Moog Minimoog Model D Analog Synthesizer - Appalachian Cherry Reviews

I've had the mini for around 9 months now, and previously wrote a 4.5 star review. I think it's a 5. There is more to this synth than anything else I've owned, and I'm playing the mini almost exclusively. It feels like an instrument.

The velocity response is very musical. KeyboardVelocity+Envelope+FilterBase is more complicated compared to just velocity scaling the envelope, however it has the nice property of flattening the envelope as you play harder.

If you are playing notes and wanting a timbre machine, the interface is a very good balance of capability and simplicity. I can get over the lack of OSC2 sync'ing to OSC1, because the OSC2/3 tuning is precise enough to get tone without warble. The almost-in-tune sound is less concise than a sync'd sound, but also has more vibrance and life.

There are some things I wish were different, the LFO going higher would allow more FM fun, and would have permanently freed up OSC3 to contribute to tone. The aftertouch is a bit switch-like. The power supply could / should have been a bit nicer.

I guess the biggest deal is that I've played the mini every day since I bought it, and everything else feels like a step down.

I think moog hit it out of the park except for the price
Or…… should have included a case. Their ATA's are not
worth $. Probably cost $ if u order enough. I see
Vintage mini's in the 10k range which is a joke truly. You can't take them out and use them. Instruments are
made to BE PLAYED. You can take these out and PLAY
and they are RELIABLE. I like having a 3rd osc available
. I do not think I can get the vibrato to sound like the old ones. Seems a bit thicker.. not the speed, the depth. I'm working on it. Love mine….blows vintage minis away period.

I'm once again feeling awestruck and like I'm the luckiest man on earth! The excitement intensified exponentially as I began to unbox this timeless instrument. I can't freakin' believe it! I have just purchased a Minimoog! The nostalgic sound of a lifetime began when I was a teenager. After coming home from school, my friends and I would unwind and listen to tunes on the radio or play vinyl records on the turntable. The sounds of the Minimoog were everywhere on the sound waves, from groovy funk music to rock and roll.

The nostalgic sounds of the Minimoog recently arrived in my studio 42 years after the original Model-D was discontinued. I missed my opportunity to get the 2016 reissue and I was determined not to let the 2022 reissue slip away like sand through my fingers. Thanks to my trusty Sales Engineer, Jonathan Appleton, and the Sweetwater team, my second dream synth has become a reality. Dan Fisher, a.k.a. Demon Dan, was also instrumental in finalizing my decision. I watched his Minimoog videos on many occasions, which confirmed that this was the right synth for me.

The nostalgic and iconic sounds of the Model-D from my teenage years, have been resurrected in this meticulous reproduction of the original. The sound is spot on! Lush, organic rich basses, and sizzling leads are all here in this timeless instrument. Nothing else sounds like it in my studio, none of my other synths can faithfully reproduce the sounds of the Minimoog. It's built like a tank, but not just any tank. This beauty is crafted in a gorgeous Appalachian Cherry wood case. It is silky to the touch, and the wood grain has a layered depth effect. The key bed feels buttery smooth, the pots are built solidly, zero wonkiness when turned. Just wow!

To those that may be on the fence about purchasing the Model-D. All I can say is, buy now with confidence, so that you don't regret having missed your opportunity when they are discontinued and maybe for good this time. I'm telling ya, it's your chance of a lifetime to capture a very unique piece of legendary history.

Huzzah!

I couldn't be happier with my decision to purchase this legend! It has become an essential part of my studio setup, and I find myself constantly discovering new sounds and textures that I never would have thought possible before. If you're looking for a high-quality analog synthesizer that can do it all, I would highly recommend the Minimoog! Thank you Moog for bringing it back!!!

Also, shout out to my sales rep David Mikautadze! He has been amazing through this whole buying process and it's one of the main reasons I keep coming back to Sweetwater. I have bought a Nord Stage3, Prophet 5, and now my dream synthesizer the Model D and it has always been a smooth process.

I have owned and still own a lot of different Moogs, but this one is as iconic as it gets. The hype is real, the tone is amazing and cuts through everything. There are plenty of synths that can get close but none of them ever quite sound like this. The build quality is superb and it feels like a proper instrument. The CV integration works great and pairs nice with other modular gear and MoogerFooger pedals. The cherry wood is beautiful and the cherry on top of this monosynth sundae

There is truly nothing I can say other than, "WOW", this is the real deal. It's the sound...my goodness, the sound! It can take the paint off the walls or purr like a little kitten. I "feel" the sound coming out of this beast in my chest...it reverberates through my soul.

The Model D has changed my entire approach; to my rig (see photos ~ all from Sweetwater), to my approach to composition, to my approach to playing, to my entire creative process. The keyboard invites you into relationship with it...you have to touch it, manipulate it, explore it, to find the voice you're looking for. Inevitably, I stumble upon that "ah ha" moment of creative clarity, all inspired by the Model D.

I know this is somewhat ancillary, but the build quality of the cabinetry is investment grade cherry. The Fatar keybed feels nicely balanced, yet lightening fast. This is an instrument to be cherished for a lifetime. I still can't believe I actually own a Model D!

Special thanks to Matt South, my sales technician at Sweetwater...truly the best working for the best! I'm a customer for life!

Thank you Bob Mondok for answering four months of questions leading up to this purchase, and for supporting the sale during the return grace period. I ended up deciding to keep the Model D, but this is something I went back and forth on for some time.

