Moog Muse doesn’t need nostalgia — it’s an outstanding synth for the new generation£2998/$3499, moogmusic.com
Having a legacy like Moog’s is a double-edged sword. The more beloved the brand, the higher the expectations. And the more iconic the sound, the harder it is to change things up.
So when the North Carolina company set out to build a new bi-timbral polyphonic flagship, it must’ve known it was walking a tightrope. It has to have that Moog sound, it has to suit multiple playing styles, it has to be ready for both studio and stage, and it has to stand out in an increasingly crowded field.
Luckily, the Muse not only walks that line – it dances along it.

READ MORE: “We’re honouring the legacy of Bob Moog; making instruments that give you his iconic sound” Moog talks Muse

A brief history of Muse
The sound of Muse is firmly rooted in Moog’s storied past. Working across its different modules – oscillators, filters, envelopes – is like taking a tour through some of the best gear the company has ever produced.
Two analogue oscillators, inspired by 1997’s Minimoog Voyager, form the beating heart of the instrument. The sound is immediately rich and full, with options to blend between triangle, sawtooth, and square wave with variable pulse width. Using these, and little else, you can quickly bang out deep bass tones and vibrant leads that you’d usually associate with the Moog name.
There’s also bi-directional FM (frequency modulation) between the two oscillators. This, too, is inspired by a classic piece of gear – the Moogerfooger MF-102, released in 1998 – and enables everything from beautifully clear bell tones to truly harsh and chaotic ear candy.
Another handy addition is Muse’s modulation oscillator. On one level, it’s the primary hub for quick and easy LFO modulation, with dedicated assignment buttons and depth knobs for the oscillator’s pitch and pulse width, the filters, and the VCA. But this isn’t just an ordinary LFO; it can also be used to produce audio-rate modulation, or as a third oscillator. Pressing the Audio button extends its frequency range all the way up to 20Hz and, with keyboard tracking mode and a selection of waveforms to choose from, you can fatten up the texture even further.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
To hear the modulation oscillator at audio-rate, or to hear anything for that matter, head to the mixer panel. It’s a simple thing, but having all your audio signals in one place is incredibly useful, and, in addition to the oscillators, FM, and modulation oscillator, there’s also a noise generator and an overload circuit to provide soft analogue clipping.
The filter module is outstanding, with two discrete Moog Ladder filters at a 24dB-per-octave slope. Taking inspiration from the classic 904-A module of 1966, the filters are supremely satisfying to use, with rich harmonics that get wonderfully crunchy once you start to drive the incoming signal. The first filter also boasts a switchable high-pass mode and, with the ability to link the two filters, you can do tasty band, notch, and formant filtering. There’s also keyboard tracking, and the ability to run these filters in sequence, parallel, or stereo.
Moog Muse is bi-timbral, so all of the above settings can be independently set for timbre A and B. Switching between the two timbres is instant and you can split them across the keyboard or stack them for amazingly deep and complex sounds. Muse has eight voices to work with and, while this is plenty when working with a single timbre, once you stack or split the timbres then voice stealing is something you’ll become aware of.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Moog Muse’s arpeggiator and sequencer
The sound palate may be like a warm hug from an old friend, but this is not an instrument that rests on nostalgia alone. Once you start to dig into the arpeggiator and sequencer, the modulation matrix, and the additional parameter settings, it becomes clear that Muse not only meets the current moment, but outlines a path to the future.
Muse’s arpeggiator and chord memory functions are excellent, but the sequencer, in particular, deserves special praise. Where Arturia’s new PolyBrute 12 caught some criticism for its underwhelming sequencer, Muse’s counter offer is packed with deeply-considered features for stage and studio. There are 64 steps with up to eight notes being stored per step, and notes can be entered manually, recorded in live, or overdubbed. Once you have your sequence, every aspect of it, right down to the micro-timing between notes, is opened up for editing and tweaking via Muse’s small, centrally-positioned OLED screen. There’s also a parameter recording function that allows for detailed sound design of each individual step, or on-the-fly sculpting during live performance.
If there’s one downside here, it’s the sequencer presets. On the one hand, sequences are globally available – meaning that you can write a sequence on one patch and then use it elsewhere, which is fantastic. However, the included factory presets for the sequencer are a mixed bag. Loading up a combined patch-plus-sequence preset might get you something that sounds great, or, at worst, you’ll get a pattern that sounds like it was arbitrarily slapped on top of a patch rather than written specifically for it. It’s not a huge problem, but it does stand out in comparison to the patch presets themselves, which are generally excellent.
On its own, the sequencer is highly functional, but it’s the new Probabilistic features that set it apart. These days, the word ‘generative’ is often a red flag for a cash grab, but Moog has thankfully packed Muse full of genuinely useful, undeniably cool probability functions. For starters, you can set the gate probability for each step – meaning a step may or may not trigger — but you can also set probability for the note values themselves. In practice, this means each step can trigger random notes within a preset melodic scale and within a set number of semitones. But that’s not all: if your sequence is made up of chords, then the note probability function will instead trigger a chord inversion or alternate chord voicing.

