MOOG Labyrinth - Have They Lost Their Way? (UNSPONSORED)
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- *This review is unsponsored we paid for this device ourselves at full price*
Is this the end of the road for Moog, just a wrong turn... or is it in fact the shape of things to come. Will they continue to be allowed to do stuff as mental as this. Or is the last release before the corporate restrictions fall on our favourite synth maker? What do you think... stick it in the comments below.
At the beginning of this film is an advert for our workhorse percussion library, find out more here...
thecrowhillcom...
I am part of a specialty products company which was purchased by a commodity products company a bit over 10 years ago. Here's our journey:
Day 0 -- 'just do your specialty thing, we just want to watch and learn'.
Day 1 - 'do it our commodity way, we don't see much value in doing things your specialty way'.
Day 3650 - 'we no longer see value in you continuing to run. turns out you aren't very good at being a commodity facility'.
Be careful, Moog'ers...! Don't lose the specialness you brought to the party.
ROTFLMAO - I was a design engineer at Line 6 for half a decade and was there for the Yamaha acquisition. It kinda went like you outline there. First year or so was like, "we're gonna stand back and watch what you do" and then when the profit vectors weren't pointed the right way they came in and started saying, "cancel this or that program, we already make those products..." then they sorta started looking at raiding the design catalog for stuff to repackage as theirs in particular the M5 Stompbox which was one of my designs, in fact it was my first project there. They've not gotten to your end stage prediction but the first two make me chuckle.
"Be careful, Moog'ers...! Don't lose the specialness you brought to the party". ...................100% agree
I am absolutely enthralled by its generative elements. It is one of the most exciting hardware semi-modulars for me to come out in a long time. Every time I hear it, the more I am enthralled by it. What a synth!
Doesn't look like Moog has lost their way. The new Muse looks like they may have just set a new standard in modern analog.
How have they set a new standard?
Imagine an entire nation or country that absolutely, stubbornly refuses to say your last name correctly.
Mooooooog Music by Bob Mogue.
Labyrinth was fully designed before Moog was purchased.
It takes a long time for hardware synths to come out. They probably have 5 years of products to get through depending on how they want to space them out
And it's f'in sick. Sure, the build quality is closer to Behringer than typical Moog, but I'm very happy this synth was not killed in the purchase.
@@ihavereservations In what way do you perceive the build quality to be different? I own all 5 of the semi-modulars and they all feel exactly the same.
Exactly! It was designed before the sell.
Now you can go yell at another cloud.
"until this happened..."
*FART*
ping ping
ping
ping
ping ping
Just teasing, good video as always
Just wanted to say thanks for being clear about buying the synth in the title.
In an ideal world, every YT review channel should be 100% clear about whether the item is a gift, a loaner or how much they paid for it plus acknowledging that if they write a bad review, will may not get offered products in the future etc.. Straight bang-up warts 'n' all reviews are very rare.
I have owned a Subharmonicon and a DFAM now for roughly 2 years, I use them periodically, and sometimes I feel inspired by them, sometimes bored... I've also had a Mother32 which I sold because I didn't like the sequencer. And I was definitively not in the market to buy another 60hp Moog semi-modular synth, I didn't even bother to look into any reviews when the Labyrinth was anounced. But then 10 days ago, a Labyrinth tutorial popped up in my youtube recommendations. I just clicked on it because I was bored and wanted to get entertained. After watching it I thought, "well, not completely uninteresting". The next day I watched another video, and another... and on the third day I ordered one... 😀And what can I say... I'm having a lot of fun so far... It sounds great, the dual-turing sequencer is a lot of fun, and even if you freeze the sequence, you can wiggle the hell out of this thing. It's not a middle of the road mini synth, but also not too weird to be more than a novelty... Well done, Moog!
This will be the first Moog I've ever bought
I think that as long as they have Steve Dunnington designing things then we will see some interesting products, but when he leaves then there will probably be no one left that even knew Bob Moog. That's where we are at now.
