Moog One

[c0nsilience]

Awesome, guys. I've always thought highly of Waldorf and will like acquire a Blofeld in the future, as well as keeping an eye on the Quantum and the Kyra.

[goldenanalog]

Been playing around with both long enough to say that there's a definite difference, Roger. But if I were to start over again from zero - with what I know - unless I was able to get specifically what I wanted hardware-wise (a 4-voice Oberheim FVS-1 would be one) - I wouldn't waste time/money/my back etc. on hardware.

A modular synth is different - most def want one of those; but again: it can be an extraordinarily expensive (and 'bottomless') purchase - I wouldn't go there unless it helps to generate revenue; or I had enough liquid capital to feed such a beast.

[goldenanalog]

Awesome, guys. I've always thought highly of Waldorf and will like acquire a Blofeld in the future, as well as keeping an eye on the Quantum and the Kyra.

The Blofeld's hardware is not bullet-proof (its built to a price-point somewhat on the lower end; compared to say: a Virus Snow) but as long as you're not rough with it, it'll hold up just fine.

[goldenanalog]

Btw: been playing around with the latest version of NED's Synclavier that runs on an ipad - it's a lot of fun; it comes with quite a few of the native sounds from the 80's.

Does it sound as good as the original hardware? I personally dont care if it does or doesn't (ftr: it doesn't sound the least bit 'bad' - but many of the sounds are simple, and dated, as to be expected) - the app is $30 and takes up no room - and again: it's a lot of fun!

Just one telling example of where we all are in 2019.

[goldenanalog]

Omnisphere (turning 2.6) is an interesting case where hardware synths can be used to control O2.6 as the singular sound source - where the hardware synth itself contributes no sound at all. I guess 2.5>2.6 doubles the # of hardware synths that can do high-level integration w/Omni (about 60 now) - the integration with Roland’s D50 is fairly profound:

https://youtu.be/EoPbGYaWli0

[pdxindy]

Weird that the Moog one knobs are bad, that's something you can usually rely on Moog to get right.

I must admit I wouldn't mind one, not enough to pay that stupid money though. I would expect the knobs to be pretty good as well at that price!

I bought a Moog One... and ended up returning it cause the fans were too noisy for me. I love the quiet in my studio! I spent a good bit of time with it while I had it though and the knobs were fantastic. Nice and big, well spaced, solid and smooth.

It is the best hardware user interface I have ever used. Within a few hours I felt fluid with it. The keybed feels great too.

Now I have a Quantum on pre-order

[goldenanalog]

...I have a Quantum on pre-order

my first choice, pdxindy! No fans, right? But if fans were the only problem: there’s a good chance that that could have been fixed - you’d likely have to work with Moog on that so as not to negate the warranty; but often it’s as simple as replacing their stock fans with better fans (ball bearings, etc.) - unless it was the airflow itself that was making the noise.

More then likely: they’d want to know if their synth’s fans were making too much noise for a studio environment (usually a straight-forward fix)

[pdxindy]

...I have a Quantum on pre-order

my first choice, pdxindy! No fans, right? But if fans were the only problem: there’s a good chance that that could have been fixed - you’d likely have to work with Moog on that so as not to negate the warranty; but often it’s as simple as replacing their stock fans with better fans (ball bearings, etc.) - unless it was the airflow itself that was making the noise.

More then likely: they’d want to know if their synth’s fans were making too much noise for a studio environment (usually a straight-forward fix)

Yup... no fans in the Quantum

And Moog knows about the fan issue.

[goldenanalog]

Fans are usually case-mounted next to the power supply - where the majority of heat is generated. Funny: you’d think that Moog would’ve learned from their own venerable Memorymoog that fan noise matters - iirc: one of the service Bulletins for the mm addressed the issue directly by a kit that grommets (isolates) the fan somewhat from the case.

[pdxindy]

Fans are usually case-mounted next to the power supply - where the majority of heat is generated. Funny: you’d think that Moog would’ve learned from their own venerable Memorymoog that fan noise matters - iirc: one of the service Bulletins for the mm addressed the issue directly by a kit that grommets (isolates) the fan somewhat from the case.

