First impressions of new Moog Model D on gigs.

[Hoochie]

Well,

 

I placed my order and didn't think I would see one till November.

 

Fed Ex woke me up this morning.

I literally opened the box and loaded it up.

 

I had one for a good chunk of time and stupidly let it go.

It was not stable and the keyboard was a mess.

So I sold it as a broken down thing. Ya. I know

350 dollars in repairs to get it working was a pass 12 years ago.

 

Anyway, if anybody is struggling with this decision, here are my thoughts.

 

All the knobs and switched are the same quality except these are

new and smooth. No scratchy anything or jumpy oscillators.

It is lighter than I remember.

 

The power supply is a line lump. Boo.

And it takes an XLR connector that looks like a DMX cable.

Boo again.

Oh well. I'm considering alternatives.

 

The wood is beautiful. Just perfect. It really catches the eye on stage.

I need to get a case made pronto.

 

The thing cuts through and sounds right. I could not dial in a bad sound.

 

The keyboard is butter. In case your wondering, it's semi weighted.

You can see the metal bars from underneath glued in to each key.

Everybody is saying Fatar TP-9. I have to say it's the best synth

keybed I've felt since the Korg M3

 

I immediately reached for it on any synth thing and covering bass

and it never let me down.

I use an Eventide H9 for some delay and verb.

 

It's kind like sitting down at a well maintained Steinway or Bosie.

Or maybe that 60's P bass and Fender Bassman

Or your uncles Trini Lopez ES 335 and a pre CBS Fender Super.

You know. It just feels right and you don't need to fight it.

Tone. Heart to hand.

 

Really diggin the 4th LFO.

It allows you to kind of set up patches and flick switches to change tone.

Audio rate modulation here too. Nice!!

 

The feed back distortion in and not having to patch it is nice too.

I really just left a cord permanently there before.

 

It just totally blew away the Nord synth in every way.

That's not fair. Totally different animal but it is what it is.

 

The build quality is first rate. At this price, it should be.

No buyers remorse here. It is a D after all.

 

John

[joegerardi]

Thanks!

 

With these gelded analog polysynths coming out lately, I've been bummed at the nearsightedness of the makers. I really need to go see one of these. 37 keys on a mono lead? That's not an issue.

 

..Joe

[Hoochie]

I agree with you. I used every bit of the keyboard

on a typical tune without resorting to touching the

footage dials.

It feels right.

 

My post last night was done half asleep

riding in the truck so I apologize.

I was excited but very tired.

I'll try to be more eloquent here

 

I only adjusted dials during song changes.

( we dont stop playing between songs much)

If it requires a major adjustment during a song ,

I used the now free 3rd oscillator to get it ready.

Then just swat the switches when the time comes.

(I used to do this before but you lose vibrato.

Not so with the new LFO.)

I also use the keyboard tracking switches

to get very quick filter changes mid song.

 

I have not patched vibrato to pressure but plan to

so I can relegate the wheel to modulation duties.

I'm betting the pressure is very smooth.

I checked the keyboard for flex.

Trying to use pressure on cheap diving board keys?

To put it bluntly, it's crap.

No control.

This is very sturdy.

 

I don't know if I can stress enough the freedom

of conciousness this brings to the table.

Anybody remember the first car or motorcycle?

Or when you figured out something really important

that was right in front of you all along

and nobody else had?

Waking up from a dream and remembering it clearly?

It's kind of a blend of that.

 

I felt so much joy being able to

express what I want.

Right now.

Nothing in the way.

Everything laid to hand.

 

Just playing in a store is great but actually

playing well with others, so to speak, is where

it really lets you know what's going on.

To a man and woman everyone in the band and crew noticed

without my asking.

That translating to the audience may be

a debate for another time but

I'm confident that it does.

Every little thing you do better adds up to

a better experience for you and the audience.

 

We cover MJs PYT in a cluster of MJ songs.

(I set up in an L with the Moog by itself on the left so a I can play

songs while getting it dialed in)

I have to bop around between

the Forte for piano tones, strings, and vocoder (PYT in the chorus)

Stage 2 for polysynth/triangle leads in the 2nd verse,

and the Moog for the squirrelly synth flourishes.

The Moog shined.

I was a dancing fool on that one.

I got it done and it looks good moving around so much.