We Love you Christian Henson. Sorry for all the wrong unjust things that have happened to you in the past. Have you thought about doing a brand-new Orchestra VST like Abbey Road ONE or Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, albeit under your new company, Crow Hill? Ever since you left or are not in the limelight of Spitfire, Spitfire has gone downhill, especially in terms of pricing. Everything was better when you were the one making decisions at Spitfire. I'm truly sorry for what happened to you. God Bless you abundantly! Hope you consider a brand-new orchestra; or maybe try a soloist orchestral pack. I'm sure you and Crow Hill could create some wonderful brand new Orchestral VST's that would put modern-day spitfire to shame. ❤ Much Love and Respect!
Is Christian Henson not part of Spitfire any more ??
Has it taken the Moog Labyrinth for me to learn that 😳
Suzanne Ciani has made a whole career out of random notes. Noise -> sample & hold -> maybe a quantizer. Route into a quadraphonic mix. Sorted, done. The Moog Labyrinth is no more a Ciani in a box than the MakeNoise Strega is an Alessandro Cortini in a box. When I saw the Labyrinth, I thought to myself, yeah, I have enough modules to duplicate that. Of course I ordered one. Because then I will patch it into what I have!
I urge you to please listen to "The Velocity of Love" or "Seven Waves."
Strega is a very playable instrument. It is only someone in a box if you limit yourself to looking at it that way. If you say Ciani has made a career out of random notes, then you might as well say that to the entire modular community because random is such a strong element in eurorack. But you know all this anyway I am sure.
Very interesting. Great to hear honest comments about a product without any sponsorship ties or freebies. For some reason Labyrinth fascinates me and I'm not into modular - yet. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Pittsburgh Modular Voltage Lab 2 as well - another innovative instrument you could get lost in.
it's like having a friend to jam with. then i can feed off her ideas :)
3:13 that's a HUGE chasm between the end cheek and the chassis.
3 minutes in - really great description of 'semi-modular' - thanks!
Subharmonicon is weirder, I think, and the Labyrinth sound engine builds on what Mavis was doing, so not sure this can be seen as that much of a shift...
Thanks for the interesting review, Christian.
Thanks for the interesting demo. 👍
I am fully hypnotized with mine, preordered, and boy it has delivered.
I hear you! Some of my best bits came from mistakes, misunderstandings or just plain incompetence. Random stuff is always good and your point about always keeping your DAW recording whilst improvising is well received.
Now that the Muse is out, will you do a review? Every influencer is getting a free one.
And are they all “loving” the unit?
@@TheCrowHillCo
So it seems. Matt Johnson said it's better than Moog One. Some say it sounds like Jupiter-8 while others think it's more Oberheimy on the strings. Generally positive across the board it looks like.
Seemed like he was clutching at straws a bit with that little random melody.
Good rundown and, rhetorical questioning of the synth and Moog themselves.
I am interested in the next line of moog releases - as long as they are hardware
The surname Moog is of German/Dutch origin and is therefore pronounced so as to rhyme with 'rogue'.
They'll never get the 'g' right unless they have a frog in their throats.
The whole series is for people REALLY interested in CV.
"It's so...." (the word you're looking for is "Buchla") ;) Or Buchla/Wiard/etc. :) I think it was the perfect set of functions to add into this set of panelized synth portions. There's nothing better than shift-register music. Enjoy!
Absolutely brilliant what a great tutorial please keep going Christian lots of love
Moog meets Brian Eno... nearly half a century later.
I had gotten having a Moog keyboard out of my system way back in the days of the micromoog. Like that one, It has possibilities but not really needed for me.🤔🎶🎹🎶Play On
I love mine. I don't have a clue how to use it I just mess around with it and sooner or later.……..❤️
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately as to which companies I want to support with my hard earned money. While I own a bunch of Moog gear as it is, I can’t help but feel a little gross supporting them after how everything went down. And not just with the recent inMusic buyout, but with how they’ve treated their employees in general really since Bob died. Your sentiment with Labyrinth is basically exactly my experience with DFAM. I felt a little lost with it at first, but I really just needed to figure out how to use it in my current workflow. I’m looking forward to hearing what you do with this thing.
Had ours for over a week. We love it. It's the Avant Garde Artists dream tool. We've posted our raw experiences uncut. It's fun, fun, fun. That's our opinion. :)
You can program it. It's not easy, but is possible.
Watch the Cinematic Laboratory Video if you don't understand what it is. If you are not interested move on to sth. you like.
