No talking!! This is just a brief audio comparison of some basic sounds from the Moog Matriarch and the awesome vintage Korg Mono/Poly (originally manufactured in 1981).
Sold my monopoly for a matriarch, and don’t regret at all. The m/p had a sweet filter but the matriarch is such a better instrument in every way. Stereo, modular creamy delay. An instant classic
The band Tycho really demonstrates the Mono/Poly well, and has helped me appreciate just how rounded and velvety it sounds. In this comparison, the Moog is more gritty and upfront, which is wonderful in its own right. But I wonder if there's added value in the way the Mono/Poly can sit in the right mix and arrangement. Both are wonderful, and I love that unlike the Korg Mono/Poly, you can buy the Moog brand new. And no, the Behringer Mono/Poly didn't inherit all of the great richness of the original tone. For tone snobs like myself, that stuff matters.
5:06: zipper effect on the Moog. I can hear discrete steps as the filter is swept on the Moog. The Mono/Poly is smooth as butter here. I also find the SSM2044 chip's resonance ballsier and smoother than the Moog, which sounds a bit white-noisy.
That's not zipper noise. It's the filter picking out different harmonics. The control is entirely analogue. Zipper noise is caused by the low resolution of a digital control signal, which isn't possible here, as the control is not digital.
The Korg filter sounds sweeter, a little more pebbly and grainy which I love. The Moog filter sounds a little more traditionally "synthy" and peaky but they both sound great. I would take the Korg 100 times out of 100 though.
Yes agreed the Korg has the oberheimish high sizzle and seems to pick out the harmonics better. I reckon it's not as internal driven as hot as the moog and consequently you hear more filter than waveform .
Hey Tim if you had to keep one purely for the sound which would be? Imagine the moog had no patch points. I’m really struggling deciding over the 2 would love the vintage sound of the korg but so hard to find one that’s in good condition from a good seller. Does the moog have a vintage flare? Thanks and great video!
Great vid! I have just had my matriarch repaired and finally replaced due to the keyboard droning issue that you had at 1:30. I tried the firmware update but it didn’t help. Hopefully it’s not a common issue.
Martin Jones Ugggh, that does not sound good, I hope I don’t have to go down that path. I’ve had a number of weird glitches since going into global menu mode and making a few changes to Midi config. So I’m hoping the issue is firmware, will do the update and see......
No. it’s not connected to the drone mode. It’s something to do with the keybed and the attachments. I had an issue with the lowest D# key droning after I pressed the key. I sent mine to the Moog repair centre in London and they fixed the issue. But after more playing some of the other keys started doing it...I’m hoping my new replacement doesn’t start doing the same.
Polyphonic has a different sound than a Paraphonic. Again, don't take chances...by both. I am looking to but a new keyboard to add to my collection and am deciding between a Korg Mono/Poly or Roland Fantom 6.
A great comparison. Matriarch is on my Possibly Buy list. That said, I'm still wondering how many other synths, even digital ones, might make a few sounds not a million miles away from these 2 synths?
Very true, though I do think the Matriarch sound has a character to it, a warm fuzzy kind of tone that just feels good to play. It's also easy to forget the semi modular nature of the Matriarch, but I think that's where its power really lies, at the heart of a eurorack setup. And then again, it has stereo capabilities that not many manufacturers ever think to implement. Dave Smith being the main exception that I can think of..........
@@TimShoebridge Absolutely. Can't wait to try a Matriarch with decent headphones. Roland JD-XA does paraphonic, with 1 polyphonic digital part routed through a single digital part's filter. No idea if that sounds like any other paraphonic synth?
I'm not sure if I'm right but...can a Matriarch owner run external audio through the built in delay (which is a moogerfooger)? I know I can with my Grandmother and effect the audio. If this is true I can justify knocking mentally off the $900 price that moogerfoogers go for.
@@eladreltuc Yes there is an external input directly to the audio path before the delay section, in fact there are two inputs so you have full stereo control. Even better than that, you can go back up the signal path to where there are inputs to the two VCA's, so again stereo capability and allowing you to do tremolo effects if you modulate the VCA's with an LFO. And then even further back up the signal path you have inputs to the two VCF's, again this is stereo when the filters are both set to LPF. So really the Matriarch gives you three moogerfoogers in one, and that's before you play the keyboard or engage the four oscillators!
