Moog Music Forum

I’ve looked at the subsequent 37 I like the way it sounds. I have a voyager and a sequential pro3. Was wondering if anyone might have other monophonic synths as well in addition to the subsequent 37. I think it’s duophonic as well and has a sequencer. Was wondering what the pros and cons of this synth might be. How does it sound compared to the voyager? Do you think it would be redundant sounding considering I have a voyager. I know there different synths in terms of design and price but moogs have a sound and a quality that overlap. Would a synth like the grandmother or matriarch sound noticeable different? I’ve heard people say the latter two have a different vibe being that they have a spring reverb and an analog delay which I think is stereo. . Can’t remember if the filter is in stereo. I know thier semi modular and the subsequent 37 has preset patches. And the three are different price points. Thanks

I have both. They are different but cover a lot of the same territory. If I could only keep one it would be the s37, but there are a few things to consider:

The s37 has more modulation options. I don't know if it sounds quite as full as the voyager- but its easier to get a warmer, maybe slightly dirtier, less smooth sound. The s37 sequencer feels a bit fiddly too me, but I never sat down and figured it out. I sequence ITB, so not sure what thats worth- need to try the sequencer as a mod source.

If you need to deal with a vst/editor its pretty rough. I had amazing quality tech support from moog over the years until last year when most of my inquiries were ignored or received responses weeks later. I ended up writing a m4L patch to control the s37 because the moog vst wasn't usable. They finally updated the VST but there are a lot of weird bugs in the library feature. Not sure how stable it is. I sure wouldn't feel safe using it live.

OTOH the soundtower stuff has a lot of UX issues but seems more stable.

Honestly, if the editor was in better shape - like overbridge quality but without the audio i/o I would have no complaints. I wish the editor worked and there was a rack version. I'd get rid of the voyager and double up.

IMHO the Grandmother / Matriarch sound amazing- they saturate really beautifully and the mixer has something magical about it.

I suppose if I had to start from scratch Id be tempted to go Matriarch + modular, except I can't really figure out how Id situate the modules relative to the cv/io on the keyboard so that it made sense to work that way.

Spoiler - you may not like my answer

You are asking about pros and cons in a kind of generic way. My point of view is that the relationship you build with an instrument relies on three aspects, namely the sound, the interface and the possibilities it offers. I personally consider those as -almost- equivalent, but the priority order is that one. I would advise to evaluate the "pros" and "cons" on each aspect independently.

The easy part is the possibilities. According to you needs, you are likely to know what you absolutely want to see on an instrument: "I cannot do without presets because I play live and need to find the exact same sound each time". However, on top of those must-have functionalities, you can be appealed by nice-to-have functionalities: "I do not need a sequencer, but it would be damn fun".
The interface: I feel this is an underrated aspect of things. Honestly, I sometimes like an instrument because I just click with it even if the sound does not fit 100% my taste. That's a very frustrating situation, Hehe, much more than an instrument that sounds perfect to my ears but has a poor interface.
The sound: "les goûts et les couleurs" as French say IOW it is more difficult to speak about that in formal terms, it's a matter of taste.

Now, you can ask yourself about those three aspects and get a rational answer. Of course, you can also keep an instrument for other reasons, I'm thinking about sentimental value.


Back to the sound. On this aspect, the "which Moog should I get" question has come many times here and there. My typical answer is that it depends on who asks it.
If you're willing to get your first Moog in order to add that sonic colour to your synth park, you already know what you are looking for in terms of sound (i.e., you're not trying to decide whether to get a Moog or another brand synth). I think any model is likely to suit you provided the interface and possibilities meet your needs.
If you already have played several Moog synths, you may -or may not- know the slight sonic differences between the different models. So, you may be looking for the very same sound but a different feature set/interface or for something sounding just a bit different but still in the family. Now that's very hard to say for any fellow forum member because we are talking about very


Here is an example.
I've been playing a Little Phatty for 10 years now. When Moog Music announced the Sub Phatty, I was very excited to get that sound with a one-knob-per-function interface. A friend of mine bought a Sub Phatty and I was finally disappointed: it did not sound the same, I found the oscillators a bit to clean/steady and there was something with the filter. I tried to A/B compare the LP and the Sub, I could reproduce the same sound everytime, but there was something very subtly different in the way the knobs interacted with the synth.
When the Sub37 was announced, I was even more excited (2 octaves are a bit short for me): the feature set was amazing. But I was disappointed all the same by the sound.
My point is: most of the musicians looking for a compact Moog synth with presets as their first Moog today would most probably choose a Sub Phatty or a Sub(sequent) 37 over a Little Phatty as they "sound the same but offer more". But to me, they do not sound the same.

You make some good points. Im wondering how many people might pick the subsequent 37 over the Minimoog being the 2022 RI minimoog is 5 K. I wonder if we’re going to see a reissue of the moog voyager as well. If Moog could offer a RI Minimoog voyager with some new features and offer it new at a lower price than used voyagers go for. I think this would be good for those still interested in a voyager but aren’t interested in paying the used markets inflated prices. As long as moog doesn’t make the price to high and lower than the used prices I think moog would make money. This seemed to work for the sequential prophet5/10 rev4 and the 2016 RI Minimoog and Korg ARP2600. I think the subsequent 37 is a great synth but I have two really nice monophonic synths. Even though technically the pro3 is paraphonic.