Moog Prodigy

Please bear in mind that the Moog Prodigy was my first synthesiser bought in 1982, so I do have a Moog bias.

The Prodigy is fun, logical, very intuitive and easy to use. Part of the fun is being able to adjust any control at an instant! No getting lost in parameter intensive menu systems found on many of today's keyboards. The user manual, if you needed it, explained synthesis and gave example patches, whereas today's manuals often just describe a parameter name without any hint as to what it actually does within the sound or how you can use it musically.

The Prodigy is effectively a cut down Minimoog! That's 2 simple, syncable Oscillators, 1 patented Moog filter, 2 Countour Generators, 1 LFO in a 2 1/2 octave keyboard package, complete with master tune, Glide , plus the pitch and Modulation expression wheels. That's it! No onboard effects to compensate for glitchy samples and/or thin weedy sounds. NO MIDI, but the rear panel allows access to the Keyboard CV, Filter, Sync and S-Trig (Switch tigger), so you can interface with other 1 Volt Per Octave synths but will need a V-Trig to S-Trig converter to recive Keyboard Gate signals from ARP/Roland/SCI gear. Obviously compared with many of todays synths these features appear a bit lack lustre, so this summary is within the context of monophonic analogues to compare like with like, taking pricing into account.

The Oscillators offer 4 waveforms of Triangle, Saw, Square, Rectangle, but no true PWM or Noise (there were kits to add noise). Also the Pitch range is limited with Osc 1 offereing 32', 16' and 8', whilst Osc 2 offeres 16', 8' and 4'. To get around this the Pitch wheel can be used add or subtract 11 semitones (not an octave) and the Tune knob to get the missing semitone to add a full octave up or down. This means you can't use the Pitch wheel for sync sounds. My main reason for scoring an 8 for features is due to the number of features the Prodigy offered in it's price band in it's day. Bang for buck you get 2 Oscillators and 2 Envelopes at half the price of the SCI Pro-One and a third of the price of an ARP Odyssey, and 30 quid less than the single Osc, single Env Roland SH-09.

When I bought my Prodigy, there was nothing sonically between it and the SCI Pro One. Yes it can get those Rick Wakeman type Minimoog tones with the filter whizzzing shut and glide between notes, except that you are an oscillator down and run out of keyboard an octave earlier. It is also good for brass sounds, as I ended up using it to play Tuba parts along side classical musicians using trumpet, french horn, Clarinet, Oboe, Flute.

Sonically it is a very mellow sound compared with an Odyseey or Pro-One. As most reviewers mention, the sonic potential is limited by the simple Modulation section when compared to an ARP Odyssey, SCI Pro-One, Korg MonoPoly, as these all have more comprehensive modulation sections, but also cost significantly more than a Prodigy. That said, the 2 syncable oscillators give quite a tonal range and pitch range. Having 2 dedicated Contour Generators gets that 'sound within a sound'. Stating as a bass player, the Prodigy had great bass sounds. It can do fairly realsitic immitations of a bass guitar using flatwound strings, but I got it more for the synth bass sounds. Octave split basses, and detuned osc bases are typically fat. Add some Emphasis (Resonance) and a some Filter Contour Amount and you get some nice squelchy sounds. To try and describe what I mean by great bass sounds that cut through the mix, the DX7 bass is like a knife going through paper (sharp, precise cutting), whereas the Prodigy bass is like dropping a brick through paper.

Osc 2 can be Synced with Osc 1, giving flanger-come-PWM type of sounds with the sweep controlled by the Pitch wheel. Sync sweep can also be controlled from a foot pedal, although I used an external contraption consisting of a 9v battery through a 100K pot connected to the Sync jack socket on the back panel. When you use the Sync socket the Pitch wheel now controls the pitch again, whilst the external device controls the sweep. This means you can get those sweeping Sync bass sounds on Kraftwerk's Showroom Dummies or synced lead sounds on their Hall Of Mirrors track (Trans Europe Express album by Kraftwerk).

