Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment:
Music geeks have never seen anything like it. The hype surrounding Moog's new product launch on 29th March is pretty much unprecedented. Ok, nobody has yet made an hoax video of the thing, but we're waiting.

Why all the buzz? Because people love Moog as a company. Not like people love / hate Apple, but like people love The Simpsons -- unconditionally. Bob Moog helped invent the synth 40 years ago, and the company sells expensive, sexy, American-made gear today. There's no backlash, and -- apart from a few gripes about how expensive the stuff is -- I've never met a Moog hater. This will be the firm's first new product since Bob Moog died last year. If it turns out to be a new synthesizer, it will be a big deal.

The hype started at the end of last year, when a Moog staffer started dropping hints on message boards about an affordable analog synth from the company. Given that their only other synth costs $3,000 , people got very excited. Then the staffer went quiet, and the NAMM trade fair came and went without anything from the company.

Then, the theories started. It was going to be a $20,000 polyphonic analog synth. Or a set of Rush-style bass pedals. Or a drum machine. Or a completely digital recreation of the legendary Memorymoog. Or a keytar.

Last week, Moog confirmed that something new was on the way, and started dropping hints - an ad with what looked like a classic chunky Moog knob, surrounded by LEDs, then one apparently showing wooden side panels of what looked like a classic slope-fronted Moog synth.

We'll find out what they're up to on the 29th. Two things seem certain. It will still be expensive and it will be cool. I can't wait.
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