Moog Music Forum

If these both items would be at the same price which one would you prefer.............. ..............and why ?
Memorymoog upgraded, of course.

Memorymoog without a doubt,

For the sound.

But this is mute because they'll never be at the same price.

The Prophet 12 is a nice synth. It can be as simple orcas complex as you'd like. It can sound very warm and lush or grungy, there are also a wide variety of modulation sources and destinations. It can be a 12 voice synth or in layer mode two separate six voice synths.

If you could find a working MemoryMoog or Lintronics one fir under 3 grand, go for it. The MemoryMoog us a fantastic, ( even if temperamental at times) synth. That being said, the P12 would be a good companion to it. The P 12 can also stand well on it's own, I have had mine for almost two months and it still makes me say " wow" on many sounds . Do to things going on I have not had time to really dive into programing it, but have been very pleased with the tweaks I've made.

I would prefer the P12 Not because the Moog doesn't sounds great, but it's a vintage synth. Be aware of expensive repairs etc. And probably you'll never find one in an acceptable condition for an affordable price. The other one, the P12, is actually new, comes with warranty etc. My belly goes for the Memorymoog, my sanity for the P12. I think nobody can give you an adequate answer what to buy...

With the P12, Dave Smith essentially took the spot left vacant by the Alesis Andromeda. It's about the same price, offers 12 voices polyphony (as opposed to 16 with the A6), has a smaller display, sounds thiner (you often need to stack voices to get some "meaty" sounds, reducing polyphony to only 6 voices), and its has digital oscillators whereas the A6 had analog ones.

But this is not an A6 vs P12 comparison. I digress.

And, like I said before, a Memorymoog will never be only $3K, unless it needs a lot of repairs and that will definitely be costly. But if I could find one in perfect shape (with new modern PSU and silent fan) I would prefer to have 3 analog Curtis oscillators and one genuine Moog filter per voice with 6 voice polyphony, than a P12.

The P12 is very versatile, offers a lot more possibilities than a MM, but like my Minimoog D that doesn't offer much in terms of modulation possibilities either, it's the sound that gets me every time.

(P.S. I am very aware that the MM is not 6 Minimoogs in one box, but it still sounds damn good...when it works right. )

Memorymoogs sound great but are high maintenance.

If you want low maintenance, opt for the P12.

thealien666 wrote:(P.S. I am very aware that the MM is not 6 Minimoogs in one box, but it still sounds damn good...when it works right. )

You're right man!

Having had a MemoryMoog back when they were cheap as chips, I can say without a doubt the prophet. Even when they weren't vintage they were more than problematic.

I would prefer the Memorymoog, I believe the Prophet 12 is a "kitchen sink" synth in that all the on-board effects, and the digital waveforms, basically cheapens it. With synthesis, I prefer the analog oscillators, and I would rather sacrifice the number of voices with, say, a Minimoog Voyager, that has all-analog signal path but only one voice.

The Memorymoog, along with other synths of the time such as the Oberheim Matrix 12 or the Roland Jupiter 8, these are synths that had incredible analog oscillators and filters as well as several voices in the polyphony.

I'm not really impressed by the add-ons the p12 offers, such as the feedback loop and the decimator and the overdrive and delay, onboard effects. I'm a hands-on type person.. I can get some of these same effects by adding an effects pedal or an analog delay. I forgot to ask whether the delay section on the P12 is an analog delay. If not, they're even misrepresenting the product by saying everything past the oscillators is analog.

The Memorymoog has the Moog filters, very lush sounding oscillators, just magical. It actually isn't very fair to compare these two synths, though. Seriously I haven't looked at the P12 in too much depth but on the face of it, I would even prefer a Prophet 8 over that, or a Poly Evolver with the analog and digital voices at the disposal of the player. Just because there's 12 voices, not as impressive to me, because honestly when you make a pad more voices just muddies things up beyond a certain point. I'm sure the P12 is an awesome synth and tons of fun, but I am not taking as much of a shine to it as I was to the PE or the P8.

Electrong wrote: I forgot to ask whether the delay section on the P12 is an analog delay. If not, they're even misrepresenting the product by saying everything past the oscillators being analog.

It's a digital delay. This is stated in the manual so it's not misrepresented there. Although I have heard other general comments that do make some sort of statement about everything past the oscillators being analog. This is true if you don't use the delay so the marketing guys will have to justify that one. The analog parts are filters, VCA, stereo pan and distortion.

Brian G wrote: It can be as simple orcas complex as you'd like.

It does polyphonic whale sounds? That's incredible. But other than that, I am not impressed with the sound of any DSI synths (other than the tempest, if you call that a synth). His synths are pretty cool for hardware digital, but not for analog. He might as well go full digital, the analog part is just for gimmick IMO. The memorymoog is really cool, for a polyphonic, but for the money, a prophet 5 or jupiter or oberheim is probably more reliable. The Moog sound to me is not conducive to poly's.

Also for the money, a new or old 2/4/8 voice SEM is what I would get.

unfiltered37 wrote:The Moog sound to me is not conducive to poly's.

I beg to differ. I multitracked this holiday traditional on Memorymoog, Polymoog, and Source back in 1989.

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguedieh ... 20High.mp3

You just have to keep a leash on the Moog timbre as they can easily overwhelm a mix.

yes it does whale sounds very well....I blame the iPad for the typo.


That is the cool thing with synths there is something for everyone....
I like the sound of my Prophet 08 and 12. Many of the demos do not show their full potential, it's when you sit down with them for awhile you learn what they can do. If it is still not for you, that's fine. The Tempest is a very nice production tool. The analog and digital osc. work well.

The Memorymoog can fit in a mix very well and can also take over as MC said. I enjoyed the years my Memorymoog worked and yes it would be nice to have again, but I am also happy with the production tools
I have to work with.

unfiltered37 wrote:...Also for the money, a new or old 2/4/8 voice SEM is what I would get.

Up to now, you'd be able to maybe get a 4 voice (not the vaporware new one )... I think the 8 voice is still out of reach in this price range... Although, following the crazy fluctuations of prices for a MM these days, it can't be too far off.

Brian G wrote: yes it does whale sounds very well....I blame the iPad for the typo.

I'm correcting "autospells" on my Mac all the time, PITA!