Moog Music Moving Out Of Its Iconic Asheville Building

Asheville-based Moog Music is moving out of its iconic 160 Broadway Street location, marking the end of an era.

Asheville’s WLOS Channel 13 reports that Moog is is relocating from its facilities on Broadway Street, and the buildings are up for lease.

While the Broadway Street location doesn’t have the historical significance of some of Moog’s earlier locations, it is the location that many associate with the company. This was the home of the company during its modern creative peak, where it introduced instruments like the Mother-32, Subharmonicon, DFAM, Grandmother, Matriarch, Animoog, the Claravox Centennial Theremin, their modular reissues and more.

In a statement, the company president said they’re moving product design, development, and engineering to the Asheville Citizen-Times building along O’Henry Avenue. Moog said it’s also expanding its manufacturing facility in Weaverville — a city just north of Asheville.

In 2023, Moog Music announced that it had been acquired by inMusic, home to a wide range of music industry brands, including Akai, Alesis, Denon, M-Audio, Numark, Stanton & others. At the time, Moog said that they planned to keep production and product development in Asheville.

66 thoughts on “Moog Music Moving Out Of Its Iconic Asheville Building”

          1. You’re aware that what Americans consider “left” is actually right wing in the rest of the world? Heaven forbid you end up with affordable secondary education and health care.

            1. Europe almost universally bans abortion after 12 weeks and bans transgender surgeries for minors. The American left are far to the left of Europe.

        3. every traitor park in the country is 100% conservative territory, if this is the high standard you speak of you can keep it lol

        5. Right wingers have to demonize cities like Asheville, because Republicans have turned their states into shitholes.

          Google ‘Red State murder gap’ – you are literally 40% more likely to get murdered in Red states.

          Republicans are too busy fighting ‘woke’ to fight crime and other real problems.

          1. the right-wing has been living in a fantasyland since regan pulled the wool over their eyes throughout the 80’s.

            some really fancy moderating we got going on here lately. sheesh.

            more on topic, glad I got all the Moog I can while it lasted – even an MP201. lol.

        6. The only people who think Asheville is a liberal shithole are the losers who can’t afford to live there. Stay in Alabama where you belong.

      1. lol All the Akai stuff and especially the MPC X looks like a teenage gamer boy would design for himself. While they might not be built badly, they look like shit.

        1. I keep seeing many renowned musicians with cheapo Akai controller keyboards on stage, and I just can’t understand why they do that if they could afford something decent instead. Even in case they’re paid handsomely by inMusic, it will fire back if their fans go and buy them (without reading any of the mostly negative reviews).

        2. Well, good job things like that are entirely subjective then isn’t it.
          I wonder what your thoughts on Roland’s early Aira range is?! (I say I wonder, I don’t actually care).

          2. Yeah the Aira looks like even bigger shit than the current Akai stuff. I think most people agree on that. The TR-8S is’nt so bad.

            I come from a time when Akai made good looking gear (S1000, S3000, MPC3000XL) so it’s always a shame to see a good brand go to shit

            It will be very interesting to see what becomes of the Moog line over the next few years but

    2. i stopped buying newer Akai products after the last three I bought had quality control issues. (which are even beyond repair) but they were all on the lower end. I would hope their higher end models are a bit better but I don’t have faith

      j

      0=0

  5. Has it become newsworthy every time a musical instrument company relocates? Or does everything Moog Music does become newsworthy?

    1. William – the Moog factory in Asheville was like a ‘Mecca for synthesists’.

      Lots of us made a pilgrimage of sorts to the factory, because it had the connection to Bob Moog and the company’s seminal synth designs, and because it was kind of like a candy store for synth nerds.

      The company move is not earth shaking news, but it definitely represents the end of an era for Moog, and the start of something new.

    3. Iconic musical instrument companies, yes.
      Local new wanting to run a story on the relocation of an iconic building, yes.
      A synth website reporting on the activity of an iconic synth company, yes.
      People who want to tour th eiconic music company’s building, yes.
      Moog is a big deal to many unless you’re just cynical so, news, yes.
      Report concludes- yes.

    4. Well, it’s more iconic than any other synth company’s headquarters. They do tours and events, it has a shop, and Asheville is where Moogfest takes place.

      1. Unfortunately moogfest has been done since Covid, and the last 2 years it was actually in Durham NC not Asheville

  6. It is sad Moog has collpased and it is a brand tag now nothing more. Lets not forget the Gold Moogs they made that was decadent and clearly unsustainable and as somone who bought a voyager , imagine my shock when I turned on those blue lights and a small but annoying high pitched sound could be heard ( a secret fourth oscilator?)
    There is a lot of hype about Moog. Bob was a great fella but Moog was clearly not sustainable .

      1. it’s amazing it lasted as long as it did. for that, honorable mentions are appropriate. the rest of the adoring worshipful regard is a bit icky; too much like religion to me.

