Moog has been at the cutting edge of music technology
since Robert Moog began selling theremin kits in 1961. In
1968 Moog built a synthesizer system for Walter (now Wendy)
Carlos for the groundbreaking album Switched-On Bach.
Moog synths became ubiquitous in the ‘70s with the advent
of Prog Rock and Fusion. Bob Moog also worked with Gibson
to develop the RD Artist series guitars, which were the first
guitars with onboard compressor/expander electronics. In
the ‘80s, with the popularity of digital synths, Moog’s analog
machines dropped in sales and the company went out of
business in 1986. Bob Moog went on to start Big Briar and
went back to making theremins and researching new ways to
make wacky sounds. In 2001 Big Briar was able to reacquire
the Moog name and has since become Moog Music. They
have produced some amazing effects boxes, and with analog
sounds getting popular again, they’ve brought back the Mini
Moog synth. After all these years they have turned their creative
energies to the guitar, thanks to Moog inventor Paul Vo.
Moog Music first produced the Paul Vo Collector Edition, which had fancy wood and $6500 price tag.
The new E1 has the same guts and is basically
a less fancy version for 3k less.
The Naked Facts
The E1 has an Alder body with a 25.5"-scale
maple neck and ebony fingerboard. The guitar
is USA-made and looks clean with excellent
fretwork. It is available in three colors:
Candy Red, Black, and Butterscotch. Our
sample has the Wilkinson by Gotoh vibrato
bar, which is much better than your average
non-locking whammy. There is also a piezo
pickup system to give simulated acoustic
sound that can be mixed in with the electric
sound as desired. The two pickups are made
by Moog and are an essential part of the system,
so don’t plan on replacing them. To me,
the pickups sound all right but not exceptionally
good. They are not super hot, and the
overall guitar sound is very clean, albeit somewhat
sterile. The natural sustain is very good.
For more on features be sure to read Michael
Ross’ article, “Hands On With The Moog
Guitar” in the Oct. 2008 issue of PG.
You Want Sustain? No Problemo
Now let’s get down to it. The reason you’d
spend over 3K for this axe isn’t because of
the guitar; it’s because of what it does. When
I was asked to review the E1, I was expecting
some sort of new guitar synth. Well that’s
not what this is—in fact, Moog has only just
made MIDI compatibility an option, and our
review sample doesn’t have it. Even so, I
was surprised by what I found. The sounds
the E1 makes basically all come from the
strings, and they’re very organic. Moog and
Vo have made a system that will stimulate
the strings to sustain endlessly. Conversely,
this same technology allows for the system to
mute the strings. There is also the Controlled
Sustain mode, which mutes the strings you’re
not playing and gives energy to the strings
you are, which is a neat feature for soloing.
In addition, they include the Moog Ladder
Filter, which is a sort of tone shift—think new
fangled wah-wah.
The guitar, let’s face it, tends to be a staccato
instrument, so for a long time players have
searched for ways to get more sustain. This
path led from nylon to steel strings to electric
guitars and experiments with feedback, fuzz
boxes, compressors and a host of other stuff.
With the Moog you can just skip all that,
sustain is here to spare. There are three positions
on the Mode Selector: Mute, Controlled
Sustain and Infinite Sustain. You won’t hear
a huge difference in sound between the two
sustain modes—the Controlled Sustain mode
blends the Infinite Sustain and the Mute
modes by giving energy only to the strings
being played while muting those that aren’t—
but the way they respond differently to your
playing is pretty cool. This makes it easy for
players who want sustain for soloing, but
don’t want to worry about muting the other
strings with their right hand.
How the sustain actually feels as you play is a
bit curious. There is a slight delay in the time
from when you pluck the string to when you
feel the sustain grab on to the sound. The
result, to me, is that the E1 is best at a legato
approach—long, sustained chords work great.
For single-note lines you really aren’t going to
play fast shred stuff, as it just misses the point
of the sustainer. Playing up and down on a
single string works really well, since the string
stays stimulated and you avoid the restart
delay feel. The infinite sustain really does
require you to rethink the way you play guitar,
as does the mute function. The mute can give
you a sort of banjo-like attack, basically all
attack and no sustain.