Ins And Outs: Is The Moog Mother 32 Worth Buying?

Today we take an extended (and 18 month late) look at the pros and cons of Moog's modestly priced Mother 32 semi-modular synthesizer, and try to help you figure out if it's a good launch pad for a journey into modular synthesis.
or...Shut up and take me to the sounds! - 12:30

[@claytonlevibrown]

I like that you used it a bunch then made a video talking about it instead of pulling it out of the box brand new and going about explaining everything. Seeing the wear is a delight.

[@camerongawn]

It’s how it sounds... you can have a synth for a quarter of the price with 10x the features...but it just won’t have that perfect and beautiful sound

[@tyroneshoelacez3498]

This

[@neonblack211]

@@tyroneshoelacez3498 every single comment about moog anything is this comment

[@fellpower]

thats not true. the inside circuits are in the internet - and there MANY copies of it. so u get THAT sound for 10x lower price ^^ - or u want to pay for the name ^^

[@pablo-939]

@@fellpower what can I get with that sound for 1/10 the price?

[@Keiuna]

Hey Benn, thanks for this video! I've been a long time fan of your work/music. I've considering picking up a mother 32 and was happy to discover your channel through this video. Looking forward to seeing more videos like this!

[@grenville2804]

Sounds lush. I’ve only seen complex tutorials on this and nice to see a straightforward one cool vid thnx

[@asp-studio-archives]

Quite a comprehensive overview... Mother sounds truly hypnotic with reverb.

[@Larry30102]

I was stunned when you brought in a reverb. Way cool

[@lostboy5861]

so so so glad I found this channel you sir are amazing every time I think I know all the best youtubers I find another one that deserves much more views !!!!!!!!

[@clementducerf4429]

I'm 26th subscriber ! glad to see your new project! I love it! Keep going benn

[@chandlertipton4088]

Nicely done! Would love a walk-through of your "in the box" recording process. I'm excited for the physical gear videos, but that side of your process seems like it would be really unique.

[@iammichaelcarr]

Dope video man, most people make me crazy when they review gear. You’re right on man. I look forward to exploring your channel and future videos

[@haydnr1631]

Nice presentation and demo. My M32 doesn't seem to suffer the calibration problems but I bought it at least a year down the road from launch. Works very well with her son/daughter DFAM. Also works great with my Aturia Matrixbrute.

[@Qoreader]

Subbed, I hope this channel grows as 8-bit guys take in reviewing retro tech while your channel explain music gears that I probably cant afford right now. lol.

[@not-hank-s]

Man, fohd woth a spohn and working on drum lohps got me cracking up, and you pulled it off with such a straight face!

[@ivanvaraschin657]

I was watching this video very engaged hearing these nice sounds from Moog and then my brain stopped for a second...WAIT...is that...Benn Jordan? Then I take a look at the channel name and I google a pic of him. OMG this is BENN JORDAN! absolutely mental, this is one of my most favourite inspiring musicians that I admire the most and he was giving me a Moog Mother 32 lesson and for 10 min I didn't even notice. I'm flabbergasted. And what's even better? I've literally just bought a Mother 32 a couple of minutes before coming across this video. This is a nice way to spend the quarantine.

[@bigpoppa613]

that last preset with bleeps is AWESOME!

[@tilleyroadaffairproduction6752]

Thank you for this nice video. I am older and am now curious about the synths of my youth... The ones that made me love Genesis, Vangelis, Phillip Glass, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd... I am a composer producer of electronic eclectic music. I just bought a vintage 1995 Roland XP-50 and am trying to understand the fonctions so I would really love watching a video on how to work all the buttons. I would also love to understand the difference between the button synths and the knob ones as far as sound producing and recording with a DAW goes... I cross my fingers you are still around and that my request made it to you. TX again and keep going you are a very good teacher.

[@sdt1sdt]

Even though I'm not eating fod with a spon and working on drum lops? Seriously? You are now my hero...