The LFO is a simple offering with a Rate knob and Triangle and Square waves to modulate both Oscs and/or the Filter. It cuts through the mix, wherther doing lead sounds or bass sounds. The filter can self oscilate giving you a pure mellow sine wave that can track the keyboard, great for a 3 oscillator organ sound.

A note when the Prodigy is MIDI-ed. I used a Groove MIDI to CV converter, and when you play a note on the controller keyboard that is higher than the natural range of the Prodigy's keyboard and Oscillators, it sounded harsh and a bit 'sync-ish' for want of a description. This could be down to the Groove MIDI to CV implementation rather than a design limitation with the Prodigy's Oscillators, but I'd rather let you know, since most of you will be looking to hook your Prodigy up to a MIDI sequencer and therefore need a MIDI to CV converter.

Both my Prodigy's were extremely reliable. The casing is solid metal and wood, unlike a lot of today's moulded plastic offerings or the Roland SA-09, RS-09, SH-1, SH-2, SH-09 plastic side panels, or the all plastic SH-101/MC-202. Inside there is a single motherboard, with the controls hard wired to it. I also maintained my Prodigy's by cleaning the switches and pots with contact cleaner on a regular basis. There is an inherrant design flaw, whereby the keyboard Earth connection on the motherboard develops a dry solder joint over time, but that is simple to fix. I did replace the oscillator heated chips after a few years. My Prodigy's were over 15 years old and in mint condition when I sold them (I'M A MORON!!!), complete with the original shipping carton and Owners Manual.

Moog disappeared around 1984/1985, but there are analogue specialists out there if you don't trust yourself with a screw driver and soldering iron. Many of the electronic components can be obtained from Maplins, Tandys, Radio Shack, Dick Smiths or Altronics (covers users in the UK, USA and Australia). The manual even includes circuit diagrams of both the Mark I (only and audio out on the rear panel) and Mark II, plus info on how to tune the oscillators. You can easily add the Filter, Keyboard CV and S-Trig jack sockets sockets to the rear panel of a Mark I Prodigy since the connection points are already there on the Motherboard.

The Prodigy is a simple, no frills, 2 oscillator analogue synth that gives you the 'Moog' sound for your leads, basses and other sounds. Excellent for any would be Rick Wakeman's or Minimoog lusters on a tight budget. For the prices they go for on eBay, you might be better off looking at the Moog Little Phatty as a new, modern, programmable, MIDI-ed alternative. However, if one came up for a reasonable price, I would be tempted.

This is really basic! A manual?

When I first played this, I found myself wanting more modulation- more LFOs and envelopes- and wanted everything to modulate one another to open up the range of sounds. It is very limited, it reminds me of the Juno-106 quite a bit in that sense. I am already planning to give it the massive CV I/O operation to make it modular, but that is more my style. The limitations make it feel less pro and more toy, but it isn't. My SK-1 is a toy.

The sound range is very finite compared to others with more modulation/filters. With that said, it is very good at creating nice rudimentary analog sounding sounds. Remarkably, has a wonderful signal to noise ratio- even when its cranked up, there is virtually no audible line noise, making it both wonderful for recording and lets the tones really soar on their own.

Think incidental "Doctor Who" noises. You can always come up with some phats or organs or UFOs with a bit of tinkering, no worries. I really can't wait to mod it for CV input so I can access untapped lower octaves and see if i can't crank a window or two.

Mine is 25 years old and works perfectly, no issues. I'm the second owner and it was well taken care of in its previous life. No scratchy pots, dead keys, faulty knobs.

N/A but you can be sure there is a huge, active community of users. In my area (SF Bay) there are several places that will repair and modify the Prodigy! In fact, I think Wine Country in San Jose- located less than 5 minutes from my house- will repair the Prodigy despite being the big Sequential Circuits place. Not worried at all.

This is a nice simple analog synth- it has endured 25 years quite well, too. It is by no means a great all-around analog but I have several other big guns so I don't need it to be. I'm know you can buy other synths for cheaper that are more complex, that is the curse of the moog's enduring popularity. But I think its pretty and fun to use & would much rather replace this if it were stolen than buy a classic or modern Minimoog... my Xpander handles the brunt of analog duties anyways.

