The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

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thealien666
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by thealien666 » Fri May 16, 2014 2:01 pm

In short: they can do it, but they still don't know if they will do it.
Last edited by thealien666 on Sun May 18, 2014 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by LivePsy » Fri May 16, 2014 6:41 pm

The article says:-

"Interestingly, in the end there weren’t any components that were so hard to source."

"And boutique modular makers told me they welcomed the Emerson modular – even one making faux-Moog modules – as it added to the credibility of their field and added still more attention and demand"

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MC
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by MC » Sat May 17, 2014 1:57 pm

LivePsy wrote:"Interestingly, in the end there weren’t any components that were so hard to source."
Gene Stopp said that the hardest components to find where the illuminated slide switches. They are not made anymore and no one makes a direct replacement. Gene found a surplus store with a stash of them, but they were only red ones and he needed yellow and blue so he had the blades made to fit the switches.
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latigid on
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by latigid on » Sat May 17, 2014 2:55 pm

It's been said elsewhere, but remaking a 960 using NOS parts would be ridiculous considering what's available today.

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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by EricK » Sun May 18, 2014 12:26 pm

One thing that stood out for me in regards to the interview was that at least we know they are mulling over the decision. And he mentioned system 15 (Which I want) andthe 5U market, so this shows that they have done some preliminary research. Let's hope they develop at LEAST a few choice modules for limited production. If they have a made-to-order custom engineering department, it might be feasible rather than mass-manufacturing. We 5U guys will buy what we want really quickly and they don't have to really maintain much of a dedicated staff to an ongoing production line at that point......in theory.

How many of you have your list of modules prepared already?
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by radioland » Sun May 18, 2014 3:01 pm

EricK wrote:How many of you have your list of modules prepared already?
Me.
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by BrianK » Wed May 21, 2014 4:52 am

I have not weighed in at all on this, so far. (Mainly because I am not wanting to be deluged with questions and opinions as so often happens in a forum.) However, some thoughts on this could be more clearly expressed...

The group decision to replicate the Emerson modular was done mainly as it's the 50th Anniversary this year. It honors the original "Legacy" modules the way they were; no improvements (could have been done, but weren't) or engineering changes. It was one direction chosen just to say, "this is how they were made" (even the 960 Sequencer which takes literally days to build, it is simply the same as they were). IF we had changed things (power rails, connectors, etc) many people would probably yell "this is not how they were made". So this is the traditional, slow, and more expensive work. It is - however - fully Plug-and-Play with an old Moog modular. There are variations between Keith's 902s and 904s, and there are between the newly-made ones. But all are within that range, with same components in most cases.

We did some shootouts of old modules to determine their sonics - as you know capacitors and resistors can drift, sometimes for the good or not. Sonically, the 904A filter we have built matches Keith's main filter - which was the winner of the subjective "best sounding" shootout on a shelf-full of original 904As. Drift in old components seemed to be not so great a factor.

Emerson's system in 2014 is the most-stable and the most-powerful it's ever been. Almost all the empty-front-panel fake modules now DO something. It has many options it never had before, without losing any of the original functionality. This was a restoration for Keith, probably the most-complete since Spring of 1973. The restoration was finished before the thought of a clone system ever came up. But in doing the restoration, we thought of a great many things to add that would make him happy and more playful/experimental onstage. The "Emovision" video screen is now full-color (colour) and much more like the old 1970s version, without the fragility and issues that it had then. For the last 20+ years, the Emovision screen was just a handbuilt string of lights - a red line of stepped bulbs that simulated a waveform. Not great, so with Keith's permission, we improved it with a custom screen and graphics. It has a built-in tuner, restored spring reverb (long missing), some nice tricks with the programmers, and certainly more flashing lights and the famous Arm/Fire panel - which CAN fire off various things....

Who will buy this: IF one wanted a modular to play with experimentally, probably you'd already have bought one. This system (almost certainly) will appeal to a specific set of avid ELP fans, maybe one in Japan, one in Italy, one in the UK... who will want it to do exactly what it's rigged for: live changes from famous ELP songs. You can also switch in various modulations (many not normally seen or used by Keith) to vary these, so it's still quite flexible. The presets themselves can be reprogrammed easily. Of course, it CAN be unpatched and used as a powerful modular synthesizer (It will come with a full patch/setup diagram, as it will take about 90 minutes to fully repatch - our world record is 25 minutes!) It will be a very rare and valuable collector item for certain. Given the price of similar Custom-Shop replicas (see the Gibson Jimmy Page and Fender Ed Van Halen replicas, nicely done guitar copies), the complexity and effort needed to build this monster may put the eventual price in fair comparison.

Yes the lighted switches (and preset buttons, etc etc) were quite difficult, it was not the normal module complement that was any trouble. The odd things took the most effort and time. It IS very time-consuming, but Moog decided it would be worth it to do this special system this way, both a salute to the past and holding Moog's own corner in the ever-growing modular world.

The company has talked about many options. As you can see, there are many OTHER things going out this year, and some pretty successful ones. This custom-modular project was a cool idea at the right time, so it got slotted in to get done, just in time for Keith to come show it at MoogFest 2014. Even when it was finally working, no decisions had been made what to sell, how much, or where to go from here. Of course, many moons ago ALL options have been discussed and are still on the table, in most cases.

Hopefully soon, more people will get a chance to see, hear and play a powerful system like this in person. It's amazing how familiar people are with the classic Moog modular, yet many don't really have hands-on experience with them. Hearing IS believing, and they still sound amazing.

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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by EMwhite » Wed May 21, 2014 8:02 am

I'll say thanks for the reply and the information.

And now I have a request for you, Brian. It's not what you think, 'no' I'm not going to ask you when I can buy a new 904A, B, C Filter set from Moog or to sit on Mike Adams desk and refuse to leave until he agrees to spin up an assembly line, that would be silly (somebody else might ask you : )

I'd like to ask you to put together a video or a book (like your "Recording the..." book) on the history, idiosyncrasies, of the modules and this particular synth specifically. It's a standing monument that's been through it all... wars, tours, guest performers taking it for a spin, and the reconstruction of course.

Appeal may not be as widespread as something the "Beatles" on it, but then again, I bought the Wendy Carlos "Hooked on Box set" and would have paid the $50 or $100 just for the book that came with it.

Have Mike finance it then sell it from the Moog store, on iTunes and Amazon; every modular owner (Eurorack or not), and 1/4 of the Synth owners over 30 and every ELP fan will want one in my opinion.
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by EricK » Wed May 21, 2014 3:41 pm

Well, as Ive expressed to you already Brian, I am really excited for you that you got to be a part of a project like that. I know it was a labor of love, and frankly, it's pretty badass that they did that.

I entered into the idea of getting a modular with a builder of Moog clones out of Buffalo and wanted that engineer to build a System 15 built to specs with NOS parts. The fact that Moog is doing this now gives me hope they will at least temporarily sell some a la carte modules.


Anyway, thanks for your hard work and service towards Bob's legacy.


Eric
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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by sunny pedaal » Wed May 21, 2014 4:25 pm

it's a great thing some of these instruments are being recreated.
only point is the price: i can't afford it :wink:
isn't it possible to find some "chinese factory" duplicate them a 1000 times or so ?
i would not insist on the illuminated slide switches if so...


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Re: The New Emerson Moog Modular System Is Real

Post by peter1894 » Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:49 am

Hello everyone,

If anyone fancies helping me with my question, that would be much appreciated. =)

Many thanks,

Peter

http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=24625

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