Dickson Dee(Li Chin Sung) weblog

Moog Source(1981-1985) – very good condition with orignal manual.
contact: [email protected]

http://www.synthmuseum.com/moog/moosource01.html

Ease of Use: 9
The Moog Source is very easy to use. Some people don’t get it, they complain that it lacks knobs, but this is a very ergonomic and fast way to program: you keep your left hand on the wonderful smooth-spinning, nicely weighted knob (such fine quality that would be far too expensive for a multi-knobbed synth to include) and your right hand jumps around pressing the buttons to select what the knob controls. It’s great really! You don’t waste time moving your hand off a knob on to another, so its actually faster. And there are NO multiple levels of menus or anything. each button does one thing (for the controls).

Features: 7
Its a mono synth, but it does have two envelopes, one for the moog ladder filter, and one for the amplitude.. which is more than you can say for some synths (like junos). So that allows some flexibility that is nice. It has two phat moog VCO oscillators plus a true analog noise generator. And of course the third VCO is an LFO that has variable shape. Basically it IS an updated minimoog, for less than half the price.. woohoo!!!! You can easily midi it up with a 100$ midi to CV converter.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
What it does… it does very well, and nothing else can do it (except maybe a minimoog). Certainly no virtual analog can even come close, and neither can other non-moog real analogs. nothing sounds the same, and it is truly a great sound. That’s what it comes down to folks!

Reliability: 9
Built like a tank, and relatively easy to service. However, these are quite old, and obviously they will never make them again, so if you have one, please treat it with respect!

Customer Support: 6
If you can find a technician who deals with vintage synths, this one is relatively easy and cheap to service.

Overall Rating: 10
As I’ve said before. This synth is a much needed sound for those who do electronic music, hip-hop, reggae, funk, electro, etc… And the Moog sound with the copyright filter is really warm and phat like no other. The new Moog Voyager doesn’t even hold a candle to this and other vintage Moogs though as far as quality and character of tone. Try one for yourself and see. Overall, the Moog Source is a steal of a deal as bascially you are getting a Minimoog (and a VERY funky looking one) at less than half the price. Grab ’em while you still can!

Submitted by funkdub_soulbrother