Its a very fun performance monosynth, see Depeche Mode's recent "Precious" video- they play two of 'em!

I'm a beginner to synths - I've heard them, but I rarely get the chance to mess around with them. This was an easy to use synth. It's really all I'm interested in. The analog interface makes it seem easy to find the sound you're looking for. I'm not interested in all this digital stuff with thousands of voices in it, because I believe that if you can't get through a song or gig with just a few then something's messed up.

The dual oscillators are great for harmonies up or down to a fifth, and the modulation is pretty handy depending on your application. I don't really need MIDI for what I do, and if I needed any more effects, I'd just get out one of my stompboxes, and the only things I would ever think would sound that well with it would be a delay, chorus or a phaser. Keyboard was nice and smooth, and didn't seem to have any bad keys that would stick.

The instruments are ok. The instrument sound is sort of dry and fake, and if I really wanted a clarinet, trombone, or whatever, I'd pull one out. It reacts to playing well, and the sustain and glide controls also help you do whatever you want. It's great for rock and new age type stuff, and it's also pretty fun to just noodle around on for an hour or so between parades on Mardi Gras weekend!

I'd depend on it. It hasn't failed yet, and that means a lot, because it went through the wear and tear of a few punk-rock bands.

Never needed it, It's been working this well for at least 30 years or so.

I would buy it again (or for me, the first time, because the one I use is my uncle's), and I would cry if it were stolen, because you just can't get that kind of stuff that easily when you live in post-Katrina New Orleans. I've been playing for about 4 years, and I have a Yamaha acoustic guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, a W.W. Kimball piano (flooded and moldy, but still working), a bunch of stompboxes for guitar, and I usually use my Uncle's equipment to amplify stuff. He has a Hartke HA3500 with matching 410XL and 115XL cabs, and a 1967 Fender Bassman, which is in bad condition but still rocks. I love the ease of use and the whole idea of plug-and-play in a professional format, but I hate the fact that my uncle won't let me bring it to the trailor. I've compared it to my friends' stuff, like a keyboard hooked up to a lot of computers, and after the first computer, it got complex. It helps me make music, and I think it would sound great through a phase-shifter pedal. If anyone else reads this, I'd like feedback on if you agree or not.

Jut enough front panel features to make it usable, and actually a good basic synthesizer to learn on if you're new to setting up sounds.

I had to scour the net to find any technical and/or user data for this particular synthesizer.

All of the basics are there. No, it doesn't have tons of this or that, but for Pete's sake- it's not the world's biggest synthesizer. I personally think it's just right for what it is.

I think the Prodigy does a good job all around, especially when it gets buried in the mix. For progressive rock (one of my favorite flavors), add some drums, bass and Hammond and you're in like Flint.

I actually acquired this synthesizer from a customer who brought it into my shop for repair and never came back to pick it up, despite it's repair bill being only $55.00. (Can you believe that? Stranger things have happened, but not often.)

I had no manual but found oscillator & filter problems and got them squared away. After I found out it was to become mine, I gave it a thorough going-through and fixed every little thing I could find and brought it fully up to snuff. I've enjoyed it ever since.

Reliability-wise, my hat is off (as always) to anything designed and built as an offshoot of Robert Moog' work. God Bless good brains.

Self-supporting customer. (And that's probably a good thing.)

I give it an overall NINE. (Nothing gets a TEN, so this is darn good.)

For what it is, it's a nice little piece. I've had a lot of fun with it, and if your is giving you worthless sounds, blame the bloke doing the knob twisting.

as easy as it gets this is the simplest synth I have ever used. I have not read the manual in entirety but what I have read is really good it has a bunch of patches in there too.

it's a mono synth which I don't mind your not really going to be finding the need for polyphony on it one thing that does piss me off about it is that it's not last key priority it's lowest note priority it may not bother you but its tricky for me to play sometimes
as far as features go they aren't any no midi no CV(expert on the later models) no sequencer no nothing just pure mono Moog fatness!
it's actually kind of good because it's less distracting and more inspiring.

