Moog Source
Moog's Source was their first to offer patch memory storage as well as some other new features. It boasted 16 memory locations so you could finally save and recall your synth patches. A casette-tape jack was also implemented to transfer your patches to and from an external tape and free up the on-board memory for additional new patches. But in an effort to modernize with the eighties, the Moog had replaced all buttons, knobs and sliders with flat-panel membrane buttons and a single data-wheel assignment format. At the time, this may have seemed far-out, but in all actuality it is the Source's downfall.
Parameters are edited not with hands-on sliders and knobs but by assigning a selected parameter to the dedicated data wheel. This is very tedious and does not allow for true hands-on tweaking during performances nor can you adjust different parameters simultaneously or while playing. These days, the membrane buttons don't always seem to work quite right either. However, those famous monophonic Moog sounds are still inside this synth which has two fat analog oscillators and the legendary 24 dB Moog filter.
The Source has been used by Tangerine Dream, Jan Hammer, Depeche Mode, Devo, Vince Clarke, New Order, Ultravox, Josh Wink, Front Line Assembly, Moog Cookbook, Kitaro, Imperial Drag, The Cars, Phish, The Rentals, King Crimson, Blur, and Gary Numan.
- Specifications
- Polyphony - Monophonic
- Oscillators - 2 VCO's + Noise Gen. with ramp, triangle, variable width pulse waveforms
- Memory - 16 patches (plus casette-tape save/load)
- Filter - cutoff, res, ADSR env
- LFO - square or triangle
- Keyboard - 37 keys
- Arpeg/Seq - YES
- Control - CV /GATE
- Date Produced - 1981
- Websites of Interest
Synhouse MIDIJACK - adds MIDI to most analog synthesizers for $99
Moog Archives - Rare documents, photographs, and memorabilia
- Resources & Credits
Images from Perfect Circuit Audio.
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Sure, it has some serious drawbacks. There are only had sixteen memory locations. The single knob was a big aggravating, as it tended to have a lot of inertia. The low end wasn't as full as one might expect from a Moog. The sequencer is a bit of a joke and one loses independent control over LFO speed when its engaged (they use the same clock source). There's no LFO pulse width modulation, no audio rate FM, and no envelope control over pitch or pulse width.
But all that doesn't matter much because it sounds so great. The hard sync (swept via the mod wheel) is massive sounding, the envelopes and filter are great for percussive, "wooden" sounds, and it feels so playable and organic. Even the octave switches are positioned perfectly for trills. Everything is tidy and well laid out, and it's one of a very, VERY small number of synths I regret selling.