Matriarch Dark brings a sleek, classic finish to the Moog Matriarch. Matriarch Dark presents the same great features, sounds and specs as the original colorful Matriarch. Now offered in an all-black color scheme, it invokes the timeless look of Moog's classic modular control panels.

Matriarch is Moog's flagship, all-analog, 49-key semi-modular synthesizer. Delivering a strikingly similar retro design to the one found on the Grandmother, it adds exciting improvements over the previous version. While they both share the same built-in arpeggiator and 256-step sequencer, Matriarch goes further. It features four analog oscillators, twice that of the Grandmother, plus dual Moog Ladder filters and a stereo analog delay with MIDI sync. Play Matriarch Dark right out of the box with “no patching required,” or dive deeper into designing your own sounds by exploring infinite patching options across the front and rear panel. Matriarch Dark’s circuits and delay are inspired by classic Moog modular synthesizers. It's a powerful addition to a Mother-32, DFAM or any Eurorack modular system.

A sound that commands respect

Matriarch Dark’s all-analog signal path delivers a wide variety of sonic capabilities. Range from overdriven monophonic bass to gently evolving paraphonic plucks that cycle through waveshapes into a wash of infinite delay trails. Easily create harmonically rich content with up to four notes of polyphony. Or, stack all four VCOs and create a powerful mono synth capable of cutting through any mix. Like many Moog modular synths before it, Matriarch Dark’s sound engine, modulation engine, stereo ladder filters, dual envelopes and stereo delay are completely analog. The result is an unrestricted sonic vocabulary of immense beauty and power. In addition, Matriarch Dark also features an easy-to-use arpeggiator and a built-in sequencer with up to 256 steps, four notes per step and 12 stored patterns. The sequencer can also be patched to independently control external gear.

Analog building blocks

While the Matriarch Dark is built as a self-contained keyboard, each section can be broken down to individual sections based on classic Moog modular designs. That includes Minimoog oscillators, a CP3 module mixer, 904A module filters, 911 module envelopes, 902 module VCAs, and an analog delay that closely resembles the MF-104M and 500 Series effects. Each of the four analog oscillators have selectable waveshapes and can be hard-synced per oscillator, which drives the heart of Matriarch Dark’s sound. There’s also a full-range LFO with six selectable waveshapes, dual analog ADSR envelopes, dual analog VCA and a pair of analog filters with parallel (HP/LP), stereo (LP/LP), and series (HP/LP) modes available. Replacing the spring reverb found in the Grandmother, Matriarch Dark has an onboard stereo analog delay with up to 700ms of stereo or ping-pong style repeats that can be synced to the host tempo via MIDI.

Retro looks, modern design

Matriarch Dark may take its inspiration from retro Moog synths of the past, but it is loaded with modern features. As for connectivity, Matriarch Dark has everything needed for today’s production environments, including a 5-pin MIDI In/Out/Thru as well as MIDI over USB for instant integration with your host computer. There are also two 1/4” TS jacks for line-level output and a 1/4” external audio input capable of taking signals from guitars, drum machines and more. The 49-key premium Fatar keybed features patchable velocity and aftertouch, offering a wide range of expressivity. When you’re ready to go beyond Matriarch Dark’s pre-wired sound design capability, there are a total of 90 accessible modular patch points across the front and back of the unit. This highly versatile synth can transform into a fully modular system at a moment’s notice.

Moog Matriarch Dark