There’s even a Coin Toss feature that allows you to record an entire new 64-step sequence and then randomly switch between the two sequences on a step-by-step basis. These features open up a huge range of possibilities for producers and composers who want to add some generative music to their studio workflow, or even live performers who want to add the element of unpredictability to a jam.
Muse’s layout
All of that might sound complicated, but, in practice, Muse is surprisingly easy to set up and play with. This is a testament to the instrument’s layout and design, which prioritises creative flow and tactile controls without skimping on deeper-level parameters.
The modulation and routing workflow is a prime example. Muse features two dedicated LFO’s, a pitch LFO with a modulation depth fine-tuned for vibrato, and two loopable envelope generators. Each one features an Assign button for quick mapping – simply press a modulator’s assign button, move the desired dial or slider, and the connection is made.
However, if you want to get more specific with your mappings, there’s a dedicated menu to define control sources for your modulation. You can also add mathematical functions, such as slew time and cubic waveshaping, to drastically transform how the modulator affects its destination.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Musing deeper
You can go deeper across many elements of the Muse. Each module features a small triangle button in the top right corner that exposes a More menu, and it’s here that Muse’s more complex capabilities are revealed.
Take the digital delay module – by default, its Character dial will act as a DJ mixer-style filter. But, in the More menu, this can be set to control a multi-tap delay for rhythmic timings, to shape the style of diffusion into a chorus-like sound, or to control all three parameters simultaneously. You can change the bit depth, pitch-shift the delayed signals, and drastically increase the delay time to get washes of sound. The options are deep enough that a happy afternoon could be spent exploring just the delay section alone.
Should you get the Moog Muse?
All that said, there are moments when you feel its limitations. The Muse doesn’t have the expansive sound design capabilities of an analogue digital hybrid like the UDO Super Gemini, or the innovative performance features or Full-Touch MIDI Polyphonic Expression of the PolyBrute 12. It doesn’t even have a polyphonic aftertouch keybed or a USB-C port – something that feels like a missed opportunity.
Make no mistake, Muse is a synth for the new era, but Moog has, perhaps wisely, chosen not to go all in on the latest innovations. Instead it’s clearly focused its efforts and production budget on what matters most: the sound.
Ultimately, this is an instrument that you will want to play. With its considered feature set, tactile control surfaces, and an oh-so-premium analogue sound, Muse has an addictive quality that keeps you coming back for more, and more, and more.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Key features

Bi-timbral analogue sound engine
Eight polyphonic voices
Dual voltage-controlled oscillators per voice
Dual voltage-controlled Moog filters
Analogue ring modulator
Analogue modulation Ooscillator
Arpeggiator and sequencer
224 preset patches per timbre, totalling 448 unique patch sounds.
Bright OLED panel for presets, global settings, module specific settings
CV in/out, clock in/out and MIDI in/out/thru
Size: 99 x 42 x 11 cm
Weight: 14.55 kg

The post Moog Muse doesn’t need nostalgia — it’s an outstanding synth for the new generation appeared first on MusicTech.

Somerville Sounds releases FREE Antiquarian Echoes Ambient Guitar Plugin
Somerville Sounds releases Antiquarian Echoes, a FREE ambient guitar instrument for macOS and Windows. Antiquarian Echoes is the latest addition to the Somerville Sounds Prototype lineup. If you aren’t familiar with the Prototype series, it is a small collection of free plugins, including The Meyer Choir, Rubber Bridge Plucks, and Antiquarian Echoes. Unlike paid products [...]
View post: Somerville Sounds releases FREE Antiquarian Echoes Ambient Guitar Plugin

Grotbox: secondary reference monitor Subdust Ltd have announced the launch of a new compact active monitor designed to serve as a secondary, limited-bandwidth, reference speaker. 

