I prefer synth plugins to analog gear because I have a budget and limited space in my house. But at some point in time, do you ever wonder if we’re basically being conned? Moog just came out with a cool bass synth plugin called Mariana at an intro price of $49. It sounds great and it looks wonderful. The price is reasonable. Should you buy it?
I can’t answer that question. The MiniMoog is probably the most popular all time “bass synth”, in that it was responsible for so many fat bass lines in the 70s and 80s. Various Roland keyboards were also heavily used, as was the lowly TX81Z for its wonderful “Lately Bass.” Anyway, if you want a Moog bass synth sound, what’s wrong with a $49 plugin specifically designed for the task? Nothing.
Unless. Unless you already own a MiniMoog plugin (I do.) Unless you already own a Moog Modular plugin (I do.) Unless you already own plugins for almost every popular synth ever made (I do.) If you already have a synth plugin collection that already contains Moog stuff, then the Mariana is a convenience plugin. It’s a way to access cool sounds quickly. It’s almost like you’re paying for the presets. OK, yes, there will be some sounds that might be unique to the specific way this plugin was designed – it can outdo the MiniMoog for some things.
But let’s call this horse a horse – if you don’t know how to dial up a cool bass sound on a MiniMoog plugin AND you aren’t happy with the presets that came with it, I could see this being interesting. Not everyone wants to learn analog synthesis. They just want a cool bass sound. Nothing wrong with that. I bet Moog will sell tons.
But if you are in the category I’m in, where you already own more plugins than you can remember, it might be a good idea to pause and consider how much fun it might be to learn how to make patches on your Moog Modular, Arp 2600, MiniMoog plugins. There are tons of videos which walk you through the process of dialing up a bass sound on a MiniMoog plugin.
Are we being conned? I mean, I already have digital copies of Moog stuff that can be dialed in to make a great sound. Am I rebuying Moog filters? Well no, because I’m not buying the Mariana. If I didn’t have any Moog stuff at all, I wouldn’t buy the Mariana – I’d buy a MiniMoog plugin. But that’s just me. It is a great sounding plugin for a small amount of money.