Moog has unveiled a limited-edition version of its Minimoog Model D reissue, the Bob Moog Tribute Edition, of which only 500 units will be available worldwide.
Honouring the legacy of Bob Moog and celebrating "the technology and imagination of electronic musical instrument design", the Bob Moog Tribute Edition will be hand-built by the Moog Music team in North Carolina.
Functionally, the Tribute Edition is the same synth as Moog's 2022 reissue of the Minimoog Model D, combining a meticulous all-analogue recreation of the sound engine and signal path of the original '70s instrument with a handful of modern enhancements.
Article continues belowThese updates include comprehensive MIDI support, an analogue LFO with triangle and square waveforms, a self-centering spring-loaded pitch wheel and a Fatar keybed with velocity and aftertouch accessible via top-panel CV ports.
There's also a neat mixer modification that allows you to dial in the same feedback-based overdrive that '70s synthesists achieved by routing the synth's output into its external input, giving you that classic warm and distorted tone with the twist of a knob.
What's new, then? The differences are purely aesthetic: the Bob Moog Tribute Edition arrives in a custom quartersawn white oak cabinet (the 2022 reissue was bedecked in Appalachian cherry wood) and you'll find a custom Bob Moog Foundation decal on the rear panel. The synth also comes with a semi-rigid case custom-built for the Model D.
It may be a three-oscillator monosynth with few bells and whistles, but the Model D is a foundational piece of musical history, a synth that's regularly been described as the greatest of all time.
If all you're after is a respectable imitation of a Model D's sound, then there are more affordable options available in both hardware and software. If you're after the real deal, though – or as close as you're going to get without tangling with the maintenance headaches of a vintage Model D – then these modernized reissues deliver that unmistakable Moog sound while making your life a whole lot easier.
And while the Bob Moog Tribute Edition's aesthetic tweaks are relatively minor, the bragging rights associated with its limited-edition status might well be priceless to the diehard collectors amongst you. Plus, $500 from the sale of each synth will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation, so you'll get a side order of good karma too.
The Bob Moog Tribute Edition Minimoog Model D is priced at $3,999.
Find out more on the Moog Music website.
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