Moog Music Brings Back The Minimoog Model D

Moog Music today announced the return of the classic Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer.

Originally released in 1970, the Minimoog Model D changed the face of modern music and has served as the archetype for synthesizers that followed.

The new Minimoog Model D is a faithful recreation of the original design, with a few modern updates. The Model D is built by hand inside the Moog factory in Asheville, North Carolina. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how the Model D is built, from our coverage of Moogfest 2016:

The sound engine and audio signal path of the new Model D are identical to the Model D that Bob Moog and his team engineered in the 1970s.

Here’s a look inside the Model D, and some background on what was involved in recreating the original design:

Moog says that all components are carefully sourced and crafted to recreate the feel of the original Minimoog Model D. Each unit uses the identical component placement and through-hole design of the 1970s Minimoog Model D in a hand-finished aluminum chassis, with a locally-sourced Appalachian hardwood cabinet.

While no changes have been made to the original sound engine or audio signal path, the 2022 Minimoog Model D includes a series of popular functional modifications that expand the instrument’s sonic capabilities. These modifications include:

  • a dedicated analog LFO, with triangle and square waveshapes;
  • a premium Fatar keybed, with velocity and after pressure available via top panel CV jacks with onboard trimpots;
  • MIDI integration;
  • a mixer feedback modification, which allows the Minimoog Model D to overdrive and scream with the turn of a knob;
  • a spring-loaded pitch wheel with center deadband, allowing for improved playability and wild performance flourishes; and
  • Updates to the MIDI functionality, allowing for improved modern studio integration.

To celebrate the reissue, Moog shared this performance by the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble of Archimedes Screw, a live performance by 11 musicians—with each of the 10 keyboardists using a Model D to add layers of sound to the composition as it builds.

Utilizing MIDI integration for the 2016 and 2022 reissues, and MIDI-to-CV converters for the vintage units involved in this performance, the Moog Ensemble highlights the modern features alongside the classic sound. According to the group’s musical director and composer, Will Gregory, the instrument’s enhancements expand Model D’s realm of sonic possibility.

In addition to reintroducing the Minimoog Model D, Moog announced that the Minimoog Model D app for iOS and macOS is now 50% off for a limited time, and announced new Minimoog accessories.

Pricing and Availability

The Minimoog Model D is available to pre-order for about $5,000. See the Moog site for more information.

82 thoughts on “Moog Music Brings Back The Minimoog Model D

  1. The moog one 8 voice used to be that price, or maybe it was $5999 when it first came out. Got dam nostalgia prices killing the used market:)

    1. I would like to know the manufacturing cost of that new Model D. The ultimate craziness I have seen to date is an eBay listing for a Hartmann Neuron for $12,999. That somehow seems worse than the Yamaha CS80s for over a hundred grand each. I don’t even want a CS80 but I want a Neuron again.

      1. Yikes, I hated the Neuron – I was a NAMM demonstrator when it came out. Beautiful to look at it, but wildly unpredictable to program, and usually sounded pretty grainy and bad.

        1. you’ve got to pay a lot to have a bench full of old ladies insert caps and diodes in backwards, cold solder joints, cigarette smoke and ashes inside your product. Monday and Friday were always bad days for QC cause of the hang overs and early departures, and 1/2 the techs got drunk for lunch anyway.

          ’cause that’s how we used to build ‘hi-tech’ stuff in America up until around the 90’s before ESD protection and modern manufacturing cleaned stuff up.

      2. You are aware that there are more costs to a product than just manufacturing, right? Think research & development, rent, energy costs, insurances, warehouse, shipping, distribution, licensing, taxes, book keeping, legal fees, marketing, advertisement, safety certifications, wages, ancillary wage costs, travel costs, trade fair costs, artist & community relations, social media, customer support, copywriting, translations, returns & repairs, tariffs, duties…

        1. Most of those costs were sunk long ago, and other manufacturers seem able to deliver far more ambitious products at a much lower price. Moog of course has elite status because of the company’s long history, but for the same price you can buy two of Fender’s fanciest stratocasters.

