Model 15 Modular Synthesizer Reviews

by Jay Bliss

Scale feature doesn’t work. The issue persists after uninstalling and reinstalling Model15ModularSynthesizer . Issue occurs in iOS 14 and iOS 15 on both an iPhone and iPad. Also, they removed the original animoog from Model15ModularSynthesizer store(not animoog z) which i paid for which is the equivalent to robbery, so it only exists on my iPad until I need to restore or I get another device at which time I won’t be able to get it back. They are asking $30 bucks for the new animoog z which is amazing but who’s to say they don’t take that off Model15ModularSynthesizer store after taking my money. Unacceptable on so many different levels. I only gave this 1 star because I had no other option. It does sound great though if it works properly or remains on Model15ModularSynthesizer store after you pay for it.

by Laarz

So this synth sounds great. And the skeuomorphic design looks good. It's just a UI that is not user friendly on a regular sized iPad. With the keyboard loaded the synth area is far less than half the screen. The labels are very small, and there is a lot of continual zooming and unzooming and panning required. And also there is a lot of loading and unloading of the keyboard to test the sound if an external keyboard isn't available. If I was already familiar with the interface from using an actual Model 15, then it might be okay (and surely not many of us will have had that chance). But to learn how to patch as I go is a real pain. As is trying to analyze how preset patches are put together. At the very least I would suggest updating with the option of a smaller keyboard, one that doesn't take up a third of the screen. Or more so an alternative digital interface that fits on the screen and functions more simply. Being a slave to the original look, while kind of a novelty, is just not that functional. And I am growing fatigued of this before I have even begun to learn how to program it.

by Austiniodtx

I’ve had this for about a day now and have not been able to put it down. The synth sounds great for being an iphone app - a lot better than many of the software plugins out there. I’m using this on an iphone 7+ so I have to do a lot of scrolling and zooming, which is expected. The GUI is crystal clear and making patches is pretty easy as well. I think an area where Model15ModularSynthesizer could be improved is in the tutorials. Being new to modular synthesis, I enjoyed the two tutorials that show you around but it would have been nice to have more tutorials showing you how to make basic sounds (drums, saws, pads, ect).

That being said, as an educational tool I think Model15ModularSynthesizer is well worth the money and makes learning about modular synths a lot of fun. Best synth on Model15ModularSynthesizer store.

by Wrave

Moog Model 15: Model15ModularSynthesizer has set out to do the impossible. It's not going to be possible for any software to ever avoid aliasing. That said, if you're willing to lay down your sword and give this experience a chance, you'll find it to be quite playable. And if you've ever played around with VSTs that attempted to model this kind of a synth in the past, you'll have a lot more fun and be more satisfied with the audio.

One of Moog's killer features in their iOS apps is the ability to touch a knob with one finger and as long as you don't let that finger off of the screen, you keep control of it. By doing that to a lot of knobs selectively over time one can gain a kind of invisible orchestra of control that just doesn't happen in the hardware world.

What would give Model15ModularSynthesizer five stars?
1. There's some sort of swipe action that switches between the keyboard(s) and the ribbon controller. Boooooo. Get rid of that. Y'all, that's where I'm trying to play this slip n slidey thing.

2. Legibility. I know the original hardware was black with white labels but perhaps an inverted color scheme would help? I agree that it's rough on the eyes sometimes. I borrowed a huge iPad pro from work and was amazed that the modules still didnt fit at a comfortable size. BUT the ability to "latch" a touch eases the frustration. Again, give it a chance

by Al.K.

I love Model15ModularSynthesizer. I have lots of experience on a MiniMoog and I've wished for a Moog Modular system since the early 70's./ The sounds are amazing and there is nothing quite like Robert Moog's early oscillator designs, mixers, and filters. Last year I sunk about $6000 into a huge Behringer System 55 synth, which is as close as I'll ever get, but Model15ModularSynthesizer sounds just as good.... for less lol. I do wish that Model15ModularSynthesizer could shrink down just a bit more so I could see the whole synth at once. Not willing to rotate my 24" monitor 90-degrees. Still exploring but I give this 8 our of 5 stars... deduct a half star for not shrinking, so, 7.5 of 5 stars.

Great job Moog. You're my hero.

by Wcm5150

This is the absolute best sounding analog modeling synthesizer on Model15ModularSynthesizer Store hands-down. I have all of the big ones and this is the only one that has surpassed the Arturia iSEM which was and still is my favorite. It's still my favorite because of its interface. It's the best. But as far as sound quality and authenticity goes the Moog model 15 is the unequivocal winner. The filters, the effects, the oscillators, they are all spot on and second to none. Nobody can do this like Moog. Buy Model15ModularSynthesizer. Work this good deserves your patronage. They work hard, have good hearts, and that's why their stuff is so good.