[@cole9023]

I know a woman that went to high school with a kid who brought a gadget that his dad was working on to a high school dance in upstate NY. That was back in the mid 60's. She said it was a bulky thing . It was one of the first prototypes of the Moog synthesizer , The kid's last name was Moog , not pronounced moo like a cow but " oh ". I guess he didn't like it when people pronounced his name like the sound of a cow .... Moo......... So there you have it , from the horses mouth. 😎

[@edrift3d]

I am SO going to start saying “Fohd” and “Drum lopes”

[@StefanoMattia]

Those arpeggios at 12:30 are gorgeous!

[@adamk589]

Hey Ben, thanks for your review. I really appreciated when you said som e people might be underwhelmed. I've had my Mother 32 for a year now and have wanted to love it, especially with all the rave reviews it gets. Unfortunately, I mostly just find myself annoyed by it. So again thank you for saying that it's not for everybody

[@mikeexits]

What annoyed you about it?

[@adamk589]

@@mikeexits mostly the sequencing. When I used it with the beat step pro it would start the mother's sequencer or if using the cv and gate it would go out pitch. And for me, using the built in sequencer was just to fiddly. And then setting up the "hidden" functions was also just frustrating. At the end of the day it does have a great sound but it just wasn't for me. I actually sold mine over a year ago.

[@PhilJegier]

Awesome video. Really great insight and overview in the “Mom”. So great, I’m about to buy one in the Black Friday sale. Cheers:-)

[@lurelover7065]

Mother 32 like the mini brute are what I call the perfect utility synths.

[@keres993]

To anyone interested in this unit, I would recommend checking out Pittsburgh Modular SV-1. I purchased two of these Mother-32's as an introduction to modular. While I am very pleased with them, I no longer have a need for something like the SV-1, which would outperform (in terms of $/feature) the Mother-32 for some workflows.

[@imperialimperialimperial]

Worth it. You can do so much with 1 voice, eventually going to build a 3-tier and fill em up with seperate modules

[@allyouracid]

"…Moch!" - "alright, I'm not gonna say that" :D

[@Unifono2012]

Great overview!

[@gregoryvartian-foss1103]

Thank you for your review. It was very, very helpful as an intro to (semi) modular and convinced me to finally get a mother 32 as my first synth. Is there a BSP tutorial coming? Would absolutely love to see that and how to use it in conjunction with the MOOG and/or a fully modular setup! Thanks Benn!!

[@ericjohnson1811]

Look into the "Maths" next.

[@CalebCromb]

Highly recommend using a compressor with the Mother32 to help maintain volume while adding resonance to the filter. I've tried a bunch, all the boss cs1,2,3 and several others.....best I've found is the Fender The Bends Compressor.

[@johnnybisone3596]

Thank you

[@MotokoStarwind]

Hey Benn, I am so excited to see you going into videos discussing gear! I really enjoyed your video in the differences in microphones and found it extremely informative. I've always been interested in learning about what makes a good reverb. You've mentioned some of the different reverb units you've used in AMAs and previous videos, but would you be able to review either your modular one or any of others and expand on which features are good to look out for when choosing and buying one? Some of the specific models I've seen you mention, like the Alesis one, have long since been out of production and I'm always hesitant with getting secondhand gear. I'm at the point where I can hear the different qualities between normal digital reverbs (Fruity reverb or something like Space master from Reaktor) or analog (the built in reverb in my Electribe EMX1 or DeepMind 12) ones, and the way you break things down would be helpful in finding out where I should start looking for something better. Side note: As always, thanks for all that you put out, and it's so great to see you develop your skills in music as well. Grey Pill, Prism, and Cycles felt so thematically tied in. Experiencing how much you've improved on thematically weaving melodies and harmonies in your songs, while always moving on to the next place in the song, over last ten years has been incredible and inspirational. I'm sad the first showseed in Austin doesn't seem like it's going to sell, but I'm optimistic that you'll find success with it in other cities.

[@BennJordan]

I have 6 or 7 hardware reverb units that I'd like to cover. I was thinking of doing an in-depth on my favorite and maybe a round-up of the others.

[@BennJordan]

I do want to do a "how reverb works" at some point. It's a LOT of stuff to convert into layman's terms though, and I want to practice that. Some people told me my FM video lost them, so I need to work up to things like advanced bandpass algorithms. :)

[@MotokoStarwind]

Worth the wait. Thanks for putting so much time into this series. It's a real treat for everyone who's watching. Looking forward to seeing you on the 21st!

