hi - wow this synth sounds amazing! 1977
Worst instrument ever made. You’ll end up throwing it out in a couple days.
Beautiful. 
Lovely. Congratulations. 
dammit I had this kind of feeling about it - seriously this thing does everything that my Andromeda can’t and this is instantly my favourite synth ever
yea thanks and so far without any kind of issues
I’ve never hear Osc, Filter, Resonance like this - starting to think about selling my A6 but that has soooo many of the other bases covered
You haven’t thrown yours out yet, have you ? If so, just tell us where !!!
I know I haven’t thrown out mine. And not anytime soon either. 
Congrats on getting your hands on such a fantastic sounding synth, TheZombieHolocaust. 
it’s making me think about selling my Andromeda which is kind of shocking to me
anybody recommend some toys for this synth
I want to get a strig plug a pedal?
yes thanks it was not easy to get one but in the end after being able to buy it locally test it in person beforehand and then just drive home with it…I had to buy - I would be too paranoid to buy one of these off Ebay and the ones that look good on there are wayyyy to expensive
for the first ten minutes of fiddling around with it I was underwhelmed but i was having a hard time getting used to the keyboard response which is as I have since found out semi-magical
if you guys want to hear it - i would actually appreciate some experienced ears on this. I recorded the first hour I got it home direct into logic with HD video also, if you have time maybe check them out let me know if you hear anything amiss of wonky with the Minimoog…on my youtube channel there’s a MiniMoog playlist with all 10 videos in it. Or even check out the Andromeda stuff I have up there
to me it seems to be working perfectly but I don’t have a lot of experience with Moog
thanks
I only have the filter and Kevin Lightner is providing me with the envelopes. I’m excited just getting those pieces! The Minimoog is one of the most unique synths in the world. It can easily be recognized in a mix. 
So true.
I have (and have had or had access to) many other analog synths, but the Minimoog D is instantly recognizable amongst all of them. Mainly due to the very high content of harmonics from its oscillator’s waveforms, and their slight distortion at low frequencies (particularly the sawtooth curved slope). And also the particular behavior of its low pass filter.
It’s not one thing that make a Minimoog special. It’s a winning combination of things. But the result is a superb, bold, powerful sound. It’s rather limited in complexity, and even though Bob Moog tried his best to match the Minimoog D Sound when he was designing the Voyager, over 10 years ago already 
, and wanted to add all the missing modulation possibilities to it, the sound is just not the same.
CP-251 is a must. The MP-201 is the best expression pedal I have ever used. I rarely use it for anything else, which is kinda a waste but still well worth it for filter sweeps. I have an old moog foot pedal if you want to buy it, paid about $100 for it. Not very much range, but its cool to have with a model D. I would take a good wah pedal in trade. Another must for me is a space echo, but I have been considering getting rid of it, since I have been using my 1/4" mix deck for delays (best delay, analog or digital ever made). Sell the andromeda and get a Massive Passive tube EQ (sold my voyager for it), it makes the model D (and everything else) sound the same, but just soooo much better. I know its not likely you’ll get one, but I have to recommend it, it’s no joke. It’s up there with the model D on my list of invaluable gear.
Kevin has an optikey device (not sure how he spells it) which looks very functional for turning the D’s keyboard into a midi controller.
My OptoKey just sends and receives the 44 notes of the keyboard itself.
It doesn’t receive or transmit any modulation or pitchbend, unfortunately.
However it does replace the entire contact board in a Mini and has very fast response.
This is good because when one removes their original contact board, they’re also removing some spring tension from the keys.
The keyboard then becomes much easier to play fast.
As for checking out a Mini, I’d suggest a few tests:
-
Place the pitch wheel in the center and perfectly tune one VCO against the A-440 signal.
Then move the wheel some and place it again in the center.
If the Mini is no longer exactly in tune with the A-440, the pot may be bad. -
Hold a high note on the keyboard, then play notes below it.
This can help indicate if the key contacts are dirty. (dirty contacts will “glitch”) -
Tune all three VCOs to the same pitch, then change the octave selectors one by one.
