Don Martin - Moog Music 9500 Series Modules

YouTube via therealretrosynth.

Remember the Don Martin Minimoogs? Well, he also manufactured MOOG Modules. Title link takes you to more shots.

Here's the list of Don Martin modules according to Cary on the AH list:
9501 Voltage Controlled Oscillator
9501A Oscillator Controller
9501B Oscillator
9502 Voltage Controlled Amplifier
9503 Random Noise Generator
9504A Voltage Controlled Lowpass Filter
9504B Voltage Controlled Highpass Filter
9504C Filter Coupler
9505 Reverberation Unit
9507 Fixed Filter Bank
9510 Power Supply
9511 Envelope Generator
9511A Dual Trigger Dealy
9512 Envelope Follower
9514 Extended Range Fixed Filter Bank
9521 Voltage Controlled Oscillator
9521A Oscillator Controller
9521B Oscillator
9560 Standard Interface
9591 Filter / Attenuator Panel
9594 Jack Multiples Panel
9595 Ring Modulator
9596 Sample & Hold
9598 Mixer
9599 4 Channel MIDI-CV Convertor
9800R Eight Unit Rack Mount System
9801P Cable Pack

MOOG Minimoog Model E

Note Model E, not D. This is "The Welsh Minimoog" manufactured by Alex Winter's MOOG Music in the UK, referred to in the previous post. The other "non-MOOG" Minimoog E was Don Martin's Minimoog often referred to as the Donimoog (previous posts). Don Martin owned the rights to the name in the US until Bob Moog won the name back in time for the Voyager, however in the UK the Voyager was released as the Voyager by Bob Moog (more info in the previous post).

Image and details pulled via this auction

Details:
"You're looking at a Minimoog Model 204E Analogue Synthesiser - the 'Welsh' Minimoog!

It is in mint condition - I am the sole owner from new, when I bought it in 1999. It has never left the house. It is also fully functional - all controls, switches and keys work perfectly. It comes with the original manual and power cable.

There are one or two 'gremlins' in the system, which were present when I bought it, but they didn't concern me enough to address. I feel I should mention these so as to make the buyer aware!

- there is a slight 'tick' noise which can be heard periodically whilst playing. The below sound demo shows it at its worst. I've no idea what causes it - I know that Moog Music Ltd. had a number of 'bugs' to iron out, so I suspect this is one of them. It's never really bothered me.

- plugging in a set of headphones and lowering the headphone volume to minimum will result in a humming sound. This sound is only audible in the headphones and does not occur with the main outputs (high or low).

My reason for selling is because I've had it eight years and feel like a change.

So what is a 'Welsh Minimoog' then? Moog Music Ltd., based in Caerphilly, Wales was set up in the 90's to reissue Moog Modular parts before setting out to recreate the classic Minimoog... with a few enhancements! From what I understand, only five Minimoog Model 204Es were made before the company went under. I was lucky enough to acquire one (cost £1500 at the time!).

The improvements are as follows:

- Ultra-stable oscillators - these have yet to go out of tune in eight years.
- Transpose switch - the range of the keyboard has now been increased by +/- 1 octave.
- Digitally-scanned keyboard
- PWM on Oscillators 1 & 2 when they are set to Square/Pulse waves. Osc 3 in LFO duties provides modulation.
- Multiple Triggering - the envelopes can be set to multiple triggering, in addition to the original's single triggering.
- MIDI - the Minimoog Model 204E features MIDI built-in (not a retrofit).

The picture below is of the actual synth and by following the link below to my 'music' page, a set of demos that I recorded can be found at the bottom of the list.

http://www.soundclick.com/greenalsatian

Here are some other demos that I recorded, including the 'tick' - this was from a test in which I taped down a note for half an hour - the 'tick' only occurred once, but the frequency of it can vary.

http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Tick
http://media.putfile.com/Camel-esque-Lead-Noise-Filter-Mod
http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Stranglers-esque
http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Devo-ish-Bass
(if the links go down, they are mirrored here)

Here is a link to the review of a pre-production model on Sound on Sound. The issues mentioned in the review were resolved on the production model.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct98/articles/minimoog204e.html"

Don Martin Mini

Click here for more images of this Donimoog sent in by an anonymous reader. According to the person that sent it in, the "sound is very good, and extreme close, quasi the same as the original mini, I only noticed a different filter tracking." Except that,there are 7 other main differences (physical) Can u find them?"

For those of you not familiar with the Donimoog, Don Martin actually owned the MOOG name in the US when Bob Moog was running his company under the Big Briar name. Bob sued and eventually won his name back. You can read more in this Sound on Sound article where the following was pulled:

"In the 1990s, three new companies appeared, each bearing the Moog name, although none was connected with Bob Moog himself. In addition to the short-lived UK company Moog Music Ltd (see the 'Cambrian Capers' box towards the end of this article), there was the US-based Moog Music Inc, a company owned by a character named Don Martin who made lavish promises of new Minimoogs and other classic Moog products, took deposits from customers, but failed to deliver and then allegedly disappeared. The other company was Moog CE, which built modules for original Moog instruments such as the System 55 and IIIC. The owner of Moog CE, Michael Bucki, recently reached an amicable arrangement with Bob Moog, selling his name back to him, and renaming his company ModuSonics. He is still in business.

With Don Martin's Moog Music Inc defunct, and Moog CE renamed, Bob Moog was then free to rename Big Briar Moog Music Inc, and to undertake the development of the Minimoog Voyager. Except in the UK, of course, where it is marketed and sold as the Voyager By Bob Moog"

So can you spot the 7 differences? : ) BTW, DO NOT MISS this post.

Bob Moog Letter to MMR - February 1998 - New Mini Mentioned

So is this the first public mention of the Mini to become the Voyager? If you know of an earlier mention please post in the comments.

This is a xcan of an article sent to MMR by Bob Moog, published in February of 1998. I checked the AH archives and the first mention was on Monday, April 20, 1998, in reference to this interview with Bob Moog in the May 1998 issue of Sound on Sound.

The company Bob is referring to in the letter is Don Martin's as he owned the rights to the Moog name at the time. Don produced copies of the original Minimoogs and some modules. The minis were eventually referred to as the Donimoog or the Model E, as the Model D was the last of the original Minimoogs. Bob Moog took Don Martin to court and won the rights of his name back in 2002. You can find more on Moog with a mention of Don on wikipedia.