Moog Messenger Review: Does it Moog?

The synthesizer world was unsurprisingly abuzz when Moog, under its new parent company inMusic, announced the Messenger. Unveiled at Superbooth '25, this 25-key analog monosynth is the first synth developed entirely under the inMusic brand (The Muse was in production before the merger); the public response was seemingly mixed initially with many citing it was too much of a departure from Moog’s rich heritage. The Messenger breaks from a number of Moog traditions, yes. Firstly, priced at $899, it's designed to be the new entry point into the Moog ecosystem, a spot left vacant by the much-loved Subsequent 25. Visually, it is a departure from much of Moog’s previous line up too, although somewhat similar in design language to the Muse, and also sports a number of new features like the multi-mode filters and wave-shaping oscillators. So the big question hangs in the air: Does it still have that legendary Moog sound and feel?

Sounds like a Moog?

Let's get right to it. The core sound is, undeniably, Moog. We had a MiniMoog Voyager on hand to compare it to, and while they’re both very different synths, the Moog DNA is most definitely present, with the Messenger sounding a little more punchy and upfront in general, and the Voyager presenting more of those buttery lows it is famous for. The two analog VCOs on the messenger are rich and sufficiently weighty. They deliver the foundational saw, triangle, and pulse waves that can go from smooth and warm to raw and aggressive. New sonic territory is achievable by way of a wavefolder, a first for a Moog monosynth of this class. This feature allows for some West Coast inspired patches, not entirely unlike Moog’s Mavis. It’s a smart addition that expands the sonic palette beyond classic Moog territory, and its implementation, accessed by sweeping left of the triangle wave, means that it doesn’t get in your way if you’re wanting a more traditional palette of waveshapes. There is FM available too, although limited to the triangle wave only, as well as a sync option. Finally, the Messenger offers up a noise source and sub oscillator (linked to an octave below Osc 1’s pitch) with a morphable waveshape from triangle to a variable-width pulse wave which can be modulated.

The Filter: An Evolution of a Classic

The filter is perhaps one of the main highlights of the synth in our opinion. It is, of course, a ladder filter, however Moog have made some great decisions in expanding its function, character and versatility as well as addressing some shortcomings of the original design. The filter is now multi-mode in nature, featuring 24db and 12db slopes for the low pass modes, as well as a band pass and high pass option.

The standout feature is the new "Res Bass" circuit adopted from its big brother, the Muse. Historically, cranking the resonance on a Moog filter could thin out the low end and perceived volume quite drastically. This circuit compensates for that, allowing you to push the resonance extremely high while retaining the fundamental weight. It works really well, to the point that it actually imparts an entirely new flavor on the tone of the filter, essentially bumping your options up to eight ‘characters’ you can access, considering each of the four filter modes sound distinctly different when bass compensated. For bass patches, this is a significant improvement and in general it adds a lot of flexibility to the instrument, all without stepping out too much of that familiar Moog territory.

An internal feedback loop (normally achievable by patching the headphone output to the audio input on other Moog models) pushes the Messenger into some rather unruly sonic territory, becoming increasingly aggressive as the distortion builds up. This can be pushed even further with audio rate modulation of the cutoff from Oscillator 2, for an immensely satisfying 'growl'.

Mucho Modulation

Modulation is handled primarily by two ADSR looping envelopes and a single multi-waveform LFO. An additional LFO is linked to the modulation wheel, although it is a single shape and can only be routed to the pitch, cutoff and amp. It would have been nice to have an additional freely assigned destination for this. Many of the other modulation sources, whilst pre-patched to specific functions, can be freely assigned to a single additional destination by simply holding down the relevant assign button and then either turning the destination knob, or using the Tempo/Value knob to dial in an amount. A visual representation is shown on the row of 16 light up buttons just above the keyboard which are typically used for the sequencer and menu functions.

