Moog Lap Steel

[theglyph]

http://www.muzicosphere.com/geek-de-zic ... um=twitter

Moog guitar tech in a Lap Steel.

[EricK]

[theglyph]

Haa! But it's more like:

Hillbilly Moog: Switched on Asheville

[TheBigBigGoose]

That's not a guitar tech, it's slide revolutionary Billy Cardine.

[theglyph]

Yes but if you look his right (left in the photo) you can see another lap steel(?) with the Moog emblem and Moog guitar pickups.

I think this is a great idea for use of the technology!

[BillyCardine]

@theglyph, it truly is a really musical use of the technology. For me, it opens up a whole new palette/vocabulary for the slide guitar, both aesthetically and technically. I'm a player from the Asheville area and helped the amazing sound/art/scientists over at Moog with the development of the instrument and have been playing the myriad of prototypes over the last year (in my home, not publicly). It takes a minute to get used to controlling the sustain, but there are multiple settings for different situations, all controllable with a footpedal. From that point, it all really opens up. I've come to feel that the technology in this form truly adds to the scope of the steel guitar. All the details will be explained soon, thru text and video. We've all been slammed getting ready for MoogFest and need to decompress for a few days to a week. It's been an amazing weekend here in Asheville!

[theglyph]

@Billy, I think people will really respond well to this. It looks as beautiful as the guitar and will delight those who use lap steels and probably synth geeks who can put this on a stand. I think this is a great use of the technology but I'm curious how the Mute works on it. I can't wait to see the videos. Looks like a whole lot of fun as I'm a synth geek who mostly plays guitar and my modular;)

Aaron

[EricK]

I think this is something probably very appropriate for Appalachia and Im not against lap steel guitars, their usage or their sound, but I honestly have to wonder what in the world Moog is doing with this product as it couldn't be any farther from what Moog customers have been asking for.

No disrespect intended to you Mr. Cardine or any of the engineers who worked on this project.

Some people were scratching their heads when Moog announced their entry into the guitar market, Im totally blindsided by this.


I love what David Gilmour and Ben Harper are doing with these instruments (just to name only a few that I can think of off the top of my head), and Im sure that these will be fantastic instruments, but just not something that I would look to Moog to make. I hope this proves to be commercially sucessful for them.

Ar least hit me with a new moogerfooger to go with it. Its been long enough.

[audibleobsession]

Hmmm...this is interesting. BUT, seems to me like a lap slide isn't a "primary" instrument for many people, so makes you wonder who would be willing to spend big bucks for all the features that would undoubtedly accompany a Moog Lap Slide.

I consider myself a talented lap slide player, but I've got my $200 Peavey Powerslide for when I get the urge and I'm plenty happy with that. Sounds great and does the job.

Sigh, and I was hoping for the a polysynth or new Moogerfoogers

[audibleobsession]

... I honestly have to wonder what in the world Moog is doing with this product as it couldn't be any farther from what Moog customers have been asking for...Ar least hit me with a new moogerfooger to go with it. Its been long enough.

Sorry, I essentially repeated EricK's points...well, glad I'm not the only one anyways!

[anoteoftruth]

I think Moog always has stood for sonic innovation, and this to me is just another example of that. Not many of us would've expected them to go down that road, yet I didn't expect them to make a guitar, or a Voyager XL either.

I'm more curious about... how exactly they are putting their tech in a lap steel? I get all the infinite sustain etc in the guitar, how that changed that etc... but.. I'm not so sure I understand it in a lap steel. I've played guitar since I was a kid, but only played lap steel a few times so maybe it's just out of ignorance... but I've wanted to get a lap steel for quite some time, maybe if they really surprise me with something, this might be the time to pick one up...

although judging by the price tag on the Moog guitar, I don't expect this to be affordable.

