Moog Minimoog

Very easy to get great sound from.

Lacks a fourth LF Oscillator, for modulation to provide vibrato or tremolo effects.

Very expressive, and eay to get a good sound.

Very dependable, keyboard prone to bad contacts.

Do all my own repairs, and fixes.

Irreplaceable, even with the new Voyager.
Playing it for over 30 years.
Only love, nothing to hate.
4th Osc.
Very inspirational.
This Minimoog was originally from the USA, with 110Vac, converted to 240Vac, very simple, completely renovated by myself. Will NOT Sell her.

Mine is #13239. It's an "Australian" release, with a 240V power
supply. Mine was probably made in 1980 or 1981.
The front panel is the predecessor to all synths since.
it is very simple to operate but obviously you still have to work
to get a good sound out of it.

Obviously a monophonic synth, with 3 oscillators.
Someone laughed when I bough this and said "but it only has one note".
I said "but it's a good one!".

Expansion via CV/Gate and inputs for the filter and audio in. 2 outputs, plus a phones output. Mine appears to have a an extra pair of
CV/Gate inputs that are obviously professionally done. I think it has been modded to support standard CV and gate control just like a Roland.

The mini seems to just sit there saying to me, "play me".
It is a sheer joy to have such a wonderful professional instrument.
I am only a hobbyist these days, but I couldn't resist buying
this for my "collection". I've been playing it a lot and
all I know is that it has that distinctive sound that stands out
on so many recordings from when I was younger! It makes me want to
play and especially it seems to influence how I play. I am still
learning how to get "my" sound on this synth - still getting past
all the others on the way. It is a very personal sound though.
I am doing things on the Mini I hadn't considered on other monos.
I am very lucky mine has a very sweet sound and holds it's tune
extremely well.

Mine seems to be very solid and robust. If I need repairs,
there is a good synth tech here in Sydney who knows a lot about them.
I am thinking of getting the keyboard replaced, with a modern update
from a company in Austria, that does them for 49 euros. My keyboard
is still very playable, but is starting to get a bit clacky.

It's a vintage, so no support here. I just need that synth tech,
who is very good.

I paid a premium price for mine, but I am only the third owner.
Mine is in excellent condition and plays like a beauty.
It looks great, sounds even better and I am really glad I
got it. I will never let this synth go and I love it!
A dream come true for me....

This is the easiest most responsive interface you could ask for. Knobs switches, a couple of mod wheels and a small monophonic keyboard.

Monophonic, but don't let that deter you, The 3 oscillators are great for speaker shaking bass, or use the 3rd oscillator at slow speed, for great filter sweeps. About 90% of the analog synth sounds you hear on 70's records are Minimoog, and they are still being used today. It takes a slight learning curve but you get better and better each time, it is easier to play and find new things on it. This is a very versatile synth for being "just a monophonic synth".

This is the most realistic sounding analog synth there is. It doesn't mimic other instruments very well, except perhaps horns and strings, but you can tell the Minimoog is a synthesizer. They were originally created to add to the sounds that were available. This is an extremely expressive, musical artistic tool. Somewhat raw sound and will shake the speakers with the bass, and you can also get lots of spacy effects. They need periodic calibration from time to time, but are great when they are serviced and the oscillators are in reasonably good tune. Like a horn or guitar tuning is a fairly ongoing process.

This minimoog is bulletproof. I have had other ones, one needed lots of work by a tech but once he fixed it, it was bulletproof. The only problem is they are somewhat collectible and it may be chancy to take one out of the studio.

Not applicable.

I would buy one anytime if it were lost. This is an original instrument that can't be duplicated. I have played synths on and off for about 17 years. I have played drums and percussion and bass much longer than that. This is a very addictive musical device that always adds something to the mix. It stands alone amongst true analog synths as the best one in history. I have played ARP 2600's and would buy one of them too but not for their playability, more for their features. The Minimoog would be nice if it had an envelope generator, and a sample and hold or random LFO feature, perhaps MIDI-clock controlled LFO, but these are features that can be obtained with a midi/cv controller device such as a Kenton Pro 2, so you can add on to the Minimoog. This is a true classic. It has obvious limitations being monophonic but these are the limitations that helps you create your art. Overall the Moog Minimoog sets the standard for excellence on a product that was produced for more than 10 years, an unheard of longevity for a product nowdays, which makes their extreme usefulness in todays music even more impressive.

Easy because of logical controls. Everything you do want,(except sync) nothing you don't.

Well it's old school so no Midi of course but who needs Midi?

