Moog Guitar or A Better Mouse Trap

You might have seen this one already. When Moog comes out with any product it gets attention but a guitar really gets attention.

It is called The Moog Guitar – The Paul Vo Collector Edition and here is the Moog company line:

The Moog Guitar puts revolutionary new technology in the hands of the guitarist. Moog Music is known for building the finest instruments and the Moog Guitar is first and foremost a very fine guitar; designed to be played by the best musicians as their primary axe. Its AAAAA maple top, swamp ash body and ebony finger board bespeak the quality that musicians have come to expect from a Moog instrument.

The addition of Moog Guitar Electronics opens guitarists to a whole new musical vocabulary: Not a guitar synthesizer, not a MIDI guitar or an effects processor; players are intimately connected to The Moog Guitar because it works its magic on the strings themselves.

What makes this guitar so special?

The Moog Guitar Electronics add an unparalleled range of expression to the Moog Guitar:

FULL SUSTAIN MODE – like no other sustainer; infinite sustain on every string, at every fret position and at any volume. You may have heard sustain before but not with this power (we call it “Vo Power”) and clarity.

CONTROLLED SUSTAIN MODE – allows you to play sustained single or polyphonic lines without muting technique. The Moog Guitar sustains the notes you are playing while actively muting the strings you are not playing.

MUTE MODE – removes energy from the strings, resulting in a variety of staccato articulations. The mute mode has never been heard on any other guitar; the Vo Power stops the strings with the same intensity that it sustains them. You feel the instrument transform in your hands.

HARMONIC BLENDS – use the included foot pedal to shift the positive energy of Vo Power in Sustain mode and the subtractive force of Vo Power in Mute mode between the bridge and neck pick-ups to pull both subtle and dramatic harmonics from the strings.

MOOG FILTER – control the frequency of the built-in, resonant Moog ladder filter using the foot pedal or a CV Input.

Moog Guitar Controls

There are five knobs:

Vo Power this is the amount of coherent power that is applied to the strings to either sustain or mute them.

Piezo Blend blends the piezo output with the Moog pick-ups.

Harmonic Balance shifts the Vo Power (sustain/mute) power between the neck and bridge pick-up. In the center position the power is balanced between the neck and bridge.

Master Volume controls overall volume including both the Moog Pick-up output as well as the piezos.

Tone/Filter controls both tone and the resonance of the Moog ladder filter dependent upon the position of the Filter Mode Toggle switch.

There are three switches:

Moog Guitar Mode determines the application of the Vo Power. There are three positions: Sustain, Controlled Sustain, and Mute

Filter Mode Toggle with three positions: Standard Guitar Tone, an articulated Moog filter (e.g similar to an auto-wah), and classic Moog Ladder filter

Five Position Pick-up Selector Switch: Piezo, Bridge only, Out of Phase, In Phase, Neck only.

What sets the Moog Guitar apart from sustainer guitars?

-The first and most basic difference is that the Moog Guitar is able to
MUTE the strings, actually physically stopping the strings’ vibration.

-The Moog Guitar in the FULL SUSTAIN mode is more powerful and responsive than anything on the market. The Moog Guitar also has governors on every string that prevent excessive buzzing. It is a very strong and even sustain on every string, on every fret. The Moog Guitar can sustain full six-note chords easily.

-When in any mode (Full Sustain, Controlled Sustain, or Mute) you do not have to sacrifice one of the pick-ups for the functionality of the innovations. This means there’s always sound coming from both pick-ups. The ability to pan mute and sustain control between pick-ups (with the included foot pedal) is the source of Harmonic Blending.

-You’re always in control of the Moog Guitar. When Controlled Sustain is engaged, you pick and choose what strings are being given energy (by playing them!), without having to mute the other strings with your hands. There is no spill-over of energy to unwanted strings.

Most interesting I thing is the weird Moog pickups and special strings that make the sustainer/muter possible. It is a interesting idea I just wonder how different the mute would be from say my palm. The sustain seem much more musical than a Ebow. Vernon Reid seemed to think it was cool though in the video. Of course the other thing I like is the ladder filter. It wouldn’t be a Moog with out that would it.

The thing I don’t like is the price. $6,500 is a little steep. With high end guitars a lot of what you are paying for it the cosmetic elements. When see 5 A’s in a row you are going to be paying a pretty penny. The thing is I don’t like its looks. The natural colors look OK but bright dye jobs on even the best maple tops I have never liked. I not a fan of gold hardware either. Gold seems to really clash with some color schemes but silver tones seem a lot of neutral. But at that price I am not it the target demo graphic. I hope for different models soon. It would be cool to have one with either a walnut top or and some of the other design aesthetics of the synths.

The really question is will this catch on. Will people use this to make great music with it or will it be just another expensive gadget. There have been plenty of new fangled guitars in the past none of the gained wide acceptance or had much staying power. Not surprisingly Moog make it clear in their marketing that it is not a midi or synth guitar. Very arguably you could say that last innovate new guitar to really catch on was the Stratocaster. Is the Moog guitar a better mouse trap? If it is will it catch on? Can the Moog legend be transferred to the guitar universe when the man himself is gone? Without other price points or imitators there will be no chance. Even then maybe not in a guitar culture obsession with the sweet sound technologies of yesteryear and gear steeped in myth and legend.