Actually I don’t know if I even qualify as a newbie. I own one of the Radio Shack Synthesizers by moog music. I know very little about it. Bought it at a pawn shop. Can anyone fill me in on its capabilitys and limitations?
IRAF_Paddy or just Paddy
Well, I posed the same question in a less positive way a few months ago! View thread here:
http://moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=678
I still don’t miss it, but I guess I’m a bit spoilt by my options. It’s a good way to get into the moog fold though, and capable of some genuinely great sounds.
Welcome to these pages, Paddy!
SC
Thanks for the quick reply. And for the great link. Perhaps you can answer a coupla of questions about the machine. There are 2, 1/4 inch plugins in the rear of the MG1 that I own. One labled Pitch the other labled Trigger I asume the pitch plug is for a pedal pitch bender, my question, will any wahw wahw type pedal work pluged into the pitch Or must I hunt down some obsure out of production device. Also what would be inputted into the trigger port? BTW has anyone out there seen the Rick wakeman DVD Journey to the Center of the Earth live in Melbourn 1975?
Paddy
I think Pitch is the equivalent of “CV IN” ie the control voltage to govern the pitch of the note (moog generally uses 1 volt per octave) and Trigger is the “on-off” signal to control that pitch often labelled “gate in”.
Someone will surely correct me if I’m wrong!
SC
I think that’s right. My P5 has Trigger in and out, and Voltage. P1 just has Gate & CV in/out.
OK. Anybody got a schematic of the circuit I will need. I can draw and etch a board if I have to. Or suggestions of where to find a prefab, or sales version. Thanks
Paddy
Hello,
A trigger is the signal that tells the envelope generators to fire. It’s usually
of a predetermined and fixed period.
With a gate signal, the key of the synth will act as an on/off switch, with the assigned function remaining in its hi (on) state for the period the key is depressed. (Check out the vca on the Roland Juno 6-106, it uses both)
On older vintage machines, the triggers will usually be one of two types:
voltage triggers, and the less common switch triggers.
Regards,
LWG
Roger that! Sorry i have not checked this thread. I have been busy. Creating scenery for flight sim. I am not a musician. I usually put the mg1 to use for sound effects. Let me see if I got this right. I need a circuit with an output voltage of 1vmax, with a potentiometer that varies from the center lug, +.5v/-.5v. for the pitch bender. And the trigger would just be a push on button used to trigger the envelope generators.
Carl
Oh god you sound like me!
I need a circuit with an output voltage of 1vmax, with a potentiometer that varies from the center lug, +.5v/-.5v. for the pitch bender. And the trigger would just be a push on button used to trigger the envelope generators.
I don’t think it affects the pitch bender. The trigger (gate) is indeed a simple on/off signal, and the control voltage determines the note.
Hi Paddy,
Just for sound effects? That seems like a pretty standard use for that little bugger. I’ve never used one, myself, but I’ve heard some rather interesting sounds that were allegedly generated by it. Hope it’s giving you what you need.
Well the Moog is perfect as the sound source. Then use the computer to bend, stretch and modify, My problems run more to getting a seamless loop, for engine sounds. I never have been able to grasp playing music. Much as I would like to. My talents lie more in visual medium. I have been building Thermins and simple synthsizer projects since I was in high school.
Is there an art to looping sounds without getting annoying clicks every time the loop restarts? One of my latest projects required loops for a motor sound, and I tried editing it, but it didn’t work out. I use my synths more for music, than recording sound effects, although I did use the Voyager’s noise generator and touchpad for a howling wind sound. 
off topic but…
IME, with Protools, I have found that zooming in to the point where you can see the waveforms as sine waves, make sure that they look as even as possible. Try lengthening or shortening the loop just the teeniest bit, at either or both the front or back. Does that make sense?
IME, with Protools, I have found that zooming in to the point where you can see the waveforms as sine waves, make sure that they look as even as possible. Try lengthening or shortening the loop just the teeniest bit, at either or both the front or back. Does that make sense?
Does that mean that loop clicking is caused by too many random waves sounding at a given point in the loop? Does that also affect other problems in CD-R making?
Jsut had to know.
Not exactly, but caused by a discrepancy in the amplitude of the wave at the loop point. If the amplitude is different, you run the risk of a click. In Pro-Tools this can be corrected as described (or by introducing a short X-fade whilst editing a non-looped passage) but Logic automatically finds the best point in wave amplitude to join the loop.
Quite simply, if you can edit so that the beginning of the material to be looped is exactly the same volume and pitch as at the end you run little risk of a click.
Hello,
One factor in the difficulty with looping sounds that contain large numbers of inharmonic or random partials is that you are attempting to create a regularly-occuring event (single-cycle sample) from something that by definition is ramdom. This is why looping noise or percussion sounds can be more difficult with samplers or wave editors, and why clicks may occur.
There is in fact an art to creating smooth loop points, and requires practice however, the above mentioned types of sounds present a bit more of a challenge.
One of the most authentic patches of an auto engine I’ve heard used a combination of samples and synthesis. It was done on an Ensoniq ESQ-1 synth and is titled “Junker”. Its probably still in their various patch archives. Its basically an emulation of an old sputtering Volkswagen Beetle, and was patched quite well. It had three waves as sources processed in it’s synthesis engine (using filtering, 3 lfo’s, and 3 vca’s) to impart random events within a regular effect.
I’m not sure how to get the effect using just the MG-1 or just the wav editing in your sequencer program. Will see if I can find something that may be of assistance.
Regards,
LWG
Hello,
One factor in the difficulty with looping sounds that contain large numbers of inharmonic or random partials is that you are attempting to create a regularly-occuring event (single-cycle sample) from something that by definition is random. This is why looping noise or percussion sounds can be more difficult with samplers or wave editors, and why clicks may occur.
There is in fact an art to creating smooth loop points, and requires practice however, the above mentioned types of sounds present a bit more of a challenge.
One of the most authentic patches of an auto engine I’ve heard used a combination of samples and synthesis. It was done on an Ensoniq ESQ-1 synth and is titled “Junker”. Its probably still in their various patch archives. Its basically an emulation of an old sputtering Volkswagen Beetle, and was patched quite well. It had three waves as sources processed in it’s synthesis engine (using filtering, 3 lfo’s, and 3 vca’s) to impart random events within a regular effect.
I’m not sure how to get the effect using just the MG-1 or just the wav editing in your sequencer program. Will see if I can find something that may be of assistance.
Regards,
LWG
Most of my Flightsim designs, are Scifi oriented. The design I am working on the loop for is the aircar described in The Puppet Masters Novel by Robert A. Heinlien. I am working now on a Couple of sceneries for Pendecrafts.com. The folks who produce the Lost in Space aircraft for use in Micro$ofts Flightsim 2004. I am modeling the launch site and the crash site for them. The Moog produces wonderfull sound effects. I would love to learn to actually play music on it. I will use your suggestions on making that loop for my project. Thanks all! I will post my progress later. And remember, if it ain’t got that trill, it ain’t got that thrill!
Paddy