Has an unduplicatable sound. Newbies think the Minimoog sounds great due to it's filters but in fact it sounds great because of the overdriven VCA and the fast envelopes. I'd say that the VCA has more to do with the Mini sound than the VCF. This is the only synth I know of that comes stock with an overdriven VCA :) Many manufacturers should have done the same in their designs.

Well there's oscillator drift, a clanky keyboard and probably the most disappointing thing about the Mini is the wheels- very touchy. I wouldn't take it on the road now days.

Well for good examples of this machine, forget ELP and all that garbage. Because the Mini is such an beastly machine, there were only a handful of good Mini players that really knew how to make the thing talk and master it's expressive capabilities. Those players who mastered the Mini were- Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Kit Watkins (Happy the Man), Manfred Mann (Manfred Manns Earth Band) Allan Zavod (Jean Luc Ponty), Adam Holzman (The Fents) Gerd Fuhrs (SFF) Eddie Jobson and George Duke and second to the players above Don Airey has to get some recognition. Jens Johanssen is a crazy player but uses a Korg Poly Six for all his leads (figure that one out?!!)
Other guys like Wakeman and Emerson never even came close to those mentioned above. They were kinda stodgy stiff players and had no soul because they were too busy wearing capes, having cups of tea and playing croquet and all the other lame typically english keyboard player stuff. Man I hate all that Yes and ELP garbage. Have fun with that Dungeons and Dragons boy. The Mini is an all american legend.

Its a pice of cake to program - the userinterface is physical on the Minimoog panel. Just grab and twist

Its a pre-MIDI monophonic synth. With a MIDI-interface such Kenton or Synhouse you can get it to roll in modern MIDI-sequensers

Its a synth, not for acustic sounds but for fantasysounds such synthbasses, nice leads, fx and so on. The best bass om earth ("Motown-" and "Michael Jackson-" basses)

Its a litte bit to work with concerning tuning. I use to tune it perfect just before recording and then record it with help of MIDI to a audiotrack - couse the tune-problem.

The tune problem is common on the main part of the Minimoogs. On mine its VCO 3 that detune when the temperature in the room switch a bit

Theres some vintage repair shops that are very skillfully on vintage synthesizers. I live right now in Stockholm, Sweden, and theres a repair shop called JAM (www.jam.se) that have dig in my mini and helped me with some of my vintagesynths.

It THE SYNTH

Please visit my Minimoog page on www.soundofmusic.se

I just got a service manual with mine. It came in handy when I got it repaired

It doesn't have a sequencer.

It doesn't react to velocity or after touch, however I don't have mine midied so I don't know.

I haven't had the oportunity to use it on a gig, I'd love to see how it cuts through guitars.

I've had mine for a couple of months now and I had to get the wave form switch for oscillator 1 fixed and the modulation wheel fixed. All the keys work and I'm glad it was in such good shape. The guy that worked on it said that it had been sitting and hadn't been played for quite along time. It works great now.

The sound is really fat and warm, picture the best chocolate in the world that you've tasted, nobody else can match this synth. They can try but, they'll never come close. I'd forgotten how wonderful the minimoog sounds until I got mine. The newer synths don't match it at all soundwise. My Roland JD-800 is quite a bit thinner sounding than the moog when it comes to lead patches and basses. The Minimoog sounds great when you play it against anything. It's given my other 2 keyboards new life. There's no affects on board, so I just use a touch or reverb on it from my reverb unit and it sounds amazing. Word to the wise, you won't need to turn your bass eq up on the mixer, just leave it in the middle and the minimoog does the rest. It's really simple and easy to use. You just start turning knobs on it and you can creat an endless varriety of sounds. I wish you could have all 3 oscillators playing at the same time and still get the modulation, but 2 more than gives it that killer sound. When it goes out of tune, just tune it a little with the a440 switch and you're set. Or just tune oscillator 1 perfectly to 2 and there you go. I'm never getting rid of this synth.

Once you've learned the basics of analog synthesis, you'll find that there's absolutely nothing to using the Minimoog. It's exquisitely simple and straightforward. Coming up with sounds is a breeze. I've had mine since 1995 and I never get tired of its features and functionality. For those who complain of its lack of sync and other later features of analog synths, buy one of those synths! The Minimoog is just perfect the way Moog made it. Mine is unaltered and still the same way it was when it left the factory, and after seven years, I can still find new ways to make sounds with it. The simple fact is - Moog got it right the first time. If you have troubles operating this synth, maybe you're not cut out for analog synthesis.

