Moog Muse

What it does

• Plays eight analog voices, with two independent timbres in one patch
• Stores 256 patches and 256 sequences of up to 64 steps
• Connects by MIDI DIN, USB, and control voltage
• Has a stereo headphone jack and stereo main outputs

The unit you receive

This listing is the Moog Muse, model MUSEXUS. It is an eight-voice bi-timbral analog keyboard synthesizer. It is not a groovebox and it is not a sampler. A stand, powered speakers, a sustain pedal, an expression pedal, and audio cables are not included.

The keybed is a 61-key full-size semi-weighted Fatar keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch. The left-hand controls are a pitch wheel, a modulation wheel, a macro knob, a keyboard octave switch, and a hold switch. The panel has 44 knobs, 16 sliders, 129 buttons, and an OLED screen.

Each voice has two voltage-controlled oscillators, derived from the Minimoog Voyager, plus a modulation oscillator. That is 24 analog oscillators in the instrument. Oscillators 1 and 2 offer a triangle/sawtooth mix, a variable-width pulse wave, octaves at 16′, 8′, 4′, and 2′, frequency of ±7 semitones, FM, and hard sync. A ring modulator sits between oscillators 1 and 2. A white-noise source is included. The mixer is derived from the Moog CP3 and has an overload control. Two discrete transistor ladder filters follow the mixer. Filter 1 switches between highpass and lowpass. Filter 2 is lowpass. They can run in series, parallel, or stereo. The amplifiers are stereo, based on the Moog 902. Two ADSR envelopes are on each voice, one for the filters and one for the amplifier.

The Diffusion Delay is a stereo processor. It can be bypassed per timbre. The manual says that bypass keeps a fully analog signal path. Modulation includes two LFOs, a pitch LFO, and a mod map with 16 slots per timbre. The arpeggiator settings are stored with the patch. The sequencer holds up to 64 steps, and sequences are stored apart from patches: 16 banks of 16 sequences, alongside 16 banks of 16 patches.

Main outputs are left and right, 1/4 inch TRS. The left output sums to mono when the right output is unused. The headphone jack is a stereo 1/4 inch TRS on the front left, under the pitch and modulation wheels. Pedal inputs are sustain, 1/4 inch, and expression, 1/4 inch TRS. Control voltage is two inputs and two outputs, plus clock in and clock out, all 3.5 mm. MIDI is 5-pin DIN in, out, and thru, plus MIDI over USB. USB-B talks to a computer. USB-A is a host port for another instrument. Power is an internal supply, 100–240 VAC, 50 or 60 Hz, on an IEC inlet.

Size is 99 × 42 × 11 cm, width by depth by height, about 39 × 17 × 4.5 inches. Weight is 14.55 kg, 32 lb. The box contains the synthesizer, an IEC cable, a quick start guide, a registration card, and a safety and warranty manual.

Moog’s manual states a one-year limited warranty from the date of purchase for USA purchasers, repaired or replaced on a return-to-factory basis. This shop does not add its own warranty. A dealer’s return window is not this shop’s policy.

Specs

Voice architecture, connections, size, weight, and the box list are from the Moog Muse user manual for firmware 1.4.0. The unit you receive is that synthesizer. Studio photo shows the listing.