The looping envelopes are a great touch, essentially allowing for two additional LFO-esque sources of movement. These can be useful for slow evolving drones or more frenetic movement, as well as some interesting results from modulating the envelope attack and decay times while in loop mode.

Another great feature is the multi-trig option, which forces the envelopes to retrigger on a key press, bypassing the standard legato mode. Additional mod sources such as aftertouch, expression (via the pedal input), and velocity can be applied via the settings menu. We particularly liked the assignable Keyboard S&H option which generates a random value per note trigger.

The 64-step sequencer and arpeggiator are a lot of fun too, offering parameter locking per step (although the single parameter limit is somewhat restrictive), gate and note probability, and manipulation of both step mutes and gate length. The note pool in conjunction with the note probability function is a ton of fun, allowing for some measure of randomness and chaos to be applied to sequences while remaining within melodic constraints set by the notes in the pool.

The Build

So, the build quality, one of the points of contention leading up to the Messenger's public availability. It’s not bad… not bad at all. It feels like the Jack Russel of Moog's keyboard lineup… small, yet tough and stocky. The dreaded plastic that sparked some controversy is limited to the bottom tray and sides of the synth, and it is sufficiently robust and solid. It is slightly recessed behind a rather solid black aluminum body which encases the keys, back panel and main user-facing panel of the synth. The classic wood side panels are gone, but hey, it’s a Moog for $899 and understandably some cuts had to be made in the choice of materials. The keyboard is particularly satisfying sporting 25 full-sized stiff, and pleasantly playable keys. The controls too are suitably ‘Moogy’ and have a rather premium feel to them. Again, in comparison to something like the Voyager, they’re not that far off, albeit a little lighter with less resistance. Lastly, and this is subjective, but we liked the overall look of the synth, with the minimal black and white layout with orange LED’s looking pretty slick in our opinion.

The Downsides?

There were a few niggles and concerns of course. There is no screen or any sort of read-out besides the light up buttons to convey any info pertaining to a patch. That said, we didn't seem to mind this as much as we thought we would... the design is simple and intuitive enough to not require tons of info to be displayed at any given time. That said, it would be great to have more modulation routing stored per patch and within the sequencer steps, which would then increase the need for a display. In terms of modulation, there are plenty of options, but these are in most cases limited to one default and one custom mapping. There are 256 patch locations available, but no way of naming anything, which makes finding anything specific a bit of a chore, if presets are your thing. The synth has full MIDI implementation, utilizing high resolution 14-bit CC's for most controls, so many of these issue could be mitigated by a companion editor plugin, at least when being used in conjunction with a DAW. Sadly, this is nowhere to be seen at launch, although there are hints that it may be in development with a release in the near future. Fingers crossed. During our review, Moog had already also released a firmware update addressing a few minor issues. Hopefully this is a sign we'll see more regular features being added down the line, like potentially being able to route the CV and gate input to a custom destination.

Conclusions

Ultimately, we felt the Messenger is a resounding success. It delivers the essential Moog sound while adding new flavors with wavefolding and the clever Res Bass option on the filter. Some seem to be intent on labeling it a ‘beginners’ Moog, perhaps due to the entry level pricing, but that is doing the Messenger a massive disservice. It feels like a genuine Moog instrument, not a watered-down version. More importantly, it feels like it has been designed by a team that knows exactly how to produce a musical and ultimately very playable instrument. It’s not the cheapest option on the market, but there is enough premium feel and extra features here to warrant spending a little extra, should you be trying to fill a monosynth shaped gap in your instrument collection… and for anyone who has dreamt of owning a Moog but was put off by the price, the Messenger may just be the bearer of good news for you.

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Pros

Punchy tone and trademark Moog sound.

Excellent filter design.

Intuitive and highly playable instrument.

Solid build quality.

Well thought out new additions to the tried and tested Moog formula.

Reasonably priced.

Cons

Limited visual feedback.

No companion editor or plugin at launch.

Mod destinations are mostly limited to one per source per patch.

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