Upgrading to Stage II

Chris-Nic · Post by **Chris-Nic** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:09 am

Hi there, I'm looking for a little info in what's involved with upgrading my LP Stage Edition to a Stage II. I know you can buy the upgrade as a DIY, has anyone done this? Is there any soldering of wires to be done when changeing the side panel, or is it all pretty straight forward plugging of things in?

Any help would be much appreciated, emailed Moog but no reply.

jgirv · Post by **jgirv** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:35 am

...i have a stage II.... needed to swap out the I/O board, as it had gotten static-zapped (located right next the left end cap).... it was pretty easy, just use all the usual anti-static procedures, and take your time. Ryan from Moog was quite helpful in providing info... it took me about 15 minutes, going slowly. best, jgirv

jdiddy1975 · Post by **jdiddy1975** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:43 am

so, is ther soldering or no? I'm really apprehensive about soldering on my $1300 keyboard.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:25 pm

jdiddy1975 wrote:so, is ther soldering or no? I'm really apprehensive about soldering on my $1300 keyboard.

No solder involved...just switch the side panels and unclip a few wires, and clip the new ones where the old ones were. It took me about 10 minutes.

T7 · Post by T7 » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:50 pm

Of course if you want a true upgrade to LP II status, soldering is necessary for the sample and hold IC upgrade.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:58 pm

T7 wrote:Of course if you want a true upgrade to LP II status, soldering is necessary for the sample and hold IC upgrade.

I think he's talking about just the side panel...but you are correct!

jdiddy1975 · Post by **jdiddy1975** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:39 pm

now i'm confused...with the upgrade I get the USB port, do I also get the arpeggiator and tap tempo with the software upgrade?

what is "sample and hold IC upgrade"?

I truly am just reading about all this any help is appreciated.

thanks

T7 · Post by T7 » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:24 pm

jdiddy1975 wrote:now i'm confused...with the upgrade I get the USB port, do I also get the arpeggiator and tap tempo with the software upgrade?

what is "sample and hold IC upgrade"?

I truly am just reading about all this any help is appreciated.

thanks

More info here: http://www.moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopi ... ight=noise

The aforementioned improved ICs are standard on the LP II

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:44 pm

double-post? I don't see a delete button anywhere... Hmm.
Amos

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:49 pm

Hi, just need to clarify some confusion here.

There is no "sample and hold IC upgrade" required for the LP Stage. This sample and hold IC upgrade is something we are doing here at the Moog factory for LP Tribute Edition upgrades. The Stage II and later Stage I units already use the new sample and hold ICs.
I don't know exactly when this change was made, but the difference in sound is exceedingly small... so small that to my knowledge no Stage owners have ever sent in their units for this hardware change.

You can put OS version 2.0 on your LP Stage Edition right now and you'll get the arpeggiator, tap tempo, and MIDI sync features. This requires no hardware upgrade if you have an LP Stage I. You're ready to go.

The LP Stage to Stage II hardware upgrade is simply a new jack board with USB port. The only thing you get with the hardware upgrade is MIDI over USB.

So, in summary:
- The LP Stage hardware upgrade adds MIDI over USB, and it does not require any soldering
- The LP Stage can accept the new OS 2.0 firmware no problem (you can download it for free from our website
- if you have a Tribute Edition, none of the above applies to you... but we can upgrade LPTE units here (or at our Moog distributors outside the USA) and once upgraded, you can run OS 2.0 on your Tribute.

Hope this helps,

Amos

jdiddy1975 · Post by **jdiddy1975** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:57 pm

that's what I thought....

THANKS AMOS!

T7 · Post by T7 » Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:25 pm

Amos,

I was under the impression the only Stage Is that got the improved sample and hold ICs were the last 50 or so units made before the Stage II was released.

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:00 pm

I was under the impression the only Stage Is that got the improved sample and hold ICs were the last 50 or so units made before the Stage II was released.

I am fairly certain it's more units than that. I know it is certainly more complicated (if not impossible) to figure it out for certain. So let's say that "some Stage I units" have the newer sample/hold ICs. It's not such a big deal either way, I don't think... although I am glad we switched to the new ones anyhow.

hahuusko · Post by **hahuusko** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 6:47 pm

I have to disagree with Amos regarding the difference in sound between different S&H IC:s...I have LP Stage I #02883 and the digital noise on certain kind of sounds was driving me crazy. True, it's not noticeable on most sounds but it was annoying to me anyway.

Sending my LP to Moog was not feasible since I live in Finland, so I just ordered the new S&H IC:s and had them installed here (a guy called Ryan from Moog service dept was very helpful with sending the upgrade instructions etc).

Was it worth it? Definitely! The digital noise is now practically non-existent and now my LP sounds great on ALL kinds of sounds

Chris-Nic · Post by **Chris-Nic** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:29 pm

Thanks for all the info and help here. I originally thought that to get the tap tempo, MIDI sync and arpegiator you needed to install the side panel, and not just update the firmware. The Moog site didn't make this very clear.

I'd rather now just update the LP with the download from the website, but how do I go about installing that software onto the LP? Cheers again.