Moog Music's exaggeration...

[thealien666]

As probably many of you, I've received a notification by e-mail from Moog Music concerning the discontinuation of the Voyager Select series.

What caught my eyes was this little sentence:

END OF AN ERA GIVES RISE TO AN INSTANT COLLECTOR'S ITEM

Maybe the word "instant" isn't appropriate ? Especially when thousands of them have been produced over the last decade ?
It will, eventually, become a collector's item...in 30-50 years maybe. But certainly not instantaneously !

If the goal of this announcement was to catch our attention, it certainly did it for me. But not for the right reasons.

I view the XL much more as a collector's item in the short term (when Moog will eventually discontinue it, too), than any other Voyager series.

[Sir Nose]

30-50 years is an instant in the ~13.7 Billion year history of the Universe.

The "instant" didn't bother me as much as "collector's item."

Should of went with: tool coveted by musicians like the mini and old school

[EricK]

It won't be an instant collectors item until production stops....in 2013.

Ahhhhh, semantics.

[BHC303]

Wonder what is in the pipe?

Hopefully it dose not get released for a while... (if something new is on its way) I need to build up my $$$ flow

[thealien666]

"does not", not "dose not"... Anyway, one needs a good dose of cash to acquire Moog gear.

[BHC303]

lol, way to excited

[Mitchell Chastain]

The only Voyagers I can imagine ever being collectable are the signature series... for obvious reasons.

[BHC303]

And the XL

[Kenneth]

Thirty+ years from now all contemporary Moog gear will be collectible. Every analog synthesizer from 30+ years ago sits at collectible status today, so why would that not happen to the synthesizers in production today?

[EMwhite]

Nether statement bothered me much.

I remember when the Old School availability was announced, I panicked and ran out and bought one. Really glad that I did; not because they are so valuable now (they are not, in fact I think I saw one recently go for $1,700 while I paid $500 more than that). But I got one of my choosing and really like it.

I'm quite sure that if somebody wants a butterscotch Voyager with green lights or something else obscure, they have just one last chance to do so over the next few months; otherwise it's trying to find one on the open market in reasonable condition, distance, price that matches precisely what I was looking for (in my case it's white wash finish with clear LHC, flashing to LFO beat). Good luck finding that (I think I have the only one in existence).

My other hobby is Pinball and I was at a show out in San Rafael where a new Pinball Manufacturer defended his price tag of $7,000 for a machine. Somebody said "is it really worth that"... he says, "what does it mean to be worth it; if you mean will somebody be willing to pay that price tag, well 1000 people have and we are sold out so yeah". Then he went on to say that "the monte blanc pen in my pocket costs $600; do you really think it's worth that to the next guy? No".

Same applies here. Get a collectable but don't expect it to be worth $5k (like an Oberheim OBX in mint shape) in 5 years.

[Spitfire]

I think discontinuing the voyager ss is a bold move. In the end, I hope the replacement will be worthy of the demise of the ss. Moog should beware of competitors ready to flank them with backlit analog synths of their own now that our favorite nc-based synth builders may be leaving the backlit synth market. Unless Moog is about to release either a backlit poly or voyager os, they may be taking a huge gamble by discontinuing the ss.

Whatever, I think an electric blue voyager os or electric blue polymoog is on its way. What do y'all think?

[thealien666]

I don't think so.

I think that Moog Music is simply discontinuing a "non-profitable enough" model for the company. Let's be fair, the Select Series with it's higher price tag for what amounts to eye candy with the same exact sound as other models, is most probably not their highest seller. They're probably rationalizing their production lines (wisely), and want to concentrate on building their best selling models only.

And unfortunately, I don't think Moog Music is going to come out with something remotely close to anything polyphonic anytime soon. Don't hold your breath.

[Spitfire]

You might be right, Alien, about the polyphonic synth thing. I hope not, but you might be right.

Thinking about what you said, sure, the SS is a few hundred more than a performer. But the latter already costs 3 Gs and the lights are an added bonus for customization and relative to Moog's competition, the SS's existence alone offered significant brand differentiation for Moog. If they don't introduce something else that is backlit, the problem is that as time goes by, backlit synths will not be as readily identifiable with the Moog brand. If Moog kept the backlit Voyagers and competitors added backlighting to their analogs, well, they would be regarded as copycats. However, if Moog abandons backlighting and competitors start it up, give it enough time and the competitor will earn that distinction and the average synth buyer will less easily remember Moog's "cool" backlit synths. As I see it, from a marketing perspective, Arturia is poised to flank Moog if they choose to pursue backlighting in the event that Moog abandons it. Their "Mini"brute is cheap enough to add backlighting for a relatively small premium and easy enough to keep under the 3 G price tag of a Moog Voyager (of course, the latter is still the classic and may sound "better") with a backlight. The Minibrute is not a direct competitor to the Voyager, but it is a fair substitute good by definition (someone wanting an analog synth could either buy a Voyager, or opt for the Minibrute that is not as "good" as a Voyager but cheap enough that it allows that buyer to satisfy a thirst for an analog synth and pick up other gear in the process). Add backlighting to Arturia's offerings or DSI's stuff while Moog quits backlit synths, and Moog would abandon a key part of its branding at a critical time.

