Some questions for Owners

[EricK]

I am throwing around the idea of getting a Moog guitar. I have been lacking an electric for a long time and there are a few concerns that I have.
When I spend X amount of dollars I think about all the different ways that I can satisfy my needs with that amount of money. So looking at the price for one, I think about all the other regular guitars/amps that I can get in that pricerange, and Im weighing that with the price of the Moog.

So here are a few questions:
1. How many of you have had problems with the guitar? Electronics, furniture, wood, etc.
2. How does it function as a regular guitar? What guitar would you compare the tone to (tele, strat, les paul, sg, etc)
3. What is the battery life like?
4. Does the novelty wear off after awhile and send you running back to your regular axe?
5. How does the Midi work and what else would I need to get it to control my synths?

I appreciate whomever may take the time to answer these questions. If I do anything it will probably be for the Collectors edition, so I know the extra wood will affect the tone.

Eric

[mathbox]

Hi,

it is a lot of time after your question (so maybe you already bought a MG), but here are some answers because I think this is an awesome instrument. Note that my guitar is a E1 model, and that I bought it 13 months ago.

1. How many of you have had problems with the guitar? Electronics, furniture, wood, etc.

Mine has no problem after more than 1 year. It just needed to adjust the action because it was quite low when I received it. Now with this new configuration the strings are not so close to the mics and I have the impression that the VO effect is little weaker (but maybe it is just an impression).
I can add that even if I play a lot with the tremolo bar, the tuning does not change so much. For this point it is much much much better than my US strat.

2. How does it function as a regular guitar? What guitar would you compare the tone to (tele, strat, les paul, sg, etc)

It is very nice to play with it as a regular guitar. The neck is very pleasant, easy to play.
Concerning the sound, I find that the magnetic pickups are very clear. This is not a crazy guitar (in standard mode) and maybe it has less personality than my other guitars (a strat and a Gibson flying V), but the sound is beautiful.
It is clearly not as rock & roll as the Flying V (not the same low mids or output level).
Not as bright as the strat, you can use it for most kinds of music.
I think a great player (so not me) can really take advantage of this very clean sound.
Playing with the piezzo provides some "acoustic" sounds that you cannot have with most other guitars.

3. What is the battery life like?

Battery ? The guitar is plugged through the associated pedal, so no need of batteries.

4. Does the novelty wear off after awhile and send you running back to your regular axe?

After more than one year, every time I open the case, I have the same feeling: Whaou ! And when playing with it, I still make surprising discoveries regularly.
This guitar is not a guitar with a little extra something. It is another instrument that you can feel when playing. I love to play it without amplifier, because you can feel all the details of the vibrations. It is almost breathing!
While plugged into an amplifier you can have an impressive range of sounds and playing possibilities (too long to explain here). And if you are tired, just put it on its stand, in full sustain mode through a midi MURF, and you will make incredible soundscapes.
I am now out of my country for several months, without my guitar, and I absolutely miss it.

5. How does the Midi work and what else would I need to get it to control my synths?

Mine does not have midi.

Hope it helps.
M.

[Gladmarr]

1. How many of you have had problems with the guitar? Electronics, furniture, wood, etc.

Mine has/had some setup issues. I think the neck has a slight twist to it, which is part of the reason for the setup issues. The action was terrible when I got it, and I've managed to improve it a bit. I keep meaning to take it to a luthier and get it really set up. I'm hoping that would take care of the playability aspect of it.

2. How does it function as a regular guitar? What guitar would you compare the tone to (tele, strat, les paul, sg, etc)

I wouldn't say the E1 has anything I would consider traditional guitar "tone." The sustainer electronics have some lowpass filtering and gating going on all the time. I feel that really sucks the life out of the guitar as a guitar. I'm used to a pretty bright, open sound, and the E1 doesn't have that. I can understand now why the shop I first tried one out at was running it through some amp emulator software and studio monitors - so no one could see how poorly this sounds through a real guitar setup. That said, when you're playing with a band, a lot of these intricacies go away. When I've recorded myself playing the E1 through my normal setup with a band, its tonal shortcomings aren't as pronounced.

I did take the back panel off a few weeks ago, hoping there was a simple pot that could be adjusted to fix the the LPF/gating issues with the electronics, but what I saw under that panel was horrifying in its complexity, so I quietly put the lid back on and hoped I'll someday have a chance to go to Moog and have them adjust some crud out of the tone....

3. What is the battery life like?

The E1 does have a battery, but it's only to run the piezo pickups in the bridge, mine hasn't gone out yet, but I've only had it for like six months.

4. Does the novelty wear off after awhile and send you running back to your regular axe?

Let's put it this way, I wouldn't get rid of anything else I have because I have the E1. I did, however, get rid of my Fernandes sustainer guitar when I got the E1, simply because the sustain system in the E1 made the Fernandes look like a toy.

5. How does the Midi work and what else would I need to get it to control my synths?

...mine doesn't have MIDI, so no opinion....