[@watchaddicts1213]

Very late to the party, but yeah...it sounds GREAT! And...it LOOKS (and I'll bet it feels) like a REAL SYNTH. I want to touch it thugh the screen; more of a visceral response to it. An extreme look of PRO GEAR. You wanna talk FEELING INSULTED (their not responding to your email), I FLEW in to Charlotte (on other biz, but), called them, had a discussion about my hear history with them, they invited me down and offered a mini tour of the place, it was snowing, I caught an UBER within 30 minutes and was delivered to their door. THE SIGN READ: Closest until 3:00pm for Emergency Staff Meeting. So now, my phone has died. I walk, way uphill to a Shell station 2 blocks up, find some power for my iPhone, called UBER and went to the airport and flew home. THAT was my tour.These things happen, I suppose. I was so excited imagining THE TOUR and being attended to, individually, by some employee there. Just a small moment of glory: "Mark is here. He spent an INSANE amount of money buying our products; we're going to show him around." I recall the day my new, White Voyager XL arrived--that was a fun day, long ago. I wish you well on this new channel, Benn! I'll follow along, you bet. It's quite the task, merely trying to follow along , in the depths of your brain.

[@arnesander8282]

Thank you, great sounds! Love the empress too! Could you make video about integrating analogue stereo delay into a eurorack? Something like the Moog matriarch delay.. thanks again, be well!

[@molotulo8808]

I love my Moog Matriarch but I also love my Roland HS-60 polyphonic synth. I love my Yamaha s DSR2000, And, well, I love all my keyboards. Music has never been so fun and accessable!

[@chriswhitehead9845]

I’ve got a m32 and it’s wonderful 😍

[@droid7500]

I love this 15:09 sequence!

[@sambeard4428]

Hey man, just adjust the kB CV gain as is explained in the calibration part of the manual. When I received mine the keyboard tracking was off by about 2-3 semitones on a 2 octave difference, which is huge. Just adjust the kB CV gain and pitch offset and you should be golden.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Great sound quality on your video, and great content - thanks for doing this, subbed! :) Out of the more 'noise oriented' semi-modulars you mentioned, would you recommend the 0-Coast or the SV-1 ?? Thanks & Cheers! K

[@churchofaggressiveaudio6498]

Interesting review!

[@JudgeJerj]

I'd be interested to see what kind of gear you use to record your acoustic segments. Oh, and add +1 to an episode on hardware reverb units.

[@jasperlawson6315]

Had a sub 25 and it was very similar to my DSI MophoX4, but with fewer features.... It was pretty tho.... ... I traded it. I'll be keeping my mother 32. It sounds amazing. Great sub bass...... Good sequiencer and nice and deep once you start patching.

[@johnnybisone3596]

Best reviews. Actually useful for me, a musician whom has slept on couches while on tour bc im glorified homeless. Thank you man. Your eyebrows are fuck awesome

[@joejurneke9576]

Nicely done

[@danielkang7789]

Im trying to get one for my music productions. But are those sequences(patterns) that you've played like the presets in the usual VSTs in DAWs? and is it possible to create some patterns on my own? if not, will the options of making sequences(patterns)be more combined either with another mother32 or some other modulars? p.s does mother 32 has its own reverb and delays in it? or should I buy them seperate? and what are some good sounding reverb and delay modules out there? Thanks.

[@harrymichaelsjr]

Funny intro! Great vid!

[@DerekRobertsteig]

Very nice! I'd love to see some stuff regarding Harmor, Camel Audio's Alchemy, or any weird/kooky softsynths you use. Additionally, would love to see your own take on the DeepMind!

[@DerekRobertsteig]

Maybe some stuff with your Elektron gear too. Or any samplers/drum machines you use that are really unique. I'm definitely more interested in how you approach these synths, because I can imagine there's some cool stuff you can do that I have no idea about, or techniques I didn't consider. Cheers!

[@mellowrockstar]

I'd love to see you demo the Pioneer Toraiz AS-1!

