Something interesting for the hardware heads.
Today, Moog Music announced GRANDMOTHER, a new tool that empowers creative humans to give meaning to vibration — inviting new waves and new ways of communication into our quantum world. Grandmother is a semi-modular analog synthesizer with a built-in arpeggiator, sequencer, and spring reverb tank that will officially debut at Moogfest 2018 (May 17 to 20 in Durham, NC).
To explore the sonic possibilities and cosmic context of Grandmother, Moog Music visited the Linear Labs studio of artist-composer Adrian Younge (Black Dynamite, Netflix’s Luke Cage). In this video, Younge gives his personal “Thesis On Sound” while incorporating Grandmother into his retro-inspired creative workflow at Linear Labs.
Grandmother also features an ‘External Audio Input’ that invites users to inject sounds from other instruments directly into Grandmother’s analog filter, reverb and amplifier circuits — adding vintage tones and ambience to guitars, drums or vocal signals. In addition, Grandmother includes an easy-to-use Arpeggiator and Sequencer for added enjoyment and programmable syncopation.
Grandmother’s circuits, spirit, and spring reverb are inspired by the classic Moog Modular Synthesizers designed by Bob Moog during the 60s and 70s. The elegant simplicity and magic of these early circuits are renewed in Grandmother’s semi-modular analog design, resulting in an unrestricted sonic vocabulary that is both beautiful and powerful.
Grandmother is a sonic playground that harkens back to Moog’s modular roots, where synthesis is not only about the end result, but the journey of discovery and experimentation. Grandmother’s semi-modular design ensures that human beings of any skill-level can easily explore and experience the joys and magic of analog synthesis — start playing immediately with ‘no patching required,’ then explore an infinite sonic playground with Grandmother’s endlessly reconfigurable front panel and analog spring reverb tank.
The first 500 Moog Grandmother synthesizers have already shipped and are available for order today exclusively through Guitar Center. The Moogfest Edition Grandmother includes a special limited edition Moogfest 2018 badge and includes a redeemable vintage denim Moog jacket.
GRANDMOTHER FEATURES
- Hardware Spring Reverb can be used to process external sounds
- ¼” External audio input for guitars, drum machines, and more
- Semi-modular – no patching is required
- Easy to use Arpeggiator and Sequencer
- Store up to 3 sequences with up to 256 notes each
- 2 Analog Oscillators with selectable waveshape and hard sync
- Classic 4-Pole 10Hz-20kHz Ladder filter
- Patchable 1-Pole High Pass filter
- Analog ADSR Envelope Generator
- Analog LFO with audio-rate capabilities
- 32-note Fatar keyboard with velocity
- All normalized connections can be interrupted for full modularity
- DIN MIDI In/Out/Thru and USB MIDI
- Patchable bipolar attenuator
- Works with Mother-32, DFAM, Eurorack modular systems and more
- 41 patch points with 21 inputs, 16 outputs and a Parallel-Wired 4-jack Mult
MOOGFEST 2018
Moogfest 2018 is presented by United Therapeutics, American Underground, and Moog Music Inc., with support from UphoricTV, Meyer Sound, Virginia Tech, Bull Durham Beer, Bedlam Vodka, 21c Museum Hotel, Blizzard Lighting, the Durham Marriott City Center, and the Durham Hotel. For more information, visit Moogfest.com.
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