So, I predict that the next unit will be backlit (man I really hope so... I must admit Moog is my favorite brand, hell I own three Moogs already!) because it would be a misstep for them to begin rebranding themselves by removing an option easily identified with the Moog brand as competitors creep up. DSI and Arturia are there, and I have been waiting for Korg to launch a serious follow up to their Monotribe (or whatever they're called) miniature analogs. If Moog doesn't continue adding backlighting (even an electric blue option would be satisfactory), they will leave themselves more open to competition from competitors. Anyway, Moog management must surely know what it's doing and calculated this move carefully (I hope). Heheheh, we'll see what happens!

Besides, although we are musicians, musicians are artists and many artists are aesthetes at heart. The aesthetics of a Voyager SS are far above and beyond the mass-produced options that competitors offer. I speak for myself here, but when I experience a DSI Mopho I think "man, this sounds good!" However, when I experience a Voyager SS, I think "wh... ma... sh... fu... OH MAN! This sounds great and it is beautiful!" Many instruments sound good. There are few, though, that leave one at a loss for words both in regards to aesthetics and sound.

In the end, I think this new unit will be a backlit poly (think polyphonic little phatty priced in the mid-to-upper 3s), backlit Source II (I only consider this option because if we are thinking anniversaries we are thinking historically, and history shows that the MM was replaced by the Source and in this case a kind of MM is being replaced: the MM Voyager SS), or backlit Voyager OS. In my opinion, anything else could wind up being a mistake. But, we'll see soon enough I suppose!!!

[EricK]

Can a company even claim ownership of a feature such as backlighting? I know they can trademark the name of it (quiet II technology) but isn't that like trying to trademark putting a LCD display on there or a manual?

I actually wish that mine wasn't backlit.

[Spitfire]

You can't trademark something like simply adding an LCD or backlighting, you're right about that. However, although you can't trademark something like that, backlighting can become part of the brand's identity. For instance, although one cannot trademark a stone modwheel or a wooden pitch bender, one can trademark them if their design is a proprietary "invention" as it would be called in legal speak. When one sees those features, though, you know it is a Clavia synth. Just like no one else really makes many red synths... Korg wouldn't want their latest and greatest to be mistaken for Clavia, you know?

So, just like Clavia has their red-painted-stone-modwheeled-wooden-pitch-bending synths, backlit synths in general are a part of the Moog brand. I believe that Moog letting go of backlighting is akin to Clavia releasing black or silver synths and abandoning the red paint scheme, or using standard plastic/rubber pitch and mod wheels. Although, in my opinion, Clavia stone and wood accoutrements are a bit more "unique" and someone using the same idea would look more like a hack than, say, DSI using yellow backlighting on a black version of the Mopho (hmmm... that would actually look pretty cool). Still, branding, though not always dependant on trademarks and other legal instruments, relies almost entirely on the market's perception. When you see a backlit synth onstage, you know that's a Moog. Hell, I was at a Prince concert this past Tuesday and on one of the screens I saw the keyboardist playing a black synth with electric blue backlighting in that all too familiar pattern. Guess what that was! She also played other big black synths but who in the world knows what those were.

Moog has competition new and old, and as we know from watching sports, when you're the champion everyone is gunning for you. If you were the Miami Heat and you kept marquee players Lebron James and Dwyane Wade but released Chris Bosh (compared to Moog's signature sound, history, and aesthetics, respectively), wouldn't you as the competitor try to sign Chris Bosh (i.e. implement tried and true plans that worked for the champion in your industry: Moog) and challenge a Heat team missing one of its most recognizable and appreciated players? Then again, sometimes there isn't enough room under the salary cap (i.e. annual budget) to keep all of your star players. In which case, a good front office (i.e. management team) will bring new, brilliant talent onboard who can not only make up for the loss of that valuable player, but also add to the current championship-caliber roster (i.e. Moog would introduce a branding element or instrument as strong as the backlighting or Voyager SS customization option, or even stronger). That, or you can either wind up like the Florida Marlins, who win a World Series, become champions, and clean house and let go of all their talent and start from scratch, or like the Chicago White Sox who win a World series, become champions, let go of a few key players and keep other good players, then try - to the point of frustration - to find guys who can adequately fill the vacancies left by those few star players who are now playing for another team.

If Moog's upcoming announcement does not produce something that significantly enhances the brand, they could be leaving an opening for their competitors. I think they should keep at least one backlit option (like I mentioned in my previous post, at least the electric blue voyager or RME or whatever) to keep wannabes away. Hopefully, their announcement won't be along the lines of another Animoog type of product or a Slim Phatty II or something like that. Don't get me wrong, the Animoog seems like a great product and the SP is too, but they need to match the impact of the SS's discontinuation with something just as significant or more.