[@squackles]

Hey Benn, great video! Maybe you could kick off your channel by going through a few of your most used synths & modules and perhaps show some interesting techniques that you've developed with them over the years. Not reviews per say, but just showing what possibilities there are out in the modular world.

[@BennJordan]

Thanks! I plan to. I'm also working on live streaming modular sessions with a 360 camera (VR compatible stream, or movable via mouse).

[@veganjones8985]

​@@BennJordan Dude sure has a lot of money and equipment, Autistic musicians into similar tech like myself don't even have 50 dollars to their name, it's very lucky god invented Amigas and trackers for the promised people.

[@veganjones8985]

@@BennJordan That was free advice btw, think carefully about it

[@babyfoodserpent]

hecka behind the curve finding your channel but i would love to see some eurorack integration tutorials for the mother32 should you find yourself inspired to make some.

[@vanceg18]

I purchased a used one reasonably cheap (after watching your informative review), and the tuning was not great. I was able to get it perfectly in tune by adjusting the KB CV Gain. You have to go back and forth adjusting the tuning, but eventually you can bring it in perfectly.

[@jasonlogelin898]

I own one and never questioned the purchase even once. But you are going to want the eventide space to go with it.

[@dairylandbogurt]

Good video, quality stuff

[@ceounicom]

I just got a Mother 32, and was testing out the pitch calibration, and its ... weird. When you strip things down to bare stock oscillator, its pretty good for 2 octaves. the third however will jump out 5-7%, then 4th... sometimes will track closer, sometimes farther out (as much as 10-12% off) depending on if there's anything in the patchbay (i noticed i had a cable plugged in KB out, and when i removed it, it improved the 4th octave tracking, but not the 3rd). i don't know if this is 'out of spec' or just what i should expect from this kind of gear

[@887okay3]

very cool and inspiring

[@dexadrinn]

12:29 immediately reminded me of Mux Mool's track "Ballad of Gloria Featherbottom"

[@ubiquitousreverser]

I never thought I’d get a moog. I thought it was just historic legend and apple like hype. But after having more time listening to demo’s and then playing a few, yep, there is something about it that just grabs you. The Mother was not for me. I think the 0-coast really gives the most in the general list of semi-modular synths at 500.00 new or around 400.00 used. You can get sweet musical stuff like the mother or go off into directions you never could have imagined, unless you already have gotten into modular. Nice review, it is the most affordable moog, at least new.

[@JJSurma]

@5:34 holy goodness that's nice.

[@ckvick]

Love the video! The only bad thing is I cant get as crisp sounds as you, my patches mostly sound like your ghetto fm patch. wonder if its broken or if its just me..

[@magadan4626]

What's reverb you used in this video?

[@indiefilmcomposer]

this has a very transparent sound to the oscillators , i have RME voyager but tempted to get this as I jump into modular

[@MrYodaone902]

what midi interface are you using for your hardware synths? Tried the midi in to the back of my komplete kontrol s series keyboard with no luck.

[@ManCalledMif]

5:28 what a difference!

[@stevaith]

you can say that do you pick it of effect at 15:20 ? reverb from a euro rack ?

[@danielkalamaras7252]

Thats great! Which reverb did you use?

[@rustikinc63]

If one was going to get mother would it greatly enhance user experience to get the DFAM as well? More better...I know I know..but they seem to really compliment one another....is that worth spending a couple more bucks to get the pair as an entry way into a MOD/SEMI mod system ? Can the mother play nice leads with a midi keyboard as well?

[@AliasBane]

You sir get a like for Boards of Canada mention.!

[@orangenotviolet]

Hi Benn, great Video with a realy carefully balanced verdict. Do you think or even know if Moog has fixed the oscillator drift issue? Other Moog products seem to be digitally controlled like the Sub 37. Wich are the most stable oscilators on the market at the moment in your opinion? I think it would be possible to make a module that controls output pitch of an osc via measuring the momentary pitch an then changing CV...? The whole item bothers me a lot, I run a studio, I want to buy a modular system, but I already gave back a 2000€ pack of doepfer stuff because it was completly untunable. Ok, I got the callibration sheet from them, but I can't start calibrating 3Oscillators when a customer wants to use the synth...cheers from germany -manna

[@boboladouche5268]

I love the patch bay to the right to allow you to find and manipulate knobs more easily.

