Novation MoroderNova Synthesizer Inspired By Giorgio Moroder


Novation today made it official: the custom synth featured in Giorgio Moroder’s latest video is the limited edition MoroderNova.

The Novation MoroderNova, above, is a new version of the MiniNova that is pre-loaded with synth patches inspired by the work of Giorgio Moroder and featuring Moroder-inspired styling.

novation-morodernova-synthesizerMoroder – whose work helped define the sound of disco and synth pop – was already a MiniNova user, so Novation says that ‘the idea to collaborate on a new limited-edition Novation synth seemed obvious’.

moroder1The MoroderNova is pre-loaded with Moroder-approved synth patches, based on sounds from some of his best-known work. The numbered run of 500 signature MoroderNovas have a custom design, branded with Giorgio’s signature ‘moustache and shades’ insignia, and featuring silver/black styling:


The signature sound patches come from some of Giorgio’s seminal moments in music. Novation says that its sound designers have created patches to match the original Moroder sounds, from the timbres of Moroder’s disco classics with bands such as Sparks and Donna Summer, to the sounds of the Top Gun and Scarface soundtracks, and his recent work with Daft Punk.

Pricing and Availability

The Novation MoroderNova is being produced in a very limited edition of 500 units, each numbered and shipped with certificate of authenticity. Suggested retail price is $624.99 (MAP $449.99), and the synths should be available mid-summer 2015. More information, as it becomes available, is at the MoroderNova website.

49 thoughts on “Novation MoroderNova Synthesizer Inspired By Giorgio Moroder

  1. Looks like a god damn Microkorg but costs even more! Those big glowing 1-8 buttons are a right eyesore..
    Not surprised it’s a run of 500 because i’m not sure who’d want it..

    Give me a Yamaha CS-80 Vangelis edition and I’m in though!!

    1. This is priced at about $50 more than the MicroKorg, but has 18-voice polyphony vs 4-voice polyphony, and has a way more powerful synth engine (more filters, more effects, better modulation, etc).

      Anybody buying a MicroKorg over a MiniNova isn’t paying attention or doesn’t know what they are buying. A more interesting comparison would be this vs the new JD-Xi.

      I’m reserving judgement on this until Novation puts out audio demos of the sound library, but this could be kind of a cool little synth.

    2. Are you aware this is a skinned MiniNova, which has been out for over 3 years, and has a far more advanced synth engine than the MicroKorg or Microkorg XL?

      Those 8 “eyesore” buttons are modulation triggers – momentary or latchable – or can control an arp seq. They’re incredibly useful and expand the control immensely. They can completely change the sound inside a patch drastically.

      MiniNova blows the MicroKorg so far out of the water that the Coast Guard is no longer in charge of the investigation.

      You might not want the Moroder version, but the synth itself is great. If it had 5 octaves of full size keys and a knob for every function, it would cost $2,000. And some people say you can’t hear the knobs on a record.

    3. Having used those big buttons for multiple types of momentary modulation, I’d say they sure ain’t a thumbsore. They’re super useful.

      I love this synth. It’s an analog purists’ nightmare but does everything you’d want a digi to do and sounds damn good. I’ve never had so much fun with a vocoder.

    1. I can never get my head around making a cheap synth with both minikeys and midi in. The sensible thing is that you make a smaller and more adorable sound module without any keys. And really by now every synth should have powered USB for midi in and out, so any class compliant midi controller of your own choosing, size and quality can be just plugged in a played, or directly plugged into the computer with midi and audio. It is odd, this is a small and limited market, and it is in a practice of selling a product at a higher cost, as it has a poor set of keys that nobody wants, or even asked for. When on the whole what is being brought is a sound source to be integrated into a standard computer plus controller setup. So stop this minikey tripe and get real with a USB audio/midi standard already.

      1. Are there synths that function as a USB Host and allow class-compliant USB MIDI Controls to plug directly in? At this price range?

        1. It is a question of scale. Really, they already have a USB port, audio out, and midi ports, so you are just talking about a simple A/D conversion. You are talking no more than $10 to fit, cheaper than a minikey fitting. Then once you get a standard and everyone is fitting one the A/D board is going to cost cents in a few years. If you think small then you get small, and you got that already, so try thinking big.

      2. What you want and what sells are two different things.

        People don’t buy synth modules anymore, because vendors can add a mini synth keyboard at negligible cost over a module version, and it makes it way more usable for most people and a hell of a lot easier to sell at your local music store.

    2. Wow, apparently you people have no knowledge of synths whatsoever. The small keys on this mini-style synth are the EXACT standard size keys existent on literally EVERY mini/micro style synth EVER made, going back decades and decades. So, don’t leave negative comments if you don’t know what it is that you are talking about.

