A little slice of synth history is currently being raffled by The Bob Moog Foundation: the Memorymoog Plus synth that was played by Revolution keyboard ace Dr [Matt] Fink when he performed with Prince on his Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day and Parade tours.
The fully-restored synth (serial number 3527, for those who are interested) was built at Moog Music’s Buffalo, NY factory in the ‘80s, and has an estimated value of $8,000 to $10,000. Fink had the wooden end caps painted black to make the keyboard blend into the rest of his stage rig, while modifications include an output port that enabled him to use the Memorymoog to trigger a LinnDrum.
The three-oscillator Memorymoog Plus offers six voices of polyphony. Each voice has its own 24dB voltage-controlled filter - not for nothing was his instrument sometimes referred to as ‘six Minimoogs in one’ - and MIDI is onboard, too.
"When the Memorymoog Plus was released with MIDI capability, a sequencer, and the capability to hold 100 patches in its memory bank, I knew I had to have one in our touring rig," says Matt Fink.
"I have so many fond memories of using this Memorymoog on tour, and of the tours themselves. I've loved Moog synthesizers since I bought my first Minimoog at the ages of 18 in 1976. It's gratifying to see this Memorymoog get new life through this raffle benefiting the excellent projects of the Bob Moog Foundation."
Funds raised from the raffle will go towards The Bob Moog Foundation’s educational project, Dr Bob’s SoundSchool, which currently teaches more than 3,000 per year about the science of sound. It’ll also help to support the recently-opened Moogseum.
Tickets cost $25 each, $100 for five, or $200 for 12. The raffle will end on 23 September or when all 4,500 tickets have been sold (whichever comes first). You can buy yours on the Bob Moog Foundation website.
