Moog Music Forum

Hey guys

Just picked up a reissue model D.

The pitch wheel is really stiff. Like unusable.

I have seen many people mention not liking the lack of centre snap back but is it being super stiff also normal?

the mod wheel is fine but the pitch wheel is stiff to the point that moving it during a performance would be tough

I have seen people have opened it up and removed a nut

Did this solve this problem?

Thanks.

Yes, it feels like it used to be. And very much like on my 1979 minimoog. Here is my description on how to get there, as it is not as easy as on vintage minimoogs due to the aftertouch ribbon and other boards for the keyboard to CV conversation.

The pitch wheel was stiff when I bought my Model D ReIssue. I play the Model D frequently and my play technique involve much use of the wheels. I found out its not that stiff any longer, about similar to my former Model D original.

When I asked Moog about the wacky zero position of the pitch wheel they replied that the kept that fault to be faithful to the original .

Based on those two things I guess the pitch wheel of the original Model D once up on a time was stiff as well and years of use eat away the stiffness.

Analog Prophet wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:11 pm...Based on those two things I guess the pitch wheel of the original Model D once up on a time was stiff as well and years of use eat away the stiffness.

I never had my hands on a new vintage Minimoog. But I bought my 1979 Minimoog in 1983. And the pitchbend wheel was very smooth and did not center well. In those days without internet and synths being not a common thing in music shops, I had no information about the modification to get a dead band (only two diodes needed). So I disabled the pitchbend wheel and put a Moog Liberation ribbon bender on the left side. And switched the places of the two wheels. It has been like this ever since.

I need to built a new housing, as the Mini looked quite well used.

So:
If the wheel gets smoother when using it, the original user must have been a heavy pitchwheel user.

My reissue was very stiff when it was straight out of the box (certainly compared with most modern boards), but three years later I’d say it’s perfect!

Slightly off topic, but I hate to start a new thread for this since it's regarding the pitch wheel. Can anyone tell me what the approximate range of pitch bend is on their reissue? Mine is somewhere between 9-10 semitones bending up and between 7-8 semitones bending down . . . not exactly ideal in my opinion. For a while now, I've been very tempted to bite the bullet and order the Muse upgrade, but it's a relatively expensive upgrade for something that I tend to think should have been implemented better on the stock synth in the first place.

4dubs wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:49 pm Slightly off topic, but I hate to start a new thread for this since it's regarding the pitch wheel. Can anyone tell me what the approximate range of pitch bend is on their reissue? Mine is somewhere between 9-10 semitones bending up and between 7-8 semitones bending down . . . not exactly ideal in my opinion. For a while now, I've been very tempted to bite the bullet and order the Muse upgrade, but it's a relatively expensive upgrade for something that I tend to think should have been implemented better on the stock synth in the first place.

Moog has point out they were cling to the original including its shortcomings. I had a synth repair to fix the pitch bend range on my former Model D original and he said it was an easy fix. It should be the same with the Model D Reissue. I have a Muse kit at home but hesitated twice to make the mod due to my limited skills under the hood, but one day I will give it a try - it contain the few things I still wish for of the construction of the great Model D Reissue.

Analog Prophet wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2020 3:41 am...
I have a Muse kit at home but hesitated twice to make the mod due to my limited skills under the hood, but one day I will give it a try - it contain the few things I still wish for of the construction of the great Model D Reissue.

Try to find a someone with a bit more experience in working with electronics near to your place. It is not that complicated. No soldering. And the manual is well done. I installed two MUSE before, but you are a bit far from my place to give you a helping hand.

I removed the pitchwheel nut on my reissue, just like Till's picture up above, and it's perfect now

be very careful when you pull it apart, as the aftertouch ribbon is in there & delicate