NAMM 2011 Speculation

[EricK]

I got the "All Things Moog" for Jan so I doubt that we will get any earth shattering news from Moog that we don't already know about.

[Voltor07]

/snip/

As for the DSI/LinnDrum, clearly the prototype pics on Linn's site are old (dated in May after Dave and Roger scrapped the prior two designs); seeing as Roger and Dave showed up in the announcement video [can be seen over at SonicState] it's a joint effort.

Check it out if you have not already done so: http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2011/01/ ... m-machine/

It is nice thought, everything old + everything new but $2G?! I'll pay (and did) $2,000 for my Taurus pedals but won't for a beep-box. Sure, I'm belittling the value of the capabilities, just seems overpriced by about $500-$600. Sell it for $1,399 and you'll see huge take up; certainly there is line between a boutique high priced item (like a Jomox) and a mass produced product that reuses many components that Dave is already buying at volume. I merely mention this to suggest that the markup must be huge and the volume they would gain in making it more attractively priced would, in my opinion be a better play. But again, just my opinion.

I still want one, though...wish I had 2k sitting around doing nothing...I think it would be worth it. Add a MIDI drum pad to control it, and you have the best electronic drum kit on the market!

[anoteoftruth]

Ok so...

I bought my LP brand new, stage 2, meaning years after it's release.. for 1400$

Not to belittle it at all, because I maintain till this day it was one of my best purchases, and my favorite synth...

But that is 1 analog monophonic synth. 2 Oscillators, 1 voice, midi/usb etc.

Your arguing that the Tempest should be the same price roughly, 1399$

It's a analog drum synthesizer, 2 analog osc's and 2 digital osc's with 6 voices, a complex sequencer in comparison to other analog synths, and also functions as a fully functional 6 voice analog polysynth... I'm leaving a lot of stats out.

Do I want to pay 2000$ for it? Of course not.. even I think it should be more like 1800$, but.. I dont think it's a far stretch above its value. I don't really see anything else on the market that does this right now.

[EMwhite]

Maybe I'm just sore because I don't have that sort of cash available (already blew this years allotment on a Musicman and shortly an A+H Mixwizard 14:4:2) For me, one of the Snazzy Roland Octapads plus an outboard AirBase or Vermona and ableton would be of better value, but again, it's me.

Does it have a useful Step sequencer for general outboard use?

[Kevin Lightner]

A few notes:

A CEM3340 is usually quite a stable VCO. Perhaps yours was defective?
Remember, all 3340 chips are decades old now.

It also would have been very hard to implement a DCO in something like a Dark Energy.
One can't just patch in something to a DCO like an env generator or mix two signals as inputs for it.
Such modulation sources would have to output digital words, not CV's.
Same reason why a Juno 106 has digital envs and LFOs and no way to modulate the pitch via an env generator.

As far as "just" re-releasing the Prodigy, that would be very difficult also.
It would be very hard to find a keyboard action with metal contacts instead of rubberized types in that size for a low cost.
Without such a keyboard, Moog would need to have digital circuitry inside to perform key scanning.
Same thing they do with the Voyager.
Rubberized contacts are fine for digital signals, but very bad with analog.
Unfortunately, the keyboard actions of yesteryear just aren't so easily available or inexpensive any longer.
So it wouldn't be "just" to re-release it; it would be almost a whole new design inside.

[timmy]

i'm still holding out for an all-in-one Moog polyphonic synth, not the chain-able phatty. Come on Moog... woo hoo... you can do it...

as for the Tempest... ok, so, the Tempest has a documented minimum advertised price of $1999

however, it does say "$1,999 US MAP (subject to change)" and retailers can mark it to whatever price the wish. (how many will do that? well...)

i totally agree that unit should be in the $1299/1399 area to feel more competitive with other available products. it is possible that Dave and Roger will adjust the pricing as much as costs will allow them after hearing the mixed responses. plus, the Arturia unit is in a different class altogether but Aruturia's $599 price tag certainly helps to make the Tempest price tag seem very over-bloated.

[anoteoftruth]

You'll be turning blue in the face if you hold your breath for a stand alone Moog Poly Synth at this NAMM.

poly chained phatty's is as far as I think we're gonna get for a while here.

Unless they go back on everything they've built and start using DCO's and things to build one.

[Kevin Lightner]

Unless they go back on everything they've built and start using DCO's and things to build one.

How opposed to a Moog DCO - based polyphonic would you be?
Or with self-contained VA or wavetable types of oscillators?
Is Moog only Moog if the entire sound chain is analog using traditional VCOs, VCFs, etc?
Just curious. I don't want to start any shouting matches.

[timmy]

there is no way they could R&D, prototype, and present for this NAMM - i know this. i was speaking in future tense. i am very patient, too.

... as for DCOs, i personally do not mind DCOs at all. i love my OBM6r's and 1000's, not to mention my MKS70s.

Kevin - it is possible to mix DCO with VCF and VCA, right?

[anoteoftruth]

Unless they go back on everything they've built and start using DCO's and things to build one.

