Moog Emulation Sales - UAD, Softube, Legend

[beely]

which one is closer to the Original ?

To which Original? They all sound different, put three vintage Minis in a row and they will all sound different - so there is no mythical "golden unit" that all software should sound identical to. It's perfectly possible to have two emulations that sound *identical* to the vintage units they modelled, and both sound different - so "which one sounds closer" is meaningless in that context.

The modelling in all of these is good, and will give you all the Minimoog you want...

[plexuss]

Minis also have have two completely different oscillator boards which significantly affect their sound not to mention the sound variation across different minis...

Model 72 is superb, it sounds alive somehow and it's got the heft I'd expect from the real thing. First thing I did is hide the keyboard, without it the UI looks much better. The Legend is a worthy contender and its polyphony makes it more useful, but Model 72 just has a magic about it for me.

Model 72 to me also sounds the closest to a real mini with the older oscillator board, which is a very good thing since I, and most in the know, prefer the old card vs newer.

[electro]

Someone said Monark was indistinguishable from the unit in the Native Instruments office. The UAD sounds to me like hardware and I'm sure they didn't drop the ball while they were analyzing their golden unit from top to bottom. The Softube can process external audio. I'm interested in which UAD Minimoog patches you could not recreate on the Softube Model 72.

Minis also have have two completely different oscillator boards which significantly affect their sound not to mention the sound variation across different minis...

Model 72 is superb, it sounds alive somehow and it's got the heft I'd expect from the real thing. First thing I did is hide the keyboard, without it the UI looks much better. The Legend is a worthy contender and its polyphony makes it more useful, but Model 72 just has a magic about it for me.

Model 72 to me also sounds the closest to a real mini with the older oscillator board, which is a very good thing since I, and most in the know, prefer the old card vs newer.

[EvilDragon]

Someone said Monark was indistinguishable from the unit in the Native Instruments office.

That would be me. There's only one difference - the real thing is noisier! But yeah, they really are super closely matched. Older serial number unit, quite dirty and rough sounding.

Comparison done by Mike Daliot himself is still a good reference. Especially since they compared totally wack and off the wall sounds with parameters way out of their sweetspots. That's a really really difficult test to pass.

https://soundcloud.com/nativeinstrument ... comparison

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Check the waveforms on the UAD model in an oscilloscope before praising it for it's accuracy. You might be surprised at how perfectly shaped they are compared to...well, everything.

[electro]

Check the waveforms on the UAD model in an oscilloscope before praising it for it's accuracy. You might be surprised at how perfectly shaped they are compared to...well, everything.

I think a similar argument was made between Nebula and Slate VTM but are there any audible examples to demonstrate where the UA Minimoog might be off?

I know UA does extensive A/B listening during development, at least with the AMP sims.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Check the waveforms on the UAD model in an oscilloscope before praising it for it's accuracy. You might be surprised at how perfectly shaped they are compared to...well, everything.

I think a similar argument was made between Nebula and Slate VTM but are there any audible examples to demonstrate where the UA Minimoog might be off?

I know UA does extensive A/B listening during development, at least with the AMP sims.

UA has an excellent marketing department. But I have the UAFX amps (Dream and Ruby) and their UAD Tweed Deluxe and they're good for models, but not TONEX/Kemper level of real. And I have a Tweed Deluxe clone here to compare to and lots of other tube amps. There's like no bass in the UA models. So I think they recorded their cabinets with a HPF engaged and didn't tell anyone, or their models are just missing some low end. But at some settings they sound pretty good....just not profiler good IMO. But UA will swear it's exact and there's that comparison video in a very controlled environment where they sound pretty close to the real amps, but again, they're running through a board, likely with EQ applied. I'll be selling my 2 UAFX amp pedals and buying a TONEX pedal to replace them (reach out if you're interested in taking them off my hands despite what I'm saying).

On to the Minimoog, they make generally excellent products, but honestly, their instruments are subpar by most standards IMO. And I'll credit Urs for the tip, he was saying a while back that "some" Minimoog emulation was getting praise and didn't get the waveforms right, but he didn't want to say which one. Didn't take long to find out which one it was.

Reasons not to buy the UAD:

1. The Waveforms aren't shaped like Minimoog waveforms. Just compare a raw triangle or saw with the filter open to other emulations. The UA Minimoog would sound more like a Jupiter in that regard compared to the other Minimoog emulations that get the waveforms right (Legend, Model 72, Monark, Diva, even the Moog iOS/AU one). And by "like a Jupiter" I just mean the raw waveforms are closer to ideal than a Minimoog, not that the UAD Minimoog will actually sound like a Jupiter in other ways.

