MATRIXSYNTH: University of Wyoming MOOG Model 12 Up for Auction


Wednesday, March 28, 2007

University of Wyoming MOOG Model 12 Up for Auction

Title link takes you there.

Images including details from the auction backed up here for posterity.

via Jim.

15 comments:

  1. wow someone got a good deal

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  2. yeah it should have been posted before the end of the auction :)

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  3. Is a unniversity like a new synth comming?

    Mattrix?

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  4. $5100? I dunno, but I'm still having trouble seeing what inflates the worth of older gear like this. Sure, it's 'vintage', but at the same time that's just a fancy word for 'old', and old gear can be fraught with potential problems. Particularly something like this, which doubtless saw a good share of misuse at the hands of students.

    Synthporn aspects aside, I'm just not seeing the point here, and that's coming from some 25+ years of fooling with these toys. Maybe if it'd gone for a bit less than half that, I wouldn't think things were quite so screwy about this (and similar sales).

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  5. I may not be qualified to answer the above poster's comment but this is the internet and i will try.
    my understanding of market value as opposed to proscribed or earned value is that there is an instrinsic value to a lot of people who *especially* haven't had an opportunity to, ya know, fool with these things. A lot of people who were interested contemporaneously simply didn't have the resources to get near this stuff.
    there are a lot of factors influencing a sale such as this not least of which is that the market has been and will apparently continue to bear the weight of supply and demand.

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  6. I could not agree more with the fourth posters comment that this should not be worth even close to $5000. (or at least that is what I think he was saying) You could build something almost identical with the moder modular manufacturers modules for a fraction of the price. People only pay that amount because it has the name moog on it, not for what it actually does.

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  7. I think the auction was kept somewhat a secret. Synthfool was the only one that bid on it until the last half hour or so. I wonder if the university contacted him for information on it. The reserve was set at about $4,500.00.

    I guess it's worth what someone would pay for it. I would have gone $2,500 not knowing what it is really capable of or how much work it might need.

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  8. We're not just talking "vintage" here, guys. Moog synthesizers sound far better than any modern ripoff. If you're looking for something to noodle around with, go crazy with your dot motm frac whatever & save a bundle.

    Personally, I'm not a big Moog modular fan. They're clunky & designed to basically do straight-ahead tonal meat & potatoes sounds. But, my God, we're talking the choicest cuts of meat and the finest potatoes. If you're not as concerned with quality, you can fill up on baloney & potato chips for a fraction of the price.

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  9. "We're not just talking "vintage" here, guys. Moog synthesizers sound far better than any modern ripoff."

    Having had experience with one (and a IIIc at that) as well as a good few later synths (including some of those 'modern ripoffs'), I'd have to say that this is somewhat unfounded. It's true that Moog equipment has a certain sound to it, but it is just as capable of sounding like crap as anything else in the wrong hands. Consequently, a lot of new equipment in the right hands is capable of being as sonically expressive as much of this overpriced vintage gear is given credit for...Moog included.

    Beyond that, Moog offers you the fun of dealing with its wacky S-trig system, which if you've never experienced the 'voltage droop' problem caused when you overtax it, be glad. Some of the build quality on the particular IIIc I was using (R.A. Moog modules) also seemed to me to be a little flaky. And this was about fifteen years ago; I'd hate to have to deal with some of this same system's vagaries now.

    Moog is no 'guarantee of quality', either. While they did some great things such as the Minimoog (which, I should note, have variances from unit to unit that make some more 'musical' than others...not a good QC sign, really), they were also responsible for some engineering flubs of significance, such as the Polymoog. That's not some 'meat and potatoes' that I'd want to eat, to say the least.

    It all comes back to the point that I simply don't see the point in these overinflated prices. Period. The poster above that pegged this Model 12 at somewhere around 2 grand is much more on track, IMHO, if in fact a real sensible price shouldn't be a touch lower than that.

    Vintage pricing. Just say no, folks.

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  10. "Synthfool was the only one that bid on it until the last half hour or so."

    Synthfool bid right after it went up.
    I saw his name up there for weeks.

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  11. Sorry, I should clarify, I was talking about Moog modulars. Yes, they have their own sound, and, no, none of the things that look like them now sound like Moogs.

    I'm not talking about "sonic expressiveness," whatever that is, or engineering anomalies, or features per dollar. I'm simply talking about the rich tonality that comes out of a Moog. Yes, it has a very peculiar sound. It's so peculiar that most of my friends in the business would have no problem identifying Moog sounds in whatever recording you played them. It's a limited sound palette at that, but it happens to be a sound that has proven itself musically useful over the past 30-something years.

    The envelopes have no punch, the oscillators drift, and nothing does a more rock-solid bass.

    Wait, why am I even arguing about this? I'm a Buchla guy.

    I will say this: the Minimoog does most of what Moog modulars are good at, plus it tends to stay in tune better, it doesn't take a zillion guitar cables and it certainly doesn't cost 5 grand yet. But if it did, it would still be well worth it.

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  12. that was no "good deal". it was untested, condition unknown. this always means broken. dont underestimate the high price of modular repairs. i hope the buyer didn't get screwed.

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  13. 'getting screwed' is not having the highest bid

    your search query wasn't "generic{dot.org, .gov, .uk)" etc.

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  14. reed spoke:
    > The envelopes have no punch ...

    i'm not disagreeing with what you said up to and including this paragraph.

    however, there is a certain muted guitar like pluck which i've heard on half of Redshift's albums which strikes me as being a collision involving the 911 which i can't seem to reproduce with the Minimoog or digital implements.

    i can't help but think the EG has something to do with it.

    > it doesn't take a zillion guitar cables

    i'm going to be a bit contrary here and point out that a "zillion guitar cables" don't have quite the use in a factory-configured Moog system because of the CV?S-Trigger routing panels. it doesn't take more than a handful of cables to get things going on those mythic beasts.

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  15. Moog 921 oscs stay in tune better than most minimoogs.
    You're thinking of 901 oscs which drift more.

    This synth is worth every cent and the new owner will have no problems selling it for still more.

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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