Moog Professional Systems Price List, March 1, 1976

Moog Professional Systems Price List from March 1, 1976.

When friend of the blog Micke posted those links to the Moog 1972 and 1974 modular price lists in the comments section of my Moog Synthesizer 35 post, I immediately recognized the 1974 price list as looking eerily similar to a 1976 price list I had on my shelves somewhere. I went over to the Moog section and after a bit of digging finally found this little gem - in great condition too. Nice thick paper. Dark print. Yum.

When I did a cursory comparison, they looked identical (except for the colour), but as I took a closer look the differences started to make themselves clear.

The cover of the 1974 price list and this 1976 price list are pretty much identical, except that the "TM" is missing from the Moog logo that sits in the top right corner - and in fact, its missing from every corner of every page. The design of concentric circles matches the design style used for their product reference sheets from the same time period.

Flip open the list to the inside pages and again - very similar. On the inside-left page, the two paragraphs in the 1974 price list and this 1976 list are identical. No words have been changed. Underneath is the Instrument price lists, and its a little surprising to see just how much prices have gone *UP* in just two years.

For example:
Moog System 15 -  1974: $3,495.00  ----  1976: $3,845.00
Moog system 35 -   1974: $5,395.00  ----  1976: $5,935.00
Moog System 55 -  1974: $8,795.00   ---- 1976: $9,675.00

And remember, those differences are in 1976-dollars. That was a lot of cash back then!

On the inside-right page of the 1974 price list and the 1976 list are modules prices. Again, we see the uptick in pricing in 1976, and we also are surprised with the availability of a few more modules!

• The 928 Modular Sample and Hold
• The 1630 Bode Frequency Shifter

Excellent additions.

Finally on the back of the the 1974 price list and the 1976 list are images of the three different models available and a few selling points for each. Again, all similar between the two.

The most interest difference between these two price lists is right at the bottom of the back page. On the 1974 list is written "Distributed by: NORLIN MUSIC Inc." along with some contact info. This is rather surprising considering that according to the "Bob Moog: A Timeline" page on the Moog Music Web site, Norlin Music purchased Moog Music Inc. from Bill Waytena in 1973, essentially making Moog a sub-brand.

But, by 1976, Norlin finally decided to take advantage of their ownership status and up'd the tagline on that 1976 price list to "Another Quality Product from Norlin".

And just to make it official, slapped that Norlin logo right next to it.