Morgan Stanley discloses $188M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdingsThe investment firm disclosed to the SEC that it held more than 5.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust in the second quarter of 2024.

Biden tells creators they have something traditional media does not: ‘You’re trusted’At the first ever White House Creator Economy Conference, the most popular man to drop by was not a TikTok superstar or a YouTube sensation. It was President Joe Biden, who emphasized social media creators’ role in shaping public opinion. “Until about three, four months ago, I didn’t pay very much attention, following you guys,” […]
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Handheld Oscilloscope Meter ReviewedWe live in a time where there’s virtually no excuse not to have some kind of oscilloscope. As [IMSAI Guy] shows in a recent video, for what you might expect to pay for a decent meter, you can now get one that includes a scope. There are several options out there but it is hard to know how much to spend to get the best possible product. The Zoyi ZT-702S that he looks at costs under $80. But is it worth it?
Scopes that connect to your PC are often very inexpensive. You can also find little toy scopes that use a microcontroller and a little LCD screen. Even though the specs on these are usually appalling, they will still let you visualize what’s happening in a circuit. Sure, you want an expensive bench scope with lots of channels sometimes, but often, you just need to see a signal in broad strokes. Having a scope and a meter together is very handy.

The little meter claims 10 MHz bandwidth and 48 megasamples per second in scope mode. The meter claims true RMS and 9999 counts. The internal battery charges from USB-C. As you might expect, the meter portion works well enough for a basic meter. The scope reacts well up to 5 MHz. It isn’t necessarily the best scope in the world, but for $80 it seemed quite adequate. The probe compensation wasn’t able to quite make a square wave square, but you still got the idea.
As commenters on the video pointed out, there is a newer model that has two channels (at a slightly higher price tag). They also point out that there are dozens of similar devices at different price points, and everyone has their favorite.
If you have hobby-level cash, we’d suggest a higher-end scope meter like an OWON or Hantek since the professional brands are still very expensive. We wonder what the designer of 1983’s Pocket-O-Scope would think of these modern devices.

Tencent Music’s ‘Super VIP’ tier costs 5 times as much as a regular subscription. Spotify could learn a lot from it.If Spotify is wondering what features to include in its new "Super-Premium" tier, it may want to look at China's Tencent Music Entertainment
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Key Songs in the Life Of… Lylette PizarroLylette Pizarro, founder of Influence Media Partners, selects the magnificent seven songs that tell the story of her life and career to date
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FLOSS Weekly Episode 796: Homebrew, I’m More of a Whopper GuyThis week Jonathan Bennett and David Ruggles chat with John Britton and Mike McQuaid about Homebrew! That’s the missing package manager for macOS; and Workbrew, the commercial offering built on top of it. We cover lots of territory, like why the naming scheme sounds like it was conceived during a pub visit, how Workbrew helps businesses actually use Homebrew, and why you might even want to run Homebrew on a Linux machine!

https://brew.sh
https://workbrew.com
https://johndbritton.com
https://mikemcquaid.com

Homebrew 15th Anniversary Stream with Creator Max Howell – https://workbrew.com/homebrew-turns-15
Strap – Bootstrap your macOS development system – https://strap.mikemcquaid.com && https://github.com/MikeMcQuaid/strap
Homebrew Bundle – Bundler for non-Ruby dependencies from Homebrew, Homebrew Cask, and the Mac App Store – https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-bundle
MAS Mac App Store command line interface – https://github.com/mas-cli/mas
Dotfiles
Mike’s Dotfiles – https://github.com/MikeMcQuaid/dotfiles
John’s Dotfiles – https://github.com/johndbritton/dotfiles
Brewfiles
Mike’s Brewfile – https://github.com/MikeMcQuaid/dotfiles/blob/main/Brewfile
John’s Brewfile – https://github.com/johndbritton/dotfiles/blob/main/dot/Brewfile

Did you know you can watch the live recording of the show Right on our YouTube Channel? Have someone you’d like us to interview? Let us know, or contact the guest and have them contact us! Take a look at the schedule here.

