Moog Grandmother

In a Moog Mood? Here's a forum for discussion of general Moog topics.
sub guy
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 7:39 pm

Moog Grandmother

Post by sub guy » Tue May 15, 2018 11:50 pm

Any word from anyone here on the new synth? I want details on the sound of it. I want comparisons between grandmother, Mother, the Model D, Sub 37 etc, and the synths it was based off of. Moog has a new really cool synth and this place is a freaking Ghost town!!!

User avatar
red
Posts: 198
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:44 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by red » Wed May 16, 2018 3:18 am

Image




ghosts are not interested in new mono synths...
::red

IgorCristo
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by IgorCristo » Wed May 16, 2018 7:07 am

Still early to actually have an opinion on it. For now, I’m curious about several things that I know I won’t find on the web for at least a few more weeks.

One, is it nicely build, as the Sub family, or is it something more plasticky? The chassis on it is very different... the buttons too.

Two, the modulation oscillator really follows the pitch of oscillator 1 as stated or does it have limitations? It would be a very, very, very good way of having a three osc synth without spending that much!

Three, how noisy, clangy, can the reverb be in a high volume studio situation? Banging the keys would make that spring sound? Spring reverbs are kinda sensitive in that way...

Four, does it come well calibrated enough when it comes to 1V/octave? Does it have internal trims so we can calibrate it in the future? Moog hasn’t been always careful with CV scaling... the Little Phatty I have for example tracks at 0.98V/oct (with Elektron A4).

Five, how heavy it really is? There’s no specs on this that I’ve found... maybe inside the manual (which I’ve read but wasn’t exactly looking for it).

Six, does its filter go beyond the usual range from Sub family, more on the D side?

Seven, is the internal filter capable of overdriving the signals thru internal mixer?

Well, there’s a lot more I wanted to know. Maybe we’ll have to wait for Nick Batt to ask of it/describe it for us. The Grandmother seems like a very good synth, and maybe, it will be my gateway drug into eurorack. Might let the Sub go for one of these.

Cheers!
Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition and Little Phatty Stage II | Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm | Mutable Instruments Ambika | Korg Minilogue

User avatar
Kirneh Ness
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: Denmark, Europe

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by Kirneh Ness » Wed May 16, 2018 11:47 am

From the videos I have seen so far it seems like an extremely versatile mono-synth. Also, it is in a price range that I can handle. A Model D has been a wet dream for my whole life, but I will never spend that amount of money on a keyboard (I am mainly a guitar player). The Grandmother, on the other hand, sells for a price within my range. It has tons of routing possibilities, and if each module just sound half as good as its predecessors, it will be seriously worth the price. I like the addition of spring reverb. One pre-reviewer made it give the nice explosive sounds by hitting the Moog! https://youtu.be/TtEmjzHRmLs

Being it Europe it will be 25% more expensive, but that relates to anything. Also, it seems that the first units are for US only. "America First" :shock: But I'll wait, and consider it very seriously (and is a bit down over just having got a Slim, which could be dominated by this).

K

PS: Someone mentioned the chassis. From the "making of" video, it appears to be metal.
https://youtu.be/7nNfRcuPUks
Guitars. Moog Grandmother, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Minitaur, Slim Phatty, Moogerfoogers 101, 102, 103, 104M, 107, 108M and CP-251. Yamaha CS-15. Roland JUNO 106. DSI Tetr4. Arturia Beatstep Pro. Korg ARP Odyssey Module Rev1. Dreadbox NYX 2.

User avatar
Kirneh Ness
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: Denmark, Europe

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by Kirneh Ness » Wed May 16, 2018 4:59 pm

IgorCristo wrote: Five, how heavy it really is? There’s no specs on this that I’ve found... maybe inside the manual (which I’ve read but wasn’t exactly looking for it).
From manual: WEIGHT: 16lbs. / 7.25kg
Guitars. Moog Grandmother, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Minitaur, Slim Phatty, Moogerfoogers 101, 102, 103, 104M, 107, 108M and CP-251. Yamaha CS-15. Roland JUNO 106. DSI Tetr4. Arturia Beatstep Pro. Korg ARP Odyssey Module Rev1. Dreadbox NYX 2.