    1. Turns out that manufacturing synth gear in the US isn’t a profitable business anymore.

      Moog warned us 6 years ago that this was EXACTLY what would happen, when Trump imposed huge new taxes on US manufacturers that used Chinese parts:

      “These tariffs will immediately and drastically increase the cost of building our instruments, and have the very real potential of forcing us to lay off workers and could (in a worst case scenario) require us to move some, if not all, of our manufacturing overseas.”

        2. It’s amazing how many people think that you can just go out and buy electronic parts made in the US.

          Just about every synth now being made, anywhere, is made out of Chinese parts.

      2. I believe that it was not the tariffs that hit MOOG the hardest. Management issues and personalcosts was probably a much bigger factor. And of course Behringer shamelessly flooding the market with ultracheap knockoff synths..

        1. The tariffs don’t really have a significant impact except on metalwork. But there are also ways around it. Also, to be frank, ignoring ethical considerations, it is still significantly cheaper to have metalwork done in China, send it on a boat, have a forwarder UPS it to your business,, and pay the tariff than it is to have made in the US. Also, quality and responsiveness are much better in China in my 25 years experience.

          1. You’re missing the point entirely.

            Trump’s 25% tax on imported parts gave foreign companies a huge competitive advantage over US manufacturers, because basically all electronic components are made in China.

            And the only ‘way around it’ is to move manufacturing overseas, which is exactly what Moog warned that they’d have to do 6 years ago.

            1. The only tariff that affects us is the steel tariff, specifically steel enclosures, and there are ways around it, such as making in the US if preferred. The actual COGS has not changed much. There is no 25% tariff on electronic parts, not sure where you got that from. Read the tariff schedule & you can see exactly what is taxed. And one final note, if you don’t like tariffs then you must really hate the majority of European countries that have tariffs on literally everything. Take Sweden for example, by your opinion they must be MAGA-loving terrible people. They have tariffs on importing literally everything for manufacturing. Hence, you see a lot of excellent hardware that is proudly made in Sweden.

              1. Just a few of the categories impacted:

                8532.21.00

                Tantalum fixed capacitors

                8532.22.00

                Aluminum electrolytic fixed capacitors

                8532.23.00

                Ceramic dielectric fixed capacitors, single layer

                8532.24.00

                Ceramic dielectric fixed capacitors, multilayer

                8532.25.00

                Dielectric fixed capacitors of paper or plastics

                8532.29.00

                Fixed electrical capacitors, nesoi

                8532.30.00

                Variable or adjustable (pre-set) electrical capacitors

                8532.90.00

                Parts of electrical capacitors, fixed, variable or adjustable (pre-set)

                8533.10.00

                Electrical fixed carbon resistors, composition or film types

                8533.21.00

                Electrical fixed resistors, other than composition or film type carbon resistors, for a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W

                8533.29.00

                Electrical fixed resistors, other than composition or film type carbon resistors, for a power handling capacity exceeding 20 W

                8533.31.00

                Electrical wirewound variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers, for a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W

                8533.40.40

                Metal oxide resistors

                8533.40.80

                Electrical variable resistors, other than wirewound, including rheostats and potentiometers

                https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/full-list-president-trumps-tariffs-34-billion-chinese-timothy-dooner

        1. Conservatives know that tariffs are idiotic, because they put the government in charge of deciding which businesses succeed, instead of capitalism and competition.

          Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of real conservatives in the MAGA cult.

  8. It sounds like this has potential to be a good thing. They’re going to be expanding one facility and moving manufacturing into another.

  9. The original Trumansburg NY factory location from the old-old days is a restaurant these days. There is a historical marker out front, in recognition of its heritage. Other than that, life goes on.
    The loss of the Asheville property will be felt, to be sure. But it’s happened before, and the earth hasn’t spun into the sun.

  10. It was entertaining to read the thread(s) above; and the comments are very current and inciteful!
    Most Moogs are monophonic (exceptions would be Moog One and Matriarch, which is 4-note paraphonic). Matriarch is affordable; however, Moog One is $9,000.00 – $10,000.00 which I believe is too much to pay. I believe that Moog is getting run out of Dodge for at least 2 reasons–(1) Moog never did seem that interested in polyphonic and (2) the price tag of certain instruments (an example would be Moog Model D at $5,000.00) is substantial for feature/functions offered. I’d like to own a modern Model D however $5,000.00 is (again) too much money. I do own 9 Moog instruments and so I’m not boycotting Moog, nor complaining.
    I’m thinking that maybe this restructuring of Moog may open the way for more polyphony; maybe they’ll issue a Model D instrument that is around $2,500.00. I also heard that they may announce a new flagship synth. I hope this is true.
    I’m a retired senior citizen and my plans are to stay close to home and learn more about my Moog instruments.

  11. ^^ Those are correct, a very small subset of parts used in MI. Namely certain capacities. As I mentioned, in the real world it hasn’t affected our COGS very much at all. Also as I mentioned the real one to keep an eye on is the steel tariff.

  16. My gosh people, leave the politics out of this. Red this / blue that who cares. They are now bought, what to do, buy it or don’t. you have the choice. Don’t like it? Go buy a behringer synth. If you think either side is better you are a fool They would rather watch it all burn down and rule over the ashes.

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