Direct Download in DRM-free MP3.
If you’d rather read along, here’s the transcript for this week’s episode.
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Secretly Distribution & Oh Boy Records Announce Global DealThe late John Prine (L) and Jody Whelan of Oh Boy Records (photo: Neilson Hubbard)
Today, Secretly Distribution (SD) announces a worldwide distribution deal with Oh Boy Records. The storied independent label, founded in 1981 by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and icon John Prine, started as Prine's vehicle to become an independent artist after his major-label record deal had expired. Winner of the A2IM Libera Award in 2022 for small record label of the year, Oh Boy continues to be run by the Prine family.
Secretly Distribution and Oh Boy will be co-presenting "Independents' Day," an AmericanaFest day party at Vinyl Tap on September 18, which will feature performances by artists from Oh Boy and other SD labels.
Oh Boy's catalog features albums from Prine, including 2018's The Tree of Forgiveness, as well as Kelsey Waldon, Swamp Dogg, Alice Randall's My Black Country (the companion to the award winning author and songwriter's book of the same name), Arlo McKinley, Emily Scott Robinson, and Tré Burt. Upcoming releases from core Oh Boy artist Dan Reeder, whose new album Smithereens will be out in October, and recent signing Palmyra (one of NPR's Best New Artists of 2024), will be among the first new Oh Boy titles to be handled by SD's global team and distribution network.
"Oh Boy is thrilled to be able to join Secretly Distribution at this time of growth and expansion for both companies. We've long been fans of the artists they work with, but in getting to know their team it also quickly became clear that Secretly holds dear the same independent values; the values that have fueled Oh Boy since its inception in 1981, and have seen Secretly Distribution build a truly independent global distribution network. We are honored to be represented by this excellent company and are excited to celebrate our collaboration in Nashville in September during AmericanaFest."- Jody Whelan, Managing Partner, Oh Boy Records
With the addition of this iconic Nashville label, SD continues its roster's expansion in not only size but also geographical breadth and genre diversity. In addition to Oh Boy, other recent label additions include Finland's Timmion (Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, Franka Oroza); Italy's Record Kicks (Seun Kuti & Egypt '80, Michelle David & the True-Tones); Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad's Jazz is Dead and Linear Labs (Lonnie Liston Smith, Ghostface Killah); Dear Life (MJ Lenderman, Kath Bloom); with new label services clients including Andrew Bird and Guster.
"SD has been fans of Oh Boy for so long - I have John Prine LPs that I swiped from my mom's collection decades ago. They are a truly iconic American independent label - founded by artists, for artists looking for a sustainable way to release music outside of the major label system - and when I met Jody and Fiona it was clear immediately that their ethos perfectly aligns with what we strive for at SD.
Oh Boy is a cornerstone of the vibrant Nashville scene, and we could not be more thrilled to work with them on both their incredible catalog and their current roster of next generation folk, country and blues artists."- Josh Madell, Director of Artist & Label Strategy, Secretly DistributionThe post Secretly Distribution & Oh Boy Records Announce Global Deal first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

“People expect Daft Punk to come back to life, but they’re gone”: Thomas Mars on his Olympics supergroup and why Daft Punk didn’t joinFrench rockers Phoenix took over the Paris 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony in style, bringing on fellow indie acts Vampire Weekend, Air, and Kavinsky, making it the ultimate Millennial jam fest.
In a recent interview with Vulture, frontman Thomas Mars opens up about the ceremony’s supergroup and whether Daft Punk were ever on the Olympic cards.

READ MORE: “Everything is white – like you need to fill the space with your music and thoughts”: Beabadoobee on Rick Rubin’s studio, Shangri-La

