Bob Moog's synthesizers and effects changed the world. Now, the company that bears his name is trying to apply its vision to a new instrument: the guitar.
The Moog Guitar Paul Vo Edition has infinite sustain -- enough to keep Nigel Tufnel holding the guitar up to his ear until the end of time -- while a muted mode allows players to add the sound of their fingers holding down the strings loosely and then taking them away from the strings right away after the strum for a banjo-type sound. These effects operate separately on each pickup, giving players a wider range of sonic options.
The special sauce: strings that have "a specific metallurgy designed to work with the Moog pickups."
The last time we heard from Moog was when it launched the Little Phatty synthesizer in 2006. That synth was basically a modernized, digitally-controlled version of the earlier analog keyboards for which Moog has traditionally been known. This guitar represents a far more significant leap for the company -- perhaps its biggest since Bob Moog left it in '77.
The video above to the right, in which Lou Reed, Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and other musicians put the Moog Guitar - Paul Vo Edition through its paces, does a fine job of explaining how this $6500 piece of six-string bliss sounds. Here's Moog's full run-down on each of the guitar's modes:
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.
Bob Moog had had designs on the guitar market, so this move by those representing his legacy isn't out of character. "Bob and Moog President Mike Adams often spoke of entering the guitar market, but it was not until Paul brought this idea forward that we felt we had something truly innovative to bring the market." (Some Gibson guitars contained circuitry designed by Bob Moog, but this will be the first guitar under the Moog brand.)
Kudos to Moog engineer Paul Vo for inventing this guitar. If I had a spare seven grand lying around, I would pre-order one of these right now. Lou Reed feels the same way, and has the necessary scratch: "As soon as it's ready, I want it. The day you can sell it, I would buy it from you."
A Moog representative told Listening Post that the guitars are not yet in production, but are scheduled to ship in September.
