The dealer has offered to get me another replacement, but they have to wait for the next batch to arrive in the country… I am seriously considering a Sub Phatty instead. A simpler synth, less to go wrong???
I do not buy gear very often. I hope / expect that when I buy a new piece of kit, that it will give me years of trouble free service. My Korg X-3 is over 20 years old, my SR-16 is a similar age and my Microkorg is getting on a bit now, but (fortunately) I have not had any problems. My concern with a new Moog is that it won’t have the longevity or reliability of my current kit, or indeed Moogs produced in the past.
I had the same problem with the preset buttons and had it exchanged - I suggest you do as well whilst it’s still new and in warranty. If possible check the replacement in-store before you pick it up. Luckily they sent me a much newer model as it had a metal shaft pot on the filter whereas the original had a plastic shaft. This one seems to be a good 'un. In my experience anything “Made in America” is much more likely to be shonky, but unfortunately it’s hard to find anything “Made in Japan” these days - I’ve stil got 70’s Rolands and Yamahas going strong but all my ARP’s and Moog’s died a long time ago. It seems it’s the luck of the draw these days with a lot of gear - the Arturia stuff I’ve bought is fairly shonky, but as with the Moog I just love the sound and put up with the problems. At least the Moog has a lot of nice quality parts - it seems that assembly might be the problem, or perhaps shipping (there’s nothing more horrifying than watching couriers handling your fragile gear…). I’m very happy with the Sub 37 now, but we’ll see how things go in the next year…fingers crossed.
Right now I am seriously considering getting something like a re-issue MS-20 or Odyssey, maybe even a Bass Station 2. I know that these are ‘inferior’ synths, but if I’m not going to get the longevity at least I won’t be spending a fortune. I don’t earn a lot, so this is a major purchase for me and if I buy a Sub 37 now i won’t be able to replace it in a couple of years.
I wouldn’t call any synth “inferior” - they all have their own sound and as someone with quite a big collection I can definitely say that you can’t judge a synth by it’s feature set. One big decision you have to make is whether or not you want a mono synth with memories for storing patches. That’s a big difference between the synths you’ve mentioned - the MS20 and Odyssey are traditional mono synths with no patch memory. I personally don’t find that a problem and in some ways it inspires more creativity and comprehensive learning, but if you plan on playing live then you really need to be able to recall patches quickly. The Sub37 beats most of those synths hands-down for capabilities, with some fabulously complex modulation options, dual LFO’s and (looping) envelopes and lots of little tricks that let you fine-tune your creations with delicious complexity. On the other hand, I love the MS20 filter and for the things I do I really prefer the sound of it. I’ve never used an Odyssey but some of my favourite artists created their signature sounds with those beasties. I reckon you can be happy with any synth you buy (as long as it keeps working!) - it’s just a matter of getting to know it.
A couple of points though: 1) I’ve got a Dave Smith Mopho keyboard which is a fairly comprehensive little unit, but it doesn’t have one-knob-per-function like the Sub37 (e.g. there’s one set of ADSR knobs for all the envelopes - you select which one to edit with a switch). This is a huge pain-in-the-rear and it’s massively nicer to edit sounds on the Moog. Both the MS20 and Odyssey also have one-knob-per-function but I don’t think the Basstation does (I could be wrong on that…). 2) One “feature” that I find most lacking in many older monosynths, such as the MS20, Yamahas CS’s, old Rolands, the Arturia Brutes, is that they have a single LFO, which is extremely limiting.
One left field suggestion: despite having a room full of gear the synth I have the most fun with is the little Arturia Microbrute, just because it’s such a tiddler I keep it on my work desk and play with it all day when I get bored. The filter sounds great and the oscillator section too, but the beauty of it is the tiny patch bay. This lets you patch in to the world of eurorack modules so you can go crazy with it. If you got a cheap second hand unit you’d have a lot of fun with it - it’s a simple synth at first glance but can do a lot more than you would expect once you experiment. You can then “expand” it over time by collecting a few eurorack modules, again second hand if you want, adding LFO’s, envelopes, modular delays and so on. You could get quite a few modules for the price of a new Moog. And with no screen and no memories there’s a lot less that can wrong in the long term. And if you go modular then if one module blows up you don’t lose your whole synth!
I really do appreciate your input. I considered a Sub Phatty as this seems to be prone to fewer problems than the 37. This is purely based on what I have seen on this forum. I can get a Phatty for about 40% less than the 37. It has been my ‘dream’ to own a Moog for many years, but I’d rather have a reliable Golf GTi than a Ferrari that breaks down every other week. I’m really leaning towards an MS20 now, bearing in mind that if I bought second hand, I could buy an MS20, a BassStation 2 AND a Sub Phatty for the same price as a 37!!!
When you put it that way it sounds like a no brainer! I tried out a little phatty and wasn’t too impressed (from memory the one in the shop was broken!), and the Sub 37 certainly kills it for immediacy and complexity, but I reckon the recipe of three simpler synths sounds tasty. The Bass station would give you the memories and has plenty of programmability for such a cheap synth (I don’t have one but a friend does and is very happy with it). If you go for the Korg I’d suggest getting the module unit (which is only available as a kit, but no soldering or anything complex required). The module has a lot of features and fixes that the MS20 mini doesn’t have - check out the Sonic State review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdCtUapVPfI. I don’t want to offend the Moog folk here though! - I’m loving the Sub37 so far.
Well, I would love the 37 too, if I had a working one and if I had confidence that it would give years of trouble free service. I have just spoken to the retailer and he has told me that they aren’t expecting any more 37s until late Jan / early Feb… If I’m going to stick with Moog, it’ll have to be a Sub Phatty. A Phatty is £650 new, a 37 is nearly £1100. Do you know if the Sub Phatty is indeed more reliable or will I have to ‘jump ship’ and look to the Far East???