User avatar
ummagumma
Posts: 827
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:37 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by ummagumma » Wed May 16, 2018 6:02 pm

lots of discussion on muffwiggler about it, I initially thought it was going to be small, like the m32, but I really like it since it's full sized

also sounds very interesting, as they based the circuits on the model 15/35/55 designs. except maybe the oscillators?

spring reverb is a great idea!

I think with all the patch points, their marketing slogan should be

" YEE HAW, STICK IT IN YER GRANDMA! "

:D

IgorCristo
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by IgorCristo » Wed May 16, 2018 6:50 pm

Kirneh Ness wrote:From manual: WEIGHT: 16lbs. / 7.25kg
Yup! Seen that on the manual too!

So far, I gathered some stuff for the questions I had.

One guy at reddit said that build quality on this thing is very good, with good keys and everything. The only thing that seems a little flimsy are the buttons (maybe to protect the spring reverb from getting unwanted interferences) and the envelope sustain slider (a few guys saying it is horrible btw).

The filter, on Moog website, seems to have the same range found on the Sub Phatty and its successors. 20k is the upper limit. The Minimoog D goes way beyond that (like 35k?), the Voyager goes a little beyond that (28-30k maybe?). It wouldn’t be much of a Model D in your face sound, but it’s good.

As it is now, seems impossible to use the LFO out to mixer and sound like an actual extra oscillator. I might be wrong, but it’s how things are right now. They didn’t share actual limits to the LFO frequency range, just say that with keyboard out you can get it to go beyond the 1,3kHz, following pitch of oscillator 1 and 2.

There’s no word on V/octave either... some complain on the Mother 32 though.

Let’s wait for Nick to give us the info!
Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition and Little Phatty Stage II | Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm | Mutable Instruments Ambika | Korg Minilogue

User avatar
Kirneh Ness
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: Denmark, Europe

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by Kirneh Ness » Wed May 16, 2018 7:17 pm

IgorCristo wrote: As it is now, seems impossible to use the LFO out to mixer and sound like an actual extra oscillator. I might be wrong, but it’s how things are right now.
Among the manual's patching examples, they have a "Three Saws" patch. KeyOut (which should refer to pitch voltage) is patched into Rate in LFO section. From this section's Wave Out one patches to Noise In in the mixer section (so that noise mix is LFO pitch mix). This should work in theory. But yes, let us see what hands on people say.
Guitars. Moog Grandmother, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Minitaur, Slim Phatty, Moogerfoogers 101, 102, 103, 104M, 107, 108M and CP-251. Yamaha CS-15. Roland JUNO 106. DSI Tetr4. Arturia Beatstep Pro. Korg ARP Odyssey Module Rev1. Dreadbox NYX 2.

IgorCristo
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by IgorCristo » Wed May 16, 2018 9:06 pm

Kirneh Ness wrote:
IgorCristo wrote: As it is now, seems impossible to use the LFO out to mixer and sound like an actual extra oscillator. I might be wrong, but it’s how things are right now.
Among the manual's patching examples, they have a "Three Saws" patch. KeyOut (which should refer to pitch voltage) is patched into Rate in LFO section. From this section's Wave Out one patches to Noise In in the mixer section (so that noise mix is LFO pitch mix). This should work in theory. But yes, let us see what hands on people say.
It works... from GearSlutz:

https://soundcloud.com/seancostello/moo ... leestakgod
Here's a quick demo of the LFO being used as a 3rd VCO

The KB OUT is patched to the modulator RATE IN. The modulator is set to a square wave, and the WAVE OUT of the modulator is patched to the NOISE IN input of the mixer. The Mod Rate is turned up to be a minor third in the bass of the chord.

When you use 3 VCOs in the mixer, you need to keep the mixer levels below 12 o'clock if you want to avoid distortion. Adding that LFO as a VCO really increases the distortion level. Of course, if you want distortion, the Grandmother mixer has it for you.

