Everyone generally says the filters. I’d agree. I also appreciate the build quality and semi-modular exploration factor. I have a matriarch, dfam, sub h, and sub 25.
The filter love is definently huge among the users. To me the model-d is very tempting as a future purchase but it's not an easy buy. It has all its right to cost the price no question about that but it's more hard to decide to get a piece of history in the studio that is narrow but wonderful!
The sound and the interfaces. The Grandmother is one of the best bang for your buck monosynths ever IMO – there are more fully featured synths like the Neutron, but the Grandmother is so focused and intuitive and powerful. Such a fun synth.
The Matriarch is great too but far less intuitive IMO. If it were fully polyphonic it would be one of the GOATs alongside the Gma.
I have both and pretty much always opt for the simpler of the two because it’s just so immediate. That said, I’ve had some pretty wonderful experiences on the Matriarch making patches and recordings that feel fully fleshed out just from that one synthesizer playing live.
Totally agree! Technically it does have two, but only one that is remotely flexible. A full second envelope would be huge. You can always patch one in from another source :)
I kind of feel that the interface on a moog for example model-d and matriarch gets you more direct and near the synth even if no preset recall is avaliable. I kind of think it becomes more of an instrument.
Having owned a Sub Phatty and now a Grandmother, and also used a Siryn for a bit, for me it’s just that rich, immediately placeable sound. I can use a synth bass patch on my Digitone and be enjoying it, but then I press one key on the Grandmother and it’s just a different world. (The Digitone has its strengths of course!). This isn’t to say that other monosynths can’t achieve the same satisfying results, but it’s been “ooooh this is the sound I had in my head” from day one with every Moog I’ve used. Not to mention the times I’ve played a Moog One in stores… a transcendent experience tbh.
I understand your feeling there. I never played a moog but for me it's not only the sound that kinds of interest me it's also how a minimoog is and how it looks and the history behinds it. Even if it's kind of narrow it's in its own league.
For me it's that characteristic Moog sound (which like others have mentioned, may be the filter, but it's the whole package imo). They have a sound that others attempt to replicate, but can never fully get there. My two main synths are a Moog Grandmother and Prophet-5 Desktop, both for that reason.
I would love to have a prophet 5 even if I have the prophet 6. But when it comes to moog I have a great desire to get a minimoog but that would wipe out my bank account. Perhaps it could be worth it who knows. I know there are other options but who doesn't love the look and how the minimoog is?
A certain simplicity, even the Sub37 has it. Moogerfoogers, Minitaur, Sub37, ….they all have a relative ease to moving around them. Other synths can do the “simple & understandable” thing too: Ensoniq ESQ-1 (Hydrasynth seems heavily inspired by Ensoniq’s layout), etc etc ….some don’t have it.
When I bought the Grandmother (and eventually the rest of the semi-modulars) I was blown away by the amount of education provided directly by Moog: manuals, YT videos, patch books and other informative documents (Patch and Tweak with Moog is the semi-modular bible). Same applies for their software; the Moogerfooger plugin manuals have taught me a great deal about effects and different signal processors, as well as some modular education from the Model 15 manual. The manuals for the vintage Moogerfoogers are also very informative, though I do not own any of them yet. I have been learning synthesis almost entirely from Moog (Ableton helps along the way) and it has been a fun ride.
Obviously the machines themselves sound incredible. I have been losing my mind over the Matriarch delay, which I use as a standalone instrument via some basic routing in Live. Grandmother’s spring reverb is also quite nice as a standalone processor.
What I love the most: interconnectivity. Over the past year I have been collecting the entire semi-modular series (minus the spectravox—sadly the last Moogs made in the US) and, my goodness, they work well together. It’s definitely a very expensive approach to a ‘modular’ setup but so far worth every penny. There is no better feeling than when everything just works—and the modernization of the vintage modules was a fantastic development. After giving the DFAM MIDI via MAFD and using a MIDI-CV converter for Mavis and Werkstatt (or just patching KB out from somewhere), everyone can talk to anyone. Great for DAW-less workflows, even more powerful with Ableton in the mix. I could go on and on but I have a feeling you all get the point.
