Finally got to play a Moog guitar

Bryan T · Post by **Bryan T** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 3:41 pm

The Museum of Making Music has a hands-on section where you can try out organs, electronic drums, theremins, etc. The highlight for me was that they had a Moog Guitar E1 to check out. I probably spent 45 minutes playing the guitar and trying the different settings.

I found the controls to be well thought out and easy to use. After playing for about 10 minutes everything felt intuitive. Full sustain mode was a treat, especially using the foot controller to control the cutoff of the filter. I could make sounds evolve, shift, and transform effortlessly. Brilliant. Controlled sustain mode was pretty good, though it wasn't quite sensitive enough on the B string. Mute mode was OK, but I actually wish it muted faster. I'm not sure if any of those aspects are tweakable.

The pickup settings seem to offer a wide range of timbres, though I was playing through a Roland Microcube and a pair of headphones, so I can't say what it would sound like through a good amp.

The filter is great. It actually feels more a part of playing the instrument than using the MF-101 with a guitar.

All in all, I'm really impressed. The guitar inspired me in ways that other guitars don't.

I've been hoping to get one and this cemented my desire. I definitely want one with the floating bridge, as it adds an extra dimension to the instrument.

Bryan

P.S. One odd thing that I noticed is that the back of the guitar was warm after playing. Is that normal?

ColorForm2113 · Post by **ColorForm2113** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:52 am

<----jealous! i cant wait for the day i find one to play with. ill probably be draged away kicking and screaming lol

yeah im sure getting warm is normal, there like 30000000453258366663728884119384110 little electrical parts in there

MarkM · Post by **MarkM** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:56 am

I played one at Moog, and it is simply amazing. You can really feel it physically when playing in the sustain modes. It is a new kind of string instrument like no other. I think as more and more artists obtain one, new sounds, techniques, and compositions will come forth. I know if I had one, I would immediately implement it into my live performance setup.

drogoff · Post by **drogoff** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:07 pm

Bryan T wrote:The Museum of Making Music has a hands-on section where you can try out organs, electronic drums, theremins, etc. The highlight for me was that they had a Moog Guitar E1 to check out. I probably spent 45 minutes playing the guitar and trying the different settings.

Damn... I was in that room playing with a Theremin but didn't notice the E1! Might have to drive down to Carlsbad again, since I doubt any of the local Guitar Centers are going to have them on display any time soon :^)

ark · Post by **ark** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:30 pm

I agree that the mute mode isn't as strong as I expected. It is definitely more effective if you don't play hard to begin with. I wonder if it would also be more effective with lighter strings.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:11 pm

I know id want to mess with that cause Im lacking an Electric..or a GOOD guitar of any kind. I don't know if Id want the trem....those have never been wonderful.

How heavy was it?

Wouldn't it be interesting if it was like a semi-hollow or something?

Eric

Bryan T · Post by **Bryan T** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:28 pm

EricK wrote:How heavy was it?

I'd guess that it is around 8 pounds. Light for an electric is 7 pounds or less, heavy is over 9 pounds. I thought it was a comfortable weight.

Wouldn't it be interesting if it was like a semi-hollow or something?

Semi-hollows tend to be more unpredictable at higher volumes. That is a good thing (they feel lively), but might work against the evenness of the electronics' control.

tubeampguy · Post by **tubeampguy** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:50 am

[quote="Bryan T"]The Museum of Making Music has a hands-on section where you can try out organs, electronic drums, theremin, etc. The highlight for me was that they had a Moog Guitar E1 to check out. I probably spent 45 minutes playing the guitar and trying the different settings.

I too went to the Museum 2 weeks ago, and couldn't believe my eyes, There was a Moog E1 with Tremolo just hanging on the wall in there "Hands ON" musical equipment room. I had to untangle the rats nest of cables first, then I spent probably 2 hours in there playing it. The kid in the gift shop came over to see what all the sounds were coming out of! They also had a Etherwave Plus plugged in a MF-102! The only detail that was missing was TRS patch cables.

Boy was it a fun filled afternoon

Burgess · Post by **Burgess** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:40 am

Now two weeks ago i bought a Moog guitar model E1.It was my dream to purchase a Moog guitar of my own money and now my dream comes true.Really Moog guitar is one of the greatest musical instrument that Moog Music had invented.Now i am playing this guitar and feels like i am in the world of music.Its tunes are so melodious that i can't explain. I have downloaded many guitar instrumental tunes from Royalty Free Music and just trying to play with my Moog.

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:02 pm

The arpeggiator has almost no time between the end of one note and the beginning of the next. It's quite possible that the gate signal does not go "low" for long enough between notes for the MuRF to detect a step per note.

This could be fixed in the Little Phatty firmware by tweaking the arpeggiator to allow some space between note-off and note-on. It's on my radar.
Might be a few months until I can get to another LP firmware update, but there's definitely a "to-do" list there when I can get to it.

Cheers,

Amos

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:13 pm

I think you're in the wrong forum, Amos

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:08 am

Unless the Moog Guitar ALSO has an arpeggiating Phatty in it. How neat would that be lolol.

It would change everything......again.

Eric

Moog Music Forum

Finally got to play a Moog guitar

Finally got to play a Moog guitar

Re: Finally got to play a Moog guitar

Re: Finally got to play a Moog guitar