What Synth has the most Mojo?

[calaverasgrande]

Someone mentioned the MG1? That is kind of my definition of mojo. I've played a lot of other Moogs, but that little synth is so bratty and just plain 70's/80's sounding! The polyphony section gets a lot of hate. But it actually can make for some nifty sounds. Think phaser effect and a low mono osc for an early Kraftwerk tone. Or just a touch of filter and LFO and its kinda funky.
It also has a more nasal/shrill tone than most other Moogs. Kind of more Devo and less Prog? Aside from the mushy action it is one of my favorites.
I wish mine would come back from the dead!

(my avatar is an MG1 btw)

I'm always glad to see someone give the MG1 some love. It is desperately under-appreciated! Yeah, it's crappy in a lot of exterior ways, but dang if it isn't capable of a very great deal of nice and interesting sounds!

I'll tell you a secret. The MG1 was my first exposure to synths, back when it was sold retail in Radio Shack.
Yeah I'm that old.
I really think the only major shortcoming of the MG1 is the lack of pitch and mod wheels. But then that is kind of a strength too, as it keeps you out of proggy lead territory.
Apparently there is a modification that can be done to firm up the triggering. IIRC it has to do with a bypass capacitor value change on the poly/triggering circuit. If I ever get around to finding the parts to fix my MG1 that is a mod I will want to do. When I had my MG1 next to my SH09 the difference was annoying!

[synthRodriguez]

I've owned a lot of synths looking for the answer to that question!

Most have come and gone, and all have required work to get to know but I guess the one that swept over me within the first hour I played it has to be the much-maligned Jupiter-80.

I has some incredible patches that are just mind-numbingly expressive, right out of the box. It doesn't get a lot of hands-on time right now, but it's definitely a keeper and gets my seal of approval.

[High_Treason]

Torn between two. Back in 2004 when I was still a kid, I had some horrible Roland controller keyboard that I used with my PC to make music (So I was making music with a YM3812 back then - it sucked) and it was on the verge of dying. I found someone selling a CZ-1000 very cheap (I think it was like £15-25) and grabbed it knowing very little about it, read some reviews which all seemed to think the keyboard was high-pitched, thin and difficult to program.

Anyway, the keyboard arrived and I hooked it up to my stereo as it was the nearest thing to me at the time and from the first key I pressed I loved it, the presets weren't great but somewhere beneath it was a lot of potential for some depth and warmth as well as a lot of low-end. In the end I remember programming some patch so it was an obnoxious sawtooth and pressing a lower key, I'd forgotten to turn the volume down and the room shook with a rather loud and ominous buzz, I couldn't help but smile at that; It's only a little synth but it makes some big noises. I generally found that whatever noise I wanted it to make I could usually do it and have it close if not exactly the same as it was in my head.

The other is the Yamaha MU80 that replaced it, it took some time to learn the SysEx for it and what all the controllers did, but I liked it enough that I used it for practically everything past that point (though had to go back to the Roland keyboard after the CZ-1000 died thanks to previous owners circuit bending)¹. That synth just worked every time, I liked it so much (even though it was sick when I got it and took a hit when the controller keyboard died) that after it stopped working I got an MU90R to replace it.

Probably have to go with the CZ-series though, because all those years I was without it, I kept thinking about it and ended up getting another one before grabbing a CZ-5000, always thought they were underrated but people seem to be noticing them in the last couple of years. I still have my original CZ-1000 and it should be repairable; it works for a second and then shuts off due to a dead component that I can't find a replacement for... Yet. But that's for another thread.

I daren't tell you the one I got and instantly knew I hated as it usually causes people to get mad.

[CZ Rider]

+1 for the battery operated CZ series! The CZ-101/1000 and even the CZ230S have a special sound, guess you could call it Mojo. There is something unique about the tone, one of my desert island synths.
When I think of Mojo though, nothing I have here matches my old 1969 Moog. Still looks great and plays even better. Originally sat in a famous Manhatten studio. Who knows who may have played it before me, but certainly has a history to it.

Pictured with the 1969 Moog is a circa 1973 polyphonic "Two Voice" 952 keyboard controller with the 1973 model 1150 ribbon controller. The original Poly-Moog.

[Bitexion]

How did the Moog come into your hands? You mortgaged your house and paid $30k or something?

[Alex E]

I think I remember his story. Didn't he rescue it from an attic or something?

[CZ Rider]

How did the Moog come into your hands?

Found that Moog on Ebay back in 2007. It was from a zero feedback seller, and I was the only bidder. The opening bid was much less than current 2600 prices and I have seen Minimoogs go for more than what I paid. The seller was a professor at the University of Long Island and not an experienced Ebay seller. His son had setup the account. I got it for a fair price, and the seller needed the money to rebuild his Stienway grand, so everyone was happy.
Here is a link to the Matrix Synth blog where it was suspected to be a scam. It wasn't!
Matrix Synth blog on Ebay auction of my 1969 Moog

I did a bit of restoration work to it, but this was a low use Moog from 1969. Not the typical used and abused unit you might find at a university, where everybody in the music department spent time with it. This was purchased by a Manhatten studio in the summer of 1969. Sold about 10 years later to a french professor, and two years later sold to the professor I purchased from. He kept it for me covered in his attic for about 17 years.
Since I restored it I have added a few modules to enhance it's abilities. Found the 904B high pass filter and the 904C filter coupler. Added an extra 911 envelope and the 911A dual trigger delay, along with a 912 envelope follower. All were period correct R.A.Moog 1969 Trumansburg modules. The few empty spaces left were DIY modules I built myself. I added a ring modulator/amplifier with dual reversable attenuators, a clone of the original Moog filter the 902A bandpass filter adaptor, and a 982 two channel output mixer.
My three clone modules were built with original NOS parts. All discrete circuits and high quality AB type J pots. Here is the Ring mod/amplifier with dual rev. attenuators, using the same Vectorbord Bob Moog used on many early and proto type modules.

It plays and tunes great, has an unbelievable large sound to it, looks cool as h**l, has a bit of history, and always inspires me to play it daily = Mojo! The original three oscillator Moog.