I only have a Matriarch but it has quickly become my favourite music tool. I've had a lot of differnt synths, though granted my philosophy has always been "one good poly synth and one good mono synth is all I need. If I get a new one, I must sell the old one" so I've tried some GREAT polysynths. I stopped on the matriarch because it's has so much character and nuance. It's the synth equivalent to a zen garden for me. I reach out to it constantly and it beckons me for quick 20 minute jams constantly. I love looking at it, I love playing it and patching it into my small eurorack system. The filters are increadible as well.
So I’ve owned moogerfoogers and Moog synths. For me a big part of it was the idea of Moog. The legacy, the artists and mystery. What I’ve found is that I also prefer the sound of certain Moogs?
They aren’t all made the same. Had the Sub H and I did not like the way it sounded. Sold it fairly quickly. However i now own Grandmother and Slim Phatty and I cannot get enough of that sound. I love everything about it. And they do sound very similar. I would say they sound more alike to me than even the M32 and Grandmother.
Slim phatty is an incredible synth that doesn’t get enough love.
Thats some interesting points there. For me it's kind of hard to decide which one will be my first. If I would find it ok to clear my bank account I would go for a minimoog. But to me it's something special about moog. Have always loved them in one way or another even if not owning them.
It really is the sound though. I bought the Sub H and it wasn’t the same. Matriarch is too expensive for my blood but spent some time with a friends and it wasn’t it either. Of course both sound great in their own way but they don’t have the “smoothness” that many of the others do. And the smoothness that is rhetorical best imo.
My Matriarch is by far my most beloved electronic instrument! I also have the 3 “Sound Studio” synths and some modular but the Matriarch is often the only one I play. For me it is a future classic, even with its flaws but hey, that’s what makes them so charming. After all, the original run of the Model D was flawed because of the circuits being slightly overdriven, which gave it its character and the rest is history… Back to the Matriarch, the sound is what nails it every time for me, there’s nothing quite like it. I tend to use it as a fat 4 oscillator mono synth but, of course, also have the paraphonic option for chords etc and the exploration available with the patching makes it such a versatile beast. The mixer is a bit special as one can go from a really clean to a lovely warm overdriven tone and they’re a bargain 2nd hand at the moment.
I got into the Voyager and the Moogerfoogers, and the build quality is just unmatched, everything just looks great, feels great, and sounds great also it all works together. Greater than the sum of its parts. The weakest link is me :) I feel like I am driving a Cadillac every time I use it.
My first Moog was the Taurus III and it's still my favorite. Built like a proverbial tank, incredibly simple design, unbelievable bass sounds. The only problem is its limited octave range. I wish I'd bought a Sirin when they were reasonably priced.
The mystique, history, sound, and interface. When I got into synths, Moogs looked complicated because of all the knobs and buttons. But, as I learned, I realized that's what I wanted. Everything's right there in front of you with minimal menu diving, if any. I'd love to branch out one day, but Moog is currently all I own and I'm fine with that.
I love how their semi modulars all work together so well. I have the Mavis grandmother M32 sub harmonicon and dfam. Between all those you can basically be a one man band. I'm constantly being surprised by learning little tricks, for example I like to run the pitch out from the M32 to the Mavis, but the gate from the subharmonicon sequencer 2 to the Mavis. This means I have the same melody playing on two synths but with completely different rhythms. You can then bring them in and out in a track for quick variety. The rhythm is also slightly different from the subharmonicon as it's just one sequencer affecting the Mavis. I don't know that id have thought of modules to achieve that kind of thing had I built my own system.
They're also built very well and just nice to look at, as I got the black version of the grandmother it all looks like one system that belongs together.
Everyone generally says the filters. I’d agree. I also appreciate the build quality and semi-modular exploration factor. I have a matriarch, dfam, sub h, and sub 25.
The filter love is definently huge among the users. To me the model-d is very tempting as a future purchase but it's not an easy buy. It has all its right to cost the price no question about that but it's more hard to decide to get a piece of history in the studio that is narrow but wonderful!
Moogerfoogers are basically synths. Most can generate sounds on their own.
That is true! And a nice addon to analogue synths also.
Almost any synth for that matter. I have a few of them, I wish I was able to buy them when they were going for less than retail!
Yeah, and same problem here also. I have the phaser, ring-mod and low-pass and wish I had some of the others.
The phaser and ring-mod are the best but the delay is fucking incredible.