How opposed to a Moog DCO - based polyphonic would you be?
Or with self-contained VA or wavetable types of oscillators?
Is Moog only Moog if the entire sound chain is analog using traditional VCOs, VCFs, etc?
Just curious. I don't want to start any shouting matches.

You know what, I personally would'nt mind it so much, as long as the price reflected it. It's just something I personally would not expect from Moog. If they did do it, it would surprise me. Though a lot of things point to the idea that they should. For instance, if they brought out a 8 voice self contained analog polysynth.. I could only imagine the hefty price tag it would come in... 4-5K at least I'm guessing? Just judging on what their XL goes for, I could imagine a poly would... So then you would still have a bunch of Moog fans that would drool over it, but in the back of their heads thinking, "hey I could get a 8 voice analog polysynth right now for much less than that if I buy a prophet 08." Not to say the prophet 08 would totally live up to it... but going from 2K to 4-5K is a huge leap.. one that is too steep for many of us to consider. If Moog were able to release something that was closer to the competition in pricing, I think they would have a hit on their hands... if that means using DCO's instead of VCO's, I wouldn't mind it quite frankly.

I personally would not be interested in any self contained VA or wavetable type of synth from Moog.. I can get that anywhere else, I'm not sure that a Moog VA would be much better than other VA's out there now.. and I don't personally see a need out there for another VA.

I do realize Moog is a growing company, branching out into a lot of different areas, and honestly as long as they maintain their level of quality and support, I don't mind if they break out of the box of what we expect from them... in truth, I welcome it.. They've already made such a huge impact on music in general, I'd like to see them keep that up pushing boundaries in the future as well.

[timmy]

... please no more softwares. i've been on the hamster wheel for 14+ years now, thru OS9 to OSX, vst to audio units, mac os 8 - OSX 10.6....... and NONE of it has held it's value like the hardwares. at it's best, software is just a really weak simulation, not emulation, of what we all (or most of us) know and love about hardware instruments. I do own all of the Arturia synths and find them to be quite convenient. however, the minimoogv cannot face up to my voyager.... not even close. and as best as i can remember, the prophetv is not what my old prophet 5 rev3.3 was either. but they are close.

if i could only get back all those $$$ spent on the softwares. i COULD afford a Mini XL for sure!!!

[EricK]

Anyone who was around when the MrmoryMoog came out, care to share the public reaction to the digital chips in the MemoryMoog?

So lets say that Moog did actually get the R&D department of Alesis (probably feasible) to make a poly similar to the Andy. What do you think that would cost with the Moog pots and chassis?

Now we already saw what a lot of people had to say when I wished for a huge monster polysynth (something to appropriately set my Voyager atop and the Taurus Below) but wouldn't racks full of Slim Phatties take up just the same amount of studio space?

[anoteoftruth]

what I'm interested in even more is... would racks full of slim phatty's take up just as much money? or less? Let's be honest here, at this time with the prices of some of this stuff... money is mostly the deciding factor for those of us that are not abundant in funds.

[Kevin Lightner]

Anyone who was around when the MrmoryMoog came out, care to share the public reaction to the digital chips in the MemoryMoog?

As I recall, no one much cared.
It was touted as a programmable analog polyphonic synth (and was.)
Some talk was made that it was "six minimoogs" in a box, which of course was never true, but it didn't stop such comparisons and arguments.
But no one much cared if it had digital chips in it.
That was assumed, since it had a computer in it and was programmable.
They weren't in the sound chain. All the digital in there was to control the analog stuff.

What people cared about was price and that it sounded good.
Unfortunately, it had terrible reliability even new and that got around too.
Please understand that it was no sin back then to have analog synth circuitry controlled by digital means, it was a blessing.
No one cared what was under the hood really in as much as whether the VCOs were discrete or custom chips.
What they cared was that there were 18 of 'em.

As far as VAs, I didn't mean to suggest computer software or plug-ins.
Nor a computer with the name Moog slapped on that does all sound generation through software.
I'm speaking of just the initial tones to create polyphony being digital, the rest of the audio path being analog.

For example, what if Moog made a polysynth that used computer generated oscillators, but the rest of the sound chain was analog (Moog filters and VCAs)??
Perhaps the same sound producing technology as VAs, but only as applied to initial sound generation.

Sort of like the DCOs in a Juno 106 or the wavetables in a PPG: Digital sound generation with analog processing.
A hybrid machine that bridges the gap between price and technology so as to deliver decent polyphony, but at a reasonable cost.
Would mixed technologies in the signal chain be a "sin" for Moog to delve into or would people say "if it's not analog, it ain't a Moog."

[Voltor07]

If having a polyphonic Moog means having DCO's, I'm all for it! As long as the signal out is analog, who cares? The important thing is having an analog sound with polyphony...even if Moog has to cut corners to meet a price less than ten grand. The Little Phatty Stage is an excellent synth...even though it has digital envelopes. So, whatever it would take to build a polyphonic synth, at a reasonable price while keeping the analog features, I'm all for it!