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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Somewhat Off-Topic: minimoogs

From: "Paul Marshall" <paulm@spudley.force9.net>
Date: 2012-11-18

Hi Mike,
 
 
Agree with all the comments made so far, I add my ten penn'orth as I am in the UK like yourself.
 
Bought mine in 2006 off eBay and paid £1650. It's a 1974 model (date is on the test ticket which on mine is glued onto the bottom of the pop-up metal box).
 
I've had 2 issues since then
(1) power supply failure (diode burned out in the bridge rectifier) - I think this was caused by the 2 aged PSU capacitors which I should have replaced when I bought it really. Swapped them out and replaced all 4 diodes in the bridge, £3 for the bits from maplin :-)
 
(2) wacky tuning - just oxidised contacts in the multi pin plugs which connect the keyboard and the pitch/ mod wheel assemblies. You could clean them but I just replaced them with gold plated 'Trident' connectors which I am used to using professionally - sorted.
 
Overall I wouldn't be too scared to take the plunge as they sound f∗∗∗ing amazing and as Chris says are built from standard parts which should be around for some time to come.
 
And they look nice sat on top of a Mellotron. Now where's my gold cape :-o  ?
 
cheers Paul M.
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Dale
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 8:22 AM
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Somewhat Off-Topic: minimoogs

 


Mike,

Gary is 100% right about the $2000.00 price for a Minimoog especially in this economy. Sometimes they might be a little more now ($3000) depending on some variables.


The biggest issue with them is the oscillator tuning and whether this matters a lot to you.

When I got my Minimoog (back in 1990)  people were paying more for the ones with the original oscillator cards (in serial numbers below 10000 I believe).

Those were supposed to sound just like the modular Moogs, (hence the name mini-moog).

In 1976 Norlin music (which took over Robert Moog's company) changed the oscillator boards and made them more stable - less tuning drift.

But the downside is that the sounds weren't as rich because the new oscillators didn't drift slightly like the old ones, giving a fatter and (some say better) sound.

Another more important issue is whether the keyboard was ever sawed off from the electronics.
Some 'late 80's/early 90's hipster-morons' used to saw off the keyboard and rack mount the electronic portion (what they thought was hot-rodding it to make it look more contemporary.)  What they really did was just damage everything by changing the way cool air could circulate under the electronics.

The old vs newer oscillator cards / rackmounted units were big issues back when I got mine.

I'm not sure if it influences price / desirability these days.

But it is something to be aware of.


You can tell from the back of the Minimoog whether you have the old or new oscillator cards.

There are holes directly behind the oscillators that you stick a Phillips screwdriver in to tune them. It's fairly straightforward to do.

The old ones have a more haphazard hole arrangement for the octave /pitch tuning.
On the post-1976 ones are the holes all nicely lined up.

Minimoogs are fairly easy to get fixed because they are made from simple parts and electronics.  In fact, the Minimoogs of the 70's will be around a lot longer than many chip based 80's synths because of simpler parts.

It's probably best to Google about all this and that way you can make an informed decision before agreeing to a price.


Chris





On Sat, Nov 17, 2012 at 8:50 PM, Mike Dickson <mike.dickson@gmail.com> wrote:
 

Someone local to me is selling a minimoog.  I admit I am tempted.  He doesn't have any idea for a price and I don't know what I should be wary about.  Yes, we're quite a team.


What are they generally being sold for these days?
What do you look for in one? What are the usual defects? How easy are they to get fixed these days? (Bear in mind I am in the UK - you cannot even get a Hammond fixed without grief round here)

Mike




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