@@TimShoebridge Damn, you should really try to scoop one if possible. I only have the 700 but the day I get the 800DV will probably be the happiest day of my life up to this point! Maybe that's going overboard, but you know what I'm saying...
SOOO CLOSE. If you waited 30 seconds between each A/B chord, nobody could tell the difference. The Matriarch is the 2019 Monopoly and I'm obsessive about mine.. Just wish it saved presets. Thanks TIm!!!!
@@Lagspike99 if you mean my software, yes, instead of a manual it has about 250+ tutorials that walk you through every feature. Just start it up and you're looking at tutorial 1. It tells you how to find the rest of the tutorials. You can read first to last, or just hop around as you want. moselle-synth.com/
With all respect since I really like your stuff. First 3 minutes doesn't have any sense. All synths with full filter open sounds almost the same. The magic what made them different is in filters/lfos etc
Yes i agree ! The resonance filter of the Korg is less agressive at high frequencies and more creamer than the Matriach but the Moog go more back in the proof bass notes and his VCO's are more fat and large... The global sound of the Matriarch is warmer than the Mono/Poly who is a bit dry (but in the spirit of the eighties smowhere), the comparison is interesting because they have not been made at the same period but the Matriarch have been concepted to sound like a vintage synth ! ;-) And the precise work of Tim is precious to feel the fine nuances...Thanks Master !
If you pop the Monopoly through a Roland dimension pedal it'll sound lovely and 'stereo-ised' which would be a nice comparison. I love my monopoly (and my wazacraft dimension) - just sold my Model D reissue - it's all about personal preferences - they're all amazing synths :)
Both beautiful and expressive instruments - although the Korg has that subtle and mellow edge here in this comparison that appeals to me. I bet that the Matriarch will sound just as sweet when it gets to its 35th birthday. Thank you for the video.
Dale Cutler I’m not against clones from Behringer, I think they are doing a good job, but I’ll will prefer Korg this time the one who remake this synth (Mono/Poly)
Hey Behringer, Im not anti clone (seriously looking at that Poly), but that forward slash, (Mono/Poly) is a big dang deal. Korg already have the Monologue, the Minilogue, and the Minilogue XD, so they prob wont do an updated MP
Very similar. Great comments below of owners of both instruments. I think Tim has a good point in another video on the Matriarch, liking its stereo filters which I feel might give it the edge in today's pop musical settings and make it applicable in my commercial work. Listening online only to the Oberheim OB6, the Prophet 6, and even the new Prophet 5/10, and maybe even the Moog One, I was immediately drawn to the sound of this Matriarch in it's pureness in timbre, smoothness in the filter cutoff, and the roundness of its tone. I don't immediately hear these characteristics in other modern analog polys in the various YT demos.
Another brilliant video this, love the channel. Wanted to add a Grandmother or a Matriarch to my rig, but then I took my friend's Matriarch apart and as a technician wasn't too impressed. I thought if I'm getting a Chinese SMD board with cheap board mount plastic potentiometers, might as well buy a Behringer Monopoly. Metal chassis, same Chinese SMD board, calibration points in the back, + real wood end cheeks and at less than half the price. Not that anything is wrong with SMD technology, it's just a pain to repair and mod without a schematic which I bet moog doesn't hand out. Hate to be that guy, but they don't make them like they used to. *If Korg can put proper metal case and shaft potentiometers in the Minilogue and sell it for under 500 Euros, so can moog.*
Thanks for the "like" :) Yes, I had to adjust the volumes a lot while I was playing, I did not have headphones on at the time which made it more hit and miss. I resisted the temptation to ride the gain control during the video editing stage.
@@CornelionSigismon No I don't, they have differences of course, Matriarch is a little brighter, more noticeable at the lower end, but I think they both sound great and have a lot of character.
Sold mine in the early 90s... a kid stepped on it and broke 4 keys. Instead of getting it fixed, my dumb ass eventually sold it later that fall/winter because I had a PolySix and DX7, and I gigged all summer without it. Moron.
