Moog Launches The Moog Guitar - Model E1

ASHEVILLE, NC (August 19, 2009) - Since its introduction at the Summer NAMM tradeshow in 2008, the Moog Guitar has received numerous industry honors including Guitar Player Magazine's 2009 Reader's Choice Award, Electronic Musician Magazine's 2009 Editor's Choice Award, 2008 Summer NAMM "Best In Show" honors, a 2008 “Best of What’s New Award” from Popular Science magazine and a 2009 Mix Foundation TEC Award nomination. More importantly, it has inspired players to new creative heights, and opened the door to totally new forms of expression with a guitar.

Introducing the next step in the evolution of The Moog Guitar: The Model E1.

The Model E1 is the production model of The Moog Guitar. It uses the same innovative electronics and pick-ups as the original Paul Vo Collector Edition, with some exciting new changes. It’s available in three new finishes; Butterscotch, Candy Red and Black, and now sports chrome hardware, a solid alder body, a choice of fixed or tremolo bridges and a new lower price tag, $3,495.

"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.”

This give and take of energy creates the Model E1’s unique playing modes. FULL SUSTAIN clearly and powerfully sustains all six strings anywhere on the neck. In MUTE MODE the pickups remove energy from the strings, resulting in short, staccato timbres. The guitar actually feels different in this mode. In CONTROLLED SUSTAIN MODE the Model E1 sustains the strings being played, while removing energy from the strings that aren’t, resulting in fluid sustained lead lines.

Since the Model E1 has the ability to add and remove energy simultaneously, it has unprecedented control over the harmonics on the vibrating string. With HARMONIC BLENDS, one pick-up sustains the strings while the other attempts to mute them. Using the supplied Control Pedal, guitarists can move the energy back and forth between the pickups resulting in natural, shifting harmonics, directly from the strings.

Combine all this with the on-board Moog Filter, additional piezo pickups and Control Voltage input and you’ve got an instrument to fuel a lifetime of sonic exploration.

For more information:
Moog Music