Moog Music Forum

I'm easy on gear. I don't even use pedals with my feet.

I only know personally two people with Nords. One is a keyboard player in a touring band (probably on the less-delicate end of the spectrum) and the keyboardist at our church. The player at our church plays the Nord for approximately 90 minutes per week. It's been sitting on top of the grand piano since it was purchased. It has been sent in twice in 4 years to have the encoders/circuit board repaired. The touring guy found it was cheaper to scrap his Nord lead and just buy another, than dealing with shipping and repair costs and downtime.

My thoughts on the subject:

The encoder pots on my Mono-Evolver keyboard have some play but they work fine. My Poly-Evolver keyboard is built VERY solid and I haven't had any problems. Same with my Nord Electro 3 - built well and never had a problem.

Strangely I've had more problems with Moog equipment than any other brand I've owned.

I had to take apart my Moogerfooger Ring Mod and spray the knobs with contact cleaner to get it to work again - not a big deal, however it required service. And my Little Phatty "soft pad" buttons stick from time to time and require a second, harder push before working, which really sucks when you are soloing and push the cutoff button and start sweeping the filter but realize you are still adjusting resonance.

So, according to my experience, having owned over 30 hardware synthesizers, I could easily say Moog products are not very reliable.

I should specify that while DSI knobs feel cheap and weak to me, I've never known one to break, but I also don't know many long-time DSI users. So while they feel one way, it doesn't mean that they are.

All of my Moog gear is rock solid. Minus the fact that I've been dealing with the infamous sub37 filter cutoff for a week now, while waiting for Moog to get my RMA sorted.

jsharpphoto wrote:My issue with DSI stuff is not the sound. It's the build quality. I played a prophet 6 and a Pro2 last week. The knobs on both felt cheap. Everything about it felt a bit cheap. It's obvious that they cut corners on their devices to meet a certain price point, but how much money is that really saving?

I hope you bought it from sweetwater, so at least you'd get an extra year on the warranty.

I own a Prophet 6 and absolutely love it. I'm very impressed with the overall build quality, and it's key bed rivals that on my Voyager. I do not have an issue with wobbly knobs. I also own a DSI Pro 2, and the knobs feel equally as good. The Pro 2 is not quite as solidly built as the P6 perhaps, but still a quality instrument. While I suppose there may be some degree of wobble in the knobs, frankly it's not as bad as the degree of wobble on my Sub 37 or LP tribute (the knobs on my Voyager, however, exhibit absolutely no wobble . . . probably the best feeling control surface on any synth I've ever owned, and I've owned a ton!). DSI instruments are admittedly notorious for having software bugs that often never get adequately resolved through updates, but the physical build quality is generally above average at the very least (the early encoder-laden Prophet 08's not withstanding!). I've also owned several Nord instruments. These have been my bread and butter gigging instruments, and they have been rock solid.

4dubs wrote:

jsharpphoto wrote:My issue with DSI stuff is not the sound. It's the build quality. I played a prophet 6 and a Pro2 last week. The knobs on both felt cheap. Everything about it felt a bit cheap. It's obvious that they cut corners on their devices to meet a certain price point, but how much money is that really saving?

I hope you bought it from sweetwater, so at least you'd get an extra year on the warranty.

I own a Prophet 6 and absolutely love it. I'm very impressed with the overall build quality, and it's key bed rivals that on my Voyager. I do not have an issue with wobbly knobs. I also own a DSI Pro 2, and the knobs feel equally as good. The Pro 2 is not quite as solidly built as the P6 perhaps, but still a quality instrument. While I suppose there may be some degree of wobble in the knobs, frankly it's not as bad as the degree of wobble on my Sub 37 or LP tribute (the knobs on my Voyager, however, exhibit absolutely no wobble . . . probably the best feeling control surface on any synth I've ever owned, and I've owned a ton!). DSI instruments are admittedly notorious for having software bugs that often never get adequately resolved through updates, but the physical build quality is generally above average at the very least (the early encoder-laden Prophet 08's not withstanding!). I've also owned several Nord instruments. These have been my bread and butter gigging instruments, and they have been rock solid.

Then it must just be my personal preferences. I'm glad that everyone is having such good experiences with them. I would still love to incorporate a prophet 6 module if I can find room.

jsharpphoto - what modular setup do you have?