I was considering a Moog Grandmother but ended up with a Matriarch

I really want to get a Grand mother or does it make sense to save up for the Matriarch?

This existing topic may help you:

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I would definitely save the money for the Matriarch. The GM is a lovely instrument but in comparison with the Matriarch it is v limited in many ways. The stereo filter and delay alone are invaluable tools that can be used for processing all kinds of signals.

With the Matriarch it feels like they’ve thought of everything and have made some v creative choices in designing it. Things that may seem like not very important actually make a huge difference. I mean stuff like the bipolar cv-able attenuverters that can be used creatively for patching ring modulation and all sorts of interesting modulation voltages. Also the ability to be played with 4 note paraphony makes it so much more than the GM could ever be.

It’s an instrument that will at least keep me satisfied for many many years to come.

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I would save up for the matriarch.

I also did it, one year long,I do not regret it for a second.

The only thing I could say I miss is that spring reverb.

But I went for the stereo filter and delay :wink:

A good (spring) reverb is easier to find then that Stereo delay …

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I own neither of them…
just one thought, cause I‘m also considering one of them at some point:

I read a few users prefer the grandmother for being super immediate and direct. Like more than the sum of its part. Like the immediacy that made SH101 so popular.

But other than that, the matriarch looks like the real deal to me

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Yeah, especially a clockable analog stereo pingpong delay with spacing and tap tempo. :slight_smile:

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The stereo delay and filter were key for me as well but I also chose the Matriarch for the ability to play 4-note chords (paraphonically). However, if you decide to buy a Grandmother there’s a way to make it 3-voice paraphonic.

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For me, yes. I actually sold my Grandmother in order to buy a Matriarch. And I don’t regret it!

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I absolutely loved my GM …sadly I had to sell it & have considered getting another.

But I agree with much of what’s been said above : apart from spring reverb ( & I now have two great ones in my ARP 2600 & Easel Command anyway ) the Matriarch gives you all the awesome tone & stuff I loved from the GM, but with so much more on top. I may well end up picking up a Matriarch at some point down the line to scratch that particular itch.

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To the uninitiated some of the quotes in this topic could come straight from the gerontophilia forum

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Both Daniel Fisher of Sweetwater recommended Grandmother if you want a simpler monosynth that you’re less likely to mess up on when playing live, Matriarch if the desire for more patching capability outweighs the fear of fucking up when playing live.

How important of a role do you anticipate for MIDI with your prospective Moog? There are issues you might want to look into. I’m not really big on sequencing my Matriarch with MIDI, so naturally I’m happier with mine than the peeps who are trying to sequence theirs from Ableton Live or something.

Lisa Bella Donna’s comparison of multiple Moogs:

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Altough I prefer recording the matriarch live
I have had no issues in sequencing my matriarch in cubase or in the Dt direct or thru cubase

Both connected with midi din to a motu midi interface

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yeah I’m not saying that everybody who uses MIDI with a Matriarch is guaranteed to have problems.

It’s just that the loudest complaints on the Matriarch thread have been from someone who relies much more heavily on MIDI than I do - particularly MIDI sync and I think MIDI CC and MIDI control of functions related to paraphony. Expectations of paraphonic performance vs. reality may be a factor as well.

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I love my Grandma, but I would love to have the Matriarch too!

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I also love the grandmother, but my spring reverb had issues on a regular basis, its really fragile, now it completly stopped working and I cannot fix it myself (moog sent me a manual to). Apparantly the connection between the tank and the synth get’s lose very easily. For me its really disappointing since the spring reverb adds a lot of magic to the sound. Unfortunately its not useable, but I might be the minority with my granny

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I have owned a few Matriarchs, found myself doing the same thing- triangle wave paraphony delay over and over. Sounded great but felt I wasnt using the full potential. Got a GM and I feel like I’m going to more interesting sound design places vs siking myself out or reverting to the same old thing. I can get what I want fast and I love the sound.

That said I am also seriously considering getting Matriarch for the third time…

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I’m sure I’ll want to sequence it with the digitone but also use the internal sequencer in time with the DN. The primary thing I want to do with it is basically pair it with my modular gear and experiment.

I’m not approaching the Matriarch for it’s paraphonic capabilities. Of course I’ll use it but I’ll approach it as a beefed up mono synth. I had my one the GM but seeing that the Matriarch brings so much more to the table I think I’ll like to make it the foundation to my eurorack setup.

You’ll probably be fine then, as the majority of complaints I’ve seen seem to be related to the paraphonic features. These features are fine for me, but some peeps expect something different in the envelope behavior, triggering behavior, etc. when sequencing over MIDI.

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Yes, 1000% :grinning: But it all depends on your needs and what you want, don’t forget that.

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