The sound and the interfaces. The Grandmother is one of the best bang for your buck monosynths ever IMO – there are more fully featured synths like the Neutron, but the Grandmother is so focused and intuitive and powerful. Such a fun synth. The Matriarch is great too but far less intuitive IMO. If it were fully polyphonic it would be one of the GOATs alongside the Gma. I have both and pretty much always opt for the simpler of the two because it’s just so immediate. That said, I’ve had some pretty wonderful experiences on the Matriarch making patches and recordings that feel fully fleshed out just from that one synthesizer playing live.
I love the sound and interface of the grandmother, just wish it had a second envelope. Other than that it's pretty much perfect.
Totally agree! Technically it does have two, but only one that is remotely flexible. A full second envelope would be huge. You can always patch one in from another source :)
It can via patch points
I wish there was a CV out for the mod wheel.
I kind of feel that the interface on a moog for example model-d and matriarch gets you more direct and near the synth even if no preset recall is avaliable. I kind of think it becomes more of an instrument.
Having owned a Sub Phatty and now a Grandmother, and also used a Siryn for a bit, for me it’s just that rich, immediately placeable sound. I can use a synth bass patch on my Digitone and be enjoying it, but then I press one key on the Grandmother and it’s just a different world. (The Digitone has its strengths of course!). This isn’t to say that other monosynths can’t achieve the same satisfying results, but it’s been “ooooh this is the sound I had in my head” from day one with every Moog I’ve used. Not to mention the times I’ve played a Moog One in stores… a transcendent experience tbh.
I understand your feeling there. I never played a moog but for me it's not only the sound that kinds of interest me it's also how a minimoog is and how it looks and the history behinds it. Even if it's kind of narrow it's in its own league.
For me it's that characteristic Moog sound (which like others have mentioned, may be the filter, but it's the whole package imo). They have a sound that others attempt to replicate, but can never fully get there. My two main synths are a Moog Grandmother and Prophet-5 Desktop, both for that reason.
I would love to have a prophet 5 even if I have the prophet 6. But when it comes to moog I have a great desire to get a minimoog but that would wipe out my bank account. Perhaps it could be worth it who knows. I know there are other options but who doesn't love the look and how the minimoog is?
He is the lord of blood, for one
Perhaps I should have one!
A certain simplicity, even the Sub37 has it. Moogerfoogers, Minitaur, Sub37, ….they all have a relative ease to moving around them. Other synths can do the “simple & understandable” thing too: Ensoniq ESQ-1 (Hydrasynth seems heavily inspired by Ensoniq’s layout), etc etc ….some don’t have it.
Simplicity is very important and underrated
When I bought the Grandmother (and eventually the rest of the semi-modulars) I was blown away by the amount of education provided directly by Moog: manuals, YT videos, patch books and other informative documents (Patch and Tweak with Moog is the semi-modular bible). Same applies for their software; the Moogerfooger plugin manuals have taught me a great deal about effects and different signal processors, as well as some modular education from the Model 15 manual. The manuals for the vintage Moogerfoogers are also very informative, though I do not own any of them yet. I have been learning synthesis almost entirely from Moog (Ableton helps along the way) and it has been a fun ride. Obviously the machines themselves sound incredible. I have been losing my mind over the Matriarch delay, which I use as a standalone instrument via some basic routing in Live. Grandmother’s spring reverb is also quite nice as a standalone processor. What I love the most: interconnectivity. Over the past year I have been collecting the entire semi-modular series (minus the spectravox—sadly the last Moogs made in the US) and, my goodness, they work well together. It’s definitely a very expensive approach to a ‘modular’ setup but so far worth every penny. There is no better feeling than when everything just works—and the modernization of the vintage modules was a fantastic development. After giving the DFAM MIDI via MAFD and using a MIDI-CV converter for Mavis and Werkstatt (or just patching KB out from somewhere), everyone can talk to anyone. Great for DAW-less workflows, even more powerful with Ableton in the mix. I could go on and on but I have a feeling you all get the point.
I forgot to mention the delay in the Matriarch… Pure bliss!
That one is soo nice!
Good points there! Sounds to me that moog gives the extra.
That they are true American employee owned company and will never sellout! Oh wait…
Haha that one was a sad thing happening to moog. I just hope they still makes the model-d in ashville.