          1. through-hole hand made in usa is very costly today, you can argue its meaningless or even worse than smt, not justified… but it is what it is for whoever wants it. they probably work on a much lower margins with this product than some wood work, pickups, simple passive electronic circuit, knobs and 6 strings.

  2. whatever floats your boat, and go for it if that rocks your audio world
    but for me, I could think of a bunch more fun ways to spend 5k JMHO

  3. Where it says “Exploded Model D” I would have gone for hanging all the parts in the air by monofilament line to look as if it actually is flying apart in all directions. Much more interesting.

  4. I’ll keep my modded Behringer Model D. With these changes (that were mods you could apply to original Minimoogs as well) it still does things this new Moog will not do (like PWM, osc sync, or adressing the three osc CV’s separately). And I risked it on a 300 EUR device, not a 5000.

      1. what’s exactly stupid about sync, PWM, and a 4500$ price difference?
        ah, I See, you think paying 4500$ for a Fatar keybed is stupid. I agree. 😉

      2. I’m a huge Moog fan. My first was a Prodigy, I now own a Subsequent 37. I picked up a used Beh Model D several years ago because it sounds great for a couple of hundred bucks. I’m never going to buy a $5,000 instrument.

  5. Rofl, Over $1,500 more than the last reissue. I’m curious how many people are gonna bite now that we know a Model D can cost less than $300 and still sound just as good as the original.

    1. “They wrote their own death certificate”

      Like the 2016 reissue and the Moog One put them out of business.

      You’ve got to be smart enough to know that these will sell like hot-cakes and make Moog a mint. Otherwise you are ignoring reality.

      You can blame it on ‘collectors’ and ‘rich dentists’, if the fact that musicians love nice instruments freaks you out.

  6. Personally, I wonder if they got it correct this time. The last one sounded less convincing to my ears than did the Behringer Model D. For over 16x the cost of the Behringer, I hope they did this one more accurately. Good to see that socialism hasn’t stifled creativity at Moog (:

    1. Faaaaaar from “socialism” at Moog you can be certain. The politics of those in charge are publicly discussed in this forum in the past. They went hard against a recent unionizing attempt. Where do you get this stuff?? The closest thing to socialism is….. parts from China, like most companies *assembling* electronics in the USA

      1. Check again! Here’s what MusicTech had to say in a recent article “Workers of Moog Music Inc. unionised at the start of the month (1 June) through the International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in a bid to secure better wages from the legendary synth company.” Of course, they may be lying about that 🙂

        1. A group of workers at Moog is attempting to organize a vote on whether the company should be unionized. As far as I am aware, no vote has taken place. The MusicTech blog writer doesn’t seem to understand the process.

  7. Still biting my behind that I missed the last re-issue, but it’s great to know that a factory-fresh Model D is available again. As for the usual pricing complaints, the original Model D cost US $1,595.00 in 1974. That’s 10k in today’s money, so you are certainly not paying any “nostalgia” bonus.

    1. explain to me again how paying 5000$ vs 500$ has nothing to do with paying for nostalgia? hihi 😉
      btw. Roland did the same thing for 500 bugs too.
      its not like there aren’t enough minimoog clones for 500$ now …
      its a bunch of low frequency electronics from over 50 years ago.
      not worth more than 500$ now, if you aren’t delusional.

  8. This might seem more appealing if you couldn’t already wear a different Minimoog on all of your fingers & toes, with 20 more for ear and nose rings. They’ll sell out within a month, of course. Its a super-shiny object of desire. Nice woodwork!

  9. This is how much things cost when you build them in America.

    Behringer and Moog are definitely going for two different markets with essentially the same product.

      1. A Roland SE-02 sounds nothing like a Minimoog of any vintage. The Behringer Model D, on the other hand, sounds pretty much identical to, at least, Minis of a 1972-1974 vintage of which I’ve owned three over the years. That’s not to say that the SE-02 isn’t a great little monosynth (I have one). It just doesn’t sound anything like a Minimoog.

