Moog Modular V

by Arturia

Product Features

• Isao Tomita, a famous Japanese musician who has endorsed only 2 other products in the past: Yamaha Motif and Steinberg Nuendo, had this to say about Moog Modular V:
• âI feel very nostalgic when I see this revival - both in sound and look - of the Moog modular synthesizer which I have used regularly for years
• The interface using patch cables is gorgeous and the sound is just what it should be
• I am also glad to find people who do their best to reproduce that Moog moduler system by using digital technology, with passion for the Moog modular synthesizers

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• ASIN: B00009ATSF
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 22, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,563 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

Technical comments on the Moog Modular V by Gilles Pommereuil, Arturiaâs Director of Technology & POArturia, the makers of Storm, is proud to offer Moog Modular V (the V is for âvirtualâ), a faithful reproduction, both in sound and look, of one of the most famous synthesizers of all time: the Moog Modular. Fully endorsed by Bob Moog, Moog Modular V offers sound design possibilities that allow nearly unlimited creativity â just like the original hardware unit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost The Real Thing, September 21, 2007

By 

Fred Rayworth (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moog Modular V (CD-ROM)

In the 70's and 80's, I built an analog modular synthesizer and though I loved every minute of the process, it was a lot of work and cost a lot of money. It was nowhere near the capacity of even a moderate Moog modular system, but it still made me happy. The holy grail was to be able to work with a large modular but unless one wanted to pay almost as much for one of these babies as a small house, it would be a dream unfulfilled. Then came the computer age.

This software virtual instrument (VST) is based on the Moog model 55 but has many features not found on the original. A big plus is that it stays in tune and doesn't drift like the original. Plus in most cases, it's truly polyphonic which was impossible with the original (and no, I don't consider two notes really polyphonic).

All of the classic Moog modules are represented along with some others not found on the original, like a phase shifter, phlanger and a unique voicing filter module. Plus, this system includes the Bode frequency shifter which by itself, originally cost several thousand dollars.

The Arturia guys did an excellent job simulating the original modules and the sound is so close to the original, I would have to have the real thing next to it to compare the sounds. I probably couldn't tell much different. They also made it with virtual patch cords that give a nostalgic feel and a bit of realism to the system. You have to patch everything manually, just like the original.

It comes with hundreds of pre-patched sounds. I've experimented a little with them but my preference is to just start with a blank slate and go for it. However, there apparently is no blank slate. The default is a pre-patched sound, so I usually go from there.

The module compliment has about everything you could think of for creating unique sounds, and in fact, it's not hard to come up with weird and wonderful noises. The filters are a key to this and that warrants a little description. There are three filter slots, each defaulting to the standard 24db/octave low pass filter. However, by clicking on the logo at the top, you can change it to the Moog high pass filter, a filter coupler module, or a multimode filter. So, you could do something like have the first filter be the standard Moog low pass, the next one the filter coupler set to band pass, and the third in multimode set to a notch response and then cascade them together. Also, the low frequency oscillators (LFO's) can be changed to the Bode frequency shifter, the voicing filter, and several other modules I forgot.

For a controller, any midi or USB compatible keyboard controller will work, at least I think so. I use an Emu X-Board 49. With it, I can use the manual knobs to tweak any knob on the synth. You move each knob on the modular with a sweep of the mouse, but they also have the ability to learn a command from an external controller. I set up the key knobs I want to tweak with assigned ones on the keyboard and go to town. However, once you shut down, it loses all those controls and you have to relearn them the next time you power up.

I have had no problems with this system at all, and I use probably the worst operating system ever created for music, Windows XP Media Center Edition. Despite that, it still works even though every other piece of musical hardware and software I have doesn't work with MCE.

The system is a big CPU hog so I recommend you use a little more than the recommended 1Ghz minimal CPU speed. When doing a complex patch, especially polyphonic, it can really put a load on the CPU. The only real complaint I have is that this French company needed to hire an American or English technical writer as their very elaborate manual is full of typos and grammatical errors. It is still a good book and would be great to have just to read how those old Moog modules work.

I recently, as of March 2009, discovered that when you use the sequencer, it doesn't put out any MIDI information! I was using Ableton Live 7 to record MIDI tracks and the only time it recorded was when I was pressing a key down on the keyboard. If not, I could play with the sequencer all day but it would not send any MIDI or record. I contacted Arturia and they told me it was a known problem and that none of their sequencers put out MIDI. The problem was sent to the engineers, but so far nothing. They also told me there is no workaround. So if you are planning on using the sequencer, it will have to be audio only. That is a huge disappointment, but not enough for me to quit using it with a keyboard.

If you are into old school with a modern twist, this is the VST for you. Highly recommended.