It depends how people compose music I guess. To me it's kind of silly to tweak stuff until you get something you like. I hear what I like beforehand and then I try to tweak my hardware until I get something resembling it. As a subharmonicon owner, I just love the machine cause it's so inspirational and still very much deterministic. Labyrinth on the other hand. Generative melodies are useless in my workflow. Hard pass.
yeah there have been other midi sequencer with this kind of "generative A.I." (a marketing term for algorithm). the Moog seems to be much worse at it than others. this thing is junk imo. oh, wow... if youre patient and sit around eventually it might play an arpeggio. what a scam 😂
Moog and moog. Trying to offend everybody 😂 labrynth is one of the best things they’ve done in this format
For me it makes little sense for one who already has a capable modular rig. Although it would cost half again as much to replicate as a jumping off point into modular I still feel that is a preferable and certainly more capable start down the rabbit hole. If one just wants to dabble a bit and gas no intention of fully jumping in then it is not bad value for money.
im SO getting that machine - it sounds ....RAW ,- 😘 I LOVE IT ! i imagine what the DFAM could do with THIS little BIG brother ,- or the SUB-Hamonium - oops - Floydian Sleep - One things for sure - it WILL go through my Pan Harmonium - WHEN i get it !
Thanx for a fine little review ! This certaintly didnt lower my expectations ! 🤗
In this age of modular and semi modular gear, this is totally meh compared to a lot of other stuff.
Actually it is the absolute essence. If this had been available four years ago i would not have spent 20 K in eurorack modules to do basically what this does.
@@snorrevonflake I think you need some advice on your module buying if you spent 20k to replicate this. ;-)
I've been on the fence about this one but I want to play with one really bad 😫This video just might've given me the answer!
All of their euro stuff has just seemed gimmicky. Whether it was the tiny buttons that were supposed to be keys on the Mother 32 or the sequencers in virtually every single unit, packing so much crap into a module means that everything is going to have serious compromises.
Check the Klee sequencer, or music thing Turing machine to have extremely similar concepts in Euro... Malekko/Wiard Noisering is not too far either, or else basically Buchla 266 module is quite related too.
What I absolutely love about this concept is that it gives you complete control on just how random its sequences will be - from maintaining a steady sequence to changing a few notes over time to full random chaos. This allows you to dial in an evolution of a sequence over time, which can be the perfect texture for a beepy boopy sequence in a piece. And how you're able to use its two sequencers either in concert or entirely separately really has some intriguing possibilities for polyrhythms and even ghost notes for drums, etc.
From other reviews, it also does quite well as experimental drums too!
It's not Moog it's Moog
I hate to be THAT guy, but in the words of Neil Degrasse Tyson, ‘well actually’, It’s not Moog… it’s Moog.
@@jlpower Moog Rogue
@@DVDFRMN. Yes … not Moog Roog.
Agree. I’ll never say “Mowg”. It was always “Moog” for me.
@@loksync You mean 'Mogue'? Real Synthecists who wear turtlenecks say "Mogue" ...... Only synth-cats say "Mowg"
Nice one, I might try something similar with Marbles clone (dont shoot me), wave folder, one of my filters and Typhoon. How random are the pitches and can you quantise or set a scale?
Yes you can set a scale and you can quantize.
I can’t help thinking this is total tripe. it sounds like a kids pre school activity centre but in a professional looking box 📦 which can fool you into thinking it’s all ok and legitimate. there is absolutely no way within 10 mins your going to get bored of it and try helping it out by thrashing it through some really amazing reverbs and delays ect ect. Either you are having your pants pulled down or you’re going along with it to stay affiliated to moog or anyone else. I totally get it I have to pretend something is good to enable me to stay in business we are all at it. I grow weary of listening to this nonsense - I recon I could throw 3 dead chickens into a supermarket all mic,d up and produce a more inspiring sound - cheers ❤
I bought this unit and like it! I suspect I’ve only been using it for an hour!
@@TheCrowHillCo I’m sticking with my chickens for now 😂
Watch the cinematic laboratory video its a universe to discover new stuff for 100 years from now.
Awesome!!!
I guess I just don’t get it.
All I see here is a glorified/dual DFAM.
Sounds really thin in every other video I’ve seen on UA-cam.
I also think that like most videos it needs to be paired with either an FX pedal or some other piece of gear.