    1. No. This is how much things cost when you build circuit boards by hand in a G20 country. In 2021, it makes absolutely no sense to use through-hole resistors, caps, transistors and diodes. A high quality part with legs doesn’t sound better than a part without. The only reason to do this is to appeal to gear collectors.

      1. The circuit boards for this are built in the USA???? Wow that’s next level then. Where is this fact offered up or confirmed?? Last I heard, like all USA electronics assemblers, especially synth & modular companies, they had circuit boards, Chios and other components made in China.

        1. The “how to build” video linked above says, “The PCBs come from different distributors within the USA.” You can call them yourself to verify, but it appears that they’re doing US-based hand assembly.

  10. Hey, if you’ve got 50 Benjamins lying around doing nothing and want a Minimoog, go for it.
    You can put it next to your wooden singing doll choir.

  11. They have to be kidding. $5,000? For a monosonic synth? Okay I’m sure some people will buy it but I don’t know who would do that when there’s so many better things for a lot less money.

  12. a dedicated analog LFO??????? GET OUT!!
    So I could buy 8 Minitaurs (made in usa) for the price of 1 Model D. That’s 16 VCOs, 8 VCFs, 8 LFOs, 136 knobs. My point being: Moog clearly doesn’t price their products in any kind of manufacturing cost reality. They price this at 5k to maintain their reputation as a “premium” brand, and because they know they can get it. If I felt like I needed to blow 5k on a synth, I’d certainly get that oberheim over this tired moog.

  13. I hesitate to weigh in on comment threads in general, especially those for synth product releases that often end up with somewhat binary viewpoints, e.g. ‘this is awesome’, and ‘this is a fucking rip off!’

    What I would like to offer is this: doesn’t beauty have something of a price associated with it? And what’s wrong with that?

    You can buy a Squire Affinity Telecaster for less than $200 USD off of Reverb.com. Maybe it’s your first guitar and you’ll play it every day for the rest of your life, and it’ll become the most important musical instrument in the world as far as you’re concerned. You’ll invest thousands of hours of your life into it. Manufacturing trends will change over time, and if it’s ever sold (perhaps after your death), the price it will fetch will, to some degree, reflect the passage of time and all of the wear and tear that you put into it.

    Sure, let’s be cynical for a moment and attribute a lot of that price tag to the vintage market populated by collectors and not ‘real gigging musicians and composers’. But it’s also because nostalgia comes naturally to us. We have an affection for stories, for objects that have character and personality. For instruments that, when you play them, it can feel like a relationship, not just you telling the tool what to do.

    Now, instead of buying the Squire Affinity Telecaster, (If you can afford it) you can buy a T-style guitar from a boutique guitar company (one that doesn’t produce hundreds of thousands of instruments a year). Perhaps there’s a waiting list. Maybe the components are made to match vintage specs, the plastics aged slightly to better match the coloring of actual older components. The pickups are hand wound. The luthiers are fussy about the wood grain, and the stains used are not of a popular variety, but pay heed to older instruments and use a nitrocellulose lacquer. The entire assembly of the instrument takes significantly longer, because it’s not *just* about making a functional instrument that will serve you well in your bedroom and on stage, but about making something that’s beautiful and full of personality. They’re creating a musical instrument that encourages you to form a relationship with it from the get-go.

    The ethical aspects of their business operations aside, this is how I’ve always seen the comparison between *some* Behringer products and the higher price-tag synths made by Korg, Moog, Oberheim, or Sequential. It’s comparing apples and oranges, which is to say, it’s silly.

    Players of seemingly every other modern, western musical instrument have acknowledged something as simple as ‘I want the blue drum kit, not the red one’. Why? ‘I like blue.’

    What’s wrong with wanting (or purchasing if you can afford it) a $5000 synth if you think it’s gorgeous and it makes you feel good? You’re not a victim or a sucker for being willing to pay that price, and if you think the item is overpriced, it gives you no authority to be condescending, or act as if you know better than those who think otherwise.

    I don’t think anyone in this comment thread has really flown off the handle about this yet, but I see it often enough that I thought it worth throwing in my two cents.

