Moog Music Forum

Hi all,

The subject says it all...

Would my old minimoog model D fit into the Moog Gig Bag sold for the Voyager ?

I know the model D is somewhat higher ...

Has someone already tried that ?


Thanks for the help,
Ben.

Yes my model D does fit the Voyager gig bag.

It's a tight fit, but my model D is sitting in one right now, and it is a late model with the slightly thicker/crappier wood. I would guess the Voyager hard cases would be a different story though?

CZ, if one is to get a Mini, which is the optimal time period to seek it out, or is it a myriad of circumstances such as osc stabillity, or wood quality?

Eric

EricK wrote:CZ, if one is to get a Mini, which is the optimal time period to seek it out, or is it a myriad of circumstances such as osc stabillity, or wood quality?

Eric

Eric, that's the million dollar question!
Depends on what you wanted in a Mini. The oscillator boards probably made the biggest difference in sound. There were many other minor differences, but they are minor, they all sound like a Mini.
The wood, (looks) can always be changed. A new walnut case could be swaped in, just set the original aside. Not an expert on the woods used in the Mini, but seems the first ones were walnut. At some stage they switched to poplar. My first Mini in 1974, 393X looked realy sharp, nice grain, but it was stained poplar. By the time the serrated plastic wheels showed up, they moved to a different, thicker construction. With a darker mud finish, less grain showing. I have seen these refinished, some turn out nice.
If I was choosing a Mini and had deep pockets, I would prefer one of the first 1000 or so RA Moogs. Looks and sound great. I always liked the metal etched panel with all the markings, over the newer ones. Walnut case and discrete osc board.
Second I would choose one of the last 25 made. Again walnut case, stable oscillator board, probably highest quality Mini components throughout.
I had a chance to own both, but really didn't think it was that important, and prices were really high.
The two Mini's I have now are a 401X and 10,63X. They are both nice sounding Mini's. Only change I made was to the newer one was to swap out the serrated wheels. I like the plexi/smooth wheel center detent. It's more subtle and easier for me to do vibratos, and it's the type I learned on.
But if I was in the market for a run of the mill Mini, I think i would choose one of the 2000 thru 10,000 series with the less stable board. They all sound good. Finding one with good key contacts would be first concern, everything else should be fixable. Since I do my own repairs, one that had not been serviced would cost less. I paid $350 for my older one and $650 for the newer one.

The oscillators boards aren't the main contributor to sound differences - the filter is.

RAMs and early Musonics used five matched transistor pairs for the entire ladder filter. Later units only had matched pairs for the top and bottom of the ladder.

I have an RA Minimoog with 3046-based oscillator board. I played a later mini with same oscillator board and was shocked how different it sounded.

I have played two other RAMs, one with original discrete oscillator board and the other retrofitted with newest ua726 oscillator board. They sounded very similar to mine.

Early minimoogs are more consistent in sound because of the complete set of matched transistor pairs in the ladder filter. Later minimoogs really vary in sound because the unmatched transistor pairs cause a slight shift in three of the four filter poles, IE the RC component is different between each filter segment.

Thank you both for that. This is a true gem series of posts in the forum.

Eric