 

I mentioned the H9 as an effect but

I barely used it. In fact I turned it off by accident

early on during the show

and didn't notice till I was shutting down for the night.

I have a week off to explore this further but likely will end up

with delay and a touch of verb from the H9 and an Xotic EP boost

for quick hands free boosting of leads.

 

 

John

 

[Ed A.]

A line lump? Really?

What were they thinking?

[DulceLabs.com]

The power supply is a line lump.

 

I find this very surprising. Strange choice when they were trying to match it as closely as possible to the original. I guess it saves on the UL inspection? :idk

 

[Synthoid]

The power supply is a line lump.

 

We call those steekin' things "wall warts" in this part of town.

[Stokely]

If it is the tp-9 I love that action. I think both my Virus and pc361 had that. I also really like the m3's action.

[DulceLabs.com]

The power supply is a line lump.

 

We call those steekin' things "wall warts" in this part of town.

 

They are different. The "line lumps" have a rectangular transformer in the middle with the the two cords coming out each end. They usually are preferable to "wall warts" as they only take up one spot on the power strip instead of covering 2-3 like the "wall warts"

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/dynamic/Korg9v1700mA/original-300.jpg

[SteeVtheRipper]

I don't understand the line lump either. I heard some half arse explanation saying it reduced noise. Um...the Minimoog has been a classic since the 70s and when listening to people describing the sound of it, being noisy has never come up. Now if we were talking about an MS20 maybe. But really? Noise? If that's the reason that's a lame one. People have been paying top dollar for vintage minis for years with or without noise. I think maybe it was just cheaper for them. One less thing to put in. I dunno I can't think of any outstanding reason to exclude it.

[DulceLabs.com]

I don't understand the line lump either. I heard some half arse explanation saying it reduced noise. Um...the Minimoog has been a classic since the 70s and when listening to people describing the sound of it, being noisy has never come up. Now if we were talking about an MS20 maybe. But really? Noise? If that's the reason that's a lame one. People have been paying top dollar for vintage minis for years with or without noise. I think maybe it was just cheaper for them. One less thing to put in. I dunno I can't think of any outstanding reason to exclude it.

 

So this has been bugging me too, so I did some sleuthing. According to Moog:

 

"The Minimoog Model D now features a universal (100~240 VAC; 50/60 Hz) external power supply, reducing the weight and heat created by the internal power supply, and improving stability of the instrument. This also makes it easier to travel with your Minimoog Model D."

 

So heat, tuning stability and weight are the reasons they give.

[jyrkik]

hi,

 

Hasn't it been claimed that the noisines and less than stellar regulation of the power supply is one reason for the lively sound of the original Mini? I wonder how the line lump handless that..

 

The real reason for using the lump much be due to economics - line lumps can be obtained as a readily available and approved item without a need for tedious safety approval routiness nationally in every contry. I am not sure about US national regulations, but at least in EU they can be a serous hassle and cost. On the other hand, we are talking about a serious instrument and especially serious money anyway.. I don't get it..

 

Jyrki

 

[Hoochie]

I don't get it either.

I have a Behringer XAir 12 that has a built in power supply and is

very quiet. It's a mixer. It has to be.

It weighs maybe US 5 pounds in total, has an industry standard IEC power cable

you can get just about anywhere, and is less than $300.

So my bet is it's regulatory being this is an American company.

Behringer being an EU company it likely works in their favor.

 

I do understand the heat thing.

The old Mini got pretty warm.

The new one not at all. And it is very stable.

As long as the tuning knob is left alone, you don't have to mess with it much.

Just a slight nudge to be perfect if anything.

 

So in the end I'm going to mount it to my pedal board and get a spare.

Watch. It's $300.

 

John

[Markay]

 

So this has been bugging me too, so I did some sleuthing. According to Moog:

 

"The Minimoog Model D now features a universal (100~240 VAC; 50/60 Hz) external power supply, reducing the weight and heat created by the internal power supply, and improving stability of the instrument. This also makes it easier to travel with your Minimoog Model D."

 

So heat, tuning stability and weight are the reasons they give.

 

I think the main reason is that they can sell it anywhere in the world with the one power supply. No doubt the 3rd party manufacturer of the power supply has arranged certification in every country where certification is required. The other attributes would be secondary considerations.

