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Got lots of synths, but never had a Minimoog D. How "special" is it? get one?


rj.phila

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so as a hardcore analog synth devotee, ive got pretty much every synth i've ever had on my wishlist at this point. but there's one synth that i've never had, and it's really the only thing that i'd consider buying at this point: a minimoog D. i just never came across one, and never looked that hard.

 

while tuning synths is never that hard, i'm not totally dying to have another synth to scale/tune every year. with that said, upkeep is not a big issue for me; i dont mind rehabbing old synths. i'm curious about a mini. i've got a rogue and a micromoog that i got on the cheap via CL. i dont know how close it really gets me to the "mini experience".

 

take money out of the equation. would you mini owners suggest one? thanks, rj

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How much do you use and like your Rogue and Micro? The Mini really is the Moog to have if you only have one. Which is why it still commands such a high price. It's definitely a player's synth which is why most of the virtuoso prog/fusion synth soloists used one. If you just plan on driving it with a sequencer you're missing the point...a lot of owners think the feel of the keybed is the best ever, period.

 

Whether it must be the D vs. a Voyager is a matter of personal taste I suppose. Most D owners insist the Voyager lacks the real mojo (but hey what would you expect them to say).

 

Automatic Gainsay should be here soon to convince you further ;)

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The Mini D is a really compelling instrument. It makes you want to play it after a few minutes of touching it and hearing the tones. You first get the impression that you will get bored quickly giving the simplistic nature of its architecture, limited modulation, monophonic nature. Yet when you have one at hand, you are drawn to it irresistibly. It's quite unexplainable. Get one ! :cool:

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Whether it must be the D vs. a Voyager is a matter of personal taste I suppose. Most D owners insist the Voyager lacks the real mojo (but hey what would you expect them to say).

 

 

The OP did not mention the Voyager, actually. For all you know, he may have already considered and rejected the Voyager as an option.

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the only way you can answer the question is to get yourself in front of one.

 

if you get the "holy {censored}!" feeling, you need one. if you feel "meh" about it, stay away.

 

i would definitely ditch the Rogue if you got one. the Micro is just plain _weird_ though, and totally worth having alongside a Minimoog. i'm only going to get rid of my Micromoog because i'm getting a Multimoog soon and there's no point in having both.

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What about some other discreet analog electronics modules like the Macbeth x-series modules or other? If I were going to spend money on analog stuff, I would grow my modular some more. I can think of about 20 modules off the top of my head that are not "necessary" but that I would like to have :D

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I cannot speak for the model D, I have never had the joy of playing one. I have however spent a lot of time with both the Voyager and the Little Phatty in the studio, and Voyager is the best and easiest solo instrument I have ever played. The harder and better you operate and play it, the harder it plays back and does it's part. The closest thing to a player on an electric guitar but in the keyboard world I think...... Part of the magic is in it's monophonic design.

 

Now if they could just make a Minimoog with mono/poly to switch on and off, like the old Korg, another fav of mine.

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I never had the good fortune to lay hands on a Minimoog ever, but in the 40 years I've been listening to music and 30 years of musician's experience, I have played about 95 different synths, emulations, variations, whatever, on the Moog sound -- and top that off with countless analog recordings of analog Moog on them that I've listened to countless times in those 40 years. I think I know the Moog sound, I understand it, hear it, feel it, it's really drilled into me as a musician. All without ever actually having touched one. I think that's possible.

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Yeah probably Chip. Unless you count a neighbor's Moog when I was 14, I have never played with a vintage Moog either. Also I am not a virtuoso play or anything - just messing around and having fun. However, when I first put my hands on my Voyager and started dialing in the knobs, the sounds were instantly recognizable. It was a happy day.

 

I think that many synths can have expression like playing a guitar. Having moved from about 3 decades of guitar playing to keyboards, I find myself often trying to express myself in a similar way using pitch bend, mod wheel, aftertouch, velocity, and to a much less extent the knobs (though rolling the volume knob on one of my guitars is a pretty familiar trick). One thing that I have discovered is that learning my keyboards and more importantly, how to program and adjust my sounds and modulation parameters, helps a lot. The Voyager is more immediate with the knobs and whatnot which also feel right and like they are wanting to be played. However, I have also found that I can create some pretty fun expression capabilities with e.g. the Korg Kronos and the Waldorf Q.

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