I’ve been looking at this synth for a year or two and am thinking maybe this year, however with research I’m finding out about the firmware issues. I’m a software engineer by trade (and ironically develop embedded device firmware on a system not unlike the One) so have zero tolerance for bugs.
So I’m trying to understand what bugs are outstanding, what I’ve seen is
Stuck notes
CV (not sure the issue here)
MIDI out (is MIDI in equally buggy?)
Oscillator compensation variable note issue (e.g. Tim Shoebridge YT video)
What others am I missing?
I think my criteria for purchasing would be if they fix the stuck note issue - that would drive me up the wall. I think I can live with the others. Otherwise, what’s the confidence these days a new firmware will come? The lack of updates makes me think they’re interest isn’t high, something I’ve noticed from Moog is that when a product isn’t a hot seller they don’t keep it around long, so that’s a concern.
I really hope they’re working on polishing the firmware because I always encounter them when playing. And there’s nothing like bugs to get you out of a flow of music. Some sessions, I’ll be working on a preset and all of sudden as I’m trying to modulate it, I’ll notice that a parameter isn’t acting the way it should, and then bam, I start digging into it. Before I know it, I’ve spent a couple hours isolating this bug.
Recently, I’ve noticed a bug with the LFOs with Note Resetting. Once it’s set to Single or Multi, you can no longer turn it Off. I’m also not sure if the Single and Multi are actually functioning correctly. To clarify, the LFO no longer acts in unison with all voices for that preset, it gets reset per each voice independently (that’s not correct if Note Reset is OFF, the LFO should behave like a global LFO acting the same way on all voices for that preset).
Unfortunately, it’s still buggy. And it becomes more apparent the deeper you go. If you just load up a preset and don’t tweak it too much, you won’t find any bugs.
I just wonder if it’ll ever be perfect. It’s such a beast. I just hope Moog next’s firmware starts to address some of these annoying bugs.
I’d RATHER they disabled things that didn’t work properly than keep them enabled and have you bug out of your musical flow.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Moog simply open sourced the firmware?
They’re unlikely to do that, but it could actually be a brilliant business decision. I doubt there’s any trade secrets in there, Moog’s DNA is hardware and that’s what people are buying. But if they did so that could offload the burden of bug fixes and even features to the community. An approach that has proved successful is for Moog to act as the gatekeeper - code reviews basically, put it on a private group by acceptance on GitHub, then take submissions. You’d be surprised at what people will come up with, heck if I had any time I’d take a whack at it.
Maybe there should be a petition from the owners to request such a thing (if they aren’t currently working on it that is). We just want a more stable synth.
I’ve never had a synth that had so many bugs that got me out of the flow of writing. And to be honest, the Moog One is just too massive to be handled by one or two firmware coders. This requires the brain of a collective. I’m happy to be proven wrong with the release of Firmware 2.0. Come on Moog, do it!
I have been ready to buy a Moog One since it was announced, but will continue to hold off until they update the firmware. I see both the frustrations and the joy of the current owners, but coming up on two years since any update at all?
I got mine in the original batch. As much as I like the sound and the UI, if I knew then what I know now - how the promised fixes would take years (if ever); that there would be regular updates that stopped happening a few months in; that certain advertised features would actually work when they don’t; and even that basic external midi control would function properly when it doesn’t - I would not have spent the money on it. I would absolutely not buy one today unless and until a proper firmware update happens that fixes a large majority of the bugs. Damn shame.. this thing has so much potential.
All I can tell ya is ya probably want’a fasten your seat belts, put your trays and seats in the upright position, and get ready to begin the count down, we are T-minus 30
Really? Really?! Would love to know your basis for this claim. Unless you are a Moog employee or a beta tester with inside info, then (respectfully) this is just the latest example of 2+ years of “its coming, trust us/me” internet posts.
Also, (respectfully)T-minus 30 doesn’t mean anything if the countdown is on hold, if the launch gets scrubbed due to “unforeseen events” or if the rocket blows up on the pad…
I want to believe… But I’m not even remotely optimistic.
Me too. I mean developer. But “zero tolerance for bugs”? Working at NASA?
Seriously: Show me a synth that has no hanging notes. Then, make a repro for the mentioned CV issue. Make a repro for MIDI Out (personally, I never experienced anything here).
May be at Moog they also have this 0 tolerance. So FW 2.0 will probably never be released! This is a hell of a complex unit, and the best polysynth ever released. FW 1.4.0 should definitely not keep you away from pulling the trigger.
