Ok so i found a MG1 on ebay and it says its 100% working and no problems. heres the link http://cgi.ebay.com/Moog-MG-1-Concertmate-Analog-Synth-GREAT-COND_W0QQitemZ200018851611QQihZ010QQcategoryZ38071QQcmdZViewItem so is it a good buy? Or is the guy selling it probly lieing about how it works fine? Thanks guys!
I’d say you don’t have much to worry about re: condition and functionality, given his feedback.
The only thing is there’s almost a day left in the auction, so the price will climb. Decide what your highest price is and bid in the last few minutes.
Its hard to say what a good buy on the MG1 is…
It is a great little Moog and very under-rated when it comes to the super affordable old Moogs (Rogue, MG1, Micro)..
I paid $275.00 for my MG1 in pretty bad condition..
I met a guy at our show last night who found one sealed in a box at the swap meet for $16.00 .. Its always a weird price for these.. Either too much or some ridiculous deal.. I would say that a “middle of the road” MG1 would be worth no more than 250.00 and a perfect one for 450.00…
The thing to watch for in these units is the notorious FOAM ROT !! I’m sure there are many a posts and discussions on this topic.. But basically, the foam cushioning under neath the front panel turns into a very stick resin after 25 years.. It has to have been pretty much unexposed to the elements (in a box for 25 years) to not have this problem.. The foam rot was pretty bad in my MG1, but not as bad as it can be.. Most of the sliders will get filled up with this goo (or should I say resin 
) .. You can buy a whole restore kit on ebay too.. With new sliders, slider caps and 2&3 position switches..
Good luck..
i wouldn’t pay more than $350 for a working MG-1… not that they’re not worth more (in the right hands). but that’s about what i’ve seen them go for locally and online… if the auction goes higher than that, i’d just wait for another one to come along.
if you pay more than that you might as well get a rogue… unless of course you prefer the MG-1 
There is one on the Portland, Oregon Craigs List site for $375 or best offer. It is supposed to be in nice condition, and from what I can understand from his description, it has had the goo removed (popular in the 1920’s??).
If the ebay one does not work out, maybe you can look into the one here in my town.
Don’t get too amped up about buying one immediately. I see these for sale all the time. Another one was in the Portland Craigs List 1 1/2 weeks ago.
Yea i see what your saying thewaag. Im still looking around around and need to check some pon shops around my town and see what i can find because i know you can find them in there sometimes. Thanks guys for the help.
I could be wrong, but I have never found anything worthwhile in pawn shops. In the old days you used to be able to find synth steals at a pawn shop, but I think that those days are gone.
I always used to browse pawn shops for guitars and synths. Rarely if ever saw synths, and if they were there, they were out of line on the pricing. Truthfully, I could buy new guitars cheaper than what they were asking at the pawn shops for the same model used.
I quit looking in pawn shops 5-10 years ago. I would imagine that things have only gotten worse with time.
MG-1s are a decent buy at $300-350. They’re really great little performance synths (I had one for about 10 years never got tired of it).
They’re not nearly as cool and Moogy looking as a Rogue, but they do have some significant advantages over the Rogue (as well as 1 or 2 drawbacks).
But if they sometimes sell at $450-600, they’re quite over priced. There are a number of Japanese (Korg MS, earlier Roland SH) and American (Pro-1, OB-1) mono-synths, for instance, that are much more versatile, better built, and I would dare to say sometimes better sounding that can often sell in this same price range. As always, it’s a matter of taste though.
Also, MicroMoogs have been selling in the same general price range (if not cheaper) lately and they are a better built and in many ways much more professional level synth.
MicroMoogs only have 1 oscillator and they’re tone is different from the 80s Moogs (Prodigy, Rogue, Source), which is why they seem to be rather unpopular, but in my opinion they’re capable of a much greater spectrum and quality of sound than (at least) an MG-1. Again, it’s a matter taste.
I sold my Multimoog, the 2-osc. version of the Micro, in favor of a Rogue. While they both sound good, the Rogue has the classic Moog sound IMO, as does the MG-1. The Micro and Multi would have the edge for live performance but the Rogue and MG-1 are inexpensive means to get the classic Moog sound and are also easily midied without any mods.
As far as build quality, they’ll all last if you take care of them.
Just to offer an alternate opinion, I don’t agree that the MG-1/Rogue/Prodigy/Source/ect. are closer to the “classic” Moog, or MiniMoog sound.