“Air was the first band we thought of,” he says. “When we started playing music outside of France, like at Top of the Pops, we were their backing band. We wanted to share that with them and perform our song Playground Love. Kavinsky has a song called Nightcall, which was produced by Daft Punk, and he asked me to sing it at the time. I never do things outside of Phoenix, so I said no and didn’t regret it.”
He continues, “I thought the song was perfect and didn’t need my voice. It’s such a classic and fits so well in this condensed mix of songs, so I really wanted to incorporate it. For French people, there’s something that happened about ten years ago that proved to be an influence.”
Inspired by a fake poster that went viral, the musician wanted to bring some magic to the stage. “Someone created a fake poster for a French music festival that never happened. It was like: Daft Punk, us, Air, Kavinsky, Cassius, all of these bands,” he says. “People thought it was a real show, so there was high demand for it but it never happened. We wanted that poster to come to life.”
As for bringing a Daft Punk back from retirement, Mars shuts down that as a possibility.
“Daft Punk doesn’t exist anymore. That was never an option. People expect them to come back to life, but they’re gone. There were a few bucket-list people that I really admired and wanted to join us, but I’m not sure I want to mention them, because it’s going to disappoint people,” he says.
“They’ll be like, ‘Oh, I wish that would’ve happened’. But it turned out to be a great and strange mix of people, which is what we’ve been doing all of these years. We took a group photo and it’s so unusual,” he continues. “Only in this context would these people come together. That’s the main thing we’re all proud of.”
Daft Punk or not, Phoenix had plenty on their hands. While Vampire Weekend, Air, and Kavinsky made an unforgettable line-up, Mars opened up about the dangers that could have thrown the show off course: “They thought of putting us on the rooftop of the Louvre for a performance. We recorded our last album, Alpha Zulu, in the Louvre. There were bees on the roof. People were concerned about the bees. There were a lot of hives to harvest honey. These are the things you don’t know about Paris.”
The musician adds, “There were a lot of hurdles for the people who organised it. French people are extremely relieved that everything went great. There was definitely a climate of fear going into the elections and the Games. But I think people really enjoyed them, and there was a sense of appreciation.”
The post “People expect Daft Punk to come back to life, but they’re gone”: Thomas Mars on his Olympics supergroup and why Daft Punk didn’t join appeared first on MusicTech.

30% Patreon Creator Pay Cut: What You Need to KnowA 30% Patreon creator pay cut is coming to all new fan subscriptions paid via Apple. As of November, Apple is requiring Patreon to switch to its iOS in-app purchase system or risk being removed from the App Store.
The post 30% Patreon Creator Pay Cut: What You Need to Know appeared first on Hypebot.

“Everything is white – like you need to fill the space with your music and thoughts”: Beabadoobee on Rick Rubin’s studio, Shangri-LaWhile he’s deservingly touted as one of the greatest producers of our time, Rick Rubin has a famously hands-off approach to making records. Last year, he admitted he knows “nothing about music”, and that he doesn’t know how to use a mixing desk.
Instead, Rubin claimed it’s his “taste” and “ability to express” what he feels that “has proven helpful for artists”.

READ MORE: Jacob Collier disagrees with Rick Rubin’s philosophies: “His audience is non-creative people for whom creativity is novel”

You might not be surprised, then – given his minimalist approach to creativity – that Rubin’s Shangri-La studio space in Malibu, California is equally simplistic in design. At least according to Beabadoobee, for whom Rubin produced her new album, This is How Tomorrow Moves.
“It’s just so serene and peaceful,” she explains in a new interview with NME. “Everything is white – it’s almost like a blank canvas for your creativity, like you need to fill the space with your music and your thoughts. People call my house the Teletubby house because every room’s a different colour. I remember going back home and it being like going from this beautiful, serene white space into [something like] an acid trip.”
She adds: “Shangri-La is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to and there’s something so magical about it that just made me want to stick around and only focus on the record.”
Beabadoobee says that Shangri-La imparted a dose of inspiration quickly after she arrived, when she wrote the bridge of Girl Song.
“It was one of the first things I ever wrote in the studio, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this place is magical – it just made me write my favourite bridge, and I don’t even fucking write bridges! That was lit.”

Beabadoobee’s new album This is How Tomorrow Moves arrived on 9 August. Back in May, she detailed, again, the process of working with such a legendary producer as Rick Rubin. She explained that he made her relearn all her demos on acoustic guitar before recording the album.
“It really helped my confidence as a musician – when I heard the songs, just me and acoustic guitar, I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is actually a really good song,’” she said.
The post “Everything is white – like you need to fill the space with your music and thoughts”: Beabadoobee on Rick Rubin’s studio, Shangri-La appeared first on MusicTech.

New Twitch DJ Program: Everything You Need To KnowThe new Twitch DJ program offers groundbreaking opportunities to expand reach, make money, and engage with audiences. Here's what you need to know to leverage this platform effectively.
The post New Twitch DJ Program: Everything You Need To Know appeared first on Hypebot.

Radio Promotion and Sync Licensing on a budgetCan you do radio promotion and sync licensing on a small budget? Two experienced music marketers, Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert, offer proven suggestions on a new episode of the Music Biz Weekly Podcast. Watch and listen here.
The post Radio Promotion and Sync Licensing on a budget appeared first on Hypebot.