The sounds are amazing!!!
fat Moog bass nice lead great sync phase noises
it's cheap access to really nice Moog sounds!

well mine was made in 1980 and it is in perfect shape and still sounds great it doesn't need to warm up or anything just turn it on and play it's very dependable I would use it on a gig without back up any day.

well it's non existent since it's a vintage synth
but there are plenty of places to get them fixed up or cleaned.

if it were lost or stolen I would buy another one for sure it was worth what I paid(it is in AMAZING condition it looks like it was built yesterday it came with the manual in equally as perfect condition the registration card a technical spec manual and the original norlin price tag so it was waaay worth what I paid!)
the only way I would really not want one was if I owned a mini Moog
then there probley wouldn't be use for both
Overall rating I give it a 9
I highly recommend it to analog synth lovers beginners and experts alike!

Its easy to use. i have no manual i just took some time when i got it and fiddled with the settings till i got the perfect mix.

Its a monophonic which isnt a problem for me cause i am switching between playing guitar and and then hopping over to play a little synth. I love the oscilation. I use it to get some super cool space sounds which can get on ones nerves. the cut off frequency is also a major factor in this vintage masterpiece

The sound out of this monster says it all. When you hear one note the crowd knows what you are playing, a moog.

I love it to death, and i trust it as far as it wont breakdown. However on some days the thing is so tempremental and i find it tough to get he right sound out of it. It seems to be like a girl some days it can be bliss and other days it can be frustrating but for the most part its a saint. i recomend taking digital pictures of your settign when you are fooling around with it. I found that has helped a great deal in the studio. Remember to keep a tuner near by. for the most part this machine stays in tune really well

Never had to deal with this

if you love that warm vintage sound you cannot go wrong. Also these things are getting pricey online check out a realistic mg 1 its basicly a moog that was made for radio shack. you can find product reviews of that on the moog section. If you enjoys the sound check out these band The get Up Kids ,Reggie and the Full Effect, The Anniversary, The reunion show.

real analogue real knobs everything works smooth - not a prophet? come on! most of the prophets are zipping when you're playing with the cutoff know - this baby is smooth as silk and sounds great!

it has simple but quite playable features and it is able to produce big large and etc. sound - if you say it sounds thin you're sitting on your ears - yes I mean it!

great sound!
stop bitching about it being not a minimoog and blablah
IT'S A MOOG! and it SOUNDS like a real moog - if you dont like the way it sounds this is your own problem.
long live the prodigy!

strong enough - it's hard to find such strong-build instruments today.

there is enough info on internet to support this old mate

a real moog. a real analogue synth. a real large smooth alive sound.

Ease of use? Doesn't get easier than this. Analog synthesis in it's most basic form. The Prodigy has a rather limited palette, and it is definitely not hard to coax the good sounds out of it.

Again, this is about as basic as a relatively full-featured analog synth can be. They could put a picture of the Prodigy in the dictionary next to "monophonic analog synthesizer."

Well, it ain't a Prophet, that's for certain. Two oscillators, three waveforms each, a 24db filter, and an LFO that can be routed to VCOs or VCF. It's gonna sound pretty damn thin no matter how you cut it. Makes a pretty good lead, but you can't play much of a lead with a 2 1/2 octave keyboard. Bass is rather weak, when compared to other 2 osc synths, if you ask me. You can get a pretty good bass sound out of it, but it's not exactly dynamic, and if you crack the VCF open at all, you lose all the bottom. This isn't the first synth that comes to mind when the word "phat" is used to describe the bottom. Also, with the limited modulation routing (VCO, VCF), you can't really get very spacey either. I run it through a bunch of Blacet modules when I use it live, and have a much broader sound that way.

Mine is a tank. Looks as good as the day it came out of the factory, and I've toured with it. Knobs aren't crackly, keys all good. No problems whatsoever. In my opinion, if you take care of something, it should last a pretty long time, and most of these old synths are pretty well-built. (Let's see: hardwood and steel versus aluminum and plastic?) My K2500 lasted one week on the road, before the insides looked like a junkyard, but I've never had a problem with this little guy.

