Moog Launches Limited Bob Moog Tribute Minimoog Model D for Collectors

The Minimoog Model D still carries outsize weight because it is more than a famous nameplate, it is the shorthand for the Moog bass, lead and filter sound that defined entire generations of records. Moog’s new Bob Moog Tribute Edition leans into that legacy hard, turning the Model D into a limited commemorative release aimed at collectors, working players and anyone who still treats Bob Moog’s instrument as a cornerstone of synth history.

Only 500 units will be built, and each one will be assembled by hand in Moog’s North Carolina production facility. That limited run is backed by a set of physical details that separate the Tribute Edition from a standard reissue: a quartersawn oak enclosure, a custom back-panel decal, a photo-anodized badge that nods to early Moog modular graphics and an included SR Series travel case. Moog is also tying the release directly to legacy work, with the Bob Moog Foundation saying the company will donate $500 from each unit sold.

The Tribute Edition is not a dressed-up museum piece in circuit terms. Moog says it keeps the fully analog signal path of the current Minimoog Model D, along with modern additions already present in the production instrument: a dedicated LFO mode for Oscillator 3, expanded modulation routing, a Fatar keybed with velocity and after-pressure, MIDI integration and a spring-loaded pitch wheel. That matters for buyers who want the Model D feel without giving up contemporary stage and studio convenience. It is still a playable instrument first, but one wrapped in premium materials and scarcity.

Cornell University’s Electrifying Music archive places the original Minimoog in its proper context. First produced in 1970, it was a portable version of a synthesizer with a built-in keyboard, and its pitch and modulation wheels became a standard feature on almost every later synthesizer. Cornell also notes the instrument’s early cultural reach, including its appearance in the 1970 film Performance. That history explains why Moog still describes the Model D as the “archetype of a synthesizer.”

The Bob Moog Foundation welcomed the release on April 14, 2026, and said the donation will support Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, the Bob Moog Foundation Archives and the Moogseum. With Moog planning this as the final production run of the Minimoog Model D, the Tribute Edition lands as both a serious collectible and a closing chapter for one of the most important keyboards ever made.