NAMM Show 2007NAMM Show 2007
The Moog ThereminIf you have never seen or heard a Theremin, you can now. Moog sells theses because Bob Moog started his career of building musical devices by building Theremins.
Bob Moog founded Big Briar, Inc. in 1978 in the mountains of Western North Carolina. In 1982 the company introduced a line of alternate control devices for electronic music production, including a Theremin Controller.
In 1989, Moog met Leon Theremin in Bourges, France, and in 1991 he and musicologist Olivia Mattis interviewed Theremin at a ceremony in Theremin's honor at Stanford University. The same year, Big Briar introduced its "Series 91" line of professional theremins. In 1995 Big Briar produced the Etherwave theremin and Mastering the Theremin, with Lydia Kavina, a professional instructional video on how to play the theremin. 1998 saw the introduction of the moogerfooger analog effects - a line of voltage controlled stand-alone effects.
Big Briar became Moog Music in 2002. The Asheville, NC based company
designs and builds theremins, analog effects modules, and analog synthesizers.
Responding to the massive popularity of the Little Phatty Tribute Edition, Moog Music announced The Little Phatty Stage Edition. It has the same features and sound engine, designed by Moog founder and inventor, Bob Moog, and also boasts improved software and a unique auto-calibration feature. And for those excited about the lower cost Tribute, the new Stage model tantalizes even further with a retail price of $1,375. The Little Phatty Stage Edition will begin shipping in February 2007.
Not settling for vintage synth dominance, Moog continues to innovate and fuse uncompromising sound quality and craftsmanship with new technology. The Little Phatty Stage Edition puts the performer in control of a 100% analog signal path with Real Analog Control (RAC), two ultra stable Voltage Controlled Oscillators and one Voltage Controlled Filter among other versatile features like CV inputs, KB gate and full MIDI in/out control.
The Stage Edition has updated software, which includes auto calibration and an auto tune function that ensures the instrument is tuned perfectly whether it's in a cool studio or under hot stage lighting. The software update also includes an asymmetric pitch wheel as well as arbitrary pot mapping that allows the user to assign knobs to perform different functions. Owners of the Tribute Edition will be able to download the updated software package free from Moog Music's website.
Keyboardists have a new way to express themselves. The Minimoog Voyager Select Series, allows users to choose from five backlight options as well as eight different wood cabinet styles to create a Voyager with a look all their own. Moog offers an interactive Web experience that displays any custom combination, and then facilitates online ordering by integrating with local dealers.
"Creativity, imagination and uniqueness are what Moog is all about," said Moog Music President Mike Adams. "The Minimoog Voyager Select Series allows us to connect those values with our customers, enabling them to express their own personality in an instrument we handcraft for them."
Since introducing the Electric Blue® edition in 2004, Moog has received hundreds of requests to build customized Voyagers. Now those requests, once only fulfilled for a handful of artists, can be accommodated for anyone. Backlight options include: Electric Blue, Solar (orange), Lunar (white), Fire (red), and Jade (green). Cabinet styles are available in Electric Blue (black with fractal blue flecks), Traditional Ash, Mahogany, White Wash, Walnut, Cherry, Black Ash, and Maple. Any combination is available.
The Minimoog Voyager Select Series is showcased within a new Web experience accessible at www.moogmusic.com. Users can make backlight and cabinet choices and instantly view photos. The site is also integrated with local dealers. Dealers will have some combinations in stock but all will be available within six weeks of the order date. "Our online interface provides a great experience for our customers while keeping the local dealers integrally involved," said Moog Music Sales Manager Linda Pritchard.
The world of electronic musical effects is expanding into previously undiscovered dimensions. Moog Music has added yet another imaginative effect to their already unique Moogerfooger line, the FreqBox.
Unveiled at NAMM, and unlike any other effect module, the FreqBox does not actually modify the audio input signal to produce an altered version of the sound source. Instead the effected sound is an analog Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) modulated by the sound source input-an Audio Modulated VCO. The result is a vast array of effects that were once only possible with a complex modular synth setup. The FreqBox creates a variety of new sounds to musicians and producers alike.
"This effect is so over the top that we had a hard time naming it," recalled Moog Music product development engineer Steve Dunnington. "The sounds it can produce range from fuzz-like distortion to glitching sweeps through the harmonic series to cataclysmic timbral morphing; it truly is a freak box."
The FreqBox accepts instrument to line-level inputs, and the signal is then passed through a drive circuit capable of massive overdrive, followed by a voltage controlled mix circuit (for dry/wet balance) and an output level control for balancing the effected signal level with the bypassed signal level. The VCO section features frequency and waveform controls, and like all Moogerfooger effects, these parameters are also controllable with an input expression pedal. The sync switch allows the oscillator to be either free running or retriggered with the audio input signal for classic oscillator hard sync effects. The FreqBox VCO can also be frequency modulated by the input signal. It contains an envelope follower and mix controls to further enhance the sonic dimensions. All of this is hand-built into the Moogerfooger enclosure for sonic versatility and stompbox durability.
"Moog is all about expanding the sonic palette; inventing tools musicians can use to create distinctive music," said Moog Music president Mike Adams. "The FreqBox falls right at the core of that promise. Guitar players will gravitate toward its harder-edge distortion capabilities. DJs looking for an extra edge in live performances may find this to be the 'fooger that awakens them to the whole line."
To be fully understood and appreciated, the FreqBox must be heard. Sound samples are available, along with a comprehensive product description, at www.moogmusic.com. The FreqBox will ship in the Spring of 2007.
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