Moog Music Forum

Has anybody seen this concert film/documentrary of/about the 1969 Isle of Wight concert "Miles Electric - A Different Kind of Blue?"
Chick Corea demonstrates and explains how he first started running his Rhodes through a "filter," which he has set atop it, dialing in effect with his left hand as he plays with his right. This thing looks an awful lot like a Moogerfooger (there's never a clear shot), but it seems like the wrong color (beige/stainless?), and I don't suspect they've been around that long, have they? (He appeared to be using an identical unit during the concert)

If it is indeed a Moogerfooger, could someone here help me out with which one it is, exactly?

It might be an Oberheim filter, they made them in pedal form back in the early 70s. They were the same color as the SEM modules.

http://filters.muziq.be/files/pics/ober ... 5e979e15f3

Hello,

I have the Miles Electric: A different Kind of Blue dvd and the interview segments that are done with Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock were done in
2003. Both of them are using Moogerfooger pedals with a Fender Rhodes in the demo segments. Chick Corea is using the MF-102 Ring modulator. He demos what the ring modulators did to the sound of the electric piano back when synths were rare as stage instruments.
Herbie Hancock is also using a Mooger pedal with his Rhodes, although its not clear which one he's using.
The dvd has the entire killer set played at Isle of Wight in August 1971.
Chick was using an older type of ring mod on his Hohner keyboard back then.
The entire dvd is excellent as a historical document, as it traces Miles pioneering work in the incorporation of electronics into jazz, as well as
post-production techniques that at the time were mainly used in pop and rock.


Regards,


LWG

During the concert section of that film, Chick Corea is using a Ring Modulator pedal of sorts, I'm not sure what kind but it certainly wasn't a Moogerfooger as they weren't made until about 4 or 5 years ago. The Moogerfooger Ring Mod can sound like that, though! Also, Chick is not playing a Fender Rhodes, it is a Hohner Electra piano. Keith Jarrett is also playing in that concert, but he is playing an RMI (awful instrument, really).

Its funny that you mention that video, I just watched it yesterday!

Hello,

The dvd, except for the 1970 concert set, was interspersed with interview segments that were done in 2003. The segments with Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock have them both playing Rhodes pianos with Mooger pedals parked on top. Chick Corea is clearly demoing what sounds and looks like the MF-102.
It is only during the Isle of Wight concert footage that you see Chick Corea playing a Hohner electronic piano with the old style ring mod on it.
The thing that does need correction in my previous post is that Isle of Wight was in 1970 (August 29th), as I mistakenly dated it as 1971.
Many of the RMIs generated their tone electronically. They were not electro-mechanical like the Rhodes and the Wurlitzer, and thus had a weezy kind of tone.
RMI probably created what was the first digital synths in the form of the
Keyboard Computer and the KCII.


Regards,


LWG

This is a great DVD, and I highly recommend it!

The pedal in the 2003 footage is obviously a MF-102. It doesn't appear that Herbie Hancock actually uses it, though.

I was wondering about what Chick Corea was using inthe 1970 footage. My first thought was that it was a Maestro Ring Modulator, but it seems that it was an Oberheim Ring Modulator. At least that's what Chick remembers:

http://www.chickcorea.com/from_chick.html

Sorry if you misread my post LWG, but I was not correcting you. My comments were directed at the person who started this thread, Herbiefan. And yes, it is rather obvious that Herbie is playing a rhodes and an MF-102 in the interview segments.

Hello, Everyone...

At the risk of bumping this, I just wanted to thank everyone who responded - MC, LWG, Doki Doki, and Impossible Sound - not to mention my band's "pedal guru," Tim, who ID'd the thing as a Moogerfooger and directed me here to begin with.

You have no idea how the info you've all shared has put my mind at rest, putting an end to a six-month-long search. I went into the dealer finder and located a place to take an MF-102 "test drive." I'm there tomorrow!

I'll say, though, that one thing that puzzled me was that I didn't find Corea on the "user" list - possibly since it may not be reflected in his more current work, though he still seemed handy with it. BTW, Impossible Sound, I loved the quote from Chick's site:

"The viewpoint about making that music that way at that time though was: you take anything and make music out of it."

LOL, What a cut-up! Thanks again everybody,

Herbiefan

I haven't seen it - but it's likely the OLD ringmod he used was a Maestro. They were quite popular and others were hard to find back then....

Maestro did sell a ring mod pedal back in the '70's. In fact, according to "Guitar Effects Pedals - A Practical Handbook" by Dave Hunter, Tom Oberheim (yes, THAT Tom Oberheim) made this for Maestro, along with the PS-1 Phase Shifter.

In the late 1970's Maestro shifted their contract to Moog Electronics, and Moog continued to build their products.

These days, Maestro is best remembered for their Fuzz-Tones and Echoplex boxes. The rest, including the ring mod and phaser have mostly fallen into obscurity.

Sounds like an interesting video...

The ring modulator the Hohner Electra Piano is going through in the 1970 Isle of Wight footage is an Oberheim. You can see it at around 08:35 in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlO_xXEBhY

Here's a good picture of one:

http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/medi ... iginal.jpg

I think the OP died a few years ago...

Stephen




.