Moog One. The Polyphonic.

[Phil Aiken]

Things I really want to know:

1. How does the voice allocation work between the 3 voices? If this was highly configurable it would go a long way towards making 8 voices sufficient. Say allocate one voice each to 2 "synths", and the other 6 to the 3rd. Or allow dynamic allocation between

"synths" so you can have 2 fully voiced poly sounds up at once. Or what have you...

 

2. Are the effects addressable in the Mod Matrix? Would be very nice and would set it apart from a synth with no FX plus external boxes.

 

3. Very curious as to what the plans for the LAN jack are.

 

4. I've heard from people that it is both MPE compatible and responds to poly aftertouch via midi. I have not seen anything official about either of these yet.

[The Real MC]

Does it sound Minimoog like in unison mode?

 

So,- and at least to my ears, no synth in unison mode sounds like a Minimoog D.

 

I beg to differ. The Memorymoog has the option to pull off unison with anywhere from one to all six voices. With it set to a single voice, it does a very good Minimoog emulation. And I don't make that statement lightly.

 

Polysynths with unison mode are cool, but few offer the option to get unison down to one voice.

 

I cannot find any filter tracking pot or switches on the MOOG One.

 

Same here, must be buried in the menu system.

 

One other feature I was looking out for: I don't see a button for setting VCO3 in LFO mode. Combined with keyboard tracking, that was a powerful feature of the Memorymoog. Hopefully one of the LFOs can track the keyboard.

 

I'm saving $$$ for one of these... it looks like a beast.

[Phil Aiken]

Does it sound Minimoog like in unison mode?

 

So,- and at least to my ears, no synth in unison mode sounds like a Minimoog D.

 

I beg to differ. The Memorymoog has the option to pull off unison with anywhere from one to all six voices. With it set to a single voice, it does a very good Minimoog emulation. And I don't make that statement lightly.

 

Polysynths with unison mode are cool, but few offer the option to get unison down to one voice.

 

I cannot find any filter tracking pot or switches on the MOOG One.

 

Same here, must be buried in the menu system.

 

One other feature I was looking out for: I don't see a button for setting VCO3 in LFO mode. Combined with keyboard tracking, that was a powerful feature of the Memorymoog. Hopefully one of the LFOs can track the keyboard.

 

I'm saving $$$ for one of these... it looks like a beast.

 

Keep in mind that there are 4 LFO's so no need to use the 3rd OSC. I would guess that keyboard tracking is an assignable source in the mod matrix, as it is on some other synths.

 

[TechEverlasting]

I have a feeling this might be a dumb question, but what does it mean to have unison mode in one voice? Isn't unison mode forcing multiple voices to play the same sound on the same note at the same time?

 

Is this just having polyphonic synth being able to play in monophonic mode?

[Synthoid]

Not a demo, but some good closeups of the unit:

 

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

 

[Phil Aiken]

I have a feeling this might be a dumb question, but what does it mean to have unison mode in one voice? Isn't unison mode forcing multiple voices to play the same sound on the same note at the same time?

 

Is this just having polyphonic synth being able to play in monophonic mode?

 

Yes, and I think I've been misusing "unison" in that context, when I really mean monophonic. The newer DSI synths allow you to specify the number of voices when in unison mode, which is always monophonic, so I think in those terms.

[Markyboard]

 

I'm saving $$$ for one of these... it looks like a beast.

 

Not me. I refuse to spend that kind of money only to have to upgrade again 35 years from now.

[The Real MC]

 

I'm saving $$$ for one of these... it looks like a beast.

 

Not me. I refuse to spend that kind of money only to have to upgrade again 35 years from now.

 

It will never need an upgrade with those cool waveform scopes.

[The Real MC]

One other feature I was looking out for: I don't see a button for setting VCO3 in LFO mode. Combined with keyboard tracking, that was a powerful feature of the Memorymoog. Hopefully one of the LFOs can track the keyboard.

 

Keep in mind that there are 4 LFO's so no need to use the 3rd OSC. I would guess that keyboard tracking is an assignable source in the mod matrix, as it is on some other synths.

 

I had the same thinking, that's what the Andromeda does.

[mate stubb]

Things I really want to know:

1. How does the voice allocation work between the 3 voices? If this was highly configurable it would go a long way towards making 8 voices sufficient. Say allocate one voice each to 2 "synths", and the other 6 to the 3rd. Or allow dynamic allocation between

"synths" so you can have 2 fully voiced poly sounds up at once. Or what have you...

