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wwhhhaatt « Classic synth sweeps for guitar players »
Publié le 15/04/11 à 16:05
(contenu en anglais)
This box is a noise maker's analog dream. It is a Voltage controlled oscillator that can latch onto your guitars frequency (note) and add a layer of synthy goodness. Think of the synth sweeps in classic songs like Rush's Tom Sawyer ( the "bwaaaahh" sound during the verses) or any Pink Floyd song and imagine being able to cop that sound with your guitar.
Controls:
Freq.- controls the frequency of the oscillator
waveform- allows you to use sawtooth,square,tiangle, skinny pulse waves and inbetween sounds
envelope amount- changes how much the freq. is raised when the pedal gets a signal.
fm amount- sets the frequency modulation dependent on the audio signal
mix- blends your dry sound and the sound of the oscillator
sync- on allows the oscillator to track to your note and off mixes in whatever freq. you choose on the freq. knob
Input- adjusts the gain at input allowing you to achieve distortion before the vco. very useful
output- adjusts the gain after the VCO and mix knob
In typical MOOG fashion it has more inputs and outputs than most people will even understand how to utilize until they dive into the manual. You get a jack for each knob, except input and output, that allows you to plug in an expression pedal or voltage control device such as the MOOG cp-251. This gives you real-time hands free operation of every parameter on the pedal. In addition you get your standard 1/4" inputs and outputs plus an output to hook the envelope into other devices that support control voltages.
Previous MOOG pedals had an always active preamp that many guitar players complained about. MOOG wised up on this model and gave the unit a clearer bypass that does not overly color your signal. I say overly because there is a slight change but nothing that a quick amp EQ adjustment won't fix. There is also a rack kit (sold separately) that allows you to rack three separate Moogerfoogers together.
UTILIZATION
Getting a classic synth sweep is very easy to accomplish. Right out of the box you can start making some serious noise and once you tire from that you can get into the manual and start exploring the even wilder sounds. The manual gives you a quick and painless explanation of VCOs (voltage controller oscillators) and how to utilize the controls and rear jacks. This is not the type of manual that you want to throw away. Being analog there are no hidden features so everything is right in front of you for quick changes.
SOUND QUALITY
I mainly use this with my guitar. I have dabbled with synths but really I just end up zoning out and making sounds that will cause most animals to scream and cry. My rat terrier in particular. I always loved the sound of synths and tried for years to emulate that sound using many different distortion pedals, wahs, ring mods, etc... I was lucky enough to be in Asheville ,NC and took a tour of the MOOG factory just before this pedal was announced. I got a rather lengthy demo there and put in a pre-order as soon as I got home.
One thing I will say is that you honestly cannot get too much use out of this pedal without having some control devices to go along with it. At least an expression pedal will get you many more sounds and make the pedal much easier to work into something musical. I personally own almost all of the MoogerFooger line along with 3 exp. pedals and the CP-251. Some people would probably find this to be a specialty effect that can only be used once in a set. Using the mix knob makes it so you can add subtle textures that can liven up many sounds without being overpowered. It can also be used as a wild wah sound by plugging an EXP. pedal in to the frequency jack and manually sweeping through it. I would say that is probably the sound I use the most with it.
OVERALL OPINION
This pedal is surely not for everyone but for me it's perfect. The price may seem steep but after touring the factory and seeing how the workers are treated I would say the price is perfect. This is not built in a massive plant like other manufacturers. All of the people I met at MOOG were musicians and seemed to really care about what they were doing. Open up the lil guy and it looks like a tiny city inside.
There aren't many devices like it out there and the closest I've had was the electro harmonix micro synth. I can't really say which is better but I will say I still own both.
The MOOG line is a slippery slope though and could put a dent in your wallet. I started with the phaser in 06' then went on to buy the delay, murf, freq., and the cp251. If I had to I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Even without making any conventional music you can get hours of entertaining noise out of these boxes and it increases exponentially with each Moogerfooger added to the chain.
Controls:
Freq.- controls the frequency of the oscillator
waveform- allows you to use sawtooth,square,tiangle, skinny pulse waves and inbetween sounds
envelope amount- changes how much the freq. is raised when the pedal gets a signal.
fm amount- sets the frequency modulation dependent on the audio signal
mix- blends your dry sound and the sound of the oscillator
sync- on allows the oscillator to track to your note and off mixes in whatever freq. you choose on the freq. knob
Input- adjusts the gain at input allowing you to achieve distortion before the vco. very useful
output- adjusts the gain after the VCO and mix knob
In typical MOOG fashion it has more inputs and outputs than most people will even understand how to utilize until they dive into the manual. You get a jack for each knob, except input and output, that allows you to plug in an expression pedal or voltage control device such as the MOOG cp-251. This gives you real-time hands free operation of every parameter on the pedal. In addition you get your standard 1/4" inputs and outputs plus an output to hook the envelope into other devices that support control voltages.
Previous MOOG pedals had an always active preamp that many guitar players complained about. MOOG wised up on this model and gave the unit a clearer bypass that does not overly color your signal. I say overly because there is a slight change but nothing that a quick amp EQ adjustment won't fix. There is also a rack kit (sold separately) that allows you to rack three separate Moogerfoogers together.
UTILIZATION
Getting a classic synth sweep is very easy to accomplish. Right out of the box you can start making some serious noise and once you tire from that you can get into the manual and start exploring the even wilder sounds. The manual gives you a quick and painless explanation of VCOs (voltage controller oscillators) and how to utilize the controls and rear jacks. This is not the type of manual that you want to throw away. Being analog there are no hidden features so everything is right in front of you for quick changes.
SOUND QUALITY
I mainly use this with my guitar. I have dabbled with synths but really I just end up zoning out and making sounds that will cause most animals to scream and cry. My rat terrier in particular. I always loved the sound of synths and tried for years to emulate that sound using many different distortion pedals, wahs, ring mods, etc... I was lucky enough to be in Asheville ,NC and took a tour of the MOOG factory just before this pedal was announced. I got a rather lengthy demo there and put in a pre-order as soon as I got home.
One thing I will say is that you honestly cannot get too much use out of this pedal without having some control devices to go along with it. At least an expression pedal will get you many more sounds and make the pedal much easier to work into something musical. I personally own almost all of the MoogerFooger line along with 3 exp. pedals and the CP-251. Some people would probably find this to be a specialty effect that can only be used once in a set. Using the mix knob makes it so you can add subtle textures that can liven up many sounds without being overpowered. It can also be used as a wild wah sound by plugging an EXP. pedal in to the frequency jack and manually sweeping through it. I would say that is probably the sound I use the most with it.
OVERALL OPINION
This pedal is surely not for everyone but for me it's perfect. The price may seem steep but after touring the factory and seeing how the workers are treated I would say the price is perfect. This is not built in a massive plant like other manufacturers. All of the people I met at MOOG were musicians and seemed to really care about what they were doing. Open up the lil guy and it looks like a tiny city inside.
There aren't many devices like it out there and the closest I've had was the electro harmonix micro synth. I can't really say which is better but I will say I still own both.
The MOOG line is a slippery slope though and could put a dent in your wallet. I started with the phaser in 06' then went on to buy the delay, murf, freq., and the cp251. If I had to I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Even without making any conventional music you can get hours of entertaining noise out of these boxes and it increases exponentially with each Moogerfooger added to the chain.