Model D Reissue ?

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:19 am

Kevin Lightner wrote:I've already accepted my donation.
Thank you.

Good one, Kevin!

nicholas d. kent · Post by **nicholas d. kent** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:04 am

One of the things a lot of people tend to forget about is that one of the acknowledged reasons Moog Music stopped making the genuine original Minimoog is that it was simply expensive to build and was getting more expensive.

So years later to see not one but 2 now non-functional companies - one in Ohio and one in Wales that had no connection to Bob Moog call themselves Moog and try to make a Minimoog clone at a competitive price seemed unintentionally funny. Now there were a couple actual copies of each that seem to have actually been sold to the public. It's my best guess that the handful actually produced were made at a loss to attract more pre-orders and prove the product existed. I mean why should vintage analog technology that is difficult to assemble in 1981 cost the same or less decades later to build.

You could try to use more modern day machine assembly, send it overseas to get built, etc. but to reduce costs you really have to make things a whole lot cheaper and to do that you aren't going to get the close let alone exact copy everyone says they want. But in reality very few people really want the synth that is tough and expensive to build with that reflected in the price.

Look at the recent X0B0X clone of the TB-303. Now that is a far more successful and on the level project. But it's not super cheap compared to the original retail price ...and you have to build it yourself

I was just reading on the list someone was saying that they really want Moog Music to make a new Prodigy... and they wanted it for $500. Someone pointed out that's what it cost 30 years ago when things were a lot less expensive. So how do you expect pull that off now?

People can only expect price drops on technology when most of the cost is made up of something that is going down in price, you know, like microprocessors, drives, LCDs, ram.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:19 pm

Absolutely. Also, ditching the digital parts, such as RAM, LCD's microprocessors, means more knobs and switches are needed, which leads to RAISING the cost further, as potentiometers are expensive, switches are expensive, and the final product is one that not a heckuva lot of people are going to want, because of the lack of digital components. It's one of those proverbial double-edged swords.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:37 pm

The death dealing blade is often the life giving sword.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:53 pm

EricK wrote:The death dealing blade is often the life giving sword.

Reminds me of the MemoryMoog.

KingVidiot · Post by **KingVidiot** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:10 pm

Sorry for my ignorance, but what was so special about the Model D over the other MiniMoogs? Is there a cool feature timeline posted somewhere?

Why would a Model D equivalent re-issue cost more than the Old School verison right now?

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:48 am

Are you serious?

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:53 am

KingVidiot wrote:Sorry for my ignorance, but what was so special about the Model D over the other MiniMoogs? Is there a cool feature timeline posted somewhere?

Why would a Model D equivalent re-issue cost more than the Old School verison right now?

I believe nicholas d. kent covered this. Features were actually quite limited on the D, by today's standards. The expense comes from hand-matched transistors rather than transistor array IC's, analog keyboard instead of a digital keyboard scanning mechanism, and other things very labor intensive and costly. Of course, these things all add up to the classic Mini D sound.

Anna's Digit · Post by **Anna's Digit** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:13 am

Did you said model E ?....
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/233 ... 52.jpg?v=0
http://www.matrixsynth.com/blog/media/M ... modelE.jpg

MC · Post by MC » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:54 pm

That's the UK Welsh Minimoog. Alex Winters made some of those back in the 90s. None ever shipped to the USA because at the time the infamous Don Martin held the trademark in the US before Bob re-acquired it. But UK Moog hasn't made any of those since 1996, have an iron grip on the moog trademark in the UK, and have been a major PITA for Moog Music in the UK. That is why Moog products shipped to the UK have to have the "moog" name removed on the instrument, the user manual, everything.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:07 pm

See Id just have to buy in France and take it across.

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:47 am

MC wrote:That's the UK Welsh Minimoog. Alex Winters made some of those back in the 90s. None ever shipped to the USA because at the time the infamous Don Martin held the trademark in the US before Bob re-acquired it. But UK Moog hasn't made any of those since 1996, have an iron grip on the moog trademark in the UK, and have been a major PITA for Moog Music in the UK. That is why Moog products shipped to the UK have to have the "moog" name removed on the instrument, the user manual, everything.

This has been resolved for some time now. Moog own the rights to the Moog name in the Uk now and subsequently all Moogs are badged Moog!

MarkM · Post by **MarkM** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:59 am

Nicholas makes a good point regarding the little XOxbOx. Those sold unassembled for $350. Imagine what a Model D would cost.

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Model D Reissue ?

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