Messenger knob/panel calibration?

The Moog Forum Moog Messenger
1

I’m loving the sound & features of my new Messenger, but the knobs don’t seem to be calibrated correctly:

  • With bipolar control knobs, the neutral position isn’t at the center/noon position. This is most noticeable with everything to do with oscillator pitch.
    For example, the neutral (A = 440) position of the tune knob is about 1 degree clockwise from the noon position.
    The neutral position of the osc2 pitch knob is about 2-3 degrees counterclockwise.
    The neutral position of the osc mod amount knob is about 3-4 degrees clockwise!

  • On all knobs, settings about 4-5 degrees fully cw or ccw don’t seem to do anything!
    [edit: meanwhile, somone on the sequencer.de forums has pointed out that this last bit probably isn’t a fault, but a characteristic of the pots. but obviously, the main neutral/noon position calibration issue remains]

So clearly, those knobs haven’t been calibrated correctly at factory.

I’ve tried a factory reset and the tuning procudure (available in fw v1.07), neither of which changed anything.

So, how can i recalibrate all those knobs?
Is there a panel calibration mode? If so, how do i enter it?
A google search finds panel calibration procedures for the Sub37 and the Muse, but not for Messenger…

2

apparently, my unit isn’t the only one affected by this issue - although it seems worse on mine, affecting other knobs than just the tune knob.

as mentioned in the other thread, i’ve created a support ticket with inmusic about this and would encourage anybody experiencing similar issues to do the same.

i’ll post here when i got a reply - hopefully with instructions on how to recalibrate all knobs…

3

bad news from inmusic customer support: they were very friendly, immediately understood the issue, and checked back with moog tech - with sobering results:

  • this is indeed a pot calibration issue.
  • pots can only be calibrated by moog technicians. there is no user-accessible pot calibration routine for messenger, nor are there any plans to implement one in the future.
  • according to moog, the knob misalignment on my unit is “within specifications and tolerances”. which i find rather shocking on a 800 eur synth, given that the osc2 mod amount knob is off by several degrees!
  • they advised to ask my retailer for a replacement unit - but if this kind of aberration is “within specifications and tolerances”, that seems like a bit of a gamble to me. :confused:
4

just to illustrate, here is what the neutral/center position of the osc2 mod amount pot looks like on my messenger. according to moog, that’s just fine. :confused:

messenger_osc2_mod_amnt.jpg

5

Hey, I had the same issue with my first unit (now got my third haha). The tuning was off by a half note on OSC 1 on the unit - a little bit more as your mod knob. The support told me it’s a faulty unit and I need to send it back (but this was in the 30 days and done by the retailer though). Also I had some more issues with the unit as well. I found that very frustrating and I think you should definitely ask your retailer. What can you lose anyway?

6

yeah, this does seem to be a common issue. some other people on sequencer.de are reporting the same thing.

7

ok, so i sent my messenger back to the dealer to have it repaired. they sent it to their local moog distributor who recalibrated the knobs. now they all work as they should, i.e. their neutral positions are where they are supposed to be. :+1:

so i would encourage anyone whose messenger is showing the same issue to contact their dealer or moog service and have it recalibrated. it’s well worth it. (and just maybe, if enough people do this, they improve their qc so that these things don’t happen anymore)