DSI presented the Mopho Keyboard at WNAMM2010!

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:49 pm

Oh I spent 8 hours reading that series of threads about Plan B.

The only thing that I have heard about dotcom is that some people have had issues with their jacks being of lesser quality.

Eric

Just Me · Post by **Just Me** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:13 pm

Yeah, Plan B is pretty bad. I wonder what Plan A was? The people who tried to buy all think it was 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'!

I built the Portable system instead of the studio system for sizing restraints.
This is my current configuration:

Having the 2 CP-251's adds essentially 16 more Moog modules to it.

joebuck · Post by **joebuck** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:42 pm

johnll wrote:I know it probably won't happen, but I hope this inspires Moog to release a 2 oscillator monosynth that combines the best features of the Prodigy, Rogue and MG-1 into one box and is the same size as this thing.

Well the LP has lots more features than all of those synths you mentioned and you can get them used all day for under $800. Neither the Rogue, the MG-1 nor the Prodigy had many features at all let alone an arpeggiator.

superd2112 · Post by **superd2112** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:08 am

I'll buy a Mopho keyboard eventually, even though I have a Phatty. The plan is to eventually own the Prophet 08 (have it), Little Phatty (have it), Taurus 3 (on order since Dec. 2nd of 2008) Voyager, Andromeda, Poly Evolver and Mopho keyboards. One thing I've learned after 25 years of playing analog boards is that no two sound quite the same, and there is a place & use for all of them in your toolbox.

jamezdd73 · Post by **jamezdd73** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:55 am

DS should have released a 3 octave version of the Tetra, instead of 2.5 of the Mopho, that would've won me over!

The Analog Organist · Post by **The Analog Organist** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:02 am

Ditto! Half an octave is worth an awful lot, musically speaking.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:08 am

joebuck wrote:
johnll wrote:I know it probably won't happen, but I hope this inspires Moog to release a 2 oscillator monosynth that combines the best features of the Prodigy, Rogue and MG-1 into one box and is the same size as this thing.
Well the LP has lots more features than all of those synths you mentioned and you can get them used all day for under $800. Neither the Rogue, the MG-1 nor the Prodigy had many features at all let alone an arpeggiator.

Ive seen some almost brand new (open box not factory sealed) Phatties sell for around 8-900 from novamusik. There is a Rogue right now on Ebay and the last time I checked it was buy me now for 800 (i think it was buy me now, because the T2 controllers were like 200 something and they had a whole T2 set for 1700, which cooincidentally reminds me that there was a T3 on there earlier with a buy me now for 1600.....the T3 prices have had their effect aparently. (Whew for that ADD tangent there)

superd2112 wrote:I'll buy a Mopho keyboard eventually, even though I have a Phatty. The plan is to eventually own the Prophet 08 (have it), Little Phatty (have it), Taurus 3 (on order since Dec. 2nd of 2008) Voyager, Andromeda, Poly Evolver and Mopho keyboards. One thing I've learned after 25 years of playing analog boards is that no two sound quite the same, and there is a place & use for all of them in your toolbox.

Thats a serious load of Analog power there!

The Analog Organist wrote:Ditto! Half an octave is worth an awful lot, musically speaking.

It doesn't seem like it but it definately is. I originally wanted 1 octave only for the T3, but after thinking about how nice 1.5 would have been, especially for the type of basslines that I like to write, it is pretty limited. Thats why I want to see how they fare with a controller.

The Analog Organist · Post by **The Analog Organist** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:44 am

Superd2112 -

I have just the solution for you. Buy a set of Hammond XPK-200 bass pedals (1 1/2 octaves of notes) and power them by a MoPho or a Tetra. I've done so, and it sounds fabulous.

superd2112 · Post by **superd2112** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:25 am

The Analog Organist wrote:Superd2112 -

I have just the solution for you. Buy a set of Hammond XPK-200 bass pedals (1 1/2 octaves of notes) and power them by a MoPho or a Tetra. I've done so, and it sounds fabulous.

AO, I think you were thinking of Eric wanting 1.5 octave pedals. I've played 1 octave pedals for 25 years, & wouldn't know what to do with the extra 1/2 octave. I had a set of Taurus 2s back in the day, and they just took up too much stage space. I have the T-3s coming soon, and will keep my Roland JP-8000/PK-5 "DigiTaurus" setup for practice, back-up & home use. Never did get used to the transpose feature either - I keep the pedals in "E" tuning always, and we play songs in E, drop D, E flat, E flat/drop D, and drop C. I guess I just got used to transposing the old-fashioned way.

