First of all, I must say that i love my LP Stage II. I love the sound and i love the usability.
One thing i don’t like though, is the weight. I feel like I’m breaking my back every time I take it with me (which is quite often). Besides, on the Stage you have plastic end cheeks and the front panel is just a sticker (rather than proper screen printing). With that in mind, the metal casing doesn’t feel that classy anymore. It just feels heavy.
I imagine that a lot of us who actually carry our own instruments around would like a version of the Moog LP that doesn’t weigh so much.
I carry a Hammond L100 and a Leslie 760 to every gig so I don’t complain over the weight of the Little Phatty. But it would shure be much nicer if the LP was made out of wood.
I don’t think it’s very heavy at all.
And I’m not ripped by any means.
OK, it’s not DSI MEK light, but it’s not like a Vox AC-30 I once owned.
Lugging that around was a bitch.
Try carrying the guitarist/bassist’s equipment.
Now that’s back-breaking.
I would agree that whining about the weight of a hammond organ would be silly but fretting about a 22 lbs instrument with only about 2 lbs of actual parts that do anything useful feels far from unrealistic. If a Hammond had a similar ratio of weight-to-useful parts, i’m sure people would complain about that as well. The weight of the LP is simply dead weight. It doesn’t add anything to the aesthetics or to the usability.
… i doubt they would go down that path, only because they would simply be confusing the product line.
…in my opinion, the weight of the unit serves to keep it nicely on the keyboard stand, really gives a nice solid feeling to the playing.
… I agree, if you’re transporting it in a good case, it probably is on the heavy side.
…the “sticker” is a extremely high-quality way of getting the labeling on the synth… it’s much more durable that silk-screening on the metal.
…and those end cheeks aren’t plastic, they are a form of rubber… specially chosen to take some road abuse… I may be in the minority, but I like 'em! …
Since I’m clearly the only one who thinks that the Moog LP is too heavy, let’s turn the question around then:
What’s the advantage of having a metal chassi the way the Moog LP Stage has?
That it’s well built, made with quality materials and workmanship. Part of the appeal of the Moog gear (2nd to sound) is the pride in craftmanship and the fact that 50 years from now it will still be as new, albeit with a bit of tweaking. The landfill will be full of Roland Juno-G’s, and every other $1000 keyboard out there, not that sampling types don’t have their place.
Trying not to be on a soap box here but I’m in the market for a 61 key controller to replace my Keystation 61es and I’m very disappointed by what’s available. Everything is made in china and the controls feel like they are going to break off.
The only thing close to quality (but, umm… also made in China) is the Novation SL MKii. Has a Fatar keybed (like the Voyager) and the controls are reasonable. I also bought the new “Cakewalk by Roland” A-800Pro keyboard (picking it up after special order on Monday at GC). I’m quite sure I will be sorely disappointed with it and tell them to keep it. Says something about the “Quality of a Roland Keyboard”. Somehow I don’t think they are talking about the Roland A-70 (they are hard to find because nobody is selling them).
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All I see in this post is a resounding confirmation that Moog needs to bring wood side panels back to the LP.
The lexan overlay is actually more expensive… proven to be be more reliable over time (screen print rubs off and fades faster) and obviously easier to print more detailed images, so I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. I agree the crud that can accumulate around the edges isn’t especially attractive, but neither is screen printed images for important labels fading away. My Future Retro XS, as lovely a synth as it is, had several letters that had rubbed off PRIOR to me even opening it. It’s also a good scratch deterrent. Guess there will always be debate on that one.