Moog Polymoog Synthesizer User reviews -Page 1

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Average rating: 2.9 out of 5

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Lars Smith a professional user from Denmark writes:

Hi there

The Polymoog synthesizer was one of my first synths. It has a string-sound, IÂ´ve never heard the like of, soft like cotton and almost otherworldy...

And some of the other sounds are pretty awful, so this is not a black-and-white picture...

I am happy to read about the problems other people had with their Polymoogs, not because I like people having problems, but coz mine was a pain in the ass from day one. I got it repaired several times, but always expected it not to be in totally good condition.

There were endless problems with this beast, the tuning, the velocity - which never seemed to work properly on mine, some times it would not turn on, itÂ´s phsycial design wasnÂ´t even very well thought out, because due to the length it could actually "break"!

All the time I searched for the "unique" sounds some musicians got out of it (I had heard), but only the strings - and maybe the organ (it was pretty much an organ from the beginning) satisfied me...

I agree with other users that quickly you got the impression that these were the only worthwhile sounds in this instrument - and considering the trouble I had with it, I was happy to let it go.

I sold it to someone, who was as fascinated with synthesizers as I was and bought mine on the sheer thought of a - Polymoog! Though immediately, he sounded quite disappointed - as most of us had been. A user on the internet puts it quite good - the Polymoog was UNDERwhelming to play!

Then again, these strings could be - otherworldly! I heard the famous Danish jazz keyboard player, Kenneth Knudsen, play his chords on one - amazing, the softness of the strings was fabulous, if you knew how to play the keyboard and he did.

Then you could also get some interesting sounds from using the Resonator panel - combining it with the Filter - and not the least routing other sounds through these - one of the best features of the Polymoog Synth. It also had a very nice back panel with lots of possibilities to run out the different sections of the instrument separately.

But then again, what did it all matter, when the instrument in itself wasnÂ´t functioning and only the strings sounded good...?

L. Smith

Rating: 1 out of 5 posted Monday-Mar-10-088 at 08:46

Sean a professional user from England writes:

in reply to someone who emailed me about supposedly slagging off the polymoog, i'm not the one who said it was junk, i said it was overpriced for 2 sounds which i recreated perfectly on a micro-q, i wouldnt pay what people are asking for them, even if i was rich. no matter what anyone says, you have to put effects on the end of its signal otherwise it does sound thin, yes its all over gary numans early albums and i still love and play those albums, but even he will tell you they were unrealible, which is why he took so many on tour. the only sounds i ever liked were the vox humana, and strings; none of the other sounds were any good, and the action is awfull.

Rating: 0 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Sep-18-077 at 14:17

Sean a professional user from England writes:

i really dont understand why these are going for a Â£1000+ !!!!!!!! it just shows you that some fools will pay anything, or they have more money than sense, i've replicated the 'vox humana' and 'strings' on a micro-q, so theres no way that i would what people are asking, i also know who it is who's pushing the prices up. this is a very expensive synth which is only good for 2 sounds at the very best, you couldnt gig it. and even in the studio it would be unreliable. i lusted after one for ages, untill very recently, a friend let me try his out. the action was awfull, and the sounds were very very dire, you've no choice but to put them through a fx unit. i took recordings of it home with me, and recreated 2 of them on the micro-q. and i'm more than happy with my results. best forget this one chaps, overpriced for a synth thats got 2 good sounds in it.

Rating: 0 out of 5 posted Sunday-Jun-17-077 at 00:08

Mike the Mender a professional user from UK writes:

I've noticed that these are selling on ebay for between Â£5-600 not working! I guess that the purchasers are buying them for spares which are worth a fortune. If they think they will get one going, well, think again. It will take weeks of expensive tech time to get one working properly. I spent a couple of days getting a power supply functioning. It was all working well, then went down again and again. The design is very antiquated and primative using expensive and hard to locate parts. If you send one to one major UK repairer they will, and take my word for it, they will, keep it untouched in a garage untill you forget about it. Or, you ask for it back. Then they'll tell you they have spent a large number of hours on it without success and that you might as well let them have it as it will cost you a fortune to settle up and pay for posting. Then they will sell the parts off. I've noticed ebayers saying that they don't know about electronics, but it's bound to be a simple repair. Nothing on a polymoog is simple. The design was very naive and they were unreliable from new. If you get a working example, the sounds are weak. The strings aren't that good. All modern synths or proper analogues knock it dead. Even the opus3 is as good. I wouldn't buy one unless it is cheap, which it won't be, and fully functioning. Even if it was working well, I'd break it up for spares! Weak areas for reliability? Everything. Power supply and output are particularly bad. The worst on any synth and very difficult and expensive to put right. Beyond me, and I used to specialise in servicing CS80s!

Rating: 1 out of 5 posted Monday-Jun-11-077 at 11:55

Stan a professional user from US writes:

It looks mighty. The control is poor in practise. There's aint much there to inspire. I like the strings pumped through a decent chorus. The clav and piano are also good. As a synth it is more of an organ. The reliability does make it a nono. Buy an Andromeda instead!

Rating: 1 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Dec-12-066 at 12:22

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