 

There is a Polyphony knob to set each section from 1 voice to 16.

[Markyboard]

 

I'm saving $$$ for one of these... it looks like a beast.

 

Not me. I refuse to spend that kind of money only to have to upgrade again 35 years from now.

 

It will never need an upgrade with those cool waveform scopes.

 

Yeah, they do seem a little gimmicky at first but as long as they reflect the post modulation parameters they could prove interesting and even useful at times. I'm actually waiting on the next shipment of Mordax scopes for my modular. Btw if I were purchasing a One it would be contingent on schematics up front. Pretty sure Moog wouldn't give a crap about losing a sale but no way I'm searching the world for these...again.

[David Emm]

I remember a few years ago here, people were saying there would never be another polyphonic Moog. Hmmmmm.

 

I'm one of them and I'd say so more clearly if my mouth was not full of barbecued crow. Analog has been rising steadily like Godzilla rising from the bay. I'm very pleased to be this kind of wrong. Seriously, if I had a Moog One, I'd have to table everything but Logic for a year. Its a given that it will sound good, but its the kind of instrument you can set up alone, like a DX5, Solaris or Steinway. Our mini-studios are a fine thing, but certain instruments can fly solo at a whole different level. Some synths smell like plastic; this one smells like polished teak and fine scotch. I can't even GAS over it. I'm too dazzled.

 

 

[Nathanael_I]

Composer Charlie Clouser's take HERE

 

An interesting counterpoint from someone who owned not one but THREE MemoryMoogs at once!

 

The first day, I was ready to sell my Model-D to fund this. Then I thought, but what if it doesn't replace it, but does something different? And that's when I realized that I was in no rush to get the first one or the 100th one. This will be in production a while.

 

It is an amazing time to like synthesizers! From the Schmidt, to Moog One, to the Quantum, to the Prophet-X, Modal stuff, Dave Smith stuff, and then all the new digital modular stuff, Omnisphere, and so much more. What a great time!

[Al Coda]

 

The Memorymoog has the option to pull off unison with anywhere from one to all six voices. With it set to a single voice, it does a very good Minimoog emulation. And I don't make that statement lightly.

 

Polysynths with unison mode are cool, but few offer the option to get unison down to one voice.

 

 

I said:

 

Minimoog (voyager or D) > 1 OSC active only

 

Memorymoog/ MOOG One (as examples) > 1 OSC active only ... now compare sound.

 

YES, the polysynth should be set to monophonic for similar playability.

 

So, we´re talkin´ about the same s##t.

 

There´s no need to have a "unison" option for that comparison.

 

A.C.

[engineerjoel]

 

The Memorymoog has the option to pull off unison with anywhere from one to all six voices. With it set to a single voice, it does a very good Minimoog emulation. And I don't make that statement lightly.

 

Polysynths with unison mode are cool, but few offer the option to get unison down to one voice.

 

 

 

Yes, I know for sure that both the OB-8 and Prophet 5 allow you to manually turn-off voices so you can actually play a unison, one-voice patch. I often turn-off voices on my OB-8/P5. It's quite refreshing to do this..reminds me a bit of my first mono synth--The Arp Axxe.

 

 

[Synthoid]

Official announcement Monday with video demo... or so I've been told.

 

 

 

[cphollis]

All of the sudden, my gear lust for the Prophet X has been put on pause. They are totally different machines with different goals, yes.

 

My metric is pretty much like deciding on a sports car -- which would give me the most fun for the longest period of time?

 

 

[The Real MC]

Yes, I know for sure that both the OB-8 and Prophet 5 allow you to manually turn-off voices so you can actually play a unison, one-voice patch.

 

I don't think the early rev P5 had that option

[Marzzz]

Gordon Reid wrote about the Moog One in Sound on Sound:

 

The birth of the Moog One

 

I am particularly encouraged by his comments in the second-to-last paragraph.

[Al Coda]

 

Yes, I know for sure that both the OB-8 and Prophet 5 allow you to manually turn-off voices so you can actually play a unison, one-voice patch. I often turn-off voices on my OB-8/P5. It's quite refreshing to do this..reminds me a bit of my first mono synth--The Arp Axxe.

 

Define "unison", "poly-unison" and "monophonic",- and then think about what "1 voice" means and what the difference is between "1 voice" and "1 voice w/ 1 OSC only".

 

Explanation:

 

Unison = stacking VOICES of a polyphonic synth so it plays single- or multitrigger monophonic and all or a selectable number of voices sound.