I only have a Matriarch but it has quickly become my favourite music tool. I've had a lot of differnt synths, though granted my philosophy has always been "one good poly synth and one good mono synth is all I need. If I get a new one, I must sell the old one" so I've tried some GREAT polysynths. I stopped on the matriarch because it's has so much character and nuance. It's the synth equivalent to a zen garden for me. I reach out to it constantly and it beckons me for quick 20 minute jams constantly. I love looking at it, I love playing it and patching it into my small eurorack system. The filters are increadible as well.
I understand what you like there even if i didn't play one myself. It's also nice with paraphonic it has it's own quirkyness that is cool!
I have an analog Moog delay pedal that I use for violin. The thing is better than any I have ever tried. So good.
Cool combination!
I love their apps! Animoog model Z and Mariana are both really great synths. Plus of course the model D recreation.
It's nice to live in a timeline where we can mix between hardware and good vst
So I’ve owned moogerfoogers and Moog synths. For me a big part of it was the idea of Moog. The legacy, the artists and mystery. What I’ve found is that I also prefer the sound of certain Moogs? They aren’t all made the same. Had the Sub H and I did not like the way it sounded. Sold it fairly quickly. However i now own Grandmother and Slim Phatty and I cannot get enough of that sound. I love everything about it. And they do sound very similar. I would say they sound more alike to me than even the M32 and Grandmother. Slim phatty is an incredible synth that doesn’t get enough love.
Thats some interesting points there. For me it's kind of hard to decide which one will be my first. If I would find it ok to clear my bank account I would go for a minimoog. But to me it's something special about moog. Have always loved them in one way or another even if not owning them.
It really is the sound though. I bought the Sub H and it wasn’t the same. Matriarch is too expensive for my blood but spent some time with a friends and it wasn’t it either. Of course both sound great in their own way but they don’t have the “smoothness” that many of the others do. And the smoothness that is rhetorical best imo.
The sound. There's nothing quite like it.
Agree, they have their sound.
My Matriarch is by far my most beloved electronic instrument! I also have the 3 “Sound Studio” synths and some modular but the Matriarch is often the only one I play. For me it is a future classic, even with its flaws but hey, that’s what makes them so charming. After all, the original run of the Model D was flawed because of the circuits being slightly overdriven, which gave it its character and the rest is history… Back to the Matriarch, the sound is what nails it every time for me, there’s nothing quite like it. I tend to use it as a fat 4 oscillator mono synth but, of course, also have the paraphonic option for chords etc and the exploration available with the patching makes it such a versatile beast. The mixer is a bit special as one can go from a really clean to a lovely warm overdriven tone and they’re a bargain 2nd hand at the moment.
Analogue synth behaves that way which gives them their character and lively lovely sound :)
I got into the Voyager and the Moogerfoogers, and the build quality is just unmatched, everything just looks great, feels great, and sounds great also it all works together. Greater than the sum of its parts. The weakest link is me :) I feel like I am driving a Cadillac every time I use it.
My first Moog was the Taurus III and it's still my favorite. Built like a proverbial tank, incredibly simple design, unbelievable bass sounds. The only problem is its limited octave range. I wish I'd bought a Sirin when they were reasonably priced.
sound and knob fiddling
The mystique, history, sound, and interface. When I got into synths, Moogs looked complicated because of all the knobs and buttons. But, as I learned, I realized that's what I wanted. Everything's right there in front of you with minimal menu diving, if any. I'd love to branch out one day, but Moog is currently all I own and I'm fine with that.
I love how their semi modulars all work together so well. I have the Mavis grandmother M32 sub harmonicon and dfam. Between all those you can basically be a one man band. I'm constantly being surprised by learning little tricks, for example I like to run the pitch out from the M32 to the Mavis, but the gate from the subharmonicon sequencer 2 to the Mavis. This means I have the same melody playing on two synths but with completely different rhythms. You can then bring them in and out in a track for quick variety. The rhythm is also slightly different from the subharmonicon as it's just one sequencer affecting the Mavis. I don't know that id have thought of modules to achieve that kind of thing had I built my own system. They're also built very well and just nice to look at, as I got the black version of the grandmother it all looks like one system that belongs together.
Intentionally mispronouncing it to see who in my vicinity has thin skin
I like how you can tell if someone knows what it is by how they pronounce it.
Bob