Fifty years ago the Moog modular synthesizer represented a radical cultural break, a transition to a new era, on par with Kodak cameras and Kandinsky abstract art. Like all cultural explosions, no one could have imagined, at the time, the devastating impact that the invention of Dr. Moog would have in the history of music.
Only now, 50 years later, are we able to understand its importance and to understand how many unused potentials the Moog Modular Synthesizer.
With great enthusiasm Moog Music announces the new limited edition production of the three most sought after modular synthesizer models: the System 55, System 35 and Model 15, three synthesizers originally created and manufactured by Moog in 1973.
To launch the news, a short film was shot in the factory on the profound inspiration that many artists have drawn from modular synthesizers. The video features electronic music pioneers such as Suzanne Ciani, Malcolm Cecil, David Borden, Dick Hyman and Herb Deutsch alongside performances by contemporary artists such as Holy Ghost! (DFA), Gavin Russom (ECSTATIC / Entropy Trax), Max Ravitz AKA Patricia (LIES / Spectral Sound / Opal Tapes), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith (Western Vinyl), Jacques Greene (Vase / LuckyMe) and M. Geddes Gengras (Stones Throw ). Each artist played a patch live, in one take, without overdubs, on one or more of the new Moog Modular systems.
It all started with the presentation at Moogfest 2014 of the Moog Modular System Emerson, a faithful reproduction of Keith Emerson's legendary modular instrument, the culmination of three years of research and development. The technologies used to recreate the EMMS manufacturing process will be used to reconstruct these modular systems as well. In homage to the unique character and unforgettable charm of the instruments, these systems will be made entirely to original specifications.
Working from the schemes of the 1970i, each instrument will be meticulously built by hand, as a true recreation of the original. The modules will be built from the original printed circuit with the traditional methods of wiring e welding. The front panels will be photo-etched aluminum, a process rarely used in today's synthesizer manufacturing, to retain the classic and durable look of the modules of the era.
On their first release in 1973, the System 55, System 35 and Model 15 represented the upper limit for modular synthesis, and with their inimitable sound they shaped many historic albums. They were fundamental in RnB as well as in dance, and were used by artists like Stevie Wonder, Giorgio Moroder, Brian Eno with his pioneering environmental albums and from bands like Yes e Tangerine Dream that thanks to Moog they were able to launch their anomalous outputs into the sonic cosmos.
However, the reintroduction of these instruments should not be interpreted as a nostalgia to relive the past because there is still so much to explore in these young instruments. Artists had just begun to grasp the vast possibilities of large-format modular systems when they went out of production more than thirty years ago. Decades of electronic experimentation have then allowed musicians to move from Moog Modular to traditional electronic synthesizers. Now, a new generation of artists, with greater awareness and with much more complex tools at their disposal, will have the opportunity to explore the power of these unique machines. Today, the modular synthesizer is seen in the way Bob Moog originally thought: "destined to discover infinite unusual, unconventional, and even irrational ways of working."
The production of the new modular units will take place in extremely limited quantities. There will be 55 unit of the System 55 for the price of 35.000 thousand dollars per instrument, 35 unit of the System 35 for the price of dollars 22.000 for each instrument e 150 unit of the Model 15, priced at $ 10.000 per instrument.
Alongside the modular systems there will be the Sequencer Complement B Expansion Cabinet, which has been out of production for over 30 years, and also an optional 5 octave duophonic keyboard.
Good music everyone!
USEFUL INFORMATION
Producer: Moog
Distributor: Midiware
Model: System 55
Price: $ 35.000
Model: System 35
Price: $ 22.000
Model: Model 15
Price: $ 10.000