Military industrial complex, so basically yes, NASA is one of our customers. The bugs comment was personal, but I guess it came from doing this kind of work. But I’ve come to the conclusion that other industries are far too forgiving of bugs - ‘they’re just natural’. Well they’re inevitable, but if your engineers are top drawer and you have the highest integrity you’ll do anything to prevent them from going out the door.
Moog suffers from the problem of being a hardware company. As so many HW companies that are now rebranding as SW - since software is eating the world as Marc Andressen said, they don’t fundamentally have it in their DNA. So you see stuff like this, the premier synth company should not have allowed this to happen.
Another example is the car companies, I talked to a auto engineer who was retiring, he said they’re not hiring mechanical engineers anymore - none, it’s all software and battery. Across the industry. But look at the inevitable software fiasco they’ve had at VW.
It wasn’t my intention to trigger any insult or something like that.
But it is not fair to compare a tiny company like Moog with car manufacturers. I worked for the company “with the star” for quite a long time, and I can tell you the budget for making the sound of a closing car door for one single model will probably exceed Moog’s annual turnover.
However, yes, we all wish an improved OS to see the light soon! For me, the way they save presets alone is quite… well… exotic (cascading strings all over the place, even for unused params, making the UI slow).
STILL (AGAIN AND AGAIN): MOOG ONE = BEST POLYSYNTH TODAY
Yes, I agree to this 100% an play the MOOG ONE every day.
I actually bought a Prophet 10. If you compare the sound, both have their own soul. Fantastic.
But the MO creative amount is a galaxy bigger than the prophets possibilitys.
My P10 has to be tuned all the time after start, my Moog one ist absolute stable with newest firmware. My P10 gets sometimes in the first minutes hard out of tune, so I have to use the tune button really often. Actual firmware!
My Virus TI2 has sometimes hanging notes over MIDI.
I have no problems, when I play the Moog, recall the programmed presets and turn some knobs while playing. No problems with MIDI in Logic, Reason and Machine. No problems playing the MO over a Prophet XL or NL C15 by MIDI.
Yes, in programming mode, in the deepest edge in level 20 in the mod matrix it is possible to create a crash caused by a side effect which the moog quality management has not tested. But they gave us a button to make a snapshot we can recall.
Let us be fair and just make music. It is my favourit synth and my best synth ever. Thanks Moog.
@noisebit: Smile smile! Very similar thoughts here everyday I turn on the P10. Why the tuning mess when Moog has no problems to be almost perfectly tuned right from the start?
Personal question: I also have the Iridium, just because I buy almost every synth that comes out since a few years. Any good? I tested mine for a few days, but then decided to not give it a place in my studio. I found it somewhat boring and weak. Did I miss anything?
@RedtideMusic: The Moog One is buggy in some situations. The Moog One is the best synth you ever had. Decide for yourself. You can wait for Tom and Dave who will probably publish the OB-X soon. But still this is no Moog One (though I admit I can’t wait to order the OB-X).
Strong parallels I almost buy every synth that comes out since a few years, too.
I wanted to have the quantum, but I decided to buy the Iridium. I like the different kind of sound engines. It is my favourit
synth for “absolute digital” sounds. Nice to have this synth, but not a “must have” unlike the Moog One. Your characterization “boring and weak” is accurate. You don´t miss anything, execpt an OB-X (will be my next synth, too)
@noisebit: Oh, I have the Quantum as well (my collecting addiction started in 2017). It is in the cellar since long, too much space for so little joy, in direct opposite to the ONE and the P10. But admittedly, a tad more lively than the Iridium.
Hm. I understand your “absolute digital” intention. That’s why I bought the Iridium, but I must say, I think I have loads of VSTi stuff doing a similar, if not better job and aren’t hitting the CPU too hard.
Looking at the kids, who make great music out of nothing… I guess I’m travelling the wrong road.
But not to go too far out of topic I can say, I was every time ready to buy a new gear that I wanted, not depending on a state of a firmware version. I learned about firmware discussions since approaching the moog forum. Before, I bought a synth, made music and relaxed. The main reason is, if I want something, , I can‘t wait:star_struck: It never was a mistake.
You don´t miss anything, execpt an OB-X (will be my next synth, too) 
I can say, I was every time ready to buy a new gear that I wanted, not depending on a state of a firmware version. I learned about firmware discussions since approaching the moog forum. Before, I bought a synth, made music and relaxed. 
The main reason is, if I want something, , I can‘t wait:star_struck: It never was a mistake.