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Post by JamesP on Feb 17, 2019 14:04:01 GMT -5
reverb.com/news/when-gibson-put-moog-preamps-in-guitars?utm_campaign=20190217+Sunday+Content&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=MarketingCloudWhen Gibson Put Moog Preamps In Guitars: Les Paul Artists, ES Artists, and RDsPublished Feb 13, 2019 by Tony Bacon Decades before trouble with robot tuning and digital guitars, Gibson had tried to convince guitarists that additional electronics in their instruments might be a good idea. It was 40 years ago, in fact. At the time, an impressive array of new keyboard synthesizers were invading stage and studio. Guitar makers, worried that the new synths might actually eclipse guitars as the prime instruments of rock, wanted to retaliate. And for Gibson in the late '70s, retaliation came in the shape of active electronics. The benefits of the system, also known as active circuitry, had been highlighted by the bass specialist Alembic and the pointy specialist B.C. Rich. The idea was to use an onboard battery-powered active preamp to boost the guitar's signal and widen its tonal range. Gibson hoped that in the process this might provide some new models with more of an "electronic" sound and modern appeal among the synthesized wails of those increasingly confident keyboard players. Gibson's first shot at actives came during 1977 in the Firebird-like shape of the RD series, which had a mix of active preamps plus compression and expansion circuits. The circuits were devised for Gibson by the synth pioneer Bob Moog, whose company Moog Music was owned at the time by Norlin—which also owned Gibson.
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Post by earleg on Feb 18, 2019 16:53:02 GMT -5
I vaguely remember this but never actually seen or heard one. I well remember and played the RD Artist and ES Artist. I wish the article included soundtracks of the synth models.
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Post by JamesP on Feb 18, 2019 18:50:37 GMT -5
I wish the article included soundtracks of the synth models. Great thought.
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