 

A synth VOICE in monophonic and polyphonic synths is typically several (1-4) OSCs which can be detuned against each other and mixed at different levels while playing same or different waveforms.

 

 

Poly-Unison:

 

Play 4-voice poly (instead of 8 voice) 2 VOICES sound unison per key.

Play 2-voice poly, 4 VOICES sound unison per key ... and so on ...

 

Different play-modes have influence too and depend on the synth architecture and whatelse the designers had in mind.

 

For a test if a single voice of p.ex. the MOOG One will sound similar or identical to a Minimoog D or Voyager w/ just only 1 OSC in use,- even in unison mode w/ just only 1 voice, the tester has to set the synth´s play-mode to monophonic and deactivate the 2nd (3rd and 4th if available too) OSC(s) of that voice or turn it´s/their volume(s) down to zero before doing the comparison.

 

When the polysynth is in unison-mode w/ more than 1 voice stacked and only 1 OSC per voice in use, it is still 1 OSC per voice stacked.

The VOICES will still be slightly detuned or drift slow against each other even the detune-parameter of the VOICE is ineffective ´cause additional OSCs are muted/not audible and even the unison-detune parameter might have been set to zero,- so never sound like any Minimoog voice w/ just only 1 OSC in use.

 

engineerjoel,- I won´t say you don´t know the above,- but I have the impression, "monophonic w/ only 1 OSC in use" was mistaken w/ "unison and just only 1 voice active" already before in this thread,- while I was only interested in IF a single voice of the MOOG One, w/ just only 1 OSC in use, might sound close or identical w/ Minimoog and just only 1 OSC (out of three) active.

 

Now I wait for a vid where this scenario is tested or until I can play this synth in a store.

 

 

A.C.

 

[Phil Aiken]

Gordon Reid wrote about the Moog One in Sound on Sound:

 

The birth of the Moog One

 

I am particularly encouraged by his comments in the second-to-last paragraph.

 

I was particularly encouraged by his reference to the 8 voice being extensible, but I have since heard from the guy that wrote the manual, that this will not be the case. (Repeats to self: The Prophet 5 had 5 voices. The Memorymoog had 6. Your OB6 has 6) (self retorts: They were not multitimbral. You could not layer 2 8 voice patches)

 

[TechEverlasting]

Just from a marketing standpoint I think spending the extra money for the 8-voice expansion would have been a lot more compelling if this also increased the number of multi-timbral parts. With three available parts, a 16 voice Moog One is just about like having three MemoryMoogs at once. (The 8 voice could be viewed as having one Memory Moog plus two MiniMoogs.) What the hell would anyone ever do with three MemoryMoogs at once? What else is going to fit in that mix?

 

I'm concerned that the sound the 16 voice version produces will be so big and thick as to warp space-time and melt budget audio interfaces.

[Tusker]

Gordon Reid wrote about the Moog One in Sound on Sound:

 

The birth of the Moog One

 

I am particularly encouraged by his comments in the second-to-last paragraph.

 

Thank you for sharing that.

 

Me too. I like the idea of the ethereal side of Moog Ones sounds.

 

I've been thinking about that since seeing that (unlike the Memorymoog) there is continuous waveshaping from Triangle to Saw. It suggests that a large number of additive-style sounds are on offer in the oscillator section.

 

I would guess that with the sub series, Moog have learned a lot about designing the clipping attributes in the mixer, vca, etc. .... so that you can dial in the brute force sounds, but you don't have commit to them.

 

Eventide reverbs will not suck either.

[GRollins]

I confess to a rising feeling of lust for this thing.

 

Grey

[Markyboard]

Already made the front cover of the latest SW catalog.

[Al Coda]

Just from a marketing standpoint I think spending the extra money for the 8-voice expansion would have been a lot more compelling if this also increased the number of multi-timbral parts.

 

Not only w/ the expansion alone ...

 

I already regret the 8-voice version doesn´t offer splitting the instrument into 8 monosynths or into any combination of polysynth(s) w/ user selectable voicecount and monosynth(s),- just like it was and still is possible already w/ a 6-voice Oberheim Xpander (and Matrix-12) in Multi-Patch Mode.

It´s not such a big deal when performing live, but in a studio scenario using sequencers/DAW, it´s a very powerful feature.

 

Your input above is welcome in addition !

 

With three available parts, a 16 voice Moog One is just about like having three MemoryMoogs at once. (The 8 voice could be viewed as having one Memory Moog plus two MiniMoogs.) What the hell would anyone ever do with three MemoryMoogs at once? What else is going to fit in that mix?