The Model D reissuse has a high price tag and a lot of marketing hype surrounding it. My expectations were extremely high, and I wanted this as a main axe. The idea of collecting a machine of this caliber just to look at it seems silly to me.

The sound is special. It has significantly more life than the Subsequent37, the Matriarch, the original Phatty, or the Minitaur (all sweetwater purchases, btw). Moog finally nailed a keybed. It feels fantastic and has musically expressive velocity response. The wysiwyg interface is extremely musical - yes it is limited, but you use every bit of it. You can turn on an oscillator or the filter tracking like a guitar player stomps on a pedal. You pay attention to your envelopes and oscillator mix. You actually have to know how to use a synthesizer. The interface is meaningful simplification compared to the wysiwyg Matriarch.

The lack of oscillator sync is a miss in my book. They added a bunch of other useful modifications relative to the original. I end up stacking oscillators in octaves to avoid warbling, but would prefer a 32 16 16 that yields a concise bass tone. That really doesn't work without sync. I'll probably do the circuit board modification.

I would have loved if the velocity could have controlled the filter envelope amount rather than filter offset. As is, programming your filter envelope is velocityFilter + envelopeAmount, which is a bit confusing and has some meaningful limits in programming.

The power supply is a large disappointment. I can accept that an external power supply was a reasonable engineering solution to oscillator drift, but the feel is cheap. My SSL SiX cost 1/3 as much, but has a far nicer external power supply. Considering the super cheap power supply my Matriarch, this seems like something where Moog is trying to cut corners. It doesn't feel professional, or appropriate for the price tag.

It is very good and the various online reviews are largely accurate. The sound and keybed are that good, and are the reasons I kept it. It is better than what I had. For a main axe, I feel it missed the mark on few key bits.

I've owned a Minimoog Voyager for about 20 years, and getting a Reissue Model D, I love the sound! It has warmth and snappy envelopes that can't be matched on the Voyager. But sadly the aftertouch is defective, seemingly only going from 0 to 100 with no in-between, and online reports say that it's due to a mistake on a resistor value, affecting all 2022+ reissues; the 2016 reissues don't have the problem. Some people have been shipping theirs in for repair, but between shipping & insurance, that's no small cost. It's not a through-hole resistor with the wrong value, which would be easy to fix at home, but rather a surface-mount resistor in the lefthand control panel, so it would take some risk (and voiding your warranty) to fix it yourself.

It's an okay sounding synth. Not nearly as good as advertised.

When I got the synth, it was without a power cable, manual, certificate, or anything else that comes with the synth.


After I received a power cable and the manual, no certificate, I went to test it out. And the synth only played 1 note. Didn't matter what key I pressed, only 1 note came out. So with the manual I was able to factory reset the synth and it started playing different notes, but was so drastically out of tune. I was told by Moog support to use the tuning knobs to get the synth in tune.

Personally, I don't think this is worth the price. Takes up too much space, sounds meh compared to other synths less than half the cost. Unless you are rich and just want a nostalgic synth to sit unused gathering dust, I highly recommend to pass on this synth.

I love the Minimoog. Best sounding mono synth of all time. Bucket list instrument. However...

Purchasing this reissue has not been a fun experience. There is a lot QC misses at Moog and their service department is lackluster and requires multiple back and forth shipments to Asheville for the service center to fix things that they missed at QC and the service department itself doesn't have a QC team, so chances are it will arrive back to you with new issues and new flaws. The service center there is not a friendly experience and your instrument will arrive back with more scratches and markings than when you sent it in.

Things to be on the lookout for:
1. Poor workmanship on the woodwork. As other reviewers mentioned, knotted poor quality wood made it through their QC line unchecked.
2. Pitch wheel is out of tune. It's spec'd to travel to a 5th both ways, but the ones I received were all off an entire half step or more.
3. Mine had the aftertouch issue which is part of a recall, and had to make a trip to Nashville to get it fixed. It arrived back with new dents and dings.
4. The hinge was attached incorrectly and therefore the entire synth unit sits at an odd angle on the case. Very sloppy.
5. On the forums and FB groups, folks are reporting oscillators going bad which requires the oscillator board to be replaced. If it's under warranty you will be okay but after the warranty period, that is a huge risk.

1. After touch does not work - not a defect in mine, a design error.
2. Mod wheel range is way off - all modulation happens in the first 10% of travel
3. Pitch wheel range fixed - it would be easy to allow adjustment but Moog say they don't want to …
4. Mine has a serious obvious flaw in the woodwork A KNOT! - I doubt they'll fix this because it is a 'natural product with imperfections' that are part of the charm. As a professional woodworker I can tell you 100% NOPE. You pay good money for a premium product they better use quality lumber.
They whole thing is embarrassing.
2 design flaws, 1 stubborn disinclination to make a very simple and useful feature addition, and sub standard materials.
FAIL

Thank goodness Sweetwater has the best customer service. I've gone through multiple replacements as Moog seems to have completely dropped any interest in proper quality control. At first, I had the typical issues with the wrong circuit board being installed at the factory for aftertouch. Then I kept getting replacements that had absolutely terrible quality wood cabinets. Bad wood knots (Home Depot quality plywood, but worse) galore. This is unacceptable. For $, Moog advertises this as having beautiful hardwood - yet they allow the worse quality lumber into their process. Any other wood industry (guitars, furniture, etc.) this would be rejected or used for unseen parts or solid colors. I had to have other replacements because of faulty pitch wheels, aftertouch failure, bad internal wiring (power supply failures, oscillator board failure, etc.). I'm truly perplexed how a company can ask for this much money and put so little effort into quality control.