MOOG Spectravox Semi-Modular Analog Spectral Processor with CV Filter Bank/Vocoder, Voltage-Controlled Oscillator, Headphone Out and 3.5mm Patch Bay

It was a little jarring to see the “MADE IN TAIWAN” label on the back and no reference made to Asheville at all. Maybe Apple has the exclusive rights to the phrase “Designed by… Made in…”? But there’s no point in complaining about the country of origin; of course this is the cost of globalization. This should mean more Moogs in the hands of people who want them. But one would think the new-and-improved manufacturing process would have some effect over the price. I think the asking price is a little extreme if you want to compare it with other mass-produced noise-making toys.The concept of the Spectravox is very interesting. The overall design is truly unique. Having all those envelope followers, a filter bank, myriad patching options…I mean seriously, go watch the videos on this thing and you’ll have a hard time not wanting one of your own to play with!But it certainly has its downfalls. And most of these are related to the price and the value that I’ve come to expect from Moog.First: Where’s the freaking manual?!? It doesn’t ship with the usual black-bound, attractive Moog-branded manual. It comes with a quick start guide (and, of course, a sticker…and five 30cm patch cables) but the manual is only available for download on Moog’s website. Print it out yourself, I guess?There’s no onboard sequencer. There’s also no MIDI input. But there’s only so many options you can cram into 60hp for $600. If you’re buying this, you’re probably already pretty deep into volt-per-octave and gate CVs. But it doesn’t really exist as a standalone instrument unless you enjoy playing a pitch knob like a theremin.It has Moog’s desktop skiff typical square/sine oscillator with PWM. I always keep my fingers crossed for a second oscillator and sync option or variable wave shape, but there’s only so many options you can cram into 60hp for $600.The decay envelope seems like kind of a corner-cutting feature, but there’s only so many options you can cram into 60hp for $600.As vocoders go, this thing is very basic. If you’re trying to synthesize speech, there’s way better options that’ll yield way better results. But paired with a drum machine (or a DFAM) and this thing can actually do some fun stuff in vocoder mode.I’m disappointed that the filter frequencies are not printed on the panel and instead are just numbered 1-10.I’ll touch again on this thing not being a standalone instrument. Yeah, out of the box you can make weird and cool sounds with it. But unlike pretty much every other offering that Moog has released, the Spectravox would be sort of disappointing if it was your FIRST Moog. The onboard oscillator is what allows it to be considered an “instrument” rather than a “module”, and it’s easy to get pulled into the what-if game. (“What if this thing wasn’t larping as a standalone synthesizer and instead was an impeccably-designed 60hp filter bank on steroids? That’d be so awesome…”)It plays well with others. But Moog hasn’t given us the usual playbook of patching ideas that’s been so endemic to the previous Sound Studio releases. Maybe this is a good thing and it makes you experiment harder? Maybe this thing was rushed to market?It’s hard to totally hate the Spectravox. But it seems like it’s trying to do too much and ends up being mediocre at most of its endeavors. I guess there’s only so many options you can cram into 60hp for $600.

I'm happy that they are releasing more synths. It's disappointing they are no longer assembled in the USA but 600 bucks for a filter bank/ vocoder thing is a ton of money for a module w a voice...so I'm sure if they made it here who knows what they would have to charge I guess...idk. I really hope the Labyrinth synth comes out quickly.....I like weird things but I can understand this may not be for everyone. Simply it's good for somebody that has a ton of other things like me, but I would not want this to be my only instrument. It would be awful.