[@indiefilmcomposer]

hello can you assign the step sequencer to oscillator 1 and then run cv in from modular rack into oscillator 2 ? So two separate musical layers....

[@duffville3213]

Did you come up with any fixes for the pitch tracking issue? Does anyone know if this is an issue still on newer machines? Would love to get one but want it to be playing nicely with others

[@MrJackal43]

Wow,l nice demo... sold.

[@emilykingan9503]

Hey Benn, This video was super helpful. I am curious about the reverb module (or pedal) you were using with the Mother 32. Can you send a link to that unit?

[@Unifono2012]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJypoaFslL90ZtE

[@digitaldiezel5870]

The Pico MScale is supposed to assist with the scaling issue.

[@sjokies]

Very nice you started doing video's like this ! Will you only review modular synths or will it be all sorts of instruments?

[@BennJordan]

My ultimate goal is to balance and bridge both of them, and make modular/coding less intimidating to musicians. There's so much amazing gear out there, and the demos on KZbin just sound like a hairdryer through distortion. :)

[@sjokies]

haha, true to that... Looking forward to see your next video's & thanks for the work you put in to it ! I'm happely awaiting the mailman here in Ghent for your new album ! :)

[@Solvinden]

Nice! How about the Moog Sub 37?

[@jeremyz4623]

Can you show how to hook up a set of mothers to a Minituar and a sub 37?

[@rustikinc63]

Although different, what are your thoughts on Microbrute 2s, Lifeforms, Dreadbox NYx vs Mother for persons first modular type exploration?

[@theokingshango]

microbrute has a real keyboard if that matters, dreadbox has a mad reverb that will otherwise set you back a few hundred euros if that matters...

[@eliasjohanliavaag]

Only ghetto FM? I suppose you forgot about the VCO Linear FM input :) Also ,I had the same key tracking issue with my Doepfer Dark Energy mk.I, which I bought used. But adjusting an internal trim-pot solved thid for me, or at least to some extent. Fine measurements of the tuning revealed that the way this VCO responded to the tracking was largely non-linear over its range. One octave could be sharp and another could be flat.

[@hazels7967]

Elias Johan Liavaag yeah but what do you run into the FM input? There's only one osc, there's an easier routing for the LFO. I suppose you can do FM feedback.... If you have a pile of other modular then yes you can run another osc in and have FM but if you have other modular gear then of course you can just do FM with it.

[@jonaseggen2230]

Tnx for neat mum tricks : D Your review on the Empress Reverb got me here. My experience: My education is in visual arts but renting a studio surrounded by musicians (+ the desire to understand what Philip Glass does,) got me into piano. Then a year ago I bought an Arturia Microbrute, a delay and a reverb. In my opinion this is a much better synth for a beginner as it is cheap, easy to comprehend, has a more playable keyboard, more butons to tweak and actually has some nice sounds to. Saying that: As I wanted to get a semimodular I recently bought a Mother 32 because this was the only semimodular available where I live. I'm happy now that I could not get a MakeNoise 0 Coast or a Pittsburgh LifeForms. Sure you can do more with them, but the sounds they make are comparably bad or boring. People say Moog is special but I thought this was only a hype and that weaker sounds could be solved with the right pedals. I newer thought that this more limited synth would be so awesome as it is. After buying a mother I have hardly touched the Arturia, and my next synth will be another Mother. But first I will get the Empress : )

[@kierenmoore3236]

Right on, man. Couldn't agree more ...

[@shitmandood]

I hope you did the new Minibrute 2/S.

[@lk0707]

Hi. What reverb did you used in sound from kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ3chaqllpuNpaM ?

[@doctorwhyphi]

How do you like its sound compared to the Lifeforms SV-1?

[@bchspace]

That is a very handsome eyebrow Mr.

[@kriang_0]

I have a request! Can you review the 0-coast?

[@demofactory]

Hi Benn. I'm really enjoying your channel!!!!! Has anyone mentioned that you look a lot like "Neegan" from the Walking Dead?

[@mikefisher84]

Curious what your camera/lighting/editing setup is. Footage looks nice. I'm guessing you're also doing some color grading?