The Modulation frequency, when tracking the KB voltage, is a bit tricky to dial in. My guess is that the MODULATION RATE knob actually is processed via a microprocessor, which quantizes the value to 10 or 12 bits. An external offset would be nice, but using the Attenuator and the Mult doesn't work for this (i.e. summing the Attenuator DC output with the KB OUT in the Mult). It isn't a Buffered Mult, which would explain this. I have a Buffered Mult in Eurorack, but if I'm patching Eurorack into the system, I'd go ahead and patch in some dedicated VCOs.

I added a 2nd track, with a self-oscillating filter modulated by a fast/shallow sine LFO.

The track is based on a music cue from "Land Of The Lost." Specifically, the music from "The Sleestak God" where they first discover the Sleestak temple. This synth brings back a TON of 70s nostalgia for me.
Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition and Little Phatty Stage II | Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm | Mutable Instruments Ambika | Korg Minilogue

User avatar
Kirneh Ness
Posts: 97
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: Denmark, Europe

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by Kirneh Ness » Thu May 17, 2018 8:39 am

Thanks Igor.

I am convinced. I have just ordered it. It will take some time to arrive in Europe ("America First" :D :D ). But I think this will really become a main instrument for me. The colors may be a little bit over the top for my taste, but it is definitely something that people will notice when they come around. All the black stuff is boring to visitors. The only one people ask about is my desktop ARP Rev. 1 because of the colorful sliders :)

Cheers, KN
Guitars. Moog Grandmother, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Minitaur, Slim Phatty, Moogerfoogers 101, 102, 103, 104M, 107, 108M and CP-251. Yamaha CS-15. Roland JUNO 106. DSI Tetr4. Arturia Beatstep Pro. Korg ARP Odyssey Module Rev1. Dreadbox NYX 2.

sub guy
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 7:39 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by sub guy » Thu May 17, 2018 11:46 am

I am waiting to hear more demos. I love my sub 37 but may be selling it to fund the Grandmother.

IgorCristo
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by IgorCristo » Thu May 17, 2018 12:15 pm

Kirneh Ness wrote:Thanks Igor.

I am convinced. I have just ordered it. It will take some time to arrive in Europe ("America First" :D :D ). But I think this will really become a main instrument for me. The colors may be a little bit over the top for my taste, but it is definitely something that people will notice when they come around. All the black stuff is boring to visitors. The only one people ask about is my desktop ARP Rev. 1 because of the colorful sliders :)

Cheers, KN
Unfortunately I’m not that lucky. In Brazil it will take at least 4 months to arrive. I’ll wait for it and keep the Sub for now. I wouldn’t sell the LP or Voyager for anything, and the Grandmother would make a very good substitute for the Sub.

Let us hear from you if you get your GM soon! Seems like a great instrument.
Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition and Little Phatty Stage II | Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm | Mutable Instruments Ambika | Korg Minilogue

User avatar
thealien666
Posts: 2791
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by thealien666 » Thu May 17, 2018 1:22 pm

Not another mono synth from Moog Music ? Really ? And this ugly, too ?

Yuk.
Moog Minimoog D (1975)
DSI OB6
DSI Prophet REV2
Oberheim Matrix-6
Ensoniq SQ-80
Korg DW8000
Behringer DeepMind 12
Alesis Ion

EricK
Posts: 6009
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 2:09 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by EricK » Thu May 17, 2018 9:02 pm

They might have a winner with the Nanny. The sound is great.
Support the Bob Moog Foundation:
https://moogfoundation.org/do-something-2/donate/

I think I hear the mothership coming.

IgorCristo
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:03 pm

Re: Moog Grandmother

Post by IgorCristo » Fri May 18, 2018 9:05 am

EricK wrote:They might have a winner with the Nanny. The sound is great.
I like it a lot too, at least from the demos I’ve heard! They also look great!
Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition and Little Phatty Stage II | Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm | Mutable Instruments Ambika | Korg Minilogue

Post Reply