Moog certainly knows how to work the April Foolery angle to suit its own ends. Back on 1 April 2008 it had the world in stitches with the 'announcement' of the Moog Guitar - which turned out to be real - and this year's All Fools' Day saw it break the news that it was recreating Keith Emerson's enormous Moog Modular, an even more ridiculous prospect.
But, again, it's happening: for three years, and in "one of its largest engineering undertakings," Moog has been painstakingly working to bring Emerson's monster synth back to life. And now, as the company celebrates 50 years since the first Moog synth, it's announced that it's releasing it.
The instrument was unveiled at last week's Moogfest 2014 festival - which featured Emerson as a headliner - and a "handful" of them will go into production.
Faithful recreation
"Using the original documentation as well as circuit board and art files for nearly every original Moog module, Moog Engineers have painstakingly recreated the original Emerson Modular System," says Moog Music.
"The new Emerson Moog Modular System is comprised of handcrafted Moog modules built from the original circuit designs and are true recreations of the originals, utilising the same hand assembly methods used in the Moog Music factory in Trumansburg, NY in 1969.
"The modules in the new Emerson Moog Modular System are built just as the originals were, by hand-stuffing and hand-soldering components to circuit boards, and using traditional wiring methods. Even the front panels are photo-etched aluminium (a rare process now), which is the classic and durable, look of vintage Moog modules."
There's no public word on a price or release date (it's probably the case that if you need to ask how much, you can't afford it), though you can put your enquiries to Moog Music directly if you're seriously interested. We're just seriously amazed.
“I was going to buy a Minimoog because Keith Emerson had one. I was in the store and I was trying it out and I hear a voice behind me say ‘you don’t want that’”: Why Foreigner’s Al Greenwood said no to the Minimoog and bought a little-known synth instead
"Every movement and gesture creates a new sound unique to them, which will make music much more expressive, and could even lead to new genres of music": ROLI unveils the Airwave, an expressive new way of learning and creating using its MPE instruments
