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The "Sophie's Choice" of synthesizers.

Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:08 pm
by Analogical
Greetings Moog One pioneers. As the folks who are first ones to explore this synth (as well as going through the various 1.0 bug issues), I'd love to get your opinions on what is well, obviously a first-world problem.

While I don't have the spare cash to rush out and buy a 16 voice Moog One, I do have a "golden ticket" I could cash in to get one. I have an Oberheim 4-Voice. (Believe it or not, I'm the original owner.) When the One came out, I thought this is the first synthesizer I'd consider selling it to get. And judging what 4-Voices have gone for on Reverb, I should be able to get a Moog One and actually have some cash left over (As crazy as that sounds).

So here's what I'm wondering. The One demos out there are all over the map, and it is almost impossible to see or play a One in person, even at NAMM (Bummed me out that they had none out in the public area of their space). How are you folks feeling about your Moog One so far? Would you make this trade for a One if you were in my shoes? (The Oberheim is in great shape by the way, safe in my studio).

I'll attach a shot of it. (The MiniMoog above it is a 1972 Model D I bought in the 80's when people were trading them in for DX-7s!)

Are things like the Moog One noise floor issue, fans, MIDI problems all firmware based? Is the noise issue all in the effects area? Is it meeting your expectations? Look forward to hearing your views.

Dave

PS: Thank you "Demon Dan" Fisher for doing more than anybody to show what this instrument is about. Also, your cover of the Blade Runner theme was the first thing I heard that made me go "Well, now that could be worth considering doing the Obie trade for".
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Re: The "Sophie's Choice" of synthesizers.

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:45 pm
by AlakaLazlo
I owned a modularized FVS1 that I was also the original owner (and modifier) of. It was a very early pre-programmer unit, so it had 2 mini-sequencers in the left hand bay. I kept getting crazy offers for it. My advice is: If you are a collector, and can afford to hold an appreciating asset (that may well require some expensive maintenance from time to time) keep it. On the other hand...

Two years ago, I sold mine to a collector who owned a few original SEMs and was looking for a stock condition FVS. I did keep one SEM. I bought a custom panel, built a power supply, and installed the SEM into my 5U system wall. There are some extensive sonic capabilities that the original SEMs had that aren't available on the stock machines (e.g. external modulation, separating the oscillators, simultaneous outputs from the different filter topologies, etc.) which are easily accessed when they have all the unused connections brought out to a front patch-panel. I also really love the Oby's multimode filter for certain effects. It was a difficult decision, but the money I was being offered compared to the amount of use it was getting was tough to ignore.

After I sold it, I bought a DSI OB-6 which gives me (effectively) a very usable Oberheim sonic palate (plus much more), and I had quite a bit of money left over. I miss the beast from time to time, but I don't miss having to move it, fix it and the non-existent program memory. (The programmer was very limited anyway, so my decision would have been the same even if I had a programmer.)

When the One was released, I jumped on it. Got mine last November and it is an epic synth in every sense of the word. When played with a bit, the state variable filter does a very convincing Oberheim sound. To be honest, I'm somewhat annoyed that the bug fixes discussed elsewhere (in my case the tuning and midi implementation) have yet to be released. But I'm quite optimistic that they will be resolved and when complete, this will be my desert island synth.

Hope this helps...

Re: The "Sophie's Choice" of synthesizers.

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:57 pm
by till
The noise floor is very low, if you don’t use the built in FXs. All the presets are using a bit too much of FX. Maybe just to show off their presents. Or the taste of the factory sounds is just not mine. I am more into good old vintage analog sounds. And the Moog One delivers these sounds easily. And especially without the FXs used. I like its sound character.
And the fan us not as loud as on my Waldorf WAVE I had for 25 years.
I am not using MIDI controller data at all, as I am not using a DAW here. So the lack if a full MIDI control in the current OS does not stop the show here.
I had no crash or something alike in 2 weeks using it. There are a few missing things and a bit nasty bug when switching from monomode to polymode. But the next software update should help getting the last missing things right.

I am not sure, if selling you vintage Oberheim is the right thing to do. It depends on your goals and way of playing. But the Moog One is a fantastic synth to me. And I am into synths for 38 years and own and owned many synths.

Re: The "Sophie's Choice" of synthesizers.

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:17 pm
by Analogical
Thanks guys, this is the level of expertise and first hand knowledge I had a feeling I could get from this forum.

I still have the Oberheim for the same reason I bought it originally. It sounds amazing. (And speaking of amazing, I still find it fairly amazing how a synthesizer that can only play 4 notes can sound so huge.) So I'm not holding onto it for collector reasons.

And yes, there is the maintenance thing. I have to crate it and send it to my "Oberheim guy" in California. (Funny, I have an excellent Oberheim tech who doesn't work on Moogs and an excellent Moog tech who doesn't work on Oberheims.) So there's that.

It's good to know that even with the current bugs that you guys still see the One as a total keeper. Seems like starting from scratch with patches and avoiding the effect section for now is the ticket. The synth seems absolutely incredible. The factory patches, not as much.

It's a tough decision for me and this definitely helps.

Re: The "Sophie's Choice" of synthesizers.

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:56 pm
by kk1000
AlakaLazio is right. Don’t sell an appreciating keyboard, at least until your significant other lays down the law. Keep collecting - it will take longer but you’ll have zero regrets. Besides, several claim that The One still has some quirks (many of which you can read about in this forum) that will continue to get ironed out, meaning it will only keep getting better. As for me, I have had no problems with it and have just installed v1.04 this morning. It IS a dream machine but it’s not going anywhere and will be just as unique in its space a year from now as it is today.
Best wishes,
KK