Unboxing The New Moog Minimoog Model D

moog-minimoog-model-d-analog-synthesizer

This video, via synthesist mootbooxle, shares his experience unboxing and testing one of the new Moog Minimoog Model D synthesizers:

In the video, he explains that he’s waited two-thirds of his life for this moment:

Well, I’ve waited a long, long time for this.

The Minimoog is an instrument I’ve wanted more than anything since I was 11 years old. It only took 22 years…But the day has come!

This new Model D is even better than the earlier models…not something I would admit easily, being a vintage freak!

Moog reintroduced the Model D at Moogfest 2016. We talked with Moog’s Nick Montoya at the event, who gave us an overview of the new synth:

He also gave us a tour of the inside of the new Model D:

Pricing and Availability

The Minimoog Model D is available now for US $3,499. See the Moog Music site for details.

37 thoughts on “Unboxing The New Moog Minimoog Model D”

  1. Great noodling as always from mootbooxle. What a fab demo, and that sound – ooooh that sound! For me it will remain a distant dream for I possess neither the free cash to buy one, nor the talent to do it justice (yet?). I’m on a semi spend-freeze until a sub 37 is in reach! But anyway props to mootbooxle and Moog for making it. A true electronic instrument.

      1. I LOVE my Sub-37 and IMO it represents the highest achievement from Moog with regard to price and performance. I really am feeling the jones for a Model D reissue, but I just can’t stomach that price. I’m not saying it isn’t worth it though…

    2. I think the Sub37 is a better deal in terms of what you get for $2000 less.

      This new Model D is definitely cool as hell, but nostalgia is driving up that price point. Should be at least 1000/1500 less.

    3. That is very kind of you, robman84.
      And thank you, Synthtopia, for highlighting one of the greatest moments of my life. That may sound silly to some people, but I have a feeling that not many of those people happen to be here 🙂
      Onward!

  2. I owned one of the orginal Minimoog D’s in the mid-70’s simply because any keyboardist who owned one could play with any band in my region that he wanted to. It drove me crazy trying to keep it tuned so I eventually sold it and moved on. Now I look at the new one and just melt – it’s still so beautiful. Makes me want to kick my band into playing songs like “Never Been Any Reason” by Head East. Noooooo…. not classic rock! Oh well, it’s only money.

    2. They have jobs.

      Serious keyboard players have been buying pro gear like this for decades – and it used to be WAY more expensive than it is today. Which makes it ironic how there are so many people that think keyboards are so expensive.

      1. well, more like 70% us have jobs. Keyboards seem expensive, despite their lower buying price when adjust for inflation, because working people have less in their pockets.

        That said, I’d rather pinch my pennies and save up a little more, the “cheap keyboards” revolution is resulting in products that won’t last as long. I gig with a 1983 Sequential Six-Trak–and it shows no signs of giving up the ghost. I saw Little Phattys at Guitar Center with the keys falling out of the keybed less than six months after they were released.

    3. We scrimp and save. The same way professional musicians afford oboes (a Patricola Evoluzione will cost you $6500), a Suzuki 76 cello ($5500), or even an acoustic piano ($10,000+ for something worth keeping).

      A Minimoog will last decades.

    4. When I bought my original Minimoog in 1975 it was about $1500. $1,500.00 in 1975 had the same buying power as $6,835.98 in 2016. The new Minimoog D is currently selling around $3500. That won’t convince your wife that the 2016 Minimoog is a bargain but it’s essentially priced less today than it was back then.

    1. No question that I’d take the new Model D – it does everything that vintage ones can do and much more, it’s not beat up, and it’s a lot cheaper than vintage.

      ‘Patina’ on a synth doesn’t mean that it sounds or plays better, and it would be more fun to break it in yourself than to deal with 40 years of somebody else’s abuse. Remember that gear that old is likely to have a lot of smoke damage that’s not obvious from the outside, too.

      1. I agree. I will admit however, as an owner of lots of vintage keyboards, that I was drawn in to purchase one because of its “patina”: My RMI 300… Something about its mostly-good Tolex finish, pitted chrome trim, and overall slightly musty smell drew me in. Seeing it in my studio, imagining what kind of action it’s seen in its 40 years kind of inspires me. That’s something you don’t get in a modern re-issue (but I reiterate: I would go for the new Model D too)

        In case you care here’s my blog article about the RMI with a pic: http://juggernautmusic.com/2014/08/rmi-300b/

    2. Excellent question. Why someone would want one of those?
      Is it about sound? is it about vibe? is it about playability? tuning stability perhaps (I don’t know if the new one is more stable)?

      I’d take the original (you said excellent condition). Although I agree with the point made by Auren, if I’m going to buy something new, I’d like it to have at least some modern amenities.

  5. I have an old one but consider to buy this version too.
    They old one just works over midi, the keybed is very much done.The knobs are still working perfectly, i read somewhere that it is military grade equipment.
    I also have a Sub37, which in no way can hold a candle to the mini. They one thing that works for me is, that ( of course the old one, because i have not bought the new) if i use it for bass figures of any kind, there is no need for EQ. Its just always right. Thats one problem of all plugin versions that i know, and i have alot. They just don’t deliver this magic.

  6. I bought a second hand 1970s Model D on eBay, spent a fortune having it professionally reconditioned, it came back working very well, though tuning remained a problem. And it still stank up my studio… So in the end I sold it at a loss.

    My Moog Voyager is way more reliable, doesn’t stink, stays in tune, and is sonically way more powerful.

    Overall, I don’t really see the point of this re-issueZ

  7. Sub 37 is very nice indeed, very controllable synth, which can shake the earth at your will , but if you want raw sound of old Moog without breaking the bank, you can complement it with something like old trusty Moog Rouge – in can be found quite cheap, and Moog Rouge sounds wild, unruly, wooly and beautiful like only some vintage gear does!

  11. Its not nostalgia the price is based on. Its economics. Moog had to become a successful company and negotiate a new run of the transistors used in the filter circuit for the D. This literally could not have happened before now. A friend of mine spent 2 minutes playing my D (which I’ve only tuned twice in a decade), went home and spent 4 hours trying to get that sound, and ended up ordering a new D. The digital easter eggs hiding in this new synth makes it very attractive. I like how they didn’t change too much on the front panel.

  13. I checked out the Model D reissue at Knobcon last weekend. Such a beauty! I won’t be buying one, but I can appreciate that it’s a substantial instrument. Whether it’s history, preconceived notions, or simply the design, there’s something about the Model D that says “I’m a serious musical instrument. Make this count”.

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