Moog Introduces Revolutionary New Guitar
I'm not one to typically lust after music gear, but this new guitar created by the geniuses over at Moog has me putting my credit card in a block of frozen ice to prevent me from pre-ordering it. Not only does this guitar feature infinite sustain on all strings (similar to what an EBow can provide for single strings), but it also sports the ability to mute any and all strings actively as it's being played, giving the guitar a sound not unlike a banjo.
The guitar's innovative technology is not post-processing or filter based. It's the actual strings that create the sounds--they contain a unique metallurgy designed to work specifically with the Moog Guitar's pickups (though according the the FAQ, normal strings can be used in an emergency, but just won't work as well).
Moog originally began as the analog synthesizer manufacturer back in the day, Moog keyboards were the first of their kind, handmade, and invented by the company's brilliant founder and mastermind, Bob Moog, who sadly passed away in 2005. According the the Moog website, Bob had long planned to create a new guitar but the technology to innovate and invent in the already crowded market had not been developed yet.
Check out the jaw-dropping video below and watch artists like Lou Reed, and former Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid drool over this new toy, which will be released sometime in September for the probably-worth-it price of $6,500. What do you think? Would you buy one?
(via Wired's Listening Post)
--Alan Wiley
tommad on June 20, 2008 at 06:12 PM
How does it ROCK? All I hear are sample sounds.
i know a douch bag when i see one on June 15, 2008 at 10:44 AM
bryan frymire...please stop being such a douche bag! If you want to correct grammar so badly, there are plenty of positions teaching English in preschools across the country. You act like such a know it all and yet you have never actually seen or played this axe. I have a pretty accurate douche bag meter from years of being around know it all douche bags like yourself. In fact the world of music is so full of them it it sickening. You sound like one of those a-holes who when in a band criticizes everyone else for playing notes the "wrong" way. Please just shut the hell up and work on your "music degree" like a good douche. It will pay off one day when your unemployed and have nothing better to do than criticize people commenting on a new guitar, but wait that's where you are today! doh! No one cares how you would do it better or what you think really. Is your name really franklin? Do you wear those little boxed glasses that you think make you look cool, but actually have no prescription lenses in them? Like i said i know plenty of know it all music douche bags from past experiences...no one thinks you are cool for correcting grammar.
that being said...this axe looks sweet! despite what a douche bag like bryan fagmire says! I want one!
Bryan Frymire on June 15, 2008 at 07:40 AM
Sean: Bullshit. You wrote "You ALL obviously don't play guitar." When you use the word "all" then you are, by definition, including me as the object of your comments. Furthermore you wrote "The Fernandes sustainer can't do that." I'm the only one who mentioned the Fernandes sustainer. Then you asked the question "You guys even know who Fareed Haque is?" That must also have been directed at me. Right?
No one said that those guys were "...hamming for the camera"... Thing is, when there's a camera pointed at you you're going to tend to behave a certain way. It's like if you go to visit a friend who's just had a new baby. His wife has a video camera rolling as you see the child for the first time. Now this kid is ugly with a capital "U"... How are you going to react? Do you say "Jeez Louise - this kid is hideous!!"... Of course not. You say how beautiful the child is. It's not the truth, but you say it anyway. See my point here? That's why I give little credence to what those guys were saying in that video.
Here's how I would have done it: Let these guys be anonymous. No recognizable voices. Masks obscuring their faces. 6500 or even 4000 dollars *of their own money* in their pockets. They walk into a room with one of these Moog guitars plugged in. They can play it for as long as they wish. Then at the end of their trial session they may either walk out of that room with their money - or the Moog. That's a test that's not tainted. What I saw on that video was tainted in my opinion. Furthermore I'm not impressed by the sound of this instrument. Just my opinion. You have yours too and it's subjective. Nothing to argue about there.
