Moog Matriarch

[pdxindy]

Not to say they don't have reasonable pricing on some things, but imho, you have to
pay a premium for the name in a lot of cases.

You’re paying for products made by a company that pays a living wage and treats people right. It’s a company that people WANT to work for, and STAY once they get a job there. Also, Asheville is not a cheap place to love, so that drives up what it costs for employees to live there.

I don't know if either of those are true...

I returned the Moog One cause the fans drove me nuts and the sound just didn't do it for me. But wow was the user interface beautiful and a pleasure to work with and the keybed felt so good to play.

I have a Matriarch on pre-order. Maybe I am paying premium for the name. Maybe I'm not. But what other company is making such a beautiful workspace? Big knobs that feel great. Lots of space around them so working with it is not cramped.

The Dominion 1 is a premium monosynth. It costs $1500. $500 less than the Matriarch. It has 1 less octave on the keyboard, a smaller case, smaller and more packed in knobs and about 1/3 the number of patch-points. It has 1 less Osc and doesn't have the stereo filters and VCA's of the Matriarch.

I would say compared to the Dominion 1, the Matriarch is efficiently priced and there is no obvious premium for a name there.

[pdxindy]

The Moog Matriarch is shipping!

[pdxindy]

I've had the Matriarch since yesterday... I've bought a number of hardware synths over the past few years, but in each case I have not been entirely happy with the sound quality. This is the first one that is effortlessly giving the sounds and character I have been looking for!

[fatwhitelump]

That's great to hear, hopefully mine will ship soon. I assume it comes with patch cables? If so how many and are they different lengths? I'm wondering if I should proactively order some cables so I have them when the Matriarch arrives.

Thanks!

[pdxindy]

That's great to hear, hopefully mine will ship soon. I assume it comes with patch cables? If so how many and are they different lengths? I'm wondering if I should proactively order some cables so I have them when the Matriarch arrives.

Thanks!

I didn't count the cables... it was like 5-6. i just dropped them in my pile of cables! If you want to get into patching, you will want more than what comes with the Matriarch... including some longer ones.

Modulating one Osc with another (FM) means 2 cables because you will want to go through an attenuator to be able to set FM depth.

If you want to use velocity, you need to patch it... same with aftertouch. I'd want to have like 2 dozen cables of different lengths so as not to run out. Cables are cheap!

[fatwhitelump]

That's great to hear, hopefully mine will ship soon. I assume it comes with patch cables? If so how many and are they different lengths? I'm wondering if I should proactively order some cables so I have them when the Matriarch arrives.

Thanks!

I didn't count the cables... it was like 5-6. i just dropped them in my pile of cables! If you want to get into patching, you will want more than what comes with the Matriarch... including some longer ones.

Modulating one Osc with another (FM) means 2 cables because you will want to go through an attenuator to be able to set FM depth.

If you want to use velocity, you need to patch it... same with aftertouch. I'd want to have like 2 dozen cables of different lengths so as not to run out. Cables are cheap!

Great, thanks for the quick reply. I guess I should pick some up then!!!

[Divinital]

I just got my Matriarch in the mail. Absolutely insane synth, probably my favorite of all time.

However I have one problem with it, the envelopes are insanely clicky. Not snappy as one might say, but literally clicky. I read of a test where you turn all oscillators down, main volume up, open the filter, and turn ADSR down and if it clicks there's a problem. Mine does click a bit, and it does audibly with almost every setting. Even when the envelopes are set to say Attack - 0, Decay - 50%, Sustain 50%, Release, 50%, there's still an onset click at the beginning of every note which I don't understand. Not like the attack of a percussive instrument, just an inharmonic clicking. Is that typical? I've owned multiple analog synths and don't remember it being such an issue as it is here. It's as if no matter what the envelope thinks the decay is set to 0 then remembers it's at 50%... Not sure if I'll have to send it in to Moog. Super unfortunate because this is the most inspiring synth I've ever played, I feel tracks pouring out of it and I want to get to recording but I don't want to record it if the click is an issue. I also don't want to exchange it because it's a Moogfest edition, serial number 0100 lol....

Sigh.

I've had the Matriarch since yesterday... I've bought a number of hardware synths over the past few years, but in each case I have not been entirely happy with the sound quality. This is the first one that is effortlessly giving the sounds and character I have been looking for!

100% agree with this. Never owned a Minimoog, don't care. This is the best sounding hardware synth I've owned, and I've gone through a bunch trying to find that perfect synth, DSI Rev 2, OB-6 (my second favorite but didn't quite fit my style), Roland synths, Korg, Dreadbox. None of them have evoked emotions like the Matriarch. If you could comment on the envelope discussion I typed up earlier I would appreciate it! Really don't want to have to exchange/send it for repairs because I can't stop playing it!

