Geddy Lee & Moog Music Launch Red Limited Edition Geddy Lee Minimoog Model D Synthesizer

20 Mar, 2025  No Comment


Geddy Lee teams up with Moog for limited edition satin red Minimoog Model D with ‘hot-rodded’ VCA circuit.

Moog Music has announced the releases of the Geddy Lee Minimoog Model D, a limited edition of the iconic analogue synth that pays tribute to the Rush frontman’s enduring influence on progressive rock.

The Geddy Lee Minimoog sports a custom satin red finish with metallic flecks that echoes the look of the keyboard rig used by Lee around the time of the 1984 album Grace Under Pressure, and the synth is adorned with a custom badge and sticker featuring Rush’s “Starman” logo.

The Geddy Lee Minimoog Model D arrives with a bundle of Rush merch, including an exclusive 10″ red vinyl featuring Xanadu and Jacob’s Ladder, a collectible poster, commemorative manual and gift box. Each instrument is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity hand-signed by Lee and individually numbered.

In a video shared to Reverb’s YouTube channel, Lee tells the story of Rush’s introduction to synthesizers in the mid-’70s, beginning with the Moog Taurus and then the Minimoog Model D. “It was the first time that a schlub like myself could dream big with an instrument that was easy to get around,” he says.

“You could get your head around it; you could learn about waveforms by just clicking the dial and blending them and playing with the modulation wheel. That’s the legacy of the Minimoog; not only does it sound fat and sophisticated but it’s not daunting to get your hands on.”

Lee goes on to discuss how the Minimoog was utilized on classic Rush tracks such as Tom Sawyer, Xanadu and Subdivisions: “For Tom Sawyer I played around with sawtooth and square waves, trying to blend the two of them so that I got a fatter sound from the square and a bit of rizz from the sawtooth”.


“The Minimoog Model D has shaped music history for over five decades, inspiring creativity across genres with its timeless instrument design and raw analog power,” said Erik Norlander, Director of Product Development at Moog Music. “The Geddy Lee Minimoog Model D combines the iconic sound and intuitive functionality of the original, with exclusive features that honor both its history and its future.”

The Geddy Lee Minimoog Model D is exclusively available via Reverb (US), priced at $5,499.

 

40 Famous Synth Sounds on Vintage Minimoog + Minimoog Reissue

23 Jun, 2024  No Comment


This video, via synthesist Andy Whitmore, offers a head-to-head comparison of a vintage Minimoog Model D and a ‘modern’ Minimoog Model D reissue.

Andy Whitmore compares the two synths using 40 iconic sounds:

00:00 Rush Tom Sawyer FX

00:21 ELP Lucky Man lead

00:32 Duran Duran Save A Prayer lead

00:43 Duran Duran Save A Prayer lead

01:02 ABBA Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! lead

01:19 ABBA Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! bass

01:37 Harold Faltermeyer Axel F Beverly Hills Cop Main Theme lead

01:54 Harold Faltermeyer Axel F Beverly Hills Cop Main Theme bass

02:11 D Train You’re The One For Me bass

02:27 D Train You’re The One For Me lead

02:43 Madonna Holiday lead

03:00 Madonna Holiday bass

03:16 Queen Radio Ga Ga bass

03:32 Howard Jones New Song lead

04:09 Howard Jones New Song lead

04:19 Gary Numan Are ‘Friends’ Electric? theme

05:00 Michael Jackson Rock With You bass

05:26 DEVO Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA effects

05:56 Parliament Flashlight bass

06:26 Rush Tom Sawyer lead

06:44 Stevie Wonder I Wish bass

07:02 Madonna Borderline lead

07:34 Madonna Borderline bass

07:51 Dr Dre Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang lead

08:15 Michael Jackson Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough bass

