GEAR REVIEW
MOOG MUSE 8-VOICE POLYPHONIC ANALOG SYNTHESIZER | Bruce Adolph
• 61-key Analog Bi-timbral Synthesizer
• 8-voice Polyphony
• 2 VCOs, 2 LFOs, 2 VCFs, 2 ADSR Envelopes
• Ring Modulation
• Modulation Oscillator
• Pitch LFO
• Voice Control
• Aftertouch
KEY FEATURES
When I was told about this new Moog Muse 8-voice Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer they had me at“ Moog!” Robert Moog made his first monophonic( having one voice) synthesizer in 1964. I go way back to the mid 70s when the first polyphonic( four voice) synths came along. I took an Electronic Music class in college where we would have to patch LFO to VCO via hand plugging in cables to and fro. The fat and warm analog sounds were making their mark on modern music and several classic rock bands embraced synthesizers in their music. And Moog was at the epicenter of it all.
Fast forward 50 years and Moog is still impacting modern music. Our own Worship music genre is laden with layered synth pads and arpeggios.
I must tell you – it was exciting just seeing this Moog Muse keyboard sitting on my studio desk. Because this piece of equipment has such vast features on board, I will give you a brief overview of my experience with it. A first blush so to speak, and then for a deeper dive I will list what our affiliate Sweetwater’ s sales team says about it.
When I sat down with this new Moog Muse synth and heard the warm analog patches filling the room and saw the vast layout for easy sound design literally at your fingertips … Wow – I was impressed! Plus, now we are implementing 8-voice polyphonic capabilities bolstered by a slew of features. All housed in a wood sided chassis that is reminiscent of those mid 70s boards. It has 61 full-size, semi-weighted keys with velocity and aftertouch that form the basis of the Muse’ s performance-friendly figure, complete with Pitch and Mod wheels.
Smart out of the gate. The inputs and outputs are silk screened on the top of the synth so you don’ t need to turn the board around just to figure out where to plug in. The Power switch is the top left, and the Output Main Out volume knob is on the top right side. When you power up the lights across the top start blinking and the Programmer panel’ s patch selectors flash
92 July 2025 Subscribe for Free...