Which is fine, but every Moog piece I have ever owned it could stand alone on its own and sound amazing!
I love your reviews.
Always much appreciated.
For me, the sequencer is absolutely more intriguing than those of older Moogs, and while I enjoy the classic Moog oscillators, I'm more than happy to play with the wave folding on this one.
Regarding FX, I personally don't care about onboard FX as I have plenty of go-to's myself.
All that to say, for me, this is a more interesting Moog than DFAM or similar. That comes down to taste and approach to music making, of course, but the generative/ semi-generative nature of this is really intriguing.
Watch the cinematic laboratory video, its a universe that will not get boring in 100 years.
I’m not sure I get it. The randomness that can lead to inspiration…that bit is good. But…what if you spend hours where it’s not churning out something you do like? I can’t decide if this is well concealed genius, or it’s a case of “Fuck it, we’ll all be out of a job next week so let’s just sell this thing”!
Most of us could only dream of owning a Moog. My personal dream synth is the Moog One which has just been discontinued, so it'll no doubt go up in value
I’m guessing they discontinued it on the basis that it’s everyone’s dream synth - as in the phrase ‘in your dreams pal’.
@@RDHamel rather have a martiach, or the forthcoming poly version
This is by far and away the most interesting thing Moog have released for years. More of the same over and over again wears a bit thin after a while
The output is a TRS stereo jack
Yes but only so that you can connect headphones. There's no stereo in the signal path, and this is not a balanced output.
"Phaedra", "Rubycon", "Ricochet"
The worst thing possible might be pronouncing Moog incorrectly. How do you pronounce the man’s name correctly, but not the company which bears his name? The Spectravox was released after the company was purchased and before the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is not “their first release after being bought.”
Mozart, Chopin, Wagner, piezo and many others - words which are badly pronounced but no one gives a fig if someone says mo's-art or show-pan or the incredible American pronounciation of piezo. But as soon as it is Moog, everyone gets offended. It's never done disrespectfully so maybe it can be expected and accepted, especially as phonetically, oo is like a cow moo. It's a bit difficult if all your life you've been told to say cat like cat but one person comes along and says it is like dog in their case.
Just got mine, so finding my way..and will be pairing it with subharmonicon, cuz i’m masochistic lol
I've been saying "moo-g" like a cow forever and would never settle for "mouge" like rouge. Glad it's still being said that way.
It's mowgh, like Klingon.
same here.
So you’re the type who intentionally mispronounces a person’s name.
@@danieltx7066 Yes. It's not about "respect" or liberalism, but the logic of words. A classic case of Umberto Eco and ideology. i.e., it's not a "she."
@@danieltx7066 Wow is that a verboten thing? I also am used to saying Moog the way it is spelled, btw. And no malice intended either. I am very happy with the products I own by the company of that name.
Their first release was the Spectravox.
I dunno, I can appreciate a happy accident, but I really don't see myself repeatedly asking a machine for happy accidents until it spits one out I like. I hear parts in my head, and I work to compose them in a way that has a "language" of movement and purpose, not just "random cool shit all pasted together". This may be a cool machine for experimental sound designers and electronica artists, but I don't see the appeal for myself.
Hello! How do I change the base note of a musical scale in Moog Labyrinth?
By adjusting the oscillator frequency?
that´s it, 100%
But generative computer gonna take our joobs. Ha..
This video is a commercial and it had like 20 commercials in it.
do you buy 2 Matriarch´s or 1 Muse !? its the same pricetag ! Im not entirely sure what i would choose - if a had that choice ... What about you ?
A.I. is for investors, not for creatives. the algorithms under the hood of this thing aren't really A.I., they just call it that for investors. its a buzz word and a misnomer. there is no A.I. in this box. just a few algorithms.
10:22 It's called serendipity.
Dieter Rams :)!
Like you I say Moog not Mowg. It’s how we said it back then and it’s much cooler! Mooooog!
I see you're still exercising your Textura chops. You should look up the models of Rudolf Koch.
You’re a modular music dude complaining about aleatory music? I’m sure that was just click bait. I think the Labyrinth is a fresh direction for Moog both in sound and sequencing.
Aye anytime you need a clear out of your "Unwannted Cupboard" full of funky studio gear give us a shout not far from you Christian haha ! 😆
80's video game synth.