08:32 Pink Floyd Shine On You Crazy Diamond lead

09:03 Rick Wakeman Catherine Of Aragon bass

09:41 Chaka Khan We Can Work It Out bass

10:02 Weather Report Birdland bass

10:26 Barclay James Harvest Victims Of Circumstance lead

10:50 The Alan Parsons Project Separate Lives bass

11:00 Europe The Final Countdown lead

11:24 Stevie Wonder Isn’t She Lovely bass

11:46 Stevie Wonder That Girl bass

12:05 Michael Jackson Workin’Day and Night bass

12:22 Gary Numan Are ‘Friends’ Electric? lead

12:46 Nena 99 Luftballons bass


Moog went to extreme lengths to recreate the build of the original Model D, to the point that the circuit boards match the originals, and they had transistors custom made to match the original components.

While Moog went to extreme lengths to recreate the original Minimoog, you can hear subtle differences between the old and new synths in Whitmore’s video. Some of this reflects the fact that no two analog synths sound exactly the same. Some may reflect slight differences in pots and how they are dialed in. And some may reflect the fact that the Minimoog Model D reissue probably sounds more like a new Minimoog would have sounded 40 years ago, than a 40 year-old synth.

Watch the video and share your thoughts on how the vintage Minimoog and Minimoog reissue compare in the comments!

 

 

 

 

Win Minimoog Model D + Support The Bob Moog Foundation

4 Jun, 2024  No Comment


In celebration of Bob Moog’s 90th birthday, the non-profit Bob Moog Foundation has announced its latest fundraising raffle, featuring a Minimoog Model D reissue, signed by Jordan Rudess.

The synthesizer, donated by Moog Music for the raffle, features a beautifully distinctive Appalachian Cherry cabinet. It has been customized with pulse width modulation in and LFO out modifications, and builds upon the revolutionary legacy of the Minimoog.

The Minimoog featured has serial number MD-01730. The synthesizer was produced at the Moog Music factory in Asheville, North Carolina, and has an estimated value of $5,000.

The three-oscillator, monophonic, analog synthesizer is housed in an Appalachian Cherry cabinet and hand-finished aluminum chassis.

Sounding as vibrant and deep as ever, its legendary low-pass ladder filter, powerful oscillators, and rich saturating mixer retain the exact component placement and through-hole design of a 1970s-era Minimoog Model D.

The Minimoog Model D reissue includes a series of popular functional modifications that expand this legendary 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, and a mixer feedback modification which allows the Minimoog Model D to overdrive and scream with the turn of a knob.The Minimoog Model D reissue also features a spring-loaded pitch wheel with center deadband, allowing for improved playability. This newest edition also includes updates to the MIDI functionality, allowing for improved modern studio integration.This modified Minimoog Model D reissue also features two new CV jacks.

  • First, the onboard LFO now has a dedicated output jack. This jack will allow you to interface your Minimoog with external equipment or the new pulse width modulation modification (PWM) CV input.
  • The PWM input is routed to the pulse width modulation modification oscillators 1, 2, and 3. PWM offers new timbres not found on stock Minimoogs. This modification was performed by Moog Music engineer Tim Johnston.

“The Minimoog became an organic friend to me because it’s designed in such a way that you can put your hand down on the key, you can turn a knob and things happen, and all the different interactions between the knobs became my world,” notes Rudess. “When I’m playing the Minimoog, I feel this like deep, organic brain-solid connection not only to the way it’s designed, but to the way that it sounds. The Minimoog was my first love when it came to synthesizers, but even now, when I have the perspective of playing so many different synths, I still go back to it fifty years later.”

The raffle is open now and ends on June 17, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT), and is open internationally. Tickets are $25 each, 5 for $100, 12 for $200, or 35 for $500. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 21, 2024.

Funds raised from the raffle will be used to expand the Bob Moog Foundation’s hallmark education project, Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, which has inspired over 30,000 elementary school students through the science of sound. The raffle will also help support the Bob Moog Foundation Archives and the Moogseum, an immersive, experiential facility located in Asheville, North Carolina.

« Previous Page « Older Entries Newer Entries » — Next Page »