It's pretty simple inside. If you've got basic electronics knowledge, you can mod it or fix it yourself, probably. Obviously, there is no customer support for this now-defunct company.

I got this thing free from a friend, and am very pleased with it as a result. I see them go on eBay for $500-$700 all the time, and can't help but think how silly that is. People are paying that much because it says "Moog" on it and nothing more. This is a very common synth, as such things go, and very simplistic. It is simply not worth that much. You could get a Korg Mono/Poly for the same money (or less) which is a much better synth, or you could spend a little more and get yourself an SE-1x or something that has 3 VCOs, a little more low end, and a few more mod routings. You'll thank me later. If you get one for $250, it's a good deal. If you paid $600, you've been had.

Old school monophonic, no fake string sections, thank you very
much. Like the knobs, they are logically laid out and easy for
a novice like myself to understand. Plug in in, let it warm up
for a few minutes, start playing and experimenting. One output,
can be run direct. Light weight(about 15 lbs) and compact.

Two Oscillators, Filter, Pitch Modulation Wheel, mine has a
ribbon strip for pitch control which most likely replaced
the original wheel. No MIDI. Great rapid-fire keyboard action
(unlike my Rhodes...). No memory, but you don't need it.

Oscillator 1 has Square, Triangle and Saw waveforms and operates at
the lowest frequency(each oscillator operates in three different
octaves). Use this for bass tones at the lowest octave
setting with the filter turned up for farty fuzzy sounds which
sound great. Oscillator 2 has Triangle, Saw and Rectangle waveforms
and sounds great for whistle tones used by everybody from
the Beatles(Here Comes the Sun) to Jamiroquai to Dr. Dre.
Certainly a better value than a Mini, and probably sounds
just as good if not as flexible or diverse sounding. Oscillator
2 can be detuned to form one finger chords when both oscillators
are on.

The downfall of the analog synth. Oscillator 2 was nearly
worthless and spontaneously changed voices and keys, and crackled
incessantly. Oscillators aren't always in sync even when switch
is on. Fine tune periodically using tuning knob to prevent
disasters. I took the unit apart and blasted the interval
and Osc 2 pots with compressed air and it is much more stable,
for now. A little nervous using Oscillator 2 for the next show...

The new Moog Music sells parts, but not much else. Electronics
are relatively simple, but it's a good idea to know someone
who can work on it.

Like a Rhodes, nothing sounds quite like a Real Moog. If
I lost my Prodigy I would replace with another Prodigy
or possibly a Rogue after verifying its sound quality.
The Prodigy with its giant Moog logo looks great and has
class. If you want to deal with the headaches of analog
synth ownership it's probably a good choice.

Turn it on & go away for 10 minutes so it can warm up. Play.
Nice big easily readable knobs & switches that are easy to set up & tweak.
You can work out how to get most sounds out of a Prodigy in 5 minutes.
Manual???

Classic analogue monosynth.
30 key (2.5 octave) keyboard
2 Oscilators, filter, 3 stage envlope for amplitude and filter (ADSR with DR on the same knob)
Oscillator detune and sync, Pitch & modulation wheels.

As a lead / solo synth, it produces sounds that will rip any rock guitarist's ego to shreds.
The sound has a loud, fat, raw, intense, obnoctious, piercing sort of quality to it that makes it ideal for dance and heavy / prog rock. It just demands to be used in that way, though I have heard it be recommended for bass & Howard Jones used to have 2.
Stick it through a geetarr multi-effects pedal for a bit of programability.
The envelopes are limited. For added flexibility & polyphony, it is extremely responsive to sampling - I got very good syn-brass type sounds out of it.

There's a lot of potentiometers & switches in this thing - they can get dirty and crackle. The switch covers have a tendancy to fall off & get lost.
Other than that, this is an extremely rugged instrument that is capable of taking a serious beating on stage. That makes it a very good gigging / solo / performance instrument.