I have been following your great synth vids for quite a while, Tim. Thank you for all your thoughtful questions and insights, and for some inspiring sounds as well. Just a short (?) nerdy note about loudness and tuning from a passionate choir director: In this comparison, the Matriarch is a little bit louder and tuned a little bit higher than the MonoPoly. Which will for most ears equal sounding brighter and better. A little bit of layman's history on this: We can draw a parallel to orchestras tuning a little bit sharp in relation to the contemporary concert pitch, which led to concert pitch rising considerably from Mozart's age to now. And almost since the beginning of recording, there has been a kind of loudness competition which ultimately led to brick-wall limiting (at least in pop music), often sacrificing dynamic nuances. Which I happen to be a dedicated fan of. Just because… …higher & louder sounds better?! Well, we could certainly discuss the pros and cons to this question over a couple bottles of red wine. In any case: For a comparison like this, it seems imperative to me that the level and tuning of both synths is matched as close as possible. Looking forward to hear more from you, Tim! Best regards from Hamburg, Germany.
Thanks for the very kind comments and also that wonderful insight. I must admit that I dread doing synth comparisons! So much can go wrong. They really need to be done with scientific precision but then for me there is nothing left that is inspiring or musical. I think this video was the last time I did a comparison, I avoid them like the plague these days 😂
@@TimShoebridge Thanks for taking the time to answer, Tim. I'm totally with you on this. I immensely enjoy those synth demos you did with only one at a time, like the UB-XA, for example, or your helpful thoughts about the Matriarch - which I now have, what a delight. And truly unique… In a way, we should take those wonderful instruments just like music itself - as a game that is not about winning…
lush video thanks! Which synth do you prefer? If you had to ditch one.... I'm GAS'ing for a mono/poly, especially with the lush retro tones, and the voice switching arpeggiation. Can you get similar tones with the Matriarch? Voice switching arp for example? What are your thoughts on the filters between the two? Sorry to bombard you - you seem to have good knowledge of both.. Cheers!
I have a Moog Matriarch and a Roland HS-60 but can you really have too many Synthesizers. I think the more the better especially if they have midi! Time to go tickle the ivory (Spy Fox)!
I used to have a Mono/Poly and a Polysix back in the mid 90's. Lots of fun/work. Everything I know (that is not too much) about synths, is because of those two. I would love to have them, but space/room is paramount.
I also owned monopoly ,the thing i disliked were the enveloppes , most monosynths ( wich it is in effect) had far more musical envs , i always even preferred the monopolys cousin polysix
Great ! sounds so similar.. Always loved the mono poly! Does the matriarch have an Arpeggiator trig in? cause I don't see it.. It would be lovely to switch oscillators in arpeggiating but don't know if that's possible on the matriarch?
Simon Nuytten Hi. Yes there are connections on the back. There’s a clock in, out, an on/off and a reset.As for the ARP, it plays either 4 VCO’s, the first 2 or the first 1. There’s no way I know of to choose the VCO...
Great comparison vid. There should be more like this. Up until you began to play chords, the matriarch had it for me. Then as you played chords the korg won over the matriarch. I guess it is down to personal preference at the end of the day with two fine synthesizers. I do own a moog and a korg, and being honest I would probably plumb for the matriarch on account of 'further' modular integration and capability. And for the fact all things considered, moog has the edge over korg for history and original R an D. Korg offer some great synths though and I ain't dismissing them. you could probably get more mileage out of your buck for korg, but at the end of the day, personal preference is going to be the winner on this one. just my two penneth. good vid.
Matriarch resonance is "disconnected" and kinda plays on top of the oscillators, whereas the Mono/Poly's resonance is part of the sound and picks out harmonics much nicer than the Moog synth. That's how I hear it anyway. The Matriarch sound is saturated as well, dunno how much the mixer section is being overdriven when chords are played, but there is some audible saturation whereas the Mono/Poly sounds smoother.
Haha funnily enough I mention the same points in an above comment before I read this. I wonder If the ssm filter is an ota based filter as it has a certain smoothness to it that ladder filters can't match ?