The Moog One has 5 fans... and in my unit, at least some of them had pitched whines... was very annoying...

Of course anyone on stage will never care about the sound... and they have since adjusted the point at which the fans come on... but I will never buy a synth with fans again

[c0nsilience]

Unfortunately, that's the price we pay for analog. Not that I would be able to acquire one in the foreseeable future, but this thread has already made me reconsider my initial infatuation with the Moog One.

Seriously, for half the cost, you can pick up a LinnStrument, a Mac Pro (cylinder) with decent RAM and a ton of super-powerful plugins that a room full of traditional hardware couldn't touch. Sure, it won't say 'Moog' on it, but it will have your own creative pedigree.

Ok, I'm done drinking the kool-aid!

[jsterne]

Good points all, John. And given that you are talented enough to make your living from music, it’s worth noting that it is very practical to have rugged hardware gear on stage that you can depend on. It’s also very practical to turn a knob instead of a picture of a knob.

Software looks easier in ads, and in advertising, but it almost always comes with a "gotcha."

This has been my experience this weekend. I finally sit down to learn Bitwig right so I can set it up with my Linnstrument and not use Live, which works but is a little more complicated to set up. After a long day of tweaking on Saturday, I get everything working. I'm actually impressed with what they've done with modulators and how they've set up the program. All that I have to do is assign knobs from my Midi Fighter Twister so I can control stuff by turning knobs and not have to look at the screen while I'm playing.

Aaaaaand bam. Nothing. Bitwig doesn't recognize it.

So I can't just MIDI map to the CCs my controller puts out like in every other piece of software. Then I download the custom patch someone made for the MFT. The file structure in the folder I download from Github does not contain the files described in the instructions, so I am completely lost. I can go on forums and ask for support, of course, but it's more poking around instead of making music..

This is not the first time this kind of lengthy configuration session has ended with the discovery of the perfectly good hardware I own not working with the software because of some decision on the developer's part, or there needing to be some kind of kludge. Obviously, I can go back to Live for now, but that was an afternoon spent adjusting settings and learning workflows (which is more like work than art) instead of making music or playing around.

After all that frustration, I plug into my expert sleepers FH-2, wire up a patch with my modular, and everything just works and I'm making music. I have my wife come over and play with the weird bell/piano patch I just made. We have fun.

I've been programming and using computers since 1984. I do not believe that software is "just easier." It is more powerful, no doubt. But in a situation where you are playing with other people and might want to adjust things like relative volume of different sounds, filters or resonance, grain density, pitch variance, EQ for the room, etc., nothing beats knob based control.

John the Savage has inspired me to maybe try out my iPad with the Linnstrument, though. Something with a touchscreen might be a good compromise, though I've had bad luck in the past adjusting touchscreens in the heat of actual performance.

[pdxindy]

Aaaaaand bam. Nothing. Bitwig doesn't recognize it.

So I can't just MIDI map to the CCs my controller puts out like in every other piece of software.

yeah, you can now...

[pdxindy]

After all that frustration, I plug into my expert sleepers FH-2, wire up a patch with my modular, and everything just works and I'm making music. I have my wife come over and play with the weird bell/piano patch I just made. We have fun.

and of course you just purchased the FH-2 and your modular and immediately knew what to do without any learning period.

[pdxindy]

John the Savage has inspired me to maybe try out my iPad with the Linnstrument, though. Something with a touchscreen might be a good compromise, though I've had bad luck in the past adjusting touchscreens in the heat of actual performance.

The problem with the iPad (touchscreens in general) is that there is no tactile feedback. So it requires lots of visual attention. You cannot just grab a knob without looking. And if you look to see the knob is grabbed on the screen, you have to keep looking because you don't know for sure it is moving without watching... and once it is moving, you can lose it without realizing it.

With a hardware synth, I can be playing the keys without looking... or watching the keys I can reach up and tweak the cutoff without having to look. Etc.

So I think touchscreens are poor for performance. Give me physical controls please.