by Nomad Scorpio

I wish I could afford a real Moog. But honestly....this is a fantastic substitute. Buy Model15ModularSynthesizer, plug in a midi controller, some good phones or monitors, purchase all the additional presets without thinking twice because they are all amazing. Period. Have a drink...get lost in modular synthesis and you will instantly feel like your part of an elite secret society of music creation. Before you know it...the sun will be setting and 8 hours have gone by and it felt like 5 minutes. Well worth the price of admission. Thank you for creating this. ❤️

by Kswanca

I plan to write a full review, but it’s amazing. The sounds you discover 😳that they are related to scores played in film and TV in the many sound settings. Same arps, same feel, same wow. 👊 Just started playing. Too many good words to describe it would sound like gibberish with slobber thrown in. My mouth hasn’t stopped talking about it with friends,🤩🙄 , or figuring out the infinite ways to make a sound, and bend it to your will🤓Bob did create the Monster of Sound. Unlike any other instrument in the modern age, (here it comes) the Moog formulated version of the synthesizer instrument is the most flexible, most creative due to unlimited unknown sounds within the hundreds of thousands of overlap and waves of electrical signals that ping pong, across multiple LFO’s and VCO’s, from making a complete sound of a dolphin, or the docile nature of the bell tone, it’s Bob Moog’s mind that dwarfs the common instrument creator. Don’t hesitate, buy this one first.

“You will never master it, because it’s unattainable to humans, that’s what makes music so.” TM!

Yeah, I wrote that.

by Conner777

Hahah!! Although I will never be able to afford a model 15 as long as I live. I love Model15ModularSynthesizer and it’s great for learning patch building and hilariously enough basic synthesis. It’s an infinitely complex machine yet as hands on or hands off as you want it to be. All of that said I would love to see synths like the model d or the sub phatty made available in app form. When considering a synth you like to be able to play it first but I don’t have a store available so I can’t test it. Also, Moogs are too precious to be display models. I would adore a sub phatty or model d app to persuade me over the edge to buy.

by ACR 1

Great sounding emulation of a classic modular synth! Includes some great patches which can be easily modified or studied to learn modular synth sound design. Sound quality is extraordinary. I like that Moog designers included the Animoog keyboard which makes it easy to play expressively in a particular key. The arpeggiator has been great to work with; simple but capable. It's nice that the recent update made Model15ModularSynthesizer audio unit capable, but being pretty CPU intensive, most hardware would have some difficulty keeping up with more than a few iterations of Model 15. It would be nice if the included tutorials would go a little further. Perhaps something to look forward to in future updates.

by SpAcetoilet

Ok, so I’m primarily a guitarist who over the last few years has got into piano and synths more. I’ve had Arturia iMini for a while, I use the Alchemy synth in Garage Band and Logic, and even recently bought Model D app as well. But this (Moog Model 15) is just mind blowing.
I can’t praise it enough and although I’m on an iPhone X, (now I really want a 64 bit iPad) I am having so much fun with this and learning so much about synthesis too.
My phone is plenty powerful to run it like butter as you can imagine but I do want to run it on an iPad...
The sounds are just sooo fat and deeper? than any other soft synth I’ve ever heard, it’s just a joy to navigate, and experiment
with!
Seriously if you are thinking of trying this just buy it. I think a real Model 15 is $10,000!! So this is an absolute steal.
I’m running a pair of cheap studio monitors and using my old Korg digital piano as a midi keyboard for this, all connected via a Korg plugkey (that’s awesome as you can charge your device while playing).
All I can say to the Moog developers of Model15ModularSynthesizer is Bravo! I’m blown away!

by Whydoyoumakememakeanickname

Thanks for response, yeah, Apple really needs to figure some things out. I’ve had nothing but frustration trying to use iOS as a serious tool, from issues like the cpu usage you described, to type c hubs working/not working completely randomly. I’ve wasted a lot of time and money on this iPad. I bought it to integrate into my studio, but it’s done nothing but dead stop workflow over and over, like almost every time. Started using windows again for most audio/recording needs. It’s a shame too, this hardware is fully capable. They tell me I can’t get a refund because it’s my own fault that I waited too long to see if Apple could resolve issues, so now stuck w a 12.9 inch overpowered toy that can’t be trusted to work properly under any circumstances. Sorry for my original review, it probably wasn’t fair, and now a few apps not working properly is least of my concerns, now it’s hardware issues, random resets, randomly “not charging” randomly makes my audio interface and midi controllers have seizures, under no cpu load too. Can’t narrow down these issues they are so random and completely solve themselves then return a day or 2 later.
Bah...

by RAW IMAC

Great user interface and menu control, I look forward to understanding the Model 15’s controls to realize its near infinite sound potential.
One small suggestion if I may be so bold, could you include a button that may be pressed, perhaps sounding middle C, that can be used to hear what one is creating short of opening the full keyboard when setting up the Model 15? Perhaps this already exists and I’m simply unaware of it, then please accept my humble apology.
You have certainly set the bar high for other instruments to follow!
I want to thank you for making the experience of using an actual Model 15 available to users like myself who would never have the opportunity but for your kind generosity.

by Jup1359

The title says it all. This has a lot of what real analog has, texture, 3D dimensionality, and it's very musical and it's what the ear expects to hear, the way I would expect a Moog to be. For how much this delivers, the price is a practically giving away the Moog tone. I have a Minitaur which is very, very good in terms of giving the highest quality that real analog can sound, and I have a Werkstatt. Again a very analog sounding analog. This software for many sounds is on par with those, not all timbres when the three are simultaneously compared, but there's many patches in this modular software I would use over those. That says a lot since those two real a
Moog analogs are some of the most analog analogs I've used.

by Coffeejunkie1980

I have always loved Moog and was very excited when I found Model15ModularSynthesizer. As far as people complaining about needing a 12.9” iPad Pro, they’re just being picky and complaining unnecessarily. I have a 10.5” and 9.7” iPad Pro and it works fine. It is a soft-synth after all!!! 😏 To get all these great sounds for this low price is phenomenal.

