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Topic: Robert Randolph meets the Moog lap steel |
Rick Schmidt
From:
Prescott AZ, USA
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 12:54 am |
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| Listen to the open strum sound at 20 seconds, ie the true sound of the instrument, id be interested in your opinions, it seems the moog sucks out any 'personification' of the players sound, ie touch, tone, dynamics reducing it to something similar to the vocalising one hears generated by auto tune software. despite these these drawbacks single string expression seems to work well, whats it like for chord clusters in C6 th I wonder, can it actually reproduce two/three notes at once the way 99% of lap steel players play, just curious. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 3:03 am
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| It's interesting ... it give you infinite sustain on the strings much the way the E-bow works, but also allows for more staccato open string sounds. Yes, 'be cool to hear what Noel Boggs-style chording would sound like on the Moog. |
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Bryan Daste
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 8:45 am
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| I like the idea, and I like using an eBow, but something about the sound not decaying at all is slightly annoying. It starts to sound like a synthesizer set to stun...I feel like my ears get tired of the sound very quickly. At least with an eBow you can lift the device off the strings to get a natural decay when you want it, but it's still a sound that's best in moderation. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 8:49 am
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| I agree, Bryan. When I listen to Wes Montgomery, one of the things that makes his playing still sound so fresh and exciting 40+ years later is the way he alternated staccato with more legato phrases. Personally speaking, I like steel playing that mixes long, sustained phrases with staccato. Infinite sustain is boring (except in the bedroom). |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 10:07 am
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Check out Billy Cardine's demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYvPwOitnpc&feature=related
Amazing instrument ! I think you guys are judging too quickly in regards to the organic quality of the sound and the guitars dynamic capabilities.
This is the first I have heard from Billy Cardine. What a monster player.
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Bob |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 10:46 am
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| Totally agree Bob, Billy Cardine is a great player and Im sure we all look forward to more of his work, he is obviously a highly skilled lap steel player and hopefully we look forward to his input on the forum. However, the thread is more about the instrument, its very new and a 'flat earth society ' type respons is inevitable. This video again extolls its single string capabilities. The sounds in the early part of the video could have been a theremin or guitar synth, there will be players who find this diversion very exciting. I personally for single string work prefer anything by Bud Tutmarc, Lani Mcintrye, David Lindley or Debashish Battacharya. For lap steel synth work however then yes Billy Cardine is probably top man at the moment. I'm looking forward to the cost of such an instrument as obviously the r and d has to be clawed back somehow, I suspect they have aimed for an exclusive market, but lets wait and see, be nice to be proved wrong on this. |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 10:53 am
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I'm not sure but I don't think that the moog lap steel is a synth at all. All the sounds seem to come from vibrating strings and resonating wood. Does anybody now how these things work ? Is it coming from an E bow type system or something very different ?
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Bob |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 11:00 am
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| All the clips available showcase players that are just scratching the surface of this guitars's possibilities, in fact they are impossible for me to listen to. For this to be utilized to it's max, and more importantly, BEYOND, we need a Jimi Hendrix to handle it, and those are in rather short supply these days. It's potential is maybe limitless, but we've yet to get beyond the elementary, and most attempts would be far surpassed by the sometimes similar sounding theramin. |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 11:07 am
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| Hi Bob, just a mild correction, I didnt say it was a synth but that it 'sounded' like some of moogs earlier projects, all synth based, although I have to admit I see no reason why Dr moog should stray from his usp for this lap steel. At a shade under $3.000 dollars its affordable, and at least you get a ring modulator thrown into the electronics, to help explore new musical ground, which i'm sure many will be wanting to pursue, any thing that can bring the instrument forward and embrace our times has to be a good thing, im sure a year or so from now we'll have a 'moog lap' section within our forum, I look forward to hearing the enormous diversity that an instrument with such vast sound capabilities has to offer. |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 2:21 pm
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| I'm a +1 with Bryan. Furthermore, I think more synthesizers is the LAST damn thing music needs nowadays. |
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John Bushouse
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Posted 25 Sep 2011 2:50 pm
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+1 on the original post
+very cute on the second post 
Ron, I think your point about needing a "Hendrix" for this instrument is right on. Andy, I don't know what you're talking about but I'm pretty sure you need to see a doctor after 4 hours.
For an interesting take on the theremin, check out Pamelia Kurstin. Here she is playing "Autumn Leaves" complete with a walking bass line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHOGW5MDsz8 |
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Michael Milton
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 26 Sep 2011 7:45 am
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So, I happen to own one....
The sound is simple the strings and body (through a moog ladder filter)
They are reinforced (or damped) by electromagnets in the pickups. This can be turned off or set to any level you'd like. So, you can use it as a standard lap steel.
You can adjust the force with a pedal (so you can stop naturally)
You can als change the harmonics by switching the drive betwee the pickups (this can be done by knob or pedal)
cheers, m |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2011 8:20 am
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| How does it sound as a standard steel, Michael? |
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Michael Milton
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 26 Sep 2011 9:16 am
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Ron... My others are a Harmos and a couple of reso's (and I had an SX that I gifted to a friend)
With all the stuff turned off and the filter wide open it is mostly as one would expect. Mine is mahogany and maple, perhaps a bit darker than the ash one but I'd not swear to that. The lower strings are a but thunky in the middle of the neck but that could be me rather than any serious dead spots
The mag pickups are a bit noisy (people also observe this on the standard Moog guitar). The Lollar pickups on the Harmos are much better. It has piezo pickups as well which are quite good... indeed, I use just those quite a bit.
Using the magnets, There is also a mode which both excites *and* dampens strings selectively. This is something I find useful as it keeps things from getting out of hand without involving a lot of effort blocking.
So, the bottom line is that I'd suggest that one would find this something they could tweak to their satisfaction and treat the extras as, well, extra.
m
HTH, M |
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Twayn Williams
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 26 Sep 2011 10:12 am Re: Robert Randolph meets the Moog lap steel
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Wow, can that man play!!!!!
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Primitive Utility Steel |
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