Sub 37 heading my way

[Chimponaut]

Howdy all! I just placed an order for the Sub37 yesterday from Sweetater. Should be here Friday or Sat. So friggin excited to get my hands on this little monster. I have an original Model D that is in absolutely terrible cosmetic shape but it does work. Got it for a $100.00 back in 1988.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask if there are any things I should look out for when firing it up for the first time. I know about the Cutoff Knob and the LCD screen issues but is there anything else I should know of? Thanks for any info you care to divulge.

No sleep til Moog Sub37, then no sleep at all...

[steve000001]

Heheh just got mine 3 days ago, this is my first post here. In between knocking out an electro disco epic within a couple of hours and having to drag my previously non-synth-interested wife off of the thing I've just been looking at it and smiling. Beautiful thing. Check the headphone output works correctly though, I had an issue with mine crackling/dropping out and had to get a replacement machine. Don't worry about a thing, you'll love it. Don't be disheartened by the presets - they don't really do this instrument justice, but once you start playing, recording, sequencing etc its just perfect. My main tip is don't be tempted to stick it through loads of effects, just listen to its raw tone and 'play' the front panel while you play keys. Synth heaven.

[DrJustice]

I think that's pretty much it. Since this is a new order, it most probably comes with the updated filter pot (they updated the production more than half a year ago AFAIK). You may also want to run a note calibration from the global menu after a period of "acclimatization" and when the synth is warmed up. Oh, and register it at the Moog site so you get the link to the awesome editor and firmware 1.2.0.

That model D find of yours... want to sell it for $200 and double your investment?

[Chimponaut]

I think that's pretty much it. Since this is a new order, it most probably comes with the updated filter pot (they updated the production more than half a year ago AFAIK). You may also want to run a note calibration from the global menu after a period of "acclimatization" and when the synth is warmed up. Oh, and register it at the Moog site so you get the link to the awesome editor and firmware 1.2.0.

That model D find of yours... want to sell it for $200 and double your investment?

Thanks for the info Doc. Note calibration sounds like a good idea. Got her registered just now. It already has the latest firmware...Everything seems to be working as expected so far. Got it set up as a controller in Nuendo with "local off" and no issues. Made a few simple patches. I really like the sound with almost no drive/distortion going on. Keeping the osc levels below 12 o'clock with no Feedback or Multidrive. Sublime.
Then there are times when you just want sonic destruction so I will be getting around to that soon.

I have plans for the Model D but if it were still 1988 I might take you up on that offer. I lucked out but I knew what it was at the time. Back then there was a studio in little Warren, Ohio. My band recorded a three song demo there. The owner had a full Moog Modular System 55 and added a few sounds here and there. I was so in awe of that beast. Anyway, I'll be looking for someone to work on the Model D before the end of the year.
The original owner painted all the wood black and mounted a wooden board on the bottom so he could put it on a custom stand. I haven't changed a thing cosmetically so it looks like the keyboard the Road Warrior would have used to bludgeon Humongous. (1981)

Thanks Again.

[DrJustice]

Best of luck with getting the Model D sorted. I'm sure the D and the Sub will become best friends!

Enjoy your Sub 37s, Chimponaut and steve000001, as we all do - it's such a gem

[corbus]

Heheh just got mine 3 days ago, this is my first post here. In between knocking out an electro disco epic within a couple of hours and having to drag my previously non-synth-interested wife off of the thing I've just been looking at it and smiling. Beautiful thing. Check the headphone output works correctly though, I had an issue with mine crackling/dropping out and had to get a replacement machine. Don't worry about a thing, you'll love it. Don't be disheartened by the presets - they don't really do this instrument justice, but once you start playing, recording, sequencing etc its just perfect. My main tip is don't be tempted to stick it through loads of effects, just listen to its raw tone and 'play' the front panel while you play keys. Synth heaven.

I'm also new here with my Sub 37 hurdling towards me as we speak. Thanks for the QA advice, Steve. You say the presets weren't totally inspiring, so if you don't mind, how did find your way into the Sub 37 at first? Sequencing? Recording into a DAW and messing around with parameters? This is my first proper hardware synth so I'm very interested to hear how other people got started. The other contender for me was the Elektron Analog Keys but I went with this because I love the what-you-see-is-what-you-get format of the Moog and that beastly sound(although an Elektron is probably in my future in the next couple years)

[Chimponaut]

Congrats on owning a great synth.

Last night I was focusing on learning step editing of the sequencer. Lots of button push combos that make things easy. Remembering them is the hard part. On the side, I realized that you don't have to select the parameter value field before editing it with the fine tune knob. Just cursor to the parameter you want to change and start knobbing. This tiny little detail will save me lots of time in the menus.

Here's some basic things to try as a warm up. And a few tips.

1. Getting the Filter EG to modulate the pitch. (Handy for giving kick drums some attack and character and really displays the weaknesses and strengths of the envelopes.)
2. Velocity to filter cutoff. (Old school but fun)
3. Find the extra Sine Wave modulation source. (Sub37 specific)
4. Change the attack slope of the envelopes. (Sub37 specific)
5. Learn the sequencer modulation setup. (Very Rewarding)

[corbus]

Thanks for the tips! I'm starting to realize that the sequencer on this thing is an underrated strength. Four more days...

[corbus]

Coming up on a year on with this synth and I've learned a few things:

1) I was probably too green in synthesis for this to be my first synth. Sometimes the sounds I would come with would overpower and distort, sometimes I would get lost and not know where I was in the Sub 37.
2) Every time I got frustrated and said to my self "I should have got a Bass Station and a Minilogue and a TR-8 and a sandwich" I would come up with some patch that made me fall in love with the Sub 37 all over again. This is especially true once I figured out how to assign mods to various parameters. I'm still figuring it out but that feature is ridiculously powerful.
3) If this is your only hardware synth (which it is in my setup), it's going to be hard to get it to fit in the mix with soft synths. The Sub 37 wants it all and I still haven't mastered how to sculpt sounds to fit in the mix.
4) I love my Sub 37 even if they released a new limited version this week.