Lorne, aka kidtronic, asked what all modular synth geeks and sound tinkerers (myself included), wonder each time a new Moog product is announced - why don't they just make modules again? The market is growing and they could make a killing off them. I could be wrong but I'm guessing it's a combination of time, physical resources (manufacturing and people), prioritization, and size of the potential market. Modules are currently limited to people that have and/or want to build modulars. How big is that market? What would be the tipping point for them to consider modules and if so, what format? Eurorack is gaining popularity, but would it be sacrilege to go with Euro vs. the classic and original Moog format? Could they afford to do both? Technically you could design the guts for Euro and then mount them in both. Heck, you could make Mini-Moogerfoogers for the non modular market.
Moog could put a poll up but in doing so, it would mean they are considering it, and if it didn't pan out, they would be disappointing those that voted for it. That said, I thought I'd put up a few polls for fun. I'm doing these on the spur without much thought, so if I'm missing something obvious feel free to comment or shoot me an email (contact info on the bottom right). I went with Eurorack and Moog for the formats for now. If there is interest for other formats, don't vote and mention it in the comments or email me. I will add them. I don't want to dilute the poll with them unless there is genuine interest.
Spread the polls around so people see them. I included links to the embed code for those on other sites. Note there is no link back to MATRIXSYNTH, so you are safe. :) The polls are hosted on Polldady and I have to embed them as well. In order for the numbers to mean anything across sites, it's probably a good idea to have only one poll for each question.
Now the BIG assumption of course, is that the cost of the modules would be relative to Moogerfoogers as far as functionality vs. price.
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Thursday, September 09, 2010
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I voted no to new Moog modules, I remember what they were like the first time around. What Moog needs to do is bring the modular style user interface (one function per knob and patchability) to digital hardware.
ReplyDeleteOpps, forgot, some past Moog employee is doing just that - John Bowen. Forget Moog Modular, give me a Solaris!
You can get a good sense of what some of the people who use Moog stuff think of this, by reading the forum on http://www.moogmusic.com/forum, particulary in the General Topics forum (the thread "What should Moog Release Next") and in the Moogerfoogers forum. You'll even find lovingly PhotoShopped versions of potential 'fooger panels that people have designed, etc, plus lots of people pining for a polysynth. And then people post all the reasons why they think it will never happen. Ocassionaly someone from Moog will reply, but not that frequently. You don't have to sign up to read, you can just lurk, but it's a window on a pretty interesting world.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think there's much need anymore. A couple of years ago, maybe. There are modular manufacturers that get close enough to the "Moog" sound, and there's an even broader range of manufacturers that are truly innovating in both the Moog and Euro formats...and have been for many years at this point.
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about it, Moog entering would probably just screw the whole thing up. I'd bet they wouldn't care if their modules were compatible with other module series out there. And I honestly don't know what they could offer that would be more interesting than what already exists. Sure they could be the "meat and potatoes" guys...which they would likely be. But we already have at least one of those.
Unfortunately, the poll doesn't have the question: "Should Moog get into modules at all regardless of the rest of the poll questions."
ReplyDeleteSince the original Moog modulars, and now, didn't Moog CE build Moog modules in Moog format? If I remember correctly, they were very expensive and no one on AH ever mentioned buying any.
ReplyDeleteAnd what would they offer? There has been a significant improvement in electronic parts -- noticeably op-amps and capacitors -- since the original modular. Precision resistors are much less expensive. Would they produce attempts at re-creating the original modules, or new designs with the name Moog?
Kent, I don't quite get your question. Doesn't the first one answer that?
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was pretty clear. On a personal level, I no longer have a need for modern Moog modules. This could be due to the Moogerfoogers and the Voyager that I own. This pertains to your 1st poll question.
ReplyDeleteOn a business level, there is at least one other question and that is: "Should Moog spend the time and money in developing modules of any format given the state of that market?"
This question is not asked in the poll and is probably the most important consider at the get-go. I can see no business sense in Moog pursuing the modular market. They've been out of that game for so long that others have quite ably stepped into the void.
That's the point of the polls and the words above the polls. Just asking that question point blank doesn't really answer it. The first question followed by the others are implicit to the overall question, should Moog do it.
ReplyDeleteYou may not be interested but so far 404 people are. Who knows how many would come through, but I do know not everyone that would be interested has voted so 404 is just a subset at this point. The original MF-104 was limited to 500 units off the bat due to a limited number of parts available and they made them knowing this, so... Maybe the next question would be what module would you like to see first?