The Liberation was Moog's unique strap-on keytar style portable performance synthesizer. Being a dual-oscillator monophonic analog synth it is often considered comparable to Moog's other two-oscillator synths such as the Rogue or Concertmate MG-1, but in actuality the Liberation is most similar to Moog's most popular dual-vco synth, the Prodigy. The actual synth controls of the Liberation are nearly identical to the Prodigy, with the addition of Ring Mod, Noise and Polysynth controls in the Mixer section. The Liberation also uses sliders and toggle switches instead