I connect Model15ModularSynthesizer to my MacBook Pro via the midi configuration and control it thru Reason 10 and a Novation Controller. Everything works great. I play the sounds on my controller, record the midi, edit modulation and use the iPad for final tweaking/moving cables while recording the final audio. All around, it’s a must have app if you love moog sounds.

If you want more room you can by the USB to lightning adapter, plug in an inexpensive midi controller and play the keys that way, giving you a little more room to access the knobs/cables, etc.

by Toaster Fflow

I’m really impressed with this application. The visual component of the application is really impressive and makes its use easy and comfortable, and strangely familiar. The modules have been engineered to create sounds that are remarkably similar to the original hardware released in the early 70s. I had the good fortune to work with Moog hardware, including the Model 15. I was easily able to recreate patches I first made on the hardware more than 40 years ago.

The arpeggiator is a breeze to use, and a welcome inclusion. The playability of the keyboards, and the ribbon controller, makes it a wonderfully expressive instrument.

I look forward to delving more deeply into programming. If I had one request, it would be the ability to remove unused modules and add to additional instances of others. That way, if I needed an additional envelope, or another VCA, it would be a simple thing.

by BishopDelicious

The Model 15 is endlessly fantastic. Sounds amazing. The interface and functionality is a beautiful hybrid of old skool modular classics and today’s needed functionality. Did I say it sounds AMAZING!? Great, flexible routing options. I was impressed when I could control it with an outboard keyboard via network session. I was FULLY sold when I was able to control the M15 via an outboard keyboard, easily assign cc to the same, WHILE running via Lightning into Logic Pro X..audio tracking on one channel and MIDI tracking to another. MIDI playback from Logic plays back in the synth, knobs moving and all. Quick routing change allowed me to have the MIDI track in Logic playback and “reAmp” onto another audio track. Long story.. long... the Model 15 is a real deal performance and studio Moog; well worth every penny. I hope Moog keeps going and brings the DFAM or similar into iOS.

by TheRealDutchee

Everything that carries the Moog brand name is just top notch and so is Model15ModularSynthesizer. Fantastic sounds and features and value. Great looking interface with eye for every detail. I love the analog feel and sound when tweaking the various knobs. I have not encountered any bugs myself. Unlike a lot of other apps Moog really seem to thoroughly test their software before releasing it instead of using users as their beta-testers. I won't be using names but there are some developers out there with expensive apps that make me feel like i am paying to be their guinea pigs and test their broken software. I never had that with any Moog app and i own them all. This one is already a classic in my book just like Animoog or Model-D.

Thanks to the Moog developers to support the iOS platform and provide us with amazing synth apps. Two thumbs up and highly recommending all of their apps.

by Geoelectro

OK. I play and service keyboards. I just finished servicing a 1976 Moog Model 15. While researching it I came across Model15ModularSynthesizer. I have a number of synth Apps already like the ARP Odessey, (my first synth) Korg Wavestation, Korg M1 etc. They all sound surprisingly good. So I was hesitant to get yet another synthesizer App. And, since I had the real thing (though temporarily) I couldn’t imagine any App could have the presence and power of this amazing modular. Of course, I had to give it back to the customer so I decided to try out Model15ModularSynthesizer.

Let me say, this is the most astonishing synth App I’ve ever heard. I was able to AB between Model15ModularSynthesizer and the actual synth. Again, astonishing! That famous filter sound is there and in your face. Plus, it can play polyphonically, has a nice delay effect, the sequencer, ribbon controller, and presets!

I don’t know If the larger 12.9 iPad would expose more of the synth at one time but if it does, I’m getting it.

by TBMisamazing

Right out of the gate, I was completely blown away with Model15ModularSynthesizer. The sound, the graphics, the attention to detail Moog put into this are incredible. Operation on an Air 1 is smooth; I haven’t had any issues with cpu overload so far. But what really impresses me about this is that it can be controlled with a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard. You can play notes and zoom in and out of specific modules without having to touch the screen... and that’s just the start. You can also control the note velocity, change presets, and so much more. The only downside is that note length is fixed to half a second unless you press tab before you press a note key (you have to then press tab twice to release the note).

I wish there were more tutorials detailing how each module works, however. Tutorial wise, all you’re shown is how to set up a patch with the filter and envelopes and that’s it.

Despite that, Model15ModularSynthesizer is definitely worth the money. It quickly became a favorite of mine.