The lavish Moog Sound Studio kits could bring modular synthesis to the masses: “just add headphones”

Moog Music has introduced the Moog Sound Studio, which it’s calling “a new semi-modular synthesizer experience”. Designed as a gateway into the world of modular, this combines a pair of Moog instruments and everything you need to start making music with them,

There are two actually Sound Studios to choose from: one contains Moog’s Mother-32 patchable analogue synth and DFAM percussion synth, while another includes the more experimental Subarmonicon polyrhythmic synth and DFAM. Which you choose will depend on the kind of ‘experience’ you want to have.

Each Moog Sound Studio also contains an audio mixer and power distribution hub, a two-tier rack mount kit, patch cables and a patch cable organizer, guided exercises and patch book, educational materials, games to encourage experimentation, and custom artwork.

It’s fair to say that these are more than just ‘synth bundles’, then - they’re one-stop creative kits that are likely to appeal to beginner synthesists in particular.

Moog Music says that the Sound Studio concept was inspired by seeing people playing and learning with its gear at public events. It’s also a response to public feedback.

To showcase what these packages are capable of, Moog has released a 7-track EP, Explorations in Analog Synthesis, on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Each track was created using one of the two Moog Sound Studio combinations, and artists featured include Bonobo, Peter Cottontale, Julianna Barwick, Dan Deacon, Madame Gandhi, Martial Canterel and Ela Minus.

Each bundle also comes with its own custom artwork that’s designed to bring the world of analogue synthesizers to life. This comes from Jim Stoten (Mother-32 & DFAM) and Philip Lindeman (Subharmonicon & DFAM), and includes characters, posters, and other interactive objects.

Find out more on the Moog Music website.