2. Hardwired MIDI assignments with no MIDI Learn system! Yep, this instrument from a premium brand doesn't have a MIDI learn system but it DOES have pre-assigned MIDI CC's that you can't change. What hardware are those CC's meant to be assigned to? Who the fudge knows! UA certainly doesn't make a MIDI controller.

3. On the UAD, some parameters on the GUI have no automation parameters at all and therefore couldn't be assigned to a controller at all. They must be getting high on the legal weed in California when they code this stuff up.

Others get this stuff better so reasons 1 and 2 right there should be enough to disqualify it compared to the competition. I suspect what the UA Minimoog does better is 1) puts the Moog name on it, and 2) gets the envelope timing and depth scaled about where hardware Minimoogs tend to be with a good sounding filter. Which is fine.

[zvenx]

............

Comparison done by Mike Daliot himself is still a good reference. Especially since they compared totally wack and off the wall sounds with parameters way out of their sweetspots. That's a really really difficult test to pass.

https://soundcloud.com/nativeinstrument ... comparison

Damn.. that is indeed very close.

I just don't like working with instruments that I have to load up Reaktor for first, otherwise it would surely get a lot more use from me.
rsp

[Examigan]

I'd like to get Monark or the Softube version if there's a good sale.

[zvenx]

[..........
Reasons not to buy the UAD:

1. The Waveforms aren't shaped like Minimoog waveforms. Just compare a raw triangle or saw with the filter open to other emulations. The UA Minimoog would sound more like a Jupiter in that regard compared to the other Minimoog emulations that get the waveforms right (Legend, Model 72, Monark, Diva, even the Moog iOS/AU one).

....

So it was the UAD he was hinting at, I always thought it was the Softube (not based on anything other than gut feeling , time to get a new gut )

I actually like the UAD for its layout. (though the softube one is still my favourite.. it just fits into almost any mix I put it in, without much tweaking, just like I remember a real Minimoog use to, when I had access to one daily way back when).

rsp

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I think right now, the best Minimoog's are: Monark, Legend, Model 72, Moog iOS/AU. In no particular order at all. If you don't like Reaktor, scratch out Monark. If you don't have a Mac or don't make music on iOS, scratch out the one from Moog. Then it's just a toss-up between Legend and Model 72. Both are great. Both sound different from each other. Legend sounds a little more hifi and modern (I've got a Poly-D and The Legend reminds me of it), Model 72 sounds more aggressive and grimey (closer to Monark). But both of those plugins sound great. A person couldn't go wrong with either.

I wouldn't be surprised if 5 years from now, U-he puts out another Minimoog or updates Diva. Urs has expressed some interest in doing a be-all-end-all Minimoog emulation, but other priorities have pushed that back. So until then, Model 72/Legend are the way to go!

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

[..........
Reasons not to buy the UAD:

1. The Waveforms aren't shaped like Minimoog waveforms. Just compare a raw triangle or saw with the filter open to other emulations. The UA Minimoog would sound more like a Jupiter in that regard compared to the other Minimoog emulations that get the waveforms right (Legend, Model 72, Monark, Diva, even the Moog iOS/AU one).

....

So it was the UAD he was hinting at, I always thought it was the Softube (not based on anything other than gut feeling , time to get a new gut )

I actually like the UAD for its layout. (though the softube one is still my favourite.. it just fits into almost any mix I put it in, without much tweaking, just like I remember a real Minimoog use to, when I had access to one daily way back when).

I'd definitely encourage everyone to check for themselves. Urs didn't specify intentionally, but from what I saw when I checked, yeah, I think it was probably the UAD he was referencing. Those waves were too perfect. I just want to be clear I'm not speaking for him, just did my own test when I read those comments and drew my own conclusions.

[EvilDragon]

Damn.. that is indeed very close.

I just don't like working with instruments that I have to load up Reaktor for first, otherwise it would surely get a lot more use from me.

Track templates.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Track templates.

This. Or FX Chain presets (you have both options in Reaper).

With all my UVI Libraries and Monark, I just have an FX Chain in the browser ready to go so it's a simple drag and drop operation to load up the instrument on a new track all ready to go.

[vitocorleone123]

has someone compared Model 72 vs UAD Minimoog. I can't replicate some UAD Presets with Model 72, so which one is closer to the Original ?

You do know that old vintage synths all sound different, right? It’s entirely likely they both sound like the specific original unit they’re modeled after. Which one do you prefer?