[pdxindy]

If I turn the Mixer controls all to 0 then there is no sound... no click.

The Matriarch is my favorite synth I have ever played! It is 2 weeks now and it is one endless stream of gorgeous and inspiring sounds!

Bummer about that click!

[Glyn Darby]

Hi all, I would buy one if I had the money after watching this and Lisa Bella Donna is just amazing, hope you enjoy it, cheers Glyn. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=you ... bPqOfRzlGY

[JCJR]

If there is zero input to a vcf or vca and it clicks when you hit it with a fast envelope, the first suspect would be control voltage feedthru, though maybe there could be other causes.

Control voltage feedthru is where the output dc level will shift according to the level of control voltage. Even with control voltage feedrhru you might not hear a click with slower envelope because the dc shift doesn't happen fast enough for the ear to hear as a click. Slightly slow envelope may sound like a thump then a little slower you maybe don't hear at all.

Long ago vcf and vca often had circuit board trimmer resistors for trimming out any cv feedthru. Dunno if that is still the case.

[JCJR]

Another thing could be that the vcf or vca might not have cv feedthru, but there is too much dc permanently sitting on the module input. So when you open up a vca it amplifies that dc sitting on the input and makes a.click.

If a mixer or coupling stage is supposed to be ac coupled with a coupling capacitor but the capacitor is leaking it could let dc into an input.

Or if a mixer is supposed to be good for mixing dc, but there is something wrong with the mixer and it has too much dc on the output (or too much dc on a dc coupled mixer input where it ain't sposed to be).

[rod_zero]

Matriarch or matrixbrute?

[pdxindy]

Matriarch or matrixbrute?

For me, without question Matriarch!

I was excited when I first heard of/saw the Matrixbrute. I think the Matrix is brilliant! One of the best preset systems ever! Great for modulation and as a sequencer! The features specs are impressive.

But a couple times now I have had my hands on one, the core sound just doesn't do it for me. The sounds tends towards hard and gets harder from there. With some effort I found some sounds I liked but it felt like work. There is a certain tonal character I am trying to get away from... which means it is just not a synth for me.

5 minutes with the Matriarch and it was just a big happy yes. It effortlessly creates the sounds I want. The Matriarch never sounds constrained. Lovely sounds effortlessly flow out of it... full rich tones and with lots of character! I like the Osc Sync, FM and Ring Mod better on the Matriarch. Adding some filter feedback can significantly vary the basic character. I'm highly biased because Matriarch is the best sounding synth I have ever played!

[Scoox]

Matriarch or matrixbrute?

For me, without question Matriarch!

I was excited when I first heard of/saw the Matrixbrute. I think the Matrix is brilliant! One of the best preset systems ever! Great for modulation and as a sequencer! The features specs are impressive.

But a couple times now I have had my hands on one, the core sound just doesn't do it for me. The sounds tends towards hard and gets harder from there. With some effort I found some sounds I liked but it felt like work. There is a certain tonal character I am trying to get away from... which means it is just not a synth for me.

5 minutes with the Matriarch and it was just a big happy yes. It effortlessly creates the sounds I want. The Matriarch never sounds constrained. Lovely sounds effortlessly flow out of it... full rich tones and with lots of character! I like the Osc Sync, FM and Ring Mod better on the Matriarch. Adding some filter feedback can significantly vary the basic character. I'm highly biased because Matriarch is the best sounding synth I have ever played!

It's been a while since your post, how are you still liking your Matriarch? Do you still have it?

[pdxindy]

Matriarch or matrixbrute?

For me, without question Matriarch!

I was excited when I first heard of/saw the Matrixbrute. I think the Matrix is brilliant! One of the best preset systems ever! Great for modulation and as a sequencer! The features specs are impressive.

But a couple times now I have had my hands on one, the core sound just doesn't do it for me. The sounds tends towards hard and gets harder from there. With some effort I found some sounds I liked but it felt like work. There is a certain tonal character I am trying to get away from... which means it is just not a synth for me.

5 minutes with the Matriarch and it was just a big happy yes. It effortlessly creates the sounds I want. The Matriarch never sounds constrained. Lovely sounds effortlessly flow out of it... full rich tones and with lots of character! I like the Osc Sync, FM and Ring Mod better on the Matriarch. Adding some filter feedback can significantly vary the basic character. I'm highly biased because Matriarch is the best sounding synth I have ever played!

It's been a while since your post, how are you still liking your Matriarch? Do you still have it?

Still have it... still love it... and I now have the PolyBrute which has a different sound than the MatrixBrute. So now I get to enjoy that amazing matrix and its various functions.