The Moog Guitar Model E1 - Fixed Bridge (Black)

Manufacturer Description:
"One of the most inspiring aspects of producing The Moog Guitar has been hearing from guitarists who have been creatively reinvigorated by it." said Mike Adams, Moog Music President. "When someone plays it for the first time, you can almost see new musical ideas forming in their head."

The Model E1 provides an incredibly intimate playing experience that connects musicians directly to the source of the sound; the strings of the guitar. It does this by controlling the way the strings vibrate. In a very coherent way, the Model E1 gives energy to, and takes energy away from the strings. The resulting timbres do not rely on effects or post-processing. They are created directly from the strings.

?To me, touching the strings, being able to directly manipulate the very source of sound is fundamental to the nature of the guitar and to the spirit of playing it.? said Moog Guitar inventor, Paul Vo. ?The E1?s controls just set the background mode - the control system characteristics. The strings are always your main user interface. The idea was never to make the guitar sound like anything else - it was to excite the instrument with controlled electronics to bring out hidden aspects of the instrument?s own natural character.?

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 Knob - Controls intensity of sustain and mute. The knob turned fully CW is full Vo Power and fully CCW is no Vo Power.

Piezo Blend Blends the piezo bridge pick-up signal into the guitar's output signal.

Harmonic Balance Knob - Controls the balance of Vo Power between neck and bridge pick-ups. (When the Filter Toggle is in "Tone Control" position, this function is moved to the foot pedal and the Harmonic Balance knob does nothing.)

Master Volume Knob - Controls overall volume (Moog and piezo pick-ups).

Tone/Filter Knob - Adjusts the guitar tone when the Filter Toggle is in Tone Control position; adjusts the resonance of the Moog filters in the two Moog Filter Toggle positions.


There are three switches:

Mode Selector Switch - Switches between Mute Mode, Controlled Sustain Mode and Full Sustain Mode

Filter Toggle Switch Switches the Moog Filter between a standard guitar Tone Control - (toggle away from strings), a Moog Articulated Filter - (toggle centered), and a Moog Ladder Filter - (toggle towards strings).

Five Position Pick-up Selector Switch: Neck, In-phase, Out of phase, Bridge, and Piezo. only. (The piezo signal accessed via the Piezo Blend knob passes through the Moog filter; "piezo only" does not.)

Floor Pedal- Function depends on the setting of the Filter Toggle switch.

- When the Filter Toggle is in "Tone Control" position, the floor pedal controls the harmonic balance. (Forward = high harmonics, Middle = full harmonics, Back = lower harmonics.)

- When the Filter Toggle is in "Moog Articulated Filter" position, the floor pedal controls the filter cutoff frequency that the articulated filter starts with.

- When the Filter Toggle is in "Moog Ladder Filter" position, the foot pedal controls the filter cutoff frequency.

What is the difference between The Moog Guitar and sustainers?

1.) The Moog Guitar Technology is not a sustainer technology but a Harmonic Control System.

2.) In Sustain Mode, The Moog Guitar is like a sustainer on steroids. Previous sustainer technologies are limited both in their power and responsiveness.

3.) Unlike sustainer technologies, the Moog Guitar has the ability to simultaneously "listen" and "control" each individual string at exactly the same point. This allows the control system to affect the string coherently. For each pickup and string, there is a unique control system that is optimized for those harmonics happening at that point in time.

4.) This "coherency" gives the Moog Guitar a sustain capability that is un-paralleled both in power and responsiveness. There are no frustrating lags, or drop offs. And the sustain from the Moog Guitar is DIRECTLY related to what is happening on the string at that point, so it is very organic sounding and gives a feeling of connection to the instrument that has never before been felt.

5.) Sustaining is just the stepping-off point for the Moog Guitar. The same ability to coherently give energy to the string can take energy away. This is revolutionary: the ability to MUTE a string (or strings) changes the very way the string reacts to the wood and acoustics of the instrument. It feels like a different instrument in your hands when in Mute Mode.

6.) Combining the Sustain and Mute modes gives us the never-before achieved Controlled Sustain Mode. Players can sustain single-note lines while the Harmonic Control System actively removes energy from strings that aren't being played. This allows fluid violin-like lines and counter-point that are not achievable with sustainers.

7.) The Harmonic Control System allows the player to affect different harmonics that are being occurring on the strings in real-time.

8.) Because of the direct action of the Harmonic Control System on the string at the same point in space and time, the Moog Guitar fits perfectly into your playing technique, it responds naturally to the way you play - it becomes part of the acoustic nature of the actual instrument.

9.) The Moog Guitar expands the soundscape of the guitar in ways that no sustainer technology can approach. Like all Moog instruments, the only limit is the imagination and inspiration of the musician.


Product Specifications

Guitar
Double-Cutaway, Set-neck

Weight
7 lbs. (approx)

Body
Solid Alder

Fingerboard
Ebony

Finishes
Black, Butterscotch, Red

Neck
7degree angled headstock, 22 Fret, 25 1/2" Scale, Headstock finished to match body.

Pickups
2 custom-designed Moog pickups. Piezo saddles in bridge. See "Pick-Ups" tab for additional information.

Output
The piezo is blended in with the normal output of the Moog Guitar and it can be output separately thru the quarter inch jack. The piezo does not require external power; it receives auxiliary power from an onboard 9V battery.

Hardware Finish
Chrome and dark chrome

Bridge
Moog customized fixed bridge with Graph Tech piezo saddles.

Strings
Ships with 10-52 Moog Guitar Strings. Available sets include:

Packaged Set 9-46 (009, 011, 016, 026, 036, 046)
Packaged Set 10-52 (010, 013, 017, 030, 042, 052)
Packaged Set 11-52 (011, 014, 018, 030, 044, 052)

Moog Foot Pedal Controller
Controls Harmonic Blend and the frequency response of the Moog Ladder Filter. Powers the Moog Electronics.
Includes external Control Voltage Input (0 to 5VDC) for use with optional Moog accessories.
Power Input: 120/240VAC (requires correct power cord).

Electronics
Moog patented String Control Technology, including Moog Ladder Filter.


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