    That Moog looks gorgeous. I don’t care if, with my eyes closed, I wouldn’t be able to hear the difference between it or the latest plugin. It will *definitely* be a helluva lot more fun to touch and tweak than using a mouse, or a midi controller, or the knobs on the panel of a $300 plastic synth with a significantly less ergonomic interface.

  14. this is as stupid as the korg miniKORG 700FS for $2200. i got a Moog Matriarch dark for $1600 musicians friends stupid deal. the Behringer Poly D has 4 VCOs, Classic Ladder Filter, LFO, BBD Stereo Chorus, Distortion, 32-step Sequencer, and Arpeggiator for under $700. the Behringer Model D is under $265. hell the ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe 73-key 16-voice Polyphonic Wave Morphing Synthesizer is only $1800 get 2 and blow your mind. even the Sequential Trigon-6 6-voice 49-key Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer is right at $3500 and it is a beast!!! has everyone just turned into idiots. moog will get $5k from a lot of people with rezner cash laying around. but is it really worth it? bringing the model d back at moog is rediculous and irresponsable, why go foward when you can go backasswards. stupid stupid stupid

    1. for each his own, you know, this one is pretty boring but in my mind have better value than all the others you mentioned. the matriarch is also very boring, the poly d and the other ripoff is e-waste and the hydrasynth is expensive junk (compared to most of my plugins) it also sounds cold and lifeless compered to early 2000 plugins. the new sequential (and the ob6/pro6) are simplified synths for keyboardist with shitty excuse for a matrix and sequencer. this knob per function is insulting 🙂
      this is just my opinion but if you like them good for you, i don’t think it is stupid or you are an idiot

  15. So if you go to Thomman or Reverb right now you can see the actual price in EUR is 6100.
    I believe it was around 3500 for the last reissue, now i understand the price of components and everything went up, but 2600EUR is just too much, but hey if you want it you want it.

    1. its a made in usa product so it will be better to check usa shops.
      It was 3750 dollar without vat at 2016, inflation calculator says its 4650 dollars at 2022, probably more at 2023..

  16. I’m having a great fun with my new Arturia MiniFreak, costs nearly 10x less, is way more modern tech + effects.

    Isn’t it time Moog moved into the 21st century and made some innovative modern hybrid poly-synths instead?

  17. Well, for what it’s worth I’ve just paid my 10% deposit. Hoping for delivery late December.

    If you’re thinking about one of these in purely ‘value for money’ terms against what else the £5,300 price will buy you, then clearly there’s many more efficient ways of deploying your funds.

    I’ve always wanted a Minimoog and am fortunate enough to have the cash, so it was a quick and easy decision for me.

    Yes, it’s expensive. But f**k it, I’m having one.

    1. Congrats! I still have my Voyager which I got in 2010 and I’m still very much in love with it now as I was the day it arrived and enjoy getting lost every time I sit down to play. Hell, just writing about it has put me in the mood for a jam so off I go.

  18. Do you know how to become the kind of person who could afford to buy a $5000 mono synth? Stop making stupid purchases, like buying a $5000 mono synth.

  19. Moog is a company with a pedigree, specific products and they can price their products the way they want. 5K is a lot of money to start with, but hey, if you want a Model D by Moog, that’s what it would take. There are alternatives for sure, Behringer, plug-ins, and such, or other synths all together. Again, these are professionally made instruments aimed at professionals. Another thing that I value today is the fact that this instrument is made in the US. I’d rather pay more knowing that my 5K is going to a company owned by it’s employees (Moog), than to pay $300 and support slave work in China. I’ll get it if I can manage to sell a couple of things I already have first as I always wanted a Model D and having the real thing on my desk would be very welcoming and very inspiring.

  20. My first synth was a Mini. I was disappointed by its monophonic nature until I ran it through a delay and it came to life. It was suddenly AHA! Whatever you get, budget for some effects, if they’re not built-in; that’s where it’ll shine.

    All the screaming aside, a Mini is almost less a synth and more like a cello or treasured, creamy Strat. Even the modulars seem to take second place. Nothing else quite touches that wail it lets out.