Ronsonic on June 14, 2008 at 07:12 PM
This actually looks new and innovative and interesting. It would have been much better if they had given one of these to someone long enough to learn his way around it and then show what it can do. I mean hearing famous guys talk about it and noodle on an unfamiliar guitar tells me nothing and is boring. Let's hear some music from it.
Sean on June 14, 2008 at 09:58 AM
Bryan: My comment was more directed at the Metallica and Guitar hero posts. Nobody is questioning your rock n roll bonafides. Pricing will probably settle somewhere closer to 4k, putting it withing range of, say, a nice PRS. I make experimental electronic stuff and I can only speak for myself, but this is really cool. It doesn't look like Fareed, Lou and Vernon are hamming for the camera and if they are, I don't care. I like what I'm hearing.
Bryan Frymire on June 14, 2008 at 12:11 AM
You're free to take Lou's opinion over mine. Of course you'd be foolish to ignore the fact that he's surrounded by Moog people who want to sell these things at 6500 bucks(!) a pop. The question that must be considered is this: If Lou Reed was in a room all alone and had on one hand a 6500 dollar Moog Guitarthingy - and on the other hand a whole roomful of brand-new gear, axes, and amps... You see there's a decision to be made here. My decision would be one thing. Lou Reed's may or may not be different. My point here is that I'm not impressed by what's offered for that kind of money. Is that ignorant? I don't think so. Am I cynical? Perhaps. If you think I'm wrong, well that's fine. Make an argument. Don't just call me names.
And Sean - "You all obviously don't play guitar." How is that obvious? Do you divine this fact through our sentence structure? Grammatical choice? You are some detective, young man. Very impressive. And no, I don't know who Fareed Haque is. I do know that he (just as Lou Reed) was surrounded by Moog people and had a camera on him and for all we know is a paid Moog spokesperson. You can take from those facts what you will. With the above-noted facts in mind I take it all with a huge grain of salt.
Once again, the question is this: Is this thing worth 6500 bucks? I say no. Furthermore, I am not impressed by the sounds it makes. Now according to you guys that makes me 1) Ignorant 2) Cynical 3) Not a guitarist. I think you're wrong on all counts and you have made no argument to the contrary. Would you care to make that argument? Are you going to be writing a check for one of these in the next couple of weeks?
Didn't think so. That's what's known as "Putting your money where your mouth is".
Sean on June 13, 2008 at 08:54 PM
FYI fom the Moog people:
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.
Sean on June 13, 2008 at 08:46 PM
Not to be all snooty or anything. Well, I'll go ahead and be snooty. You all obviously don't play guitar. This thing is revolutionary in many ways. What I heard was sublime. Multiple hanging drones with simultanious cross-string legato lines?...Mmmmm... The Fernandes Sustainer can't do that. You guys even know who Fareed Haque is? I'll take his word for it. I want one.
Ron J on June 13, 2008 at 07:36 PM
An Ebow would be cheaper...
Deadhead on June 13, 2008 at 06:04 PM
So sad that Jerry Garcia never got to play one... :-(
john on June 13, 2008 at 03:23 PM
sounds like a regular old guitar for the most part. Revolutionary? NO! If you want a synthesizer get one!
Netmarcos on June 13, 2008 at 02:18 PM
Man, there are some cynical, ignorant commenter on this one. I'll take Lou's opinion over these any day.
AyatollahOfRocknRolla on June 13, 2008 at 01:40 PM
I can get the same sounds playing Guitar Hero III for 1/8 of the price.
Jim on June 13, 2008 at 01:02 PM
So, what Metallica did 22 years ago in the intro to "Damage, Inc." you can do today for $6500?
dcnyc on June 13, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Lou is thinking, "Imagine how easy Metal Machine Music would have been with this!"
Bryan Frymire on June 13, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Snore. Sounds like the Fernandes Sustainer I sold. Find a youTube video of Dann Huff playing his axe with active electronics. That will have the added feature that this instrument is missing: It sounds just like an electric guitar.