Legendary synthesizer company Moog announced at the National Association of Music Merchants through a press release that the historic company will be reproducing some of its original and most sought-after, large-scale modular synth units. Specifically, the Ashveville, North Carolina-based company has decided to restart production on three of the most sought-after modular synthesizers: the System 55, the System 35 and the Model 15. They were some of the most innovative models that were built in the 1970s.
Their sounds were used at the time on records by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Giorgio Moroder and everyone in between making disco, soul and funk in the '70s.
There has been a revival of the old disco and funk sound in the past few years, embodied by Daft Punk's Grammy Award-winning album Random Access Memories. Artists are looking toward the past for inspiration in shaping the future, and the disco era — long maligned and forgotten — is getting its due in pop culture by artists who want to bring back the groove.
Moog recognizes that, though it insists that this is not a rehashing of the past, it wants to bring back a piece of the past to help create some new modular magic.
This is not all great news, however. The synthesizers will only be sold in limited quantities and at a hefty price tag. There will be 55 units of the System 55, priced at $35,000 per instrument; 35 of units of the System 35, priced at $22,000 per instrument; and 150 units of the Model 15, priced at $10,000 per instrument.
Watch the video about the System 35 and System 55 and the model featuring electronic pioneers Suzanne Ciani, Malcolm Cecil, David Borden, Dick Hyman, Herb Deutsch and others. Head to Moog's website for more information.
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