I love the I love the sound of a classic Moog as much as the next person, but I think their most interesting current instruments are their line of desktop semi-modular synthesizers. Mother-32, DFAM, Subharmonicon and Spectravox They often include some of the traditional Moog DNA, but with a more experimental approach. They are designed to be explored and stimulated, not just played. The Labyrinth is no different. In some ways, it might be the least Moog synth the company has ever made. That’s also what makes it so exciting.
Labyrinth is built on a two-track, eight-step generative sequencer, meaning you don’t program it manually. Instead, you lay down some guide rails and the machine does the rest. You can choose a scale, tell it how many octaves to cover, turn steps on and off, and decide on the length of the track, but the actual note selection is done semi-randomly.
The two sequencer tracks run in parallel, and if you set them to different lengths (say, one with eight full steps and the other with five), you can create melodies that change as they fall into or out of sync. There’s also a “corruption” knob next to the two sequencer tracks that you can turn to introduce even more randomness. This makes the Maze an excellent happy accident machine.
Photography: Terrence O’Brien
Coming out
The Labyrinth is actually a very capable performance instrument, despite the audible chaos. Since you can force the sequencer to stick to a particular scale and sync it to other gear via MIDI or analog clock, you can make it fit the confines of a song perfectly. Plus, if you stumble upon something you like, you can hold down the buffer button to save the sequence exactly as is. This gives you the chance to experiment with changing bits (steps in the sequencer) and increasing corruption, knowing that you can return to that happy accident you stumbled upon by simply tapping the buffer again. This can make the Labyrinth a valuable improvisational tool.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Labyrinth is that it completely abandons the Moog oscillator and filter setup. Instead of the typical square and saw wave you’d find on most other Moog instruments, the Labyrinth has a single sine oscillator and a single triangle oscillator. This means that the core sound of the Labyrinth is much smoother and less sharp than your typical Moog. Except there’s a wave folder and ring modulation circuit that can add an admirable roughness. You can even get some tinny sounds if you crank the FM (frequency modulation) knob. In some ways, the Labyrinth is both smoother and more abrasive than most other Moog synths.
Things don’t get any more familiar when you move on to the filter section. Instead of that iconic Moog 24 dB/octave low-pass filter (often also referred to as a ladder filter), the Labyrinth has a 2-pole state-variable filter that smoothly blends from low-pass to band-pass. While it’s capable of delivering some warm low end, it really works best when you crank up the resonance to create percussive hits or sharp plucks.
Photography: Terrence O’Brien
New sonic territory
If it’s not clear yet: if you want that classic, raw Moog synth sound, don’t buy the Labyrinth.
The only problem is that, despite its forays into uncharted sonic territories for the Moog, the Labyrinth can sound a little flat on its own, especially in the higher registers. There are plenty of synths that need a little help from delay or reverb to really shine, so that’s not an issue in this case. But the Labyrinth’s raw sound definitely made me grimace on occasion.
If you are familiar with the world of synthesizers, then the words generative and modular It definitely conjures up images of Eurorack boxes bursting at the seams with cables laid out amongst succulents in front of a rain-covered window as vaguely shapeless melodies meander through the air. Don’t get me wrong, the Labyrinth can produce bleeps and bloops with the best of them, but part of its appeal is how far it can reach beyond those limits. It’s capable of producing techno kick drum beats, snappy snare rolls, high-pitched bass arpeggios and apocalyptic tom marches. The only thing it can’t really do is longer pads, as there’s no attack control.