Moog Liberation (not so) general topic

[stiiiiiiive]

Hey Mooguys.

I have the opportunity to get a Liberation and searching on the forum I could not find answers to all the questions I have. Plus I’ve read this and that here and there and am not sure at all of… anything. So here am I with a list of points I’d like to shed light on so that the next guys have a place to go a gather most of the answers from.

First of all, from the pictures I looked at, I could see the panel is very much like the MG1’s. That being said, I’ve read that the synth is closer to the Prodigy. Is that a fact, and why is that? I expect it to sound just as the MG1 (except it has separate envelopes for amp and filter and triangle wave and square/pulse are allocated to oscillators the other way round…)

On the MG1, the polyphonic part is not affected by the modulation. Is that so on the Lib? Don’t the LFO and pitch ribbon affect those cute organ waves' pitch?

Second, I’ve read (or understood) that it had an optical keyboard trigger system. Is that right?

Is the keyboard a high note priority one as on the MG1 ?

I’ve understood that the associated rack unit is all together the power supply and the place for audio out. Are there any other things to be found in there? CV connections? Audio In? Others?
The unit I’m interested in has a DIY rack since the original one was stolen back in the days. It has been made by a famous synth tech so I’m quite confident (read on…)

Does anyone know how much the Liberation weighs? Ah, no, I got this one: 14 pounds (6.4 kg approx..) for the keytar alone, and just half of it for the power unit alone.

The seller says his Liberation “needs some maintenance because there seems to be a problem with keyboard contacts; the pitch is not stable and gets better when the unit is warm”. I feel the problem may come from oscillators rather than keyboard, maybe from the rack… Any clues?

Are there any specific points I should inspect on a Lib? I would check each command, key, plug, but maybe some particular test would be clever…?

Any other point I should be interested in/ aware of?...

Thanks in advance

[MC]

Used to own one: http://www.analoguediehard.com/studio/k ... index.html

First of all, from the pictures I looked at, I could see the panel is very much like the MG1’s. That being said, I’ve read that the synth is closer to the Prodigy. Is that a fact, and why is that? I expect it to sound just as the MG1 (except it has separate envelopes for amp and filter and triangle wave and square/pulse are allocated to oscillators the other way round…)

The panel may look like the MG-1 but the circuitry is not the same. The Liberation resembles the Prodigy VCO wise, but the VCF isn't the same and I never liked the VCF on the Lib.

On the MG1, the polyphonic part is not affected by the modulation. Is that so on the Lib? Don’t the LFO and pitch ribbon affect those cute organ waves' pitch?

Polyphonic section has zero modulation available. It is a simple TOS system - basically a cheesy combo organ with square waves only.

Second, I’ve read (or understood) that it had an optical keyboard trigger system. Is that right?

The aftertouch is an optical system, not the trigger.

Is the keyboard a high note priority one as on the MG1 ?

Yup

I’ve understood that the associated rack unit is all together the power supply and the place for audio out. Are there any other things to be found in there? CV connections? Audio In? Others?

CV/Trigger out, nothing else.

The seller says his Liberation “needs some maintenance because there seems to be a problem with keyboard contacts; the pitch is not stable and gets better when the unit is warm”. I feel the problem may come from oscillators rather than keyboard, maybe from the rack… Any clues?

No clue. Sold mine over ten years ago.

Are there any specific points I should inspect on a Lib? I would check each command, key, plug, but maybe some particular test would be clever…?

Make sure the aftertouch works with all the routings on the left hand neck.

Any other point I should be interested in/ aware of?...

Did I mention my webpage?

http://www.analoguediehard.com/studio/k ... index.html

The Liberation was my least favorite in my arsenal. Wimpy filter, VCOs don't go low enough for bass, limited sounds, MIDI retrofit not trivial. You don't see ring mod often on a Moog though.

[stiiiiiiive]

Thanks for all this, MC

About the keybed, does it feel like the MG1's one?

To share a bit more:
The so called ring mod is present on the MG1 too. I think it's a XOR one. It does the job in terms of thinkening the sound when mixed with the bare oscillators though.
About bass and oscillators range, I think a mod to access one octave lower is feasible. It is on the MG1 for sure, so I'm not very worried on this point.

Thanks again

[MC]

I haven't played an MG1 since they were new in Radio Shack, back in 1982.

I can tell you that the Liberation keyboard felt similar to my Source.

[elcatllar]

hello!
I few years a go, I found one and to be honest I was not impressed with the sound. But for me, the biggest issue was the weight!
I am not a tall and small!(1,82cm and 95 Kg), but man! after 5 minutes I was tired to have the keyboard over my neck! (I bought a very nice new guitar strap in advance to minimize this problem!).
Finally I decided to use it as a keyboard in a static place (not very logical), but in my modest opinion, compared with my other moog stuff ( minimoog, micromoog, multimoog, voyager...), my conclusion was that the sound was simply OK. And the poly section of the Liberation had also nothing special!
The good point is that this machine is not easy to find today, and as a collector point of view, if must not be a bad investment, if the buy price its OK, because I have seen ridiculous prices. Also of course its the only MOOG related product that could be used +- as a guitar!
Last comment: usually the synth cabinet is worn (mostly in the base), but I was able to restore it myself. Also you will find repro parts like sliders.... ( I changed them with a new kit).....to restore the synth.
I hope this he will help.