[theglyph]

I must say that I don't think Cyril was too involved in this or the other currently releases so I'm thinking that he's working on something that will give the nuts to what Moog geeks are waiting for. His last project was the Taurus 3 and he hit the bulls eye in the sound and performance so I'm sure his next project will be just as amazing.

Cyril's going to make something that blows our minds and remains true to Bob's legacy because he's an engineering nerd and a music geek like the rest of us. This piled on top of Amos, SteveD, Rick and the rest of the crew should be a great surprise very soon!

[EricK]

Ive seen some things that GE Smith did with a truly old lap steel, and I wanted one. I collect and try to learn all kinds of musical instruments and refer to them all in my studio projects.

But Moog making a guitar with infinite sustain...yeah thats nice and innovative i guess. I can rationalize marketing their brand to the most populace of all demographics in the USA (guitarists). But when they have so many people asking for sequencers and polysynths and things THAT MOOG DOMINATES THE INDUSTRY WHEN THEY MAKE, this seems like a miss imho.

I really think Moog needs to slow down. Since Bob's Passing they have been trying to hard to pump out new stuff. THey revamped the Murf, they released the Phatty to much fanfare, the Various versions of the Voyager, now the new Phatty RME and the Taurus, They have hardly missed a NAMM show without something new. I totally respect that. I think that is a good testament to keep a company afloat. They are quality products, most I have purchased sight unseen. Products that are winning awards for very good reasons.

Just don't get in a cyclic rush of design/release design/release without first ironing out all of the issues with the product lines.

There have been issues with the Moog Guitars being quite noisy; there are noise issues associated with the MidiMurf; there are issues with the 104z; issues with the taurus OS... I don't want them to end up with a bunch of unhappy customers because engineering is backlogged. (Amos: If you stumble across this, I know you all have been working tirelessly to fix a lot of these issues and I have faith in the team there.)

And Im not saying any of this to be mean spirited. I LOVE my Moog system and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I care about Moog, I want them to be around for a long time (im young). I want to grow as a musician as they continue to evolve without Bob at the healm. Im with them for the long haul. I offer my constructive criticism so that they don't end up the same way that other companies like Fender, Marshall and Harley and just about every other company that has a long standing and impeccable reputation of greatness ends up......as mediocre shells of their former selves with a dedicated but dissapointed group of users harkening for their companies of olde.

In the meantime I await the price tag of this new instrument, and despite what all I have said, I still am curious to hear it.

Respectfully,
E

[MarkM]

A Moog lapsteel? Can't wait. I hope I can afford one, because I would love to have it.

[BillyCardine]

@Eric, no disrespect taken, man. I'm an avid steel guitarist and was happy to work on this project. You likely know more about Moog's entire product line and history than i do, but I am under the impression that Bob Moog's vision was one of creativity and following the available muse. Isn't it exciting that in this day and age a company like this will follow it's artistic vision? And from all the time I've spent at the factory I can assure you they are moving forward on all fronts.

The technology is really very appropriate for the steel guitar. I'm coming from a dobro/slide players perspective. The different sustain options of this steel guitar allow for an entirely new melodic pallette, and in some ways that have been surprising to discover. This instrument is in no way a trick pony. It might not matter too much to folks that are purely keyboardists or analog sound shapers, etc. but for anyone interested in steel guitar, this is really a special and very very useful innovation.

There was a lot of discussion about price point. I believe there will be options. The aim has been to make it more affordable than you might guess. It won't be like the Powerslide mentioned here, a fine marketplace addition in it's own right, but that instrument has no comparative qualities other than the steel bar and high action. The intention is to make this steel affordable...a relative term of course...we'll see how the #'s shake out.

@Glyph, Cyril was instrumental in pulling this project together. He's always pushing forward on a few fronts. There's no way to restrain this guy! Moog definitely found the right guy for the job. He is the sweetest mad-scientist I ever met!

We will def get some vids up soon. In the meantime, if you're interested, here's a vid of another interesting guitar my teacher made me in India.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2V1MYbijIo

More soon. All the best, Billy