This is an analog synthesizer, made by one of the greatest and most respected companies to make analog synths, Moog. It has three octaves and multiple controls including 896 preset sounds. It is also quite easy to manipulate and change the sounds, as well as save them, without losing the original sound. The synth has a unique (at least for me) feature called Pot Mapping, which will allow you to designate the mod wheel to affect multiple controls at once. Thus, by turning the wheel, you can control waveform, modulation, oscillation all at once. There is a maximum of three effects that can be designated to pot mapping. Another really cool feature is the ability to save the presets as well as your custom settings to a computer to recall them quickly and easily. I believe this is one of the reasons why this model is referred to as the Performer edition. It's monophonic, which is frustrating to those who prefer the polyphonic Moogs, but it's versatile in its own way, especially with the range of sounds. There are a few different connections, the computer one I mentioned earlier, also a midi and regular audio connection.

UTILIZATION

For me, a natural guitarist and bassist, fumbling through presets is always a bit of a hassle. With so many presets, this unit did initially frustrate the hell out of me. However, any person used to this probably wouldn't feel too bad about it. Plus, I definitely got used to it with practice. The Pot Mapping feature especially is incredibly efficient once you get used to setting it. The setup isn't too hard, it doesn't get too heavy into the software or hardware. The manual explained everything pretty clearly, unless you aren't familiar with some of the terms. With the internet's use, however, everything can eventually be understood.

SOUNDS

The sounds in this analog synth aren't "realistic", but they are quite nice. Beautiful even, at times. They are monophonic, which is limiting to some players, probably keyboardists or pianists, but for me, they work just fine. I usually am only looking for large pads, huge bass notes, and smooth lead lines, either in mid or high registers. Almost all of the sounds are perfect for these uses. With 2 Modulation busses, 1 Low Frequency Oscilator, 3 oscilators, 2 filters (highpass/low pass or dualing lowpass) a filter envelope and a volume envelope, there isn't a whole lot you can't do with this guy. I tend to experiment and record with it on the fly, so I can't name a preset that I really like, but the sounds work great for a wide variety of styles of music. I mostly try to imitate dance-rock groups like Justice and Daft Punk with it, but I've had great sounds that have emulated the Cars, The Police, and many others. The sounds can get anywhere from really polished to grainy and dirty (which sounds amazing to me). With so many options, there's bound to be sounds that aren't as good, but they can be avoided and programmed out with ease.

OVERALL OPINION

I love the versatility and innovative controls of this synth. It's one of the cooler monophonic synths that I have tried. The sounds range from good to stellar, and the ability to control them gives you an extreme precision. The only regret is that it's SOO expensive. Moog obviously knows they have the market all but cornered in this department. I can't claim to have tried that many good analog synths, but this machine has made that argument all but irrelevant. In fact, the only competition I can think of right now besides an OB-8 is another Moog. Highly recommended.