List of Bands using Moogs

sixsinisters · Post by **sixsinisters** » Thu May 14, 2009 2:04 am

Hi .. just wanna learn from them who made it to record their albums ..
Please mention some bands that are using any kind of moogs, even Korg MS20 or any synth-based bands.. Mention their rigs also if you could.

Thanks!

ColorForm2113 · Post by **ColorForm2113** » Thu May 14, 2009 2:57 am

Joy electric is one I like a lot. VERY poppy berlin style synthpop. For the past 6 albums or so he used nothing but a voyager, synthesizer.com 960 sequencer, and a couple foogers and vocals to create entire albums. "Ministry of archers" and "otherly opus" are probably my favorites.

Or pick up an album by any prog band from the 70s and im sure you'll find plenty of mooginess

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:08 am

Kraftwerk, JMJ, Radiohead, Gary Numan, Volt Per Octaves, and yeah, YES, Pink Floyd, ELP...bands like that.

Pink Floyd used a lot of MiniMoog and ARP, and ELP used a Moog modular and later, a Yamaha CS-80 prototype which was simply massive. Had three, maybe four keyboards. Radiohead does a lot with the Rogue and Sonic Six. The VPO's use a MiniMoog and Little Phatty as well as some 'Foogers and vintage stuff. Rick Wakeman from YES used a MiniMoog. Kraftwerk uses almost everything Moog. JMJ has used MiniMoog, MemoryMoog, Prodigy, and a bunch of non-Moog gear. Also Gary Numan is known for using PolyMoog and MiniMoog.

Portamental · Post by **Portamental** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:06 am

Funny that you ask, i was doing some research, earlier this week, to confirm the equipment used by some of my favorites bands. Now, you are probably asking more about contemporary bands, and some other people might answer you on that. Rush (Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson) have little phatties in their set-up, and not too long ago (probably still) you can see Paul Schaffer (David Letterman show) using one (Voyager).

After the 1968 release of Walter (now Wendy) Carlos's Switched on Bach, everybody wanted one, and did get one. Prior to the mid seventies, if you hear a synth on a record, it probably is a Moog. The list is too long to put here, but among the earliest, you'll find the Beatles on Abbey Road (Here comes the sun) and Pink Floyd.

The Monkeys and the Beach Boys were among the first in the US, although I consider (probably wrongly) Spirit, with Space Child (a beautiful piece) the first one where a moog modular takes center stage.

Again, the list is too long, but some favorites of mine, with prominent use of Moog instruments include : Gentle Giant, Triumvirat, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Le Orme, Tangerine Dream, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth), Klaus Scultze, Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues), Manfred Mann, Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, Camel, Styx, Vangelis, Yes, Rick Wakeman, Zappa, Gino (Joe) Vannelli and of course, the master of them all : Keith Emerson.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:56 am

Portamental, Styx used ARP. When did they use Moog gear?

acorkos · Post by **acorkos** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:22 pm

Voltor07 wrote:Portamental, Styx used ARP. When did they use Moog gear?

"As a keyboardist in Styx, DeYoung was best remembered for his prominent lead synthesizer solos performed on the Oberheim synthesizer that dominated the mix with a unique tone, a key element of the Styx sound. DeYoung pioneered the use of synthesizers in rock and roll. Influenced by the recent release of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album, DeYoung — a novice synthesizer player at the time — used a modular Moog to record the keyboard tracks for the first Styx album."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_DeYoung

Portamental · Post by **Portamental** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:26 pm

Voltor07 wrote:Portamental, Styx used ARP. When did they use Moog gear?

http://www.synthmuseum.com/moog/moomod.html

Portamental · Post by **Portamental** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:32 pm

And for accuracy, I meant : The Monkees, not the .... what I wrote above loll.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:11 pm

acorkos, Portamental, thanks for the info. Schooled again. My posts seem to be getting worse instead of better.

joebuck · Post by **joebuck** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:36 pm

Voltor07 wrote:Kraftwerk, JMJ, Radiohead, Gary Numan, Volt Per Octaves, and yeah, YES, Pink Floyd, ELP...bands like that.

Pink Floyd used a lot of MiniMoog and ARP, and ELP used a Moog modular and later, a Yamaha CS-80 prototype which was simply massive. Had three, maybe four keyboards.

I think that you're referring to the Yamaha GX-1, which wasn't a CS80 prototype, it was more like a predecessor. It had two full manuals and a third manual made of mini keys. It also had bass pedals. The CS80 was somewhat like a single manual version of the GX-1. It did have polyphonic aftertouch that the GX-1 didn't have. The monophonic mini keyed manual is pretty much the same as the Yamaha SY-1. The main difference being that the SY-1 has vibrato that's triggered by depressing the key harder, whereas the vibrato on the little manual of the GX-1 is triggered by moving the key from side to side. I've owned two CS80s and two SY-1s, and using an SY-1 and a CS80 at the same time I could pretty much nail All My Love by Zeppelin.

Portamental · Post by **Portamental** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:59 am

joebuck wrote:I think that you're referring to the Yamaha GX-1

That would be that unit : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyCDWWP ... re=related. Video shot in my backyard (Olympic Stadium 1976-7 ?), included in the 2 DVD set "In the beginning".

I can understand a musician's never ending search for more gear (and polyphony), but I can remember being taken away from the Moog sound so characteristic of ELP'S music. Still sound pretty good. Hope the link works.

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri May 15, 2009 1:15 am

Portamental wrote:
joebuck wrote:I think that you're referring to the Yamaha GX-1
That would be that unit : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyCDWWP ... re=related. Video shot in my backyard (Olympic Stadium 1976-7 ?), included in the 2 DVD set "In the beginning".

I can understand a musician's never ending search for more gear (and polyphony), but I can remember being taken away from the Moog sound so characteristic of ELP'S music. Still sound pretty good. Hope the link works.

Yes, that's the beast I was talking about. Only a couple GX-1's were actually built, if memory serves, which is why I confused it for a prototype. Awesome machine.

sixsinisters · Post by **sixsinisters** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:10 am

Alrite, that was back in a days, How about current bands? i heard boards of canada is one of them.
But if you really love synth based band, you should listen to "Spleen United" bunch of guys playing synths like no other .. this is currently my fave band .. but i'm not sure which moog they're using, all i know for sure they have couples of MS20 .. look it up on youtube guys and lemme know your comment

jamezdd73 · Post by **jamezdd73** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:37 am

AIR is a good modern band who make use of vintage synths, including the minimoog.
Listen to the Moon Safari album of their's, it chockers.

Johnny_Cradle · Post by **Johnny_Cradle** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:22 am

I guess I should be a bit ashamed in admitting that my first awareness of any Moog was with Portisheads' live in Roseland VHS_

I know they've also used the Arp on their latest Third record. I think they have the Voyager now on their live set as well.