The Generative boom deeply worries me because it is a lazy way to make music and I have never heard it make good music. It is technically interesting, it is clever in its sequencing but from all I have heard so far, it produces music that makes you think you are going somewhere but when it stops, you realise you have gone nowhere. It is instantly forgettable. There is a well known youtube channel full of skillfully created generative modular music with a blue hue. It all sounds the same and I bet no one can remember any riff, any melodic element, any magical modulation or anything from it that makes it worthwhile in the longer term. Generative machines can have a place but only subordinate to real human creation and only as a small element in the big scheme of writing music. The music that excites us comes through the experience of human emotion, not the logic of a machine.
I see what you did there.
Mooghringer ... sounds thin. They bought the brand, they quality is history
Wow, Moog released something I think sounds horrible! That's a first.
The selling of a £5000 Mini Moog, when there was a Behringer Ploy D for £500 or less was a gamble that didn't pay off hence being bought out By In Music after. They gambled on the nostalgia and hand crafted appeal but when it comes to sound the Mini Moog and Poly D are about 97% identical with only very minimal difference. I'm not interested in Moog they are over priced for no reason especially now all there parts are from china mass produced generic used across all In music brands.
This thing is a live improv / techno monster in the right hands. Certified beast.
Why is it you can pronounce the person’s name correctly but not the company’s name?
I pronounce his name how he and his family pronounce it. I pronounce his company in the way most people pronounce it and how the company is known which is the phonetic pronunciation. Something he in fact payed on when developing the moogerfooger which only really works as couplet when pronounced phonetically. Come to think of it moogerfooger is also a play on the word motherfucker which again demonstrates their playfulness. I don’t pronounce it as his family does because quite frankly feel a bit pretentious when I do. For me in the UK people who pronounce Moog with an accent is an admission that they watched the documentary synth Britannia once. Not saying I judge people who do. It’s just how I feel when I pronounce it non-phonetically. It would be a bit like pronouncing Ralph Lauren as his family does. Would feel a bit bourgeois but I have no doubt I would pronounce it “correctly” if I was addressing them in person.
Thank goodness Arturia are still doing their upmost to keep the legacy of behemoths like the CS-80 and the Jupiter 8 alive with a synth like the mighty Polybrute 12. Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Moog etc used to produce synthesizers that were the equivalent of super cars, synths that you could dream about, drool over the glossy brochures as I did and finally have one right in front of you (mine was the Jupiter 8). Sadly very few synths seem to do that now. But that Polybrute does look gorgeous.... 🤔
Unbalanced.
A little bit I miss the built in effects but a lot more, I miss a “dice” button and an undo and redo button for it. This corrupt knob is good but not enough (or maybe too much).
The thing about made in China|Taiwan tag... look, everyone from Korg to Roland make their stuff there. Guess what? Not a single thing have changed. Moog crowd make too much fuss about it. On the other hand Moog should have kept at least one custom shop in US like any rational business did in guitar world: affordable stuff made in China\Indonesia, rich ppl stuff made in USA and Japan. Absolutely no problem here for any company except Moog it seems.
Moog fans act like all Moog synths were made in Bob's garage.
@@Heathcliff_hensel so true
you can already get a cheap, made in china Moog - except it's pronounced "Behringer"
@@connor_flanigan haha true
Moog died of RNG.
9:50 so basically it's good because it almost generated the Family Frost ice cream street delivery melody?
How do you say his name correctly but mispronounce the name of the company!? ITS HIS NAME!
Because that’s not how people pronounce his company. Just like we don’t pronounce Ralph Lauren correctly. Moog (the company) embraced this when they launched the moogerfooger series which created a couplet from the commonly mispronounced name.
Moog has "Jumped the Shark"
You pronounced it right when you said "Robert Moog"
Its pronounced "moog"
vogue, rogue, pogue
Another fart and belch machine amazing 😂
This is basic. Just wait 😮
"Muge" Music founded by Bob "Moge". 😂
Yes, MOOG IS DEAD. This is garbage as all all new releases.
a live instrument layout, totally unusable live .. ... emh pass
It's a product with an identity problem , when a step is not a trig it's called a bit , when a woman is a man it's called a.. 😅
How to troll synth nerds: change the pronunciation of "Moog" within a single sentence 🎣🎛