I’ve also owned a Micro, Multi, Mg-1 and Rogue and I think in many ways the Micro/Multi are closer to the Mini sound. Although I’m probably in the small minority on this issue, I think the Micro and particularly the Multi have a much stronger, harder sounding Oscillator that is more reminiscent of the oscillators on the original Mini and also the Voyager.
IMO, the filter on the 80s Moogs maybe have a little more character sometimes than the Micro/Multi’s filter, but, to me, the oscillators on these later Moogs sound alot softer and thinner than the classic Mini sound.
You can’t get the Mini sound without a Mini, but for my money, the Multi especially (and to a lesser extent the Micro) can convincingly do alot of that sound also.
Just an opinion; you really have to play the synths (ideally side by side) yourself to make your own opinion. But when I’ve played a Rogue or Prodigy next to a Mini, to me, there’s a world of difference.
Both the Micro and Multi have an exstensive “open system”. This can lend iteself very well to Midi control- where you can control not just CV and Gate (as on the Rogue, MG-1) but also (with a good Midi convertor), filter CV, Pitch-bend, and others. If you get a 3/16ths input adapter, you can also control the modulation/LFO. This is a pretty full implementation of external control.
You can also turn off the local Keyboard control on Micro/Multis which makes it easier to control the oscillator/s accurately from an external source (CV or Midi).
Anyway, they’re all good and interesting synths in one area or another, and I’m not saying that one is totally better than the other. I guess it just depends on what you want to get out of them. So, these are some of my findings…
I elected to hold on to the Rogue over the Multimoog after comparing them side by side with my Source & Mini. The sound was good just different, with a darker quality-more of a CEM sound. As can be heard on Steve Winwood’s 80s Multimoog records-both bass and leads sounding closer to my Prophets. It’s impossible to coax warmth out of it, it’s simply not part of it’s tonal character. For expressivity however, the Multi rules because of aftertouch and the ribbons, features that were unusual for monos.
The Rogue on the other hand, has a voice that is quite similar to my Source or a Prodigy, in a smaller package.
Well I think alot of your post gave me alot of new knowledge of snyths. Thanks guys. I found a couple other deals on some moogs at a local store and their running for 300-350 (I think cant remember). So better start saving. And thanks for the help guys.
Three years ago someone I know found the tabletop version of the Korg Poly61 (the sound engine with Midi i/0 and a built in step sequencer instead of the arpeggiator in a small - less than 1u - metal case) for $5 in mint condition. I think the trick is finding pawn shops far enough from city centers/universitys that they aren’t picked over, but close enough that they get musical instruments. Stuff without a keyboard will probably be a better deal, too, since the shop workers are less likely to identify it is it’s not a keyboard. Pretty much everyone I’ve seen checks ebay before buying stuff these days, though.
Ghost,
I think that you are probably correct on this premise, however I still have had no luck in more out of the way pawn shops. My wife is from Montanna and we go to visit every summer or so… Driving from Oregon through Idaho, and then Montanna I always check out the pawn shops (granted some are in pretty small towns). Lots of power tools, but no keyboards.
yeah, I’ve never had much luck myself, just my friends. It’s kind of annoying. Especially the Korg, since the guy never used it, said he’d probably trade it with me but wanted to try it first, left it lying around the practice space until some of the knobs broke off, and then moved away with it. Arrgh!
I buddy of mine found an Oberheim 4 voice sitting inconspicuously in the corner of a Goodwill for $100. He talked them down to $75.
…needless to say, I was green with envy. It goes to show that the mythical “great find” is out there, you just have to find it!
Okay, that story makes my stomach hurt.
Here are my “great find” stories:
I found a Roland SVC-350 at a pawn shop in Idaho for $65 in 1991. The guy had no idea what it was. OH, how the internet has ruined pawnshops!
My brother bought me an ARP Solina (that still had the Eminent labels on it in places) at a thrift shop for $5. It had been sitting outside in the rain for at least a day (the thrift was so full, they had an outside section), but was TOTALLY UNAFFECTED. It was in better shape than I have seen any other of them. I won’t tell you what I ended up selling it for. : )
I got a Rhodes 88 from a school for $100.
And then there is eBay… I have benefitted GREATLY from poorly written auctions and people who didn’t know how to operate what they were selling!
Still, none of that comes close to a 4 voice.
Tell me about it. The worst part was he was a guitar player. He didn’t know what it was or really care. Sold it to some guy in Europe, made a pretty penny. This is the same guy who got a Wurlitzer 200A for free (then traded it to me for my Korg MS2000 ). Some people have all the luck…
I actually made a stop by the same Goodwill today…hoping…praying…no luck today… 
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