    1. I’m in the wait list already…it will perfectly sit above my Yamaha CS-80 as per the 1st comment.

    2. Or the casio cz1, or the Yamah Dx 100?
      you must be relatively new to synthesizers?
      Mini keys are not a new ‘Trend’ . You would not use one for a master keyboard , but because of a thing midi, you can use your master keyboard.

    3. Lol not so much, it’s actually modeled PRECISELY after the Novation MiniNova (the only difference is some of the voices are tailored to Gergio Moroder’s style plus some minor cosmetic changes to make it look like a signature model), just check out a pic/description of the MiniNova and it will be blatantly obvious.

  2. “certificate of authenticity”, lol, good job there is a small run of these as you’d have to be an idiot to fork out for a colour change and a few presets which will be “available” very soon after this comes out.

  3. Disco…ok I’m already NOT sold. Disco is dead let it lie. It was bad enough to have to live thought it in the lates 70s and early 80s. The Mininova is a cool little instrument, and I prefer the blue livery instead of this.

      1. True, but I had the disadvantage of living through the initial ugly phase of disco. Give me it’s roots, funk, in large doses. I can skip the polyester and lighted dance floor.

  4. I like this for what it is – a MiniNova with a retro sound library, vs a bunch of dubstep and hip-hop sounds.

    The MiniNova is a powerful little synth, but creating new sounds from scratch with its minimal interface is a bit of a chore.

    Having a library of great sounds as a starting point to tweak would make this much more appealing to me.

    If you want to compare this to the MicroKorg, make sure you check out the specs and the sound. The MiniNova has got way more polyphony, for example.

  5. A mininova is not a micro Korg, the ms 2000 is not an ultra nova which is basically what you are saying. the mininova is more robust in my review.

  6. We’ve got one of these in the office here, it’s a good sounding little machine, and the mini-keys are actually quite playable (I usually hate this sort of stuff), and its positively a lot more synth than a MicroKorg.

    But beauty lies in the eyes & ears of the beholder 🙂

    1. I’m with you on this. I love my Mininova… I want those patches!!! This would make the Mininova all the more worth it than it already is. Novation, we are counting on you!!!!

  7. Whoever is putting those mini keys on synths please stop. It was bad enough playing a DX100 and a Casio SK1 on the 80s looking like a 10-year old. Just give us fewer octaves at full size.

  8. Anyone dumb enough to buy a synth with Moroders Moustache stickers on the side isn’t going to know who he is anyway. A truly bizarre product.

    1. “Anyone dumb enough to buy a synth with Moroders Moustache stickers on the side isn’t going to know who he is anyway.”

      Hardly. What sort of cork-sniffer is analog-only?

  9. This particular isn’t for me specifically, but nonetheless I am absolutely fascinated by these recent developments in the field.

    The cost of developing a variation on an existing architecture is arriving at the point where instruments can follow the fashion industry with seasonal, fad and popularity driven instruments on a short regular cycle.

    You may not like this development, but I think it is pretty cool. It represents the arrival of a mature artistic industry.

    Rather than a blockbuster synth that dominates the industry, there will be hundreds of different instruments each season representing variations on the latest styles.

    1. If they did something like this every year, and then released the new patches so that UltraNova and MiniNova users could use them too, it would be a fun development for Novation’s Nova synth platform.

  10. Send up a flare when they come up with an Ennio Morricone custom keyboard. I prefer the music of those old spaghetti Westerns. Ooooeeeoooeeeeoooooooooo wahhh waahhhh waaaaahhhhhhhhh

  11. Wait a minute….

    they took a synth, stuck moustaches on the side, and filled it with disco?
    What’s not to love?

    People take life far too seriously. Imagine how much other things in life would improve if we stuck moustaches on the side and filled them with disco… it would instantly make public transport brilliant, to give just one example.

  12. marketing limbo – how low can you go. instead of making a better synth, we will slap someones name on it to try to sell it.

    * i do enjoy the esthetic of mini keys. but not down with celebrity endorsement bullshit.
    and yes especially since this synth has been out for years. they obviously didn’t sell enough and now have to resort to this marketing crap.

  13. Everyone Seems to Be Missing The Point The Novation Moroder Nova is a Limited Run, i.e. Collectable, in Years to Come, and Therefore a Damm Fine Synthesizer Made By a Superb Company. It’s Simple If You Like it Buy it Nobody is Asking or Forcing You to.

  14. I had a Ultranova and sold it but looked into the mininova because all the reviews said it was superior to it. I have the Giorgio on order. For under $500.00 dollars I am sure this will not be a let down. Not much of a Roland fan. Terrible presets and a bitch to program anything, too many steps. If I could afford it I would go with Moog or Korg for sure. Everyone seems to forget that you get what you pay for. I have owned about 25 synthesizers through out my life from Alesis to Yamaha.

  15. Also want to add everyone is hating on something that has not even been reviewed yet. Believe me if it sucks you will see it on Youtube. Wait. I heard the release date is 10 August 2015.

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