Moog Music says they will release two new instruments this month. For one, they’ve shared the front panel as a PDF on their site. And it looks like a real departure for Moog – an instrument with extensive arpeggiator and sound controls that looks unlike anything they’ve done before.
The Sub 37 is a “paraphonic analog synthesizer.” “Paraphony” means the ability to play multiple notes, but without truly independent voices as on a polyphonic instrument. In the case of the Sub 37, the instrument appears to be duophonic.
With that duophony, though, you get some extensive sonic controls and an elaborate, tasty-looking arpeggiator. Gleaned from the panel:
- Arpeggiator with continuously-variable rate and sync, range controls, pattern settings (including random) and recording/step functions.
- Glide settings to match, include gated and legato settings.
- Two modulation sections, each then configurable to both pitch and filter amounts, external control, and configurable destinations. (In fact, it’s not a stretch to call this “semi-modular.”
- Two oscillators with pulse, square, saw, and ramp settings, plus hard sync.
- A sub oscillator, as on the Sub Phatty, plus a noise oscillator.
- External input.
- Filter with resonance and multidrive, plus dedicated tracking and envelope settings.
- Two ADSR envelopes.
Click to embiggen. Image courtesy Moog Music.
And that’s just the beginning. There’s a level of control and playability, coupled with direct hardware access, that we haven’t seen in this combination on any Moog before.
Not every front panel is exciting, but this one is. Rest assured we’ll have details of this and the other mystery Moog instrument when they become available.
COMING NAMM 2014 @ Moog Music forum