Moog grandmother review

He packed a punch in his long stint leading the American firm and this monosynth packs a punch too. Having waited patiently to get it on the test bench, we finally put it through crzp paces. Moog certainly needs no introduction to Attack acolytes out there, moog grandmother review, being perhaps one of the few synthesizer manufacturers to be known well beyond the world inhabited by ardent followers moog grandmother review electronic music production.

By Preshan John. Grandmother looks somewhere between toy-like and retro. Its brightly-coloured panels are laid out to mimic a modular workflow, and the classic Moog knob shapes, switches and serrated pitch and mod wheels are all retro. After ripping Grandmother out of her box, I plugged it into the office pair of PMC bookshelf speakers. It had plenty of analogue depth and meatiness, even through a sub-less system. Two onboard oscillators each have four waveform options; triangle, sawtooth, square and narrow pulse.

Moog grandmother review

Not a complete all-rounder, but this a fine semi-modular synth with genuine Moog pedigree. You might just consider selling your grandmother to get one MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test. Moog Music has a history of announcing new products to coincide with its annual Moogfest celebrations, and the shebang was no exception. Mere days before this year's get-together, the company revealed a new semi-modular analogue synthesizer. In the s, Robert Moog's massive modular systems were the first commercially viable synthesisers, and in recent years the company has pitched its semi-modular Mother and DFAM modules to the Eurorack and desktop crowds. This new one - dubbed the Grandmother - is a first for Moog's semi-modular line in that it comes equipped with a high-quality, note, velocity-sensitive keyboard courtesy of Fatar. The former is spring-loaded, allowing it to always return to the root note in play. A trio of colourful backlit buttons crowns the left-hand control section. These perform multiple duties, shifting octaves as well as acting as sequencer controls Play, Hold, Tap tempo.

Moog Subsequent As you would expect, moog grandmother review, the Rate knob determines the arpeggio rate or, if an external clock or tap tempo is used, it selects the ppqn ratio used.

The Moog Grandmother is a semi-modular analog synthesizer that delivers a rich palette of sound exploration. This musical marvel is equipped with a Key Fatar Keyboard , offering a high-quality, responsive platform for your compositions. The Grandmother's capacity to save up to 3 sequences with up to notes enhances its versatility and makes it suitable for any musical genre. The Grandmother's integrated hardware spring reverb, based on the classic Moog , adds depth and atmosphere to your sound and can be used for external signals too. With two analog oscillators that feature selectable waveform and hard sync, this synthesizer allows for a broad spectrum of tonal possibilities.

As a keyboard-based semi-modular synth, the Grandmother is a new departure for Moog Music. Nonetheless, many of its innards are based upon pre-existing Moog technology, some from the s and s, and some more recent. Musically, a great deal can be achieved using the Grandmother without patch cables, although the possibilities increase hugely when you start to patch it because this allows you to create all manner of new audio and control signal paths that greatly extend its capabilities. Given their sound and the facilities on offer, this seems a little odd, so I asked for more information and it transpired that they are based upon the oscillators from the Minimoog Voyager, not the original Minimoog or the more recent Model D. Each offers four waveforms; triangle, sawtooth, square, and a pulse that I measured to have a duty cycle of about 16 percent osc 1 and 18 percent osc 2 rather than the 25 percent stated in the manual, with both the square and the pulse waves offering PWM. Each of the oscillators offers a pitch control input socket, and any CV applied here is added to that generated by the keyboard, which is as it should be. In addition, each offers a direct output. The third socket in each oscillator section differs between the two. Finally, a big red button offers hard sync of osc 2 and, with appropriate patching, all of the usual sync sounds are obtainable. Unless patched otherwise, the mixer is the next stage in the signal path, and this offers hardwired inputs for osc 1, osc 2 and a white-noise generator, all of which can be replaced using the appropriate signal input sockets.

Moog grandmother review

Much more than just an expanded Grandmother, the Matriarch has all the makings of a classic Moog synth. Two years ago Moog launched the Grandmother — a fine entry-level monosynth with a name that we've learned to live with. But, even then, the company were thinking about adding a more powerful instrument to the range, and I was asked how I would enhance Granny to create a flagship synth for the post-Voyager era.

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It would have benefitted from an additional contour generator, as well as more mixers and VCAs. When recreating the Emerson Moog Modular some years ago, Gene Stopp and Brian Kehew found that the classic Moog reverb sound was obtained when the dry signal was allowed to pass unhindered and the Mix knob determined how much reverb was added to this, and it would have been nice had the Grandmother adopted the same functionality. Also, due to a lack of headroom, increasing the gain of any one of the inputs can suppress the signals presented to the others, which can be viewed as a defect or as a sound sculpting facility as you choose. Hard-sync such as this is a well-established technique that resets a slave oscillator every time the master passes through its zero-crossing point and is great for creating complex metallic tones or screaming leads. At 16lbs, it is surprisingly weighty, and the whole thing feels solid. Rear panel of the Moog Grandmother. This is quality gear at a fair price point, suitable for beginners, hobbyists, and pros alike. Sequential Circuits Pro One Synthesizer Roland JX-8P By Preshan John. Modular synthesis has been reserved for hardcore purists up until Semi-modular Synthesizers hit the scene over the past couple years.

He was impressed by its combination of hands-on, uncompromising design and, of course, the classic Moog sound. At the time it represented a return to form for Moog. Gordon was suitably impressed.

Roland JP Synthesizer. You can even edit sequences during playback although, as I discovered to my chagrin, attempting this while in the wrong mode erases the whole sequence. My cats really like sitting on it I assume because of all that warm moogyness. The controller panel to the left of the keybed contains a sprung pitch-bend wheel and a mod wheel that controls the amount of modulation applied through the hard-wired mod paths. You could also change the signal flow if you want the low pass first. Close Save changes. My unit suffers from what appears to be a common issue with a scratchy and faulty filter pot. Review: Zoom M4 MicTrak. Yet to these eyes it offers both a hint of the machine's retro-centric sound as well as a means by which each section may be quickly identified - good for those just learning the ropes. Roland JX-3P. Only a few cables are provided, but it doesn't take many to whip up some exciting patches. ARP You may just surprise yourself on what is possible. When I first heard the name, I was aghast.