new moog poly synth

DeFrag · Post by **DeFrag** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:38 am

MOOG forever!
Endeavor, endeavor, anddever, and ever, & ever...

matt jessup · Post by **matt jessup** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:24 pm

Thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail.
I now don't regret not ever having a polymoog, no wonder Numan stopped using them, i'll just wait to see what moog come up with and in the mean time carry on lusting after virus, lol thanks for your time
Matt J

matt jessup · Post by **matt jessup** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:29 pm

MC wrote:
matt jessup wrote:
MC wrote:Er, no.

The name "Polymoog" invokes horror in many former owners
was it realy that bad, I never tried one, but i love the vox humana sound, maybe that one sound fooled me into thinking it was good
Yes they are that bad. Frankly there is too much to go wrong. All 71 keys have a little PC board that forms the waveshaping, the EG transients, and (limited, this) the filtering, These boards fit in sockets that are very unreliable and often result in dead notes or missing/deformed waveforms.

Couple that with IC sockets and interconnectors with poor quality contacts that lose their connection via oxidation or worn spring contacts, flaky power supply, early generation CMOS ICs that were prone to dying prematurely, and convoluted complex circuits that were not easy to troubleshoot. Many repair shops will not touch a Polymoog.

The Polymoog needed a couple HUNDRED engineering changes during its production. For every unit that got shipped, another one returned for repair. By the time they got the bugs ironed out (serial #3900 and higher) the Prophet-5 was in full flight and the bottom was dropping out for Polymoogs.

Vox Humana is a nice sound but the Polymoog doesn't do much other than strings and pads. For starters, only a single master VCF is available, not per key. That is a severe limitation. Oh, the aformentioned "limited" filtering per key? No resonance control, no EG, 12dB LP ladder filter, no modulation of any kind - it's strictly a brightness control.

Due to its TOS architecture, it is impossible to get voice modulation. EG or oscillator waveforms cannot be used as a modulation source to PW or VCO frequency. Hard sync is not possible (only soft sync). You can't modulate individual oscillators because the TOS system uses master high frequency VCO (one for ramp waves, one for pulse) that is divided down to create the frequencies per key - it's a fancy home organ.

The Polymoog was one of the first keyboards to feature velocity control but it could only control key level, nothing else. Its implementation was flawed - hold down the sustain pedal, press a key repeatedly using light velocity, and the key level will increase with each depression. If it worked at all. The Polymoog triggering system multiplexed a bunch of controls (velocity, attack, release, pulse width, ramp mix level) into a single control voltage (to save $$$ on the keyboard by using a single buss vs multiple busses), then the 71 PC boards had to demultiplex it into separate control signals. Yeah, like that worked reliably.

When the Prophet-5 and OB-X/Four Voice appeared they were accepted as the proper polysynth. They were capable of a far greater palette of sounds thanks to voice modulation and individual VCFs, and the Polymoog lost its appeal.

Remember that this was a keyboard that retailed for $5295 in 1976 - a LOT of $$$ back then. For the people who bought them new (one of them is a regular poster here), it was an expensive mistake.

I still own my Polymoog (bought it used) and I've been very lucky with it. It is a late production unit with all the corrections ironed out. It has seen a lot of club work and held up well - I was lucky. It has sentimental value and I'm keeping it, even though it barely sees any use.

Thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail, much appreciated,, i dont regret not ever having one now, no wonder numan stopped using them, thanks for your time

Christopher Winkels · Post by **Christopher Winkels** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:38 pm

For those interested, that Polymoog price represents $19,756.43 in 2009 dollars. Is there a synthesizer around today that even comes close? Outside of a large modular system, I'm hard pressed to think of one.

Imagine what else you could buy with that kind of dosh!

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:46 pm

One and a half Waldorf Waves lol

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:22 am

For 19k? I could buy a polyphonic modular from synths.com!

peterkadar · Post by **peterkadar** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:09 am

That would be one HELL of a modular from the dotcom company. You could get that new Buchla that came out a few years ago... apparently it's a SERIOUS machine.

I had a polymoog, and I liked it... until it caught fire in my parent's basement. I had to sell it back to the guy I bought it from... for $150. Then apparently, he plugged it in and it worked perfectly... grrrr....

Analog! · Post by **Analog!** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:57 pm

If Moog decides to unleash a new polyphonic synth, I would have no hesitation in pre-ordering ASAP. As far as the naming goes, I agree that Phat should not be used. Marketing wise for me, I am turned away from the Little Phatty because of the name, but it does sound pretty wicked which is what really counts.

goldphinga · Post by **goldphinga** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:18 am

Seriously?Just call it the LP then...i like the name..

Analog! · Post by **Analog!** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 1:35 pm

although i won't ever own an LP...the voyager is king in my book

superd2112 · Post by **superd2112** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:32 pm

How about calling it the Moog MegaMoog?

Still awaiting the arrival of my Moog Taurus IIIs - as soon as they arrive, my Roland JP-8000/PK-5 "Digi-Taurus" setup will hit Ebay to start raising money for a LP StageII.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:51 pm

I like the idea of a Mega Moog!

Christopher Winkels · Post by **Christopher Winkels** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:51 pm

Megamoog is actually pretty damned good.

Riffing on that theme, one could also go with (and I do not claim these are all particularly good or viable options) Mondomoog, Majormoog, Manymoog, Mammothmoog, Monstermoog, and Myriadmoog.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:37 pm

GigaMoog? MonsterMoog sounds cool too. Optimus Moog?

drogoff · Post by **drogoff** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:01 pm

superd2112 wrote:How about calling it the Moog MegaMoog?

Back when the Poly/Multi/Micro came out, I had the idea that they could have the NanoMoog. It would just have one key and one knob. You'd buy as many as you needed to play whatever song you wanted :^)