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Moog Liberation

Keytar synthesizer


Summary

Keytar synthesizer

FieldValue
imageMoog Liberation.jpg
captionOriginal factory brochure
synth_nameLiberation
synth_manufacturerMoog Music
synthesis_typeAnalog subtractive
polyphonyMonophonic (Osc1&2)
Paraphonic (Poly)
oscillator2
filter1 low-pass
attenuatorASD
lfo1
keyboard44 keys
left_controlRibbon controller
ext_controlCV/Gate
memorynone
fxRing modulation
dates1980

Paraphonic (Poly)

The Moog Liberation was one of the first commercially produced "keytar" synthesizers, released in 1980 by Moog Music. The instrument is comparable to the Realistic Concertmate MG-1 and the Moog Rogue, but it is most closely related to the Moog Prodigy; however, as a keytar, the Liberation was designed to be played in the same posture as one would play a guitar.

The Liberation features two monophonic voltage-controlled oscillators and a polyphonic section that can play organ sounds. Both oscillators can be set to triangle, sawtooth, or square waveforms and switched over a 3-octave range. The keyboard is aftertouch-sensitive and the neck features spring-loaded wheels for filter cutoff, modulation, and volume, as well as a ribbon-controlled pitch bend. The Liberation has a single voltage-controlled filter and 2 ADSR envelope generators. A 40-foot cable connects the Liberation to its rackmounted half which houses the power supply and CV/Gate output sockets.

Notable users

Jean-Michel Jarre plays a Liberation on the DVD release of Oxygène Live in Your Living Room. It also appears in the bonus section with Jarre describing the instruments.

The Human League used a Liberation in the songs "Empire State Human", "Being Boiled", and "Circus of Death" at the Wickerman Festival in July 2009.

Other artists who have used the instrument include James Brown, Didier Marouani of Space, Tom Coster of Santana, Tommy Cyborg of Chrome, Herbie Hancock, Joy Electric, Danny Peyronel of UFO, Michael Busse of Spider Murphy Gang, Six Finger Satellite, Page McConnell of Phish, and Saga. Though Devo is commonly associated with the Moog Liberation, the band never used it on stage or in the studio, only in music videos and for a promotional ad for the synthesizer.

A Moog Liberation was also used as a prop in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Glitter."

Images

File:Moog Liberation Gitarrenhals.JPG|Neck File:Moog Liberation Controlpanel.JPG|Control panel

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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