Thoughts on the New Moog...

If you’re not subscribed to the Analog Heaven list (and who can really blame you?) there’s been quite the go-round in the last few days about the New Moog. Of course, the same issues have appeared on many other forums. It’s really quite annoying how many armchair quarterbacks there are in this business.

In any case, I posted my ideas to AH, but since this site has far more visitors than are subscribed to that list, I thought I’d paraphrase them here for mass consumption. Several (dozen) people posted about how it didn’t have this feature and that feature, and who on earth would buy this hunk of shit if it didn’t give you a backrub? etc. etc.

My thinking is thus: Moog hand-makes high quality products. If they’re not for everyone, so be it. In my experience, the Big Briar-era Moog products are of an exceptional build quality, and sound like they’re supposed to. This quality and sound comes at something of a premium in price, of course.

I find it ironic that most of the people doing the bitching are exactly the sorts of people that pay a grand for a 303 or a Source. This new synth is head and shoulders above the Source (an incredibly flawed instrument), I don’t think anyone would deny that fact. And it will street for only a couple bills more. Quite frankly, I think that the new Moog will be exactly what it was billed as; a half-priced Voyager with half the features.

So, my big plan is to wait until there is a playable unit within my grasp, and play it, and see if I like it. If I don’t, or I can’t afford it, I’ll just not buy it. How’s that? In the mean-time, perhaps I can go to the snack bar and pick everyone up a large order of Shut The Fuck Up, with a side of Quit Your Whining?