Kind of Fresh!
Hello Jamorama people – today we`re going to look at some rather exceptional developments in the world of string theory. If you`re a proponent of holographic consciousness, quantum gravity or the cosmological horizon you are on the wrong page unless of course your name is Jimi Hendrix and you are reading from the nearest black hole.
This is a guitar blog and today we`re going to have a look at one of the many new ‘guitars’ from legendary electronics pioneer brand MOOG (pronounced MOGUE – like Vogue). It also allows me to touch very briefly upon the theory behind exactly how your pickups work, because MOOG have almost reinvented the instrument…
Not a guitar synthesizer nor a MIDI guitar or an effects processor; players are “intimately connected to The Moog Guitar because it works its magic on the strings themselves”. The Moog guitar has several options that relate to the concept of “sustain” although the guitar does this intelligently and in real-time by listening to and reacting in synch’ with each strings vibrations across time. This Harmonic Control System allows you to play with infinite sustain everywhere, sustained single and polyphonic lines whilst muting those strings you aren’t playing, or, to blend these two modes in either pickup whilst changing the frequency of the filter. The harmonic blend is a way of favoring some harmonics over others in a note. It changes the color, the tone or timbre of the instrument. The Moog Guitar strings have a higher metallic content than most strings and is more responsive to the elector-magnetism than most other strings. If you listen to the video below you`ll gain some idea of what`s happening here:
How this actually works is through using magnetic pick ups to actually change the MOTION of the strings..allowing you to mix up muted banjo sounds with sustained notes as you can hear. WHY SO?
Well, a magnetic pickup consists of a permanent magnet such as a AlNiCo, wrapped with a coil of a few thousand turns of fine enameled copper wire. The vibration of the string modulates the magnetic flux linking the coil, thereby inducing an alternating current through the coil of wire. This signal is then carried to amplification or recording equipment via a cable.
It could sound a bit too complex but do not worry, just listen to it and of course play it if you can!!!
Cheers!
