A few months ago, Moog announced the return of the Minimoog Model D. At that time it was only a pilot production run at Moogfest 2016 in Durham, NC. Handcrafted in the Moog Pop-Up Factory.
I remember saying ‘I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Minimoog Model D back in the stores later this year’. Well, it turns out I was right. The Minimoog Model D is now in full production and available for order through authorized Moog dealers worldwide.
In Moog’s words ‘Each Minimoog Model D is lovingly handcrafted at our employee-owned factory in Asheville, NC. This legendary 3-oscillator monophonic instrument is securely housed in a hand-finished aluminum chassis and locally-sourced Appalachian hard-wood enclosure. To realize the unmistakable sound of the world’s first performance synthesizer, we preserve the component placement and through-hole design of the original analog circuit boards, employing military-spec precision resistors and custom-reissued transistors to complete the circuit.’
The same yet different
Though no changes have been made to the original sound engine or audio signal path, the Minimoog Model D now includes a series of functional modifications to expand the instrument’s sonic capabilities beyond the factory specifications of a 1970’s production unit.
These modifications include a premium Fatar keybed with velocity and after pressure available via top panel CV jacks, a dedicated analog LFO with triangle and square waveshapes, CV outputs for pitch, gate, velocity and after pressure, basic MIDI integration, and a mixer overload modification, which when engaged, allows the Minimoog Model D to conjure thicker and far more overdriven sounds than before.
Features
• 3 vintage Moog oscillators
• Classic Moog low pass ladder filter with resonance
• Analog circuit boards recreated using original designs and component placement
• Custom reissued transistors critical to sound quality and character
• Military spec precision resistors
• Precision Linear System matched JFETs in oscillators
• Classic thermoset, knurled pitch and mod wheels
• CV Modifications: outputs added for Pitch, Aftertouch, Velocity and Gate (Aftertouch and Velocity have dedicated output level attenuators)
• Modulation Modifications: analog Triangle/Square wave LFO and Filter Envelope added as modulation sources, as well as an External Modulation CV input
• Overload Modification: the output of the Minimoog Model D is automatically scaled and fed back to the External Audio Input for instantly available overdrive
• Improved circuit board connectors for touring reliability
• Fatar TP-9 keybed with velocity and aftertouch
• MIDI in, out and thru
Price
Out or reach for most of us, unfortunately. But if you happen to have $3,749.00 in your pocket and you don’t need to buy a new Leica, contact your Moog dealer as soon as possible. Moog stated that ‘due to the complexity of the build process coupled with the demand for other Moog instruments, we are only able to produce a small number of Minimoog Model D units per month.’