They're generally quite simple, and you can usually find someone with enough electronicts to fix / troubleshoot on newsgroups.
Tuning the oscillators can be fun.

I've had mine since 1986. I haven't aged quite as well as it has.
If I had, I'd still be using it as a live lead synth.

A true musician's instrument. It makes absolutely no attempt to be anything other than a synth.

I am an amateur synth player, adn it only took me 20 minutes to figure this thing out. Very fun to play, just tune it yourself, and let it fly!

It is totally monophonic, you can't get chords unless you wire it differently (I wouldn't try it anyways...keep it original!). It has two oscillators that can be in sync with each other, A pitch and modulation wheel (just like the Minimoog), a tune knob, a modulation knob (very fun), filter contours i.e attack/decay/sustain, and frequency..in short, The Prodigy is like a smaller Minimoog.

It is the closest you'll ever get to the Minimoog sound without forking over thousands to get the Minimoog. It's a great synth, espesically for leads and weird fx. However, the amount of sounds you can create is very limited, and you'll max out all the sound possibilities in less than 3 months.

I've played live with it, and you get some weird looks when the thing starts ocsillating out of control. Use this keyboard to cover "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. The best thing is to write down the sound settings on paper, and pre-tune the thing between songs. I also have an Moog Opus 3, so I alternate between the two. You really have to pay attention to what you are doing on stage, or all hell will break loose. In terms of reliability, the thing is 20 years old and hasn't hit a glitch. This is one of the most reliable keyboards Moog has ever made

Good luck finding anyone who can fix it...luckily I found someone who knows how to fix Hammond Organs and old Moogs

Great keyboard for the new Moog lover, very reliable, limited amount of sounds, great for solos with a band (on it's own you'll get sick of hearing it.) Espesicially recommended for those on a tighter budget, and for those who love Gary Numan's old "live" stuff from the late 70's

Very ergonomic. Two controller wheels, uncluttered surface, simple architecture and big knobs give it all the nice man machine features of the Minimoog

The synth has two oscillators which can be synced. I do not believe the minimoog can do this. The sync patches are far easier to "dial up" than on a pro-one. The sound is "duller" or "warmer" as some say, than the pro-one, however I think that it is nicer. a simple FM Mod will add brightness. Actually, the synth's hardware is so simple that mods are very easy to do. The case and control surface has lots of room for mods A healthy power supply resides in the case to handle the mods two. So far I have only done the FM of the cutoff but plan to add pulsewidth manual and LFO mod as well as throwing in a second LFO and a couple of ramps. The portamento rate is very musical. As well, it's two envelopes are very simple but functional. It is a seemingly "plain jane" synth however it just needs a few changes to make it the best monophonic. It is much stabler than a mini.

It is a little on the dirty side sonicly. However it has the best synced osc sounds. The tuning controller wheel can reaaly make the sync sound interesting. (to qualify this statement, i'll mention that I've had a pro-one, JX-3p, Jx-8p, and Jupiter6 all with sync)
The filter is a typical moog ladder. I find it similar to a Roland filter on a Sh-101 (well when the Res is up high) It is different than on the Pro-One. Well the Moog's knobs are very "intuitive" like on a roland, the Pro-Ones are not. Have you ever turned a linear pot in a circuit that required a log pot?...well that is what a Pro-One is like...yuck!! Fortunately the Prodigy has a nice swing/range to it's pots.

I have two. Both are each about 18 years old. One had a faulty op-amp, that was very easy to replace. Actually everything in these synths are easy to replace. A good number of parts at Radio-Shack even. discrete circuits throughout.

Monophonics Rating (these are units that I owned) 1. Prodigy (moded) 2. SH-101 (moded) 3. Minimoog 4. SH-101 (factory) 5. Prodigy (factory) 6. SH-1 7. Pro-One 8. CS-10 9. SH-3
-It is a fun synth to play; controller wheels, sync, portamento -Easy synth to mod; VCF FM, PW, LFO, Ramp -Easy synth to repair; all discrete circuits using common components -Reliable Moog; more stable than a mini