[@Koen75NL]

That's secret -- NO content creator shares this information -- EVER --------- !

[@MadelnMachines]

Is there any point in buying practically a full like this synth to go into a eurorack? You're basically buying a synth without a case and putting it in an expensive case. For me the purpose and attraction of modular is picking and choosing and making your own custom synth. It does make sense if you want a convenient way to get started and don't really know what to buy or don't want to buy a lot of modules since you'll have everything you need. It does seem like a lot of features for the money - if you want to get all of these features in separate modules how much do you think you'd have to spend? The tone is lovely and I like those filter envelopes. Does the sub 37 sound this good or the Behringer model D?

[@TigerClawTV]

+1 sub. Very informative indeed.

[@larac8224]

Hey, thanks for the review, loved what you did with the reverb. I wanted to ask- on my M32- If I use an external sequencer, such as the Keystep- as soon as I hit play on the keystep, it'll trigger the M32's on-board sequencer... I can't seem to turn this off? Is there a way that you know of? Thanks in advance! x

[@darkmanger]

The problem is the keystep is telling the MOTHER to start. You should be able to get the Keystep to stop sending MIDI START messages through Arturia's software (I think it's called MIDI Command Center)

[@xxheartbrokexx100]

Circular Gates yes it can

[@setvice]

Not sure but if you program a blank pattern on Pattern 1, then it will run but won't play anything.

[@macognia82]

Can you play multitracks or multi voices with M32? (example: kick, snare, melody etc)

[@Unifono2012]

I you own the Pittsburgh sv1 a video would be great :) There are far too less out there

[@rexterrocks]

The HP filter doesn't sound or act like a traditional HP filter because it isn't one. The M32 has a traditional LP ladder filter but with HP filter 'mode'. Basically the HP 'mode' is generated by subtracting the LP ladder output from the LP ladder input.

[@chrisstewart4852]

Would you say it's better than the ms20 mini?

[@rustikinc63]

Have you gave your official weigh in on say a BEHRINGER Nuetron or Crave?

[@syntheshwara]

I got Neutron and it sounds wonderful. I love the filter of it.

[@dansnow4230]

I'm having an issue with mine. Its new not used. I don't want to use the built in sequencer and just use it like I would my Volca Keys, like a regular keyboard or synth. According to the manual, I followed the instructionson how to disable it. I would rather manually sequence myself in Ableton. No matter what I do when I press play or record, the internal sequencer in the 32 plays. It'll play what's built in and not what's on Ableton. I even deleted the built in sequence. I need some help!!

[@eccraze]

You ever figure out a solution to this?

[@fakshen1973]

I don't own the Mother-32. But if you place a patch cable in the run/stop jack that's not connected to anything, wouldn't that break the normal to the sequencer? Let me know if that works.

[@danieldorrmensch8325]

You have to disable Sync in Abletons Midi Out options for the port your mother is connected to

[@juliuseder]

With the latest firmware you can disable the sequencer start midi command.

[@thiskingbusiness]

Its a no brainer. 2nd hand prices are amazing. Great starting point for eurorack. Also, racking it is pointless. 2 mother 32's = pure brilliance.

[@mikeexits]

How is it good for Eurorack, yet pointless to rack mount?

[@SynthCamiller]

could you do a VS between this amazing synth and the korg minilogue? it would be great, thankyou

[@BennJordan]

I wouldn't compare the 2. One is a semi-modular fully analog monosynth, and the other is a digital keyboard polysynth with presets and effects.

[@SynthCamiller]

Minilogue is Analogue and has 4 voices

[@j0kerface]

yeah maybe he shouldn't compare those two :)

[@auehate]

What's the name of the synth mentioned at 11:37? Oak host?

[@gregw4817]

www.makenoisemusic.com/synthesizers/ohcoast

[@auehate]

@@gregw4817 thanks!

[@vittoriomessina8019]

What about arturia MiniBrute 2 or 2s?

[@santiagocadavide5261]

How do I know it's new and not a Day one model?

[@johnrichardson3297]

+ I like Future Retro too

[@blankblank4949]

it does a little bit really well, cant really add much to that :P

[@90coma]

xDDD