Keyboards & Synthesizers > Moog Keyboards & Synthesizers

Size isn't everything

Advantages: Cheaper than Mini Moog and still sounds great
Disadvantages: Good ones increasingly hard to find

The Moog Prodigy aimed itself fairly and squarely in the marketplace as the 'poor man's mini moog' - and was a twin oscillator Control Voltage (CV) monophonic synthesiser. Electronic Synthesisers first came to prominence in the late 1960s, were about the size of a small truck, temperamental, and the operator needed a degree in electronic engineering to work them. In the early 1970s, Moog brought out what was to become the industry standard machine; ...
...EDP Wasp and ARP AXE Moog brought out the Prodigy, and in my opinion, should have concentrated on that. The cost of such an exquisite instrument was around 300 quid, or, to use the 'student grant' measure - a couple of term's money! An analogue synthesiser creates an electronic wave form, modifies it through various filters and amplifiers, finally presenting an output signal which is fed into a Public Address system. Everything was controlled by ...

dobieg 05.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Moog Prodigy

BigHairyKev's Moog Opus 3 Review.

Advantages: Lush backing synth.
Disadvantages: Doesn't have that "Moog" sound.

...from my studio collection. The Moog Opus 3. Granted, it's only a sandwich synth, which to those that don't know is (in this case) a unit with 3 synths inside it. Each of these can be played individually, or in combination. The best part is the string section, which is perfect for that Jean-Michel Jarre style synth string from Oxygene & Equinox. You can use the effect section to have the strings wash in and out like waves. It also has a brass section, ...
...a hint of that classic Moog sound. YAY. There's also a VERY nice alterable organ section with a lovely lowrey style rotary effect. These can all be combined and mixed with an onboard level mixer. Best sound - full strings with that washing effect, 60% organ to give depth, and about 30% brass for a nice "wah" effect behind the sound. When you're playing this, keep switching the rotary effect on and off and flicking it between fast and slow. Probably ...

BigHairyKev 06.11.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Moog Opus3

Rolls Royce of the Analogues

Advantages: It's SIX Minimoogs in one!
Disadvantages: Its a Moog!

...minimmogs 3 vcos). Basically, Moog went bust just after launching the Memorymoog Plus and exactly five minutes before mine gave up the ghost and refused to tune up anymore. Nobody knew how to service them, so I threw it away for scrap on a German tour. Now that WAS stupid. You can now have a midi update inserted and digital tuning by Lintronic of Germany (www.lintronics.de) and they can make the thing pretty much indestructable. Not cheap though. ...
...the modifications done. Well worth the money if analogue sound is your bag, but with only six voice polyphony and no touch sensitive keys, you're really only buying that ultra ultra fat Moog sound. A little like rare Champagne. Fantastic but difficult to find and keep your hands off. ...

heathfield 01.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Moog Memorymoog

Kaossilator- the mini synth thats REALLY for on The go

Advantages: Portable -X-Y touch interface, Can stack sounds, Make loops, Over 30 different scales
Disadvantages: 100 patches is a bit limiting, No MIDI implementation, comes with no AC Adaptor

The Korg Kaossilator has really proved to be worth the money. Although only containing about 100 different patches, (grouped as 20 Lead, 10 Acoustic, 20 Bass, 10 Chord, 20 SE [Special Effects], 10 Drum, and 10 Pattern), its portability(uses four AA batteries for on the go usage) and simplicity (if you can slide your finger, then you can be a master on this machine) for a synth cannot be matched. It's worked by you basically picking a sound, whether ...
...sliding your finger across the pad to make different pitches with the sound. You can combine or "stack" beats and notes to make a loop which you play your melody over. There are thousands of combinations to be explored and used. It is really simple I can be on a bus, plug my earbuds into the headphone jack, and make crazy beats and melodies with the push of my index finger! Yes, its MIDI compatibility is lacking, and more serious electronic music ...

gratuitousP 03.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Korg Kaossilator Mini Phrase Synthesizer

The Yamaha EX7 Workstation Synthesizer experience

Advantages: Versatile, Endless potential, timeless, a very powerful instrument
Disadvantages: Can take a while to learn

...touch screen interface. The Yamaha is very complex compared to that, and almost bordering on scientific. Its not the easiest to interact with as well with a turn knob and button presses. With its interface, it can take a long time and patience to learn how to use the sequencer let alone modeling your own voices. But then, that being said there is plenty of built in presets you can access very easily and start using straight away without having to ...
...independent control over each. Yamaha AN Synthesis (Analog Physical Modeling) offers all the benefits of traditional analog synthesis with the stability, reproducability, and precise control of digital technology. It is capable of accurately reproducing the sound of classic analog synthesizers without patch cables, setting charts, or the frustrating instability that was the bane of the analog age. A standard (Poly) AN voice can have 1 AN element ...

mokeyb 17.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Yamaha EX7