the multimoog

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hiawog
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the multimoog

Post by hiawog »

i've never gotten to play one of these, but i saw this video and thought it sounded awesome. any love here for the multimoog? it doesn't seem to have a thread. it was bob's last moog with the original company, right? i've read that you can chain them together...how does the modularity work?

[video][/video]
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The Real MC
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Post by The Real MC »

It's a good sounding synth with excellent modulation capabilities.

Bob Moog did not design the Multimoog - Jim Scott designed it. By the time they were on the drawing board, Norlin owned not only Moog but also Gibson guitars so they moved Bob to the guitar stuff like Lab Series guitar amps and Maestro pedals and he was no longer involved in synthesizer design. Bob was never happy with Norlin.

Multimoogs can be chained together. The back panel has a generous I/O system which lets a synth be a master or a slave unit.
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dequalsrxt
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Post by dequalsrxt »

I used to have a micromoog, the single osc version. Such a good and underrated monosynth. I sold it for the usual reason, but I do miss it. Variable waveshape is cool, and not something I've run across since. You can modulate the filter with the osc, but it only had a three-way switch to select the depth - none, low, and high. You can switch the osc off as well, but still modulate the filter with it, nice for processing audio. The modulation/lfo section had a bunch of cool waveshapes, can't remember them off hand. Usual inputs on the back - osc, filter cv in, audio in. I think the mod section had an input/ouput for sync it as well, but it was designed for other micro/multis, because it had a male two-prong s-trig jack (or whatever it's called). I never had mine modified for 1/4" on that or the gate input, so I was never able to experiment with that section. Last I checked, the micros could still be had for quite cheap. If they still are, let's just not talk about it, ok?
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fireclown
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Post by fireclown »

I have a multimoog and used to have a few other moogs, most of which sounded a good bit more impressive, but none had the interfaceability options. I thought the Micromoog was a single osc version, but there may be some other differences, lacking pressure sensitivity, maybe?
either way a micromoog seems a fair bargain, the stereo modulation connections in back can be broken out into a nice in/out setup I expect.
The Multimoog definitely has some interesting features.
Nothing ever seemed to sound as beautiful as my old Taurus pedals though.
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The Real MC
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Post by The Real MC »

Multimoog has the exact same main circuit board of the Micromoog, with an extra board to the left for the 2nd VCO and extra features.

If you study the panels of both starting from the right and mooving left (sorry!), the Micromoog controls are identical to the Multimoog.
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Morley
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Post by Morley »

Big fan of the multimoog.
Need to find one one day!
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hiawog
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Post by hiawog »

some interesting info here guys, thanks
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Randy
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Post by Randy »

I liked it more than the prodigal son (Minimoog). Nice sound and I like ribbons more than wheels. That's one reason I'll probably keep my Kurzweil 2600XS forever.

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fireclown
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Post by fireclown »

that sounds much better than mine. the hipass correction is higher on my list!
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analoglsd
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Post by analoglsd »

Great synth, and the after touch really adds a lot since you have greater control over the modulation levels.
Honestly, since the Micromoog usually goes for less than half of what the Multimoog goes for, I'd get my fix there.
As far as either coming close to the Mini, I would hardly agree.
Also, the input jack for connecting an expression pedal to the filter control is a odd size which is just smaller than 1/4", which is pretty annoying, but an easy fix.
...and it seems nearly impossible to get the Multi or the Micro to scale correctly for more than 2 octaves.
If you need easy access to weird modulated sounds, it's top notch.
For more straightforward sounds....it's good, but not great.
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chromium
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Post by chromium »

I had a beautiful Multi many moons ago- recapped, new keyboard bushings. Played great, and loved the aftertouch (...so much so that I've retrofitted aftertouch to my beloved Pro-one!).

Image

Never did get around to that cap mod. Ended up selling it to offset cost of a model D. They are two totally different beasts, and I do miss the Multi- but I'm also trying not to end up on an episode of "Hoarders" :hyper:

FWIW Here's a home recording I had made with it at the time, and I think it represented its overall sound - searing and somewhat "reedy" in stock form:
http://www.hillscloud.com/music/Passage-to-Infinity.mp3
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chinard
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Post by chinard »

I used to have a multimoog in my old studio, seriously regret selling that thing.

Its a monster, definitely not fat and beefy like the model d was but it could go into some strange places.
I did the cap mod. barely noticeable difference.
The aftertouch was pretty clunky but it did work.

My biggest gripes about it was the archaic cinch-jones connectors for the S-trig, the flakey j-wire keyboard which seemed to need constant cleaning, and the tuning stability... That second oscillator was terrible for tracking unless you let the synth warm up for a good 30mins before using.
The stable pitch range was pretty limited on those as well from what i remember. This always made me laugh when people complained about the pitch range on many euro vco's like the M-15 which actually had a better tracking stability than these vintage synths.
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fireclown
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Post by fireclown »

the tuning issues of my vco's are so severe I use euro/A Sys VCO's into the multimoog along with an external EG tied to the vcf and the cinch jones through a .com cable.
Other than the vco's being whacked, the only other issue is the aftertouch tends to stop working after being used(?)

I have used a doepfer keyboard with velocity and aftertouch to bypass the aftertouch problem, and eventually realized I could tie my 198 ribbon controller to the internal vco's in sync and who cares how they track then?

If I had a point here it would probably be that the back connections of the multimoog offer options that made these things possible. And it makes a very convincing ribbon voice with those Moog VCO's!
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chromium
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Post by chromium »

Regarding spotty aftertouch...

The sensor uses a channel strip filled with a layer of that old conductive foam, with a big rubber actuator under the keybed that squashes it down as you dig in. Wouldn't be surprised if that foam has degraded/disintegrated on some units. Mine still seemed to be in decent shape, but that was probably luck of the draw.

Here's a shot of it from when I was in doing the service:
Image

Image

You can also adjust the height of that assembly a bit, and that might help even out response in some cases. Mine worked nicely.
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senecio
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Post by senecio »

this video highlights the wide array of sounds and textures the micromoog is capable of:


people seem to say that the micromoog mysteriously sounds warmer and nicer than the multi.

I also remember looking into a multimoog years ago and finding out that even though its a micromoog inside a multi, there is one key thing a micro can do that the multi can't and It caused me to loose interest in the multi and to get a second micro.... but I can't recall what that thing is... something with the modulation options perhaps.
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senecio
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Post by senecio »

this video highlights the wide array of sounds and textures the micromoog is capable of:


people seem to say that the micromoog mysteriously sounds warmer and nicer than the multi.

I also remember looking into a multimoog years ago and finding out that even though its a micromoog inside a multi, there is one key thing a micro can do that the multi can't and It caused me to loose interest in the multi and to get a second micro.... but I can't recall what that thing is... something with the modulation options perhaps.
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Post by Vacancy Of Disco »

The multi/micromoogs are really great synths that can take you on some strange journeys. Micromoog was my first synth and I still have it. Although it's a tricky mess of attenuaters and voltage scaling once I get it to track with my voyager amazing things happen. I'm afraid of ripping a hole through the space time continuum at times lol
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tron23
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Post by tron23 »

i also sold mine, oscillator tracking was not the best, keaboard and aftertouch half working and always in need for cleaning, guess mine was a bit abused, but some great aggressive tones that i still miss, a very unique sounding moog unlike anything else i have heard from the company
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pannikel
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Post by pannikel »

late addition to this thread. Someone selling the Micro reminded me how much I miss my Multi. Swapped it for an Echoplex well over a decade ago. Miss it more than any other synth I owned
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