The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is that the Minimoog is a simple subtractive analog synth, not very heavy on the features. But that's what makes it so expressive and musical. You spend more time playing and less time fidgeting with your sounds. Perfection in every detail for a musician's synth. And it has the features you need, like the CV/Gate inputs on the back so it can be played with your hands or sequenced. Having the original Moog filter is a great feature of this synth, too. It can't be beat! For all the features it's missing, that's why I have a Prophet 5, Arp 2600, and OB-8 to give me those pleasures. Its one key feature is simply its sound. NOTHING sounds like a Minimoog!

I'll go with the popular contention that "realism" isn't necessarily a key attribute to the Minimoog's sound. It's an instrument all itself unto its own. What's the use in trying to imitate other instruments? The Minimoog IS an instrument! Just like a Gibson L5 or a Fender Rhodes piano or the Hammond B3 organ or a Rickenbacker Bass. Expressiveness? This is musician's synth that is also capable of assimilating itself to modern Techno as well. In other words, it's as human or as robotic as you can make it. The sounds can be beautiful, ugly, melodic, rhythmic, thin, powerful, etc. Whatever you want. This isn't a modern classic for nothing!

Reliability is a catch-22 with the Minimoog. It's only as reliable as you treat it. If you gig a lot and move it around a lot and bang it around, how reliable can it be? Leave it in a temperature-controlled studio and it's VERY reliable, but if you gig a lot, it'll break down from constant impacts and hot/cold variation. I leave mine in the studio. There it's very reliable. But even so, time will take its toll on a 20 to 30 year old instrument. I'd leave it in the studio, especially if you bought yours recently at anywhere from $1000 to $3000. Remember, this IS an analog instrument! It reacts much differently than a digital instrument. Overall, its simple design lends itself to good reliability.

I've never dealt with the company as it was 13 years out of business when I bought mine, but due to its legendary and highly-regarded status, it's not all that hard to find people to work on them. Most large (and many small) music stores have someone on their staff who is familiar with the Minimoog's operation and servicing. Everywhere I go the people shine when you mention your Minimoog. They're happy and willing to work on it. But...you can never count on it!

Overall, I'd say this IS the undisputed KING of vintage analog synthesizers. PERIOD! It lacks many of the later features that became more or less standard on analog synths, but that doesn't detract at all from the usability, the sheer beauty (sonic and physical), and expressiveness and playability of this synth. It's flexible enough to where after seven years of use I'm nowhere NEAR bored with it. In fact, I wouldn't sell this for anything. It's that good. Play one and you'll see what the hype is about. There's been imitators since the early '70s and NONE of them stack up. Simple as that. The ARP Oddysey is cool, but not as powerful. The Sequential Pro-one is cool, but just a different beast. The Korg and Roland mono-synths of the day just didn't even come close. The newer SE-1 from Studio Electronics is pretty much supposed to be a Minimoog, but come on, it's about 95% there. All synths have their special attributes and definitely a place in the picture, but the Minimoog is something special. I am personally opposed to modifying Minimoogs other than the MIDI kits because they're already perfect. Modifying them is just like saying your child isn't good enough. But that's a large area of debate. I like 'em just the way they are! As far as tuning stability - why I must have gotten a good one, because mine has the earlier oscillator boards and once warm, stays in tune just fine! Maybe after an hour or so it needs a little touch-up, but so does a guitar. And zero-beat tuning is as easy as pie. Takes me 10 seconds to tune all three oscillators to A-440. If I were to lose my Minimoog for whatever reason, life would be tough, but I guess it helps to have an OB-8, Prophet 5, ARP 2600, and a large Modular Moog system to fall back on, but truth be told, not even a Modular Moog sounds like a Minimoog. I have yet to try the Memorymoog out, but I'm sure not even that sounds like a Minimoog. Bottom line - THIS SYNTH IS TOPS! It's not just hype.

i like my moog. i dont know too much about it but the sounds i do get out of it are awesome. and it always gets great coploments doesnt it? i like the really really low growling sound and it is true about the tuning. but oh well what are you gonna do? they are old.and yes i did pay $45.oo dollars for this and a little califone speaker for 10 buck. at a flea market. i guess the guy didnt know what he had. or how much they were worth. he just said that everything worked but didnt know what most of the buttons did. but hey, come on $45.00!

even though im still figuring out how most of the knobs interact with each other its a really great little machine. and it has one of the brightest overload light in the world.

i like to use it for dancy type stuff like 80's new wave or maybe industial electronica type stuff its just got this thick warm sound that digital keybords dont have. and when the highs cut, they really cut.

ive used it for gigs before and everyone always told me they could hear me over almost every thing so i had to turn down alot. but man does it do the job for those spacey moments.

i havent had anyything done on it or have had it checked out maily because i dont know where to go espesially in the area i live in.

come on $45.00!! id really appreciate it if anyone could help my with any info on how to play and use this dream to its fullest.