 

When you look at the MOOG One´s filter section, you see the differences.

The MOOG ladder filter alone offers LP and HP w/ selectable slope (24 / 18 / 12 & 6dB), the SVF offers Notch / BP / HP & LP and there´s the serial/parallel usage of the filters.

I imagine that´s the right tools to get the required separation even w/ "three Memorymoogs at once".

I´m curious about hearing the different filter characteristics ...

 

When I read Gordon Reid´s SOS article,- I was surprised reading "digitally generated facilities include multiple contour generators and LFOs".

Now I hope LFOs and ENVs don´t suffer from the well known issues when generated in software.

Consequently there come up questions ...

 

1.)

Are the LFOs all fast enough, don´t alias and go up into the audio range.

 

EDIT:

From the other article: "Moog One offers four wide-range LFOs per voice"

 

Now, it depends on what "wide range" means ...

 

2.)

Are the ENVs snappy and offer "vintage-type" segment-shapes,- or are they lame linear modifiers ?

 

EDIT:

In the other article I read: "the character of each of these envelopes can be molded by per-stage envelope curves"

 

Good news !

 

3.)

Is it possible setting LFOs and ENVs to "freerun" or do they start (LFOs: at whatever user selectable phasing) w/ every key pressed ?

 

4.)

What´s up w/ VCAs ? Are they all, or some, also software generated ? And if "some",- which ones ?

 

And 5.)

What´s the overall update cycle for the digital modifiers ?

5ms, 10ms, 20ms ???

 

 

A.C.

 

 

[Al Coda]

Eventide reverbs will not suck either.

 

I miss a Flanger in the FX list.

 

... chorus, delay, phase, bit reduction, vocoding, and a suite of premium

Eventide reverbs such as Blackhole, Shimmer, Plate, Room, and Hall.

Effects can be applied as Synth Effects and Master Bus Effects.

Synth Effects are applied to individual timbral layers, while Master Bus Effects can be accessed via sends from all three synthesizers. The effects are digital,...

 

A.C.

[CountFosco]

I guess the effect listed as phase could be set up to flange, depending on the available parameters. Flanging is modulating phase shift.

[ksoper]

The questionnaire Gordon Reid referred to in the article was sent to me in early May, 2013 as a spreadsheet. Thought you might enjoy seeing it.

 

Poly Questionnaire: Use a 1 to specify your top selection and a 2 to specify your secondary selection for each question below. Please enter any comments you may have regarding each question.

 

Street price: $2000-$2500, $2500-$3000, $3000-$3500, $3500-$4000.

 

Number of keys: Tabletop/no keys, 44, 61, 76

Number of voices: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10

Oscillators per voice: 1, 2, 3, 4

Sub oscillators per voice: 0, 1, 2, 3

Filters per voice: 1, 2, 3, 4

Maximum weight: 20-25 lbs, 25-30, 30-35, doesn't matter

Modulation sources: 2, 3, 4, 5

Number of presets: 128, 256, 512, 1028

Built-in effects required? No/Yes--> analog/digital

If yes, which?: Delay, chorus, ring mod, other

If other, please specify

Is a sequencer necessary? No, 2x16, 3x16, 4x16

Is aftertouch necessary? No, yes/mono, yes/polyphonic

CV connectivity: none, optional, built in, expandable

 

What do you believe is the best poly-synth ever created? Why?

 

What do you believe is the best poly-synth currently in production? Why?

 

Comments on the look and/or workflow of a Moog poly:

 

Other thoughts or comments:

 

Here is a synopsis of my response. I knew that a Moog poly was going to command a premium price. $4000 was optimistic. I posited a poly Voyager and asked what that would cost--$8K? $10k? 61 keys and the best possible keybed at a minimum. 6 or 8 voices, 3 osc per voice. (I also said that if it were multi-timbral, 16 voices would be awesome.) O subs. Filters, at least 2. Weight--35-45 lbs. Mod sources, as many as possible. 256 presets seemed like enough. Yes to built in effects, specifically reverb. I have no issue with digital effects. Yes to a sequencer and arpeggiator of their choice. Poly AT, please. Yes to built in cv connectivity. Best poly ever? Obie 4/8 or OBX. Best in production (2013), Solaris. Look and workflow, Moog wrote the book. The Memorymoog layout was just fine. Throw in a ribbon controller.

 

How close was I?

 

[Quai34]

At least the Prophet X now looks a lot more reasonable...

I was just thinking that my Propeht 12 I got for 2700 CAN$ was a steal...