What should I buy?

[phamdinhnam3]

I have just enough money to afford a local sellers Minimoog. I can get that or for the same price, maybe a little less, I can get a Juno 60 & a Moog Sub37. Or a Juno 60 & a DSI Pro 2.

I currently own a lot of old Roland Synths and would like to hear which way I should go to expand. I love the break on the price of the mini, knowing it will only go up higher in price, but the upkeep of the 4 vintage synths I already have is quite costly and I'm liking the idea of having a solid piece of new gear.

Thanks in advance to everyone for your input. And please, let's all be respectful to one another and make sure this doesn't become an ugly conversation about new vs. old, analog vs, digital, etc....

Thanks again!

[ppg_wavecomputer]

If the Mini Moog is in good to decent shape (and you know someone who can bring it back to specs, cosmetically and electronically), there is no better workhorse than a Mini. It can do almost anything from punchy bass to screaming leads to abstract sound effects. And honestly, there isn't much to go wrong with a Mini Moog (no custom ICs, for a start).

It has been my main Instrument for the past 26 years, for a very good reason.

The other synths may probably give you more in terms of timbral scope, MIDI, polyphony etc. but none of them is in the class of the Mini Moog. Juno-60 owners would probably beg to differ but why would you want yet another Roland synth?

Stephen

[smith toppleton]

I'd get the Mini for sure. Junos are also going up in price, but I doubt something as legendary as the mini moog will ever lose value as long as its condition holds up. It even survived the release of the Voyager and a whole slew of other Moog gear (unlike the MS20 which lost almost half its value after the reissues--not an apples to apples comparison, but...).

But more importantly, it sounds amazing and is a dream to play and operate. Definitely an example of a synth being more than the sum of its parts.

If you decide you don't like it just sell it and get the Juno later.

Full disclosure, I already have a Juno and desperately want a Mini.

[madtheory]

Absolutely, the Mini Moog. It's a wonderful instrument. The Juno is a nice synth, but totally over priced these days. The Mini Moog has a much, much wider sonic palette.

[ryryoftokyo]

If you want versatility and less upkeep issues, go with the Juno 60/Sub 37 or Juno 60/Pro 2 combo. I know the Juno will require some upkeep down the line, but I feel like it would be less than the Minimoog. Although the Juno 60 is a high class instrument in its own right, everybody here is correct in saying that the Mini is like no other. It sounds like each scenarios have their respective drawbacks (if you could call deciding between a few kick a*s synths a drawback), but it seems like it has to come down to what you're doing and what you're after in terms of sound.

[sam]

The minimoog is the classic mono synth....nothing else sounds like it...go for it.

[seamonkey]

Don't buy the minimoog based on an investment.
You obviously KNOW how it sounds, what it's capable of doing and how it would fit into your music.

Take the investment part out of the equation and buy it because you want it, if not the sub 37 and Pro 2 are great alternatives.

[ppg_wavecomputer]

[...] but I feel like it would be less than the Minimoog. [...]

I've had my 1978 Mini Moog since 1989. It has been in the workshop once in all these years.

Probably the most reliable piece of kit I've ever owned, and even if something breaks it's easily mendable. Try this with a Juno (oh, and what timbral scope do you get from a Juno...?).

Stephen

[Jabberwalky]

If I had the money, and the chance to get a minimoog for a good price, I'd buy it. How many times will that happen in your life again? It's never going down in price. This is coming from someone that loves his Sub37.

As for a Juno 60....I think my Poly61 kicks the s**t out of those anyway. (I've owned both a 6 & a 60)

[madtheory]

If you want versatility...

A Juno 60 is one of the least versatile synths in existence. Yes, on paper the Sub 37 is more versatile but there's a huge amount of scope in the Mini with mod from oscillator 3.

[seamonkey]

They also mentioned the Juno 60 AND a Pro 2 for the same money.
The Sub 37 is just one of the options.
I REALLY REALLY like what I've heard coming out of the Pro 2, and I would argue to purchase that and something else if they're still on the fence about the MiniMoog.

[Jabberwalky]

If you want versatility...

Yes, on paper the Sub 37 is more versatile but there's a huge amount of scope in the Mini with mod from oscillator 3.

I don't doubt it, but just to note, the Sub37 LFOs can go into high range frequencies. It's certainly not as fluid as a VCO to VCO mod, but it still sounds great. Then loopable envelopes can also loop into audio frequency ranges. That's 4 sources to get audio rate mod. Where it lacks is that these 4 sources are software.

[plikestechno]

If it's a super old model, I'd go for it but anything newer than about S/N 10000 with the new oscillator board I'd go for the Pro 2/Juno 60 combo. In fact, I have the Pro 2/Juno 60 combo and there's no way I'd trade it for a Minimoog unless it was a really old, really early musonics.

[smith toppleton]

If it's a super old model, I'd go for it but anything newer than about S/N 10000 with the new oscillator board I'd go for the Pro 2/Juno 60 combo. In fact, I have the Pro 2/Juno 60 combo and there's no way I'd trade it for a Minimoog unless it was a really old, really early musonics.

Just curious, why is that? I know the newer ones use some kind of temperature-stable oscillators, but does it really lose that much character?

[madtheory]

I think this is a myth. The first oscillator is quite unstable. IIRC it was discrete? The second one is based around a 741, which is a pretty awful op-amp on paper, but Bob knew what he was doing, I bet in a blind AB nobody could tell the difference