 

Good to hear you are enjoying it John.

[joegerardi]

Could be- a switching power supply inside the instrument costs a lot more than a DC power supply that matches the country's rating.

 

..Joe

[DulceLabs.com]

I agree with all the reasoning behind using an external power supply but find it strange the much cheaper Sub 37 has an internal. :idk I can imagine some new owners who didn't know about this will be taken aback pretty hard when they see the PSU.

[Synthoid]

The power supply is a line lump.

 

We call those steekin' things "wall warts" in this part of town.

 

They are different. The "line lumps" have a rectangular transformer in the middle with the the two cords coming out each end. They usually are preferable to "wall warts" as they only take up one spot on the power strip instead of covering 2-3 like the "wall warts"

 

Ah, thank you.

 

My Radias has a "line lump."

[The Real MC]

Business economics would be a big part of the decision to go line lump. UL certification is an expensive process - running in the six digits and it doesn't happen overnight (long waiting list). Since the Model D reissue is a very limited production run, there's no way to spread out this expense over every unit and still keep the cost reasonable.

 

FWIW, I would gig with a line lump over a wall wart any day.

[DulceLabs.com]

My Radias has a "line lump."

 

Oh I'd see a doctor about that.

[Threadslayer]

 

FWIW, I would gig with a line lump over a wall wart any day.

Me too, as long as the keyboard to lump portion of the cable is long enough that you can locate the lump out of the way. It's still one more critical piece of gear to forget to bring to a gig however

[Doerfler]

Since the Model D reissue is a very limited production run,

 

curious to where this info was garnered. I had heard just the opposite. :idk

[RABid]

Since the Model D reissue is a very limited production run,

 

curious to where this info was garnered. I had heard just the opposite. :idk

 

From the Moog website...

 

*NOTE: Due to the complexity of the build process coupled with the demand for other Moog instruments, we are only able to produce a small number of Minimoog Model D units per month.

[RABid]

Can OSC 3 still be used as the LFO?

[CEB]

 

FWIW, I would gig with a line lump over a wall wart any day.

Me too, as long as the keyboard to lump portion of the cable is long enough that you can locate the lump out of the way. It's still one more critical piece of gear to forget to bring to a gig however

 

I have been velcroing Lumps to the pedal case and leaving warts plugged in on to the pedal case that sits under the keyboard stand.

[burningbusch]

I got mine a few weeks back. It's absolutely beautiful: construction, sound, aesthetics. To note: (as the power adapter comes up in EVERY thread about this instrument) it locks in place and is much more substantial than the typical connectors. I place the brick in behind the instrument panel, non-issue.

 

For me, I'll never gig with this. It will sit in my studio permanently. I'm not going to allow this thing to get trashed. If I needed a big Moog I'd choose the Voyager with its patch memory or even the sub 37. They are just more practical.

 

Yes the third Osc functions exactly like the original and can be used as an LFO.

 

Busch.

[Bill H.]

From the Moog website...

 

*NOTE: Due to the complexity of the build process coupled with the demand for other Moog instruments, we are only able to produce a small number of Minimoog Model D units per month.

 

A production run can be limited and open-ended at the same time, which is how I'm reading this - with it's "per month" qualifier.

 

Kind of a head scratcher because Voyagers, Little Phattys, and Sub 37s all have internal power supplies. Maybe at $3500 they figured that they wouldn't sell well enough to justify the cost.

 

Someone will almost certainly come up with a 3rd party internal PSU if they haven't already.

[CEB]

I dislike external power supplies but I can almost understand it. It seemed many times when an old analog synth went down it was often related to a power supply issue. Now a power supply goes down there is no need to open the synth up.

 

Just don't lose the power supply.

[mate stubb]

 

Just don't lose the power supply.

 

In fact, always have a spare.

[Doerfler]

 

Just don't lose the power supply.

 

In fact, always have a spare.

 

Yes and Yes

[DulceLabs.com]

From the Moog website...

 

*NOTE: Due to the complexity of the build process coupled with the demand for other Moog instruments, we are only able to produce a small number of Minimoog Model D units per month.

 

A production run can be limited and open-ended at the same time, which is how I'm reading this - with it's "per month" qualifier.

 

Correct. It was announced last month that the Model D is not a "limited" edition.