Moog needs a new model

misterhemi · Post by **misterhemi** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:08 am

If I may suggest something, I think the "rackmount" LP is a good idea but what i think might be a better idea )for those wanting more polyphony) would be...

not simply a rackmount LP or Voyager but rather rackmount versions of BOTH of those without the knobs, etc just some simple controls to select the midi channel/ modes, etc.

I think the added hardware of the knows and the software required for the user interface adds to the cost. If you already have a LP or Voyager (with knobs) and just want to add voices, those would be great, then all of the parameters could be changed or controlled from the main unit - keyboard or rackmount.

Just a plain, simple voice expansion box.

rg · Post by rg » Tue Dec 26, 2006 9:32 pm

I think a Voyager that has the LED Knob interface of the Little Phatty would be awesome. Same sound engine designed by Bob Moog but with an updated interface.

thewaag · Post by **thewaag** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:08 pm

With some obvious interest in this topic, and the running of a similar thread in the Phatty section about a "Fantasy Phatty, I was wondering about the possibility of the following. I had a dream about it last night, and it piqued my interest.....

What would be the interest if Moog made a synth similar to the old ARP 2600? That was a great synth with lots of sonic possibilities, and it is still very popular today, fetching $3000-$4000 for 25 year old models.

Too eclectic? Too user unfriendly? The prewired patches in the old 2600 made for easy use that you could custom tailor as much as you wanted with patch cords.

The 2600 was the most popular modular ever made. Maybe Moog could make some bucks off it it if they offered something similar. Then again, there is probably more interest in a polyphonic. I guess that it boils down to who rules the analog synth economy--the musicians (who want polyphony) or the synth heads (who want super flexible routing options).

MacBeth makes a similar synth, however, but it is very large and non portable. Probably in the same price range that Moog would have to sell their 2600 if they made one.

I loathe the day that I sold mine for $600 so that I could buy an Emu Proteus module. Not that the Emu was bad...I still use it and like it. It is just that the Emu is now worth about $100, while the 2600 would be worth about $4000. It was pristine (not mint, in deferance to KL

) and had the newer duophonic keyboard. Lots of good times with that synth, but I could still never make it sound like a Moog, and that is what I was looking for at the time.... We just didn't have any Moog dealers in Portland.

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:31 pm

What extra features does a 2600 have compared with a Voyager + CP-251 + VX-351? I know the 2600 has a ring mod, which Moog also make. Is it the fact that you can re-route the audio as well as the CV? It's a shame the audio patching is circuit based, because if it wasn't, you could add another expander module and patch away!

They say the Rhodes Chroma is like having a polyphonic 2600, and I can agree with them. Shame about the 50 parameters and one data slider... Along with the pads, the super vocal ARP filter patches are my favourite. And the bass. And...

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:40 pm

Sorry, maybe a 2500: http://cgi.ebay.com/Arp-Rhodes-Chroma-O ... dZViewItem

thewaag · Post by **thewaag** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:16 pm

latigid on wrote:What extra features does a 2600 have compared with a Voyager + CP-251 + VX-351?

I haven't played much with the Voyager except to mess about at the music store. I would love to have one at home for a weekend. I have never played with one with the CP-251 and the VX-351, so I am not sure if it is missing the following items that I am recalling from the old 2600:

Reverb
Lag Processor
Inverter
Envelope follower
Voltage Processor

And of course, those great built in speakers!!

Kevin Lightner · Post by **Kevin Lightner** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:36 pm

I think the biggest difference between a Voyager + CP-251 + VX-351 and an Arp 2600 is the user interface. On a 2600, everything's in front of the user and there is usually an adjacent attenuator or control for a jack.
Even if all the "modules" were there via the Moog gear, patching them up isn't done in the same intuitive, visual way.
I could take a photo of a 2600 and come close to many patches, for example.

I think it would make more sense to take the boards from a Vger and provide a new user interface. Then Moog doesn't need to populate the boards as completely and standard pots and normalling jacks could be provided.
Still a lot of work, but would be one of the easier solutions to having a small patchable analog without totally reinventing the wheel.

thewaag · Post by **thewaag** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:13 pm

Kevin Lightner wrote:On a 2600, everything's in front of the user and there is usually an adjacent attenuator or control for a jack. Even if all the "modules" were there via the Moog gear, patching them up isn't done in the same intuitive, visual way. I could take a photo of a 2600 and come close to many patches, for example.

Kevin is right on that one. The 2600 was very easy to follow when checking out patches.

ARP's sliders were nice, too, as you got a very visual idea of what the setting were--for example you could see quickly how an ADSR envelope was set up by a quick look at the position of the sliders. Ditto that with volumes, etc.

I doubt very much that Moog would ever switch to sliders instead of knobs, however. That was kind of a battle of philosophy between the two companies, if I remember correctly.

The sliders are much easier to read at a quick glance than the knobs are, but it seems like the sliders are prone to getting dust and contaminants in the slots and thus picking up crackling noises when you change settings. Particularly on the Odyssey, which had the slots on a semi horizontal plane.

How much to switch a Voyager over to sliders Kevin?

OysterRock · Post by **OysterRock** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:18 pm

Knobs are way sexier than sliders

...so poo on you.

thewaag · Post by **thewaag** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:25 pm

OysterRock wrote:Knobs are way sexier than sliders

...so poo on you.

I don't mind knobs, particularly the sexy ones on the LP. The LP knobs also make it easier to get a visual on their setting, but that advantage is kind of eliminated with the multi function knobs. A one knob per function synth with those new LP knobs would be much easier to check the settings at a quick glance.

Still, poo or no, the sliders are a bit easier to visualize the settings at a glance.

mee3d · Post by **mee3d** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:05 pm

HEY ... Admin... Kick this Arse off the forum.

This is another one of those nasty addware / spyware.

However much you might like JLO... if you are on a PC - do not click the above link!

I sometime get the impression no one is monitoring this forum - poor show moog!

calaverasgrande · Post by **calaverasgrande** » Mon May 11, 2009 4:07 pm

I really like the idea of an analog drum machine made by moog. Something along the lines of the LP. Digitally controlled analog. But with percussion sounds as the focus. I currently use Waldorfs "attack" VST for this kind of sound. Its very good and I can get around on it quite fast (after several years of learning it) but its just not practical forlive performance. Nor does it have the depth of tone that a real analog beatbox has. The other consideration is that all the original analog drum machines were not midi! Some had din sync, quite a few had nothing at all. By the time midi showed up, digital sample drum machins were all the rage (Oberheim DMX, Alesis HR16 etc and subsequent roland and korg boxes)
I would easily fork out a grand for a box that did a nice thuddy kick abrasive snare and chick-chicka hihat. Especially if it had PWM and some nice zappy toms.

acorkos · Post by **acorkos** » Mon May 11, 2009 4:20 pm

calaverasgrande wrote:I really like the idea of an analog drum machine made by moog. Something along the lines of the LP. Digitally controlled analog. But with percussion sounds as the focus...I would easily fork out a grand for a box that did a nice thuddy kick abrasive snare and chick-chicka hihat.

this is what i use for that....(actually, mine's the discontinued 502):

http://www.mfberlin.de/Produkte/Musikel ... -522e.html

calaverasgrande · Post by **calaverasgrande** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:17 pm

MFB stuff is great. But I want a MOOG drum machine. They did have Moog toms back the day. You will see them on ebay from time to time. I think a fully analog drum machine with comprehensive midi control (and some CV natch) would be great. To my knowledge it has never been done. If it has, please someone, prove me wrong!

Moog Music Forum

Moog needs a new model

OK, a suggestion...

Voyager with Little Phatty knobs