Moog Micromoog (1975–1979)
The Micromoog was Moog's compact, performance-oriented synthesizer, pitched as a smaller, more affordable sibling to the Minimoog. It's essentially a one-oscillator Minimoog - a single VCO with mixable sawtooth and pulse waves running through the classic Moog 24 dB/octave low-pass filter. The filter is self-oscillating, which is a big part of why this little box still sounds like a Moog.
The keyboard has 32 keys (F to C, a 2.5-octave range). It's monophonic, with an ADSR envelope generator, an LFO providing triangle and square waves, a sample-and-hold section, and both pitch and modulation wheels. There's no patch memory, no sequencer and no MIDI. It's a live performance instrument. Weight is approximately 28 lbs.
Modern Recording (April 1977, p.25) called it a great little synthesizer for beginners at $795 — while noting that Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock used one on stage, hardly beginners. That dual identity is the Micromoog in a nutshell: affordable enough and simple enough for someone starting out, but with enough of the real Moog sound and playability that working pros gigged with it too.
Surviving units commonly suffer from power supply failure, oxidized keyboard contacts and deteriorated foam padding under the keys. Replacement power supplies are available from third parties, and preventive capacitor replacement is often recommended.
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