EMwhite · Post by **EMwhite** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:56 am

The Analog Organist wrote:I mean a KEYBOARD synthesizer. Besides, the Taurus has only a single octave of pedals. That means your bass lines cannot be melodic, but must always be doubling back to be squeezed into a thirteen-note range. Not very musical. Moog should have at least extended the range to the higher "G."

See, nobody really feels my pain.

+1 on that, I would have liked another 1/2 octave or so but I suppose they had a) the form factor to deal with and b) the pedal manufacturer who likely makes the turnkey mechanism, not just the pedal bars.

Have a look at Jimmy Smith "Sermon" on YouTube and watch a full run of pedals in action whilst hamming it up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqSLoxwkCYE

-Mike W. from NJ

_DemonDan_ · Post by **_DemonDan_** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:28 am

MikeWfromNJ wrote:Have a look at Jimmy Smith "Sermon" on YouTube and watch a full run of pedals
in action whilst hamming it up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqSLoxwkCYE

Wow, thanks for that link. I hadn't seen that one before.

To be just a little persnickety, Jimmy's actually playing the bass line with his left hand.
He normally just uses his foot to stab little offbeat accents against his left-handed bass line.

A few years back I got to see Tony Monaco perform "The Sermon" live. After the show I
invited him to come to a late night jam club and we tore the place down. This past year he
helped me with the purchase of a 1963 Hammond B-3 and we now both use the same
B-3 technician to keep them running smoothly.

johnll · Post by **johnll** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:45 am

EricK wrote:
joebuck wrote:
johnll wrote:I know it probably won't happen, but I hope this inspires Moog to release a 2 oscillator monosynth that combines the best features of the Prodigy, Rogue and MG-1 into one box and is the same size as this thing.
Well the LP has lots more features than all of those synths you mentioned and you can get them used all day for under $800. Neither the Rogue, the MG-1 nor the Prodigy had many features at all let alone an arpeggiator.

I think my "problem" is that I'm in a market segment that doesn't matter.

I'm less of a keyboard player and more of a knob twiddler, playing more experimental music. I don't like lugging tons of stuff around to play gigs. The Phatty doesn't have that one knob per parameter thing that the other synths I mention above have. And it's not as small. I borrowed an MG-1 from a friend for about a year after I lost some gear in a fire, and it was an amazingly powerful synth for experimental music in such a small package. And none of the stuff that has come out recently (the Dark Energy, the Mopho Keyboard Edition) has the same feature set that the MG-1 has. So that's why I keep dreaming that some day Moog will make one, with their USA build quality, at a price that reflects that, and I'd go for it. But I'm probably only one of maybe 500 people in the world who would!

moognase · Post by **moognase** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:58 pm

johnll wrote:
I know it probably won't happen, but I hope this inspires Moog to release a 2 oscillator monosynth that combines the best features of the Prodigy, Rogue and MG-1 into one box and is the same size as this thing.

+1

Just Me · Post by **Just Me** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:18 pm

I remember playing with the Radio Shack synth in the stores but never bought one because I was saving for a Mini. Ended up with 2 ARP 2600's instead. (I lucked into 2 of them about a month apart at an estate sale and a piano store for under $300 each.) That was still alot of money then, it was 7 months rent! Considering inflation, they are only slightly more costly now.

peterkadar · Post by **peterkadar** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:16 pm

I think the LP strikes about the right balance between players who want a cost effective instrument that is still large enough to be playable, and a small synth to be able to experiment with. Plus, there is always the RME, which is awesome!!

If anyone is looking for a good hardware sequencer, try to find a Nord Modular G2. You can build anything you want with it, and send out CC's or get a MIDI/CV converter or an MP-201 if you want to sequence Moogerfoogers.

I have a Prophet '08, and I'm borrowing a Tetra right now, and they're both great and easy to use. The Mopho keyboard looks ok... I'll be sure to check it out when it ships. But for the same money, you could buy a Tetra or a used LP. Shop around and see what works best for you.

We're lucky to have so many true analog options like this.

PK