Absolutely nothing happens at all!

We're back in the late '60s and this is how synths were in those far-off days. In order to make a sound, you had to plug cables into that panel to connect the various ingredients that went into the sonic recipe you were working on and in order to do that, like some master chef, you had to know exactly how these ingredients could be used, combined and blended to create a sound that was palatable. And even when you did, the sound you got was monophonic (no chords) and dry (no effects). It was also unstable and unreliable and would have required constant re-tuning but... oh boy... when you got it going, what a sound!

This is (almost) the place that present-day software manufacturer Arturia have taken us back to with their Moog Modular V, a software realisation of the early Moog modulars.

Using software modelling techniques, they claim to have authentically re-created the sound of the original Moogs whilst adding a modern-day twist to them. With the benefit of software (and hindsight), many of the originals' shortcomings have been overcome (tuning, for example) plus they are polyphonic (with velocity sensitivity) and can store sounds for instant recall later on, something undreamed of at the time.

The MMV comes with 9 oscillators, numerous filters, envelopes, amplifiers, noise generators and other modules all of which can be patched together in almost limitless combinations. There's also a step sequencer that is closely modelled on the original Moog 960 plus a fixed filter bank (an extravagant EQ section) that is closely modelled on the Moog 914 original. But unlike the original, there are delay and chorus effects... and LFOs!

The graphics are stunning, it has to be said (click on the picture to the right to see the full size panel), and great care and attention has been spent on the user interface. As on the original, modules are connected using patch cords. Unlike the originals, though, each input socket is, in itself, a variable level control - a vast improvement over the original that required you to patch into separate mixer modules to balance audio and control levels and thereby adding greatly to the patch cord spaghetti strewn all over the panel.

In many respects, Arturia have done a fabulous job - they even have patented technology (TAE - True Analog Emulation) that proves on paper how closely Arturia's modelled environment is to the 'the real thing'.

Why then, do I get this overwhelming feeling of disappointment when I use it?

Is it perhaps because I have sat in front of the real thing, patch cords around my neck, making sounds so earth-shatteringly powerful that they could qualify as the aural equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction! Don't get me wrong, Arturia's Moog Modular V makes some damned fine sounds - it's just that they're.... well.... too 'polite'. Yes... they sound 'authentic' (up to a point) but they just don't move air or damage speakers - or inspire the programmer (or the listener) - like the originals did.

Or is it, perhaps, the 'experience'? Dicking around with a mouse with tiny little controls is (for me) not the same as stretching out and patching in a physical cable or grabbing a real knob and turning it or (as is the case in the real world where we have two hands and not just one 'pointer') do both simultaneously.

Arturia are to be applauded for their achievement but it is my belief that all they have really succeeded in doing is bring a good-sounding virtual synth that embraces many (maybe most?) of the concepts of the original Moogs (with some modern-day enhancements) into the software environment. What they have failed to do (in my opinion) is bring the true 'sound' of the originals to that environment. Let's face it.... if they had, why include a chorus unit? Did the originals need beefing up with a chorus effect? I think not... in fact, I think an original Moog modular would probably have melted most chorus units at a thousand paces - if the original Moog modulars qualify as a WMD, the software equivalent is something of an air pistol!!

However, this is pretty much how I feel about most of these modelled vintage emulations (the Minimoog V, the CS80, the Oddity, the Imposcar and others) all of which claim to have captured the sound of the originals. Ermmm... not quite... decent enough sounding synths in their own right but not a patch (no pun intended) on the real thing despite the plaudits heaped upon these products by endorsees and magazine reviewers.

Whatever...

I have a collection of samples here taken from the demo version of the Moog Modular V. I have no qualms about putting them in the public domain and do not feel that there is any infringement of copyright as these sounds are already available by virtue of the free demo that Arturia already provide. If anything, I hope that they may inspire some to investigate Arturia's Moog Modular V further because it is an astonishing achievement. However, like other vintage synth emulations, I cannot put my hand on my heart and say that it is a totally authentic, 100% recreation of the real thing... because I have used the real thing and I know what a dangerous beast it can be!

A collection of 25 varied synth bass sounds