Should I keep my Micromoog vintage?

[wescook]

Hello moog fanatics! I am considering a very modest mod on my vintage micromoog. It has a low serial number (1558) and does not have one of the attenuator knobs on the back panel that you often see. I am considering switching out the 3/16 modulation jack with a more conventional 1/4". This will require widening the hole in the back panel. Curious what the community thinks about going non-vintage? Should i do it or should i try to have a custom cable made?

Welcome your thoughts.

Thanks,

Wes

[EricK]

For years I was against modifying vintage instruments. Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you ever plan to sell it?
2. Is the historical significance more important than musical functionality?

If you never plan to sell it, then have a competent tech or reputable engineer perform the modifications and use it.
If you think you might sell it in the future, make sure the tech is reputable and keep the documentation. Some modifications can actually lower the resale value, so make sure any mods you get look good and are done well.

You are aware that using the Mod Out will temporarily disable the modulation sources within the Micro, right? It might be cheaper to have a cable made.

Attenuation can be had in other ways, such as with a custom cable, the CP-251, or with an attenuator module.

Don't forget the bass modification. It is worth it. I got this done on my micro when it was restored.


So I was given my father's Rhodes and Micromoog. When we got the electronics restored I asked him how he felt about having an effects loop installed on the Rhodes. We were against it at first, but we decided that we were never going to sell it, and that the mods would look like they came from the factory anyway, so the functionality trumped the historical significance. I also had a Roland RE-301 modified with a hidden switch which kills the tape motor so that the chorus and reverb can be used without the transport system running. This mod, if I'm not mistaken, is reversible.

So go for it!

E

[Revtor]

Thats not very "intrusive" and it brings the machine up to modern times, usability wise. I say go for it.

~Steve

[megavoice]

I cling firmly to what my tech is always doing and saying:
Modifications can be done at every time if the are FULLY reversable. So it`s NOT ADVISED to alter or damage the housing or anything else unreversably...

[Revtor]

You could always make a short 3/16 male to 1/4 female adaptor cable. CAE sound has the 3/16 parts.

~Steve

[eric coleridge]

This is the jack, just make a cable with a TRS 1/4 on the other end, problem solved. Its a pretty rad feature of the Micro, being able to route external signals thru it's modulation bus, and send mod bus routings to other synths. The Micro has the best S+H of any synth I've ever played. I don't know exactly how, but it gets really good useful repeating patterns.

http://www.caesound.net/moogglideanddecayjack.aspx