chords. If you’re like me you buy a moog because it gives you something that a computer or digital synth can’t, but when you go polyphonic, it overcomplicates things quite a bit. I mean how are you supposed to keep up with things like an oscillator for a certain voice, say voice 5, oscillator 2 to modulate the filter, while the waveform 3 of voice 1 is modding the amplitude, etc etc etc. When using a mono, I know exactly what is doing what to what and modulating which parameter, and such I can control the sound intellectually, which is only partially possible with a poly. Polys make more sense when its just one filter, one envelope, in which case digital oscillators, controlled by say the voyager’s keyboard through the mixer into the filter makes more sense. If you want multitimbral, I think something like the slim phatty chain makes more sense.
If Moog were to make a polyphonic synth, it would have to be something completely novel, and not just a moog version of a prophet, which is not an easy endeavor. As for new products, how about a midi controller that tracks the movements of your eyeball?
Ive never been a big fan of the Little Phatty and I don’t want a rack full of them in order to get polyphony and have to rely on Midi settings and set each one’s voice number and not have any cv inputs for any of the voices and have all the patchpoints in the rear of the rack. That just screams PITA to me.
As many people that are out there thinking about picking up old MemoryMoogs or A6’s and looking to DSI and Tom Oberheim to fill that empty void, Moog should step in and do what they do best…dominate the industry.
I can do polyphonic synthesis with the Roland Fantom, but theres something about the Fantom that makes it difficult to cut through the mix when there are Moogs involved. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the Fantom or my mixer’s settings, but the Moog always cuts through perfectly.
And when Moog does announce a poly, I will probably won’t preorder. Ill wait for all the first-issue kinks to be finalized, and then pounce.
Most of the people who want an analog polysynth are people who could just as easily multitrack a monosynth. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather go to the extra effort of multitracking and save $4K.
If you’re a person who wants it for live performance… well, yeah. The good news is that your audience probably isn’t going to be able to discern the difference between a Moog and something else… but the people who are brand spotting will. You’re out of luck.
as long as i can hear the difference, a polyphonic moog will be more then welcome.
something like a voyager ( or two or four ) with only an midi + in/out voice expansion box for the voyager would be great and the cheapest solution maybe.
nice little rack and with 7 of them and my voyager ( xl ) i’s be fine
When I think of Moog synthesizers, I immediately hear and see in my mind the Minimoog and the Polymoog. The latter was as unique and distinctive as the former. The classic “Moog sound” has a little more flexibility than some of us appreciate. The Moog sound includes the Moog polyphonic sound. A Polymoog having its filter opened is as identifiable and unforgettable as its monophonic predecessor. But that’s not to say the two instruments sound the same, even when played monophonically.
I don’t care about brand spotters. If I wanted a 4 voice poly based in a rack, Id get 3 Voyager RMEs simply because they already have voltage inputs and outputs (breakouts) and a knob-per function interface. I don’t prefer the Phatty/Taurus interface. From what I understand, its not that easy to poly chain them together though.
Id really rather not have to deal with anything but having a poly in a self contained unit. No voices to mess with, no special key transpositions or settings to mess with, just a dedicated, extended range poly keyboard (by that I mean at least 61 keys, preferably 73) to plug in and play. It’s going to be easier to save patches and no potential midi issues.
If Moog doesn’t make one, Ill get a Prophet Module or a So4V, or some of those synthesizer.com voice expansion modules when they become available (but the dotcom would defeat the point of it not being rack based).
Multi-tracking is a great solution, but I spent so many years limited to 4 and 8 tracks that I really feel for people with limited usage. I think its not quite as conducive to the creative process to have to layer every note…but if done correctly sounds fantastic. I did it with the micromoog once (2 voices and an independant solo).