Overall, this is a very simple synthesizer to figure out for anyone who knows the basics of subtractive synthesis. The only subtle point that may not be immediately intuitive is that there is no dedicated LFO. One must create an LFO from oscillator 3 (which I think is actully cool). Also one can create bizarre FM-type effects by modulating osc 3 at higher frequencies. Its simplicity certainly makes it fun to play with. No memory, no presets. Manual is straight-forward albeit unecessary (except for tuning the pots)

Monophonic, 3 VCO each with the basic analog waveforms (osc 2 and 3 are independently detunable), 1 VCF, 1 VCA (with white/pink noise generator), seperate EG's for VCA and VCF, LFO (using osc 3), pitch bend and modulation wheel)No MIDI (though this can be retrofitted), No sequencer, No arpegiattor, No effects. No S/H, No syncing of oscillators.

This is where the minimoog excels......No exaggeration; despite its simplicity, it can create quite a diversity of sounds. I own some other keyboards, which I mention here for comparison: Wadorf Q (awesome), Access Virus Kb (awesome), Korg MS 2000 (decent), Roland JP 8000 (decent) and some "vinatge" synths: ARP Odyssey (weak and thin), Korg MS 20 (decent), Prohet 5 (slightly lower than awesome), and Gleeman Pentaphonic clear (yes, I actually found one.........sounds awesome). Now, the minimoog sounds much richer than any of the above mentioned true analogs (excepting the Gleeman......which sounds just as good), and while it is certainly not as flashy as the Q or virus, it still sounds much better than either of these when one tries to emulate minimoog sounds with these other 2 (ie, turn off all the flashy stuff and effects and use the basic parameters). It is truely a joy to hear its warm, rich sounds.

This is the dark side of the minimoog (as with all old analogs). The oscillators tend to drift out of pitch and eventually have to be tuned about 3-4 times a year. This actually isn't too difficult; one just turns the appropriate pots on the back with a screwdriver. My minimoog will sometimes misbehave in that for a period of time (hours to days), it will warble in and out of tune (like sickly modulation). Someone told me this means some of the transisitors may eventually need replacing. Other than that, it is very solid and sturdy. Though I don't gig, I would be a little nervous about using it live, though in general, once it is warmed up it is usally very reliable (aside from the above-metioned oscillator drifitng).

No more Moog, since the mid '80's, though Big Briar may have some type of support for the old Moogs

Once again, it is my opinion that this sounds far better than most of the other synths of its kind. If you are interseted in a fun, easy-to-program, handsome synth which emulates many of the keyboard lead and bass sounds of the '70's, I would HIGHLY recommend trying to get one. They are pricey, though for a reason. Aside from my Gleeman, this is my favorite synth (the Virus and Q are equally awesome, though in a different way; I reviewed these too). If mine were stolen, I would immediately get on ebay and find another one. If I had my way (which I don't, so it really is a mute point), I wish it had the following: sync-able oscillators, PWM, S&H. Most my other keyboards are listed above. I also habe Korg Trinity 88-key Pro-X. Despite the mini's dark side, it whole-heartedly gets a 10

As easy as it gets for the bas(s)ic stuff, and to know in theory what everything does is also easy. But it's tricky to know just exactly what it will sound like as you twist those knobs, at least when you get into fm. It's easy to forget flipping a switch now and then and wonder why there is no sound tho. Manual is great and it is downloadable from all over the web. Doubt if you really need one, altho the servicemanual is handy.

Some very cool features of this synth are found on tha backside. It has inputs for amplifier, oscillator and filter -great for interacting with analog sequencers, controller devices (pedals, ribboncontrollers, my paia TMax etc), modular synths and other instruments. Having cv/gate outs would be a nice add-on tho, and i wouldn't mind even more 'modularity'.

The sound of this thing kicks ass -you better believe the hype because it's true! And thanks to those inputs on the back you can get extremly expressive using for example a windconroller instead of the keyboard.

It's old and if you haven't had it serviced it might break on you -but I've been told it's pretty easy to repair it would it fail you.

Moog is out of business. But there are quite a lot of people out there who know their moogs.

Just having a mini makes me smile when I think about it, but I don't think I could afford another -I really like this synth so I am very careful with it (no gigs). I would value a system IIIC more tho, therefore the 9.