If they do not perfectly land on octave intervals, the instrument may need calibration.
If your Mini was an early unit, it could also be that it lacked a later update known as a buffer board.
But Zombie’s Mini appears to be a more recent model which came with a buffer board already installed. -
Check all switches for glitching or noise.
The switches most common to have problems are the two orange switches on the left and the noise’s pink/white switch.
The A-440 and main output switch can also make noise when switching, but usually it’s normal. -
It’s normal for the overload lamp to flash when the instrument is turned on, but it should not stay on.
-
Verify all pots for any noise when turning.
-
Check all keys for physical noise (clacking when pressed or quickly released.)
There are more tests one could perform, but this can give a rough idea what condition a Mini is in.
This particular Mini appears to be a later model and this is a good thing in regards to wear.
Fwiw, this below is a sheet I’ve used to evaluate Minis that arrive here for service.
It’s not terribly gorgeous, but just helps document problems.
even though Bob Moog tried his best to match the Minimoog D Sound when he was designing the Voyager, over 10 years ago already , and wanted to add all the missing modulation possibilities to it, the sound is just not the same
oh cmon- can we please refrain from making Voyager owners feel they’re not quite up to par on every single freaking mini post? did the author discuss Voyagers? and saying poor ol Bob Moog “tried his best” is a bit patronizing don’t you think? no biggie, and I respect your opinion, I just had to speak up… and of course, you’re a mini owner and I’m a Voyager owner, so we’ll always have that need to justify- but I would never flaunt my Osc sync on a mini post…
good call on the CP-251 I was thinking of getting that for my A6 and mess around with it even before buying this - what does the foot pedal control on the mini? I’m trying to read up on strig etc and it’s kind of greek to me
well i have to make some decisions now , I’m pretty sure I’m done buying synths (lol) and now i need to upgrade my signal chain before getting more optional gear - I’m thinking a rosetta 800 and focal twins with a coleman controller. Im thinking of selling the A6 for that stuff or maybe I should at least keep the A6 until I can hear it thru a proper sound system.
I do want an old Roland Space Echo or maybe an Eventide H3000 for these synths now
yea i should try to demo a massive passive I’ve heard they are good , i don’t know if i would sell an instrument for one tho
Do you think if they just called it the Moog Voyager without the “mini” there wouldn’t be so many pointless comparisons? I admit, I have done it plenty of times, but just because the comparison is always out there. The truth is that they are completely different animals altogether made in two eras of technology and comparisons are just not valid. But I do agree I don’t think Dr. Moog failed in any way with the voyager.
As far as the MP, yeah, it’s not technically an instrument, but it is a very important musical tool. if you’re a multi-instrumentalist like myself that does serious mixing, a good stereo EQ is everything. I have learned quite a bit about how to carve out a place for each instrument in a mix, knowing where each instrument lies in the frequency spectrum and how to eq in between notes to get the clearest, creamiest, beefiest sound possible, all just from using the MP. I treat every track like most treat a lead vocal in the mix. Something like a synth is actually quite difficult to eq, because of it’s large range and moving harmonics, so I don’t eq too much unless it’s a static patch. But the bass sounds (both with the model D and my hofner bass) I get with the MP are unbelievable.
thanks I’m going to go thru that list everything seems AOK so far i.e. knobs aren’t noisy the overload lamp doesn’t stay on etc
im kind of amazed at the physical condition of the synth - if it helps it’s serial number 9014 - from 1977 so far as dating the synth
ermmm now that I own a mini and am ‘in the club’ so to speak i’d prefer to lord it up over the Moog commoners…I have a mini and I want my grey poupon!
but seriously I tried the Voyager out and liked it a lot but the Mini has a whole other level of mojo to my ears
I came sooooo close to buying a classic TVS off of ebay instead of this Mini - I’m so glad I got this instead now
Well if there’s one synth that I would place up there with the model D, it’s the SEM and especially the 2 voice, so I wouldn’t be too glad, but glad nonetheless. Though there’s no pitch wheel, which is almost a dealbreaker.