  21. The Minimoog sound has been done to death for half a century.
    IMHO, for huge dollars like this, why not get something that sounds markedly different and less been there, done that a gazillion times.
    Years ago, I paid a few hundred dollars for the clone made by rhe evil B word, and I like it for phattening up bass parts, but for 250 Jacksons, I would rather buy synths that sound different.

  22. I almost bought a minimoog in 1987 but went but a Bit-99 digital poly synth and regretted it. Then when the 2016 reissue came out I didn’t buy one and regretted it. This time I am getting one. For those that are comparing the minimoog to the behringer…I have a better idea, get a VST which is even cheaper! The price is high but this is a classic that I plan to keep forever. But for those that can afford one, go for it.

    1. No! It’s not a classic, and won’t be for about another 15 years, or so. It is a reissue, and if it isn’t a substantial improvement on the 2016 reissue that didn’t sound much like a 70s era Mini (at least to me), you’re a lot better off with the Behringer Model D if it’s the sound of a “real” Mini you are looking for. If it’s worth it to you to purchase an instrument that is hand crafted in the USA, is the same size and looks like a classic Mini, and that has the $2500 “Moog nameplate” on it, then that might be the best choice for you. I got pretty satiated on the Minimoog over all the years I had them (at least one) in my studio. I have pictures, that are plenty sufficient to keep me satisfied from a nostalgia perspective (and I’m getting a bit old to think about collecting things for posterity). I bought the Model D because it sounded identical to my 70s Moogs (both in memory testing and by comparison to recordings I made over the years), and occasionally I want to use one of those sounds that only a Minimoog can make. When my needs were as mine were at the time, I would have been nuts not to pick up the Model D for under $300. By making a statement comparing the Behringer Model D to a VST, you have demonstrated that you have never played with one, nor a REAL Minimoog, for that matter.

        1. You seem to have missed my point. Unless you have played a 70s era Minimoog, you haven’t actually played one that sounds like, well, a Minimoog. The 2016 reissue was also supposed to be an exact replication, yet it really doesn’t sound much like the original. As I said, the closest you’re likely to get, as far as THE SOUND goes, is a Behringer Model D. Now, this new reissue may be different, but I seriously doubt it!

  23. Don’t criticize the price. When it will be $3000 it will be sold-out in the week and back to ebay with $5000 or more. So, it is good price for having some time for gather money for it.

  24. Let’s try again. What if you could get a brand new 1971 Porsche, Corvette, (insert your favorite car here)? It would be very expensive and slower than the current models. It would have no modern features (eg gps, a/c, screens, power windows, etc). I assume most people would never buy the brand new 1971 car; it is just not a rational choice. However, those that buy it will enjoy every single second. If you can afford one, do it.

  25. The oldtimers never needed that LFO. They just wiggled the pitxh bend wheel slightly.A spring loaded pitch bend wheel makes that classic move harder – or impossible. This is not a replica.

        1. Which got me to thinking, being an “oldtimer”, that is. Although I never used the pitch wheel on a Mini for vibrato, I often used it as a pitch-offset controller. Having a non-spring-loaded wheel is essential if you want to change the pitch center, play the keyboard, and play the knobs in a performance all in one motion. I guess a pot that turned to provide voltage offsets would work, but it would be much harder to hit the right spot on the fly with any kind of speed or accuracy. On my “play-out” stand (circa, 1977), I had a Mini, an EML-101 and a EMS Synthi A in front of me. A primary reason for going to the Mini for a lot of my leads was that it had a pitch wheel, and the wheel wasn’t spring-loaded. Although this is true, it is not a major issue because springs were made to be defeated (snip, snip) 🙂

  26. I have the 2016 Reissue and it sounds and plays great. I wish, and hope, that the spring loaded pitch wheel could be retrofitted into my 2016 instrument. I’m not sure I’d spend even more than I did last time for this synth though the wood work looks nice and the expanded midi is interesting.

  27. Without the moog there would be no tubeway army gary numan john foxx classic albumns the great bob marley used a minimoog everyone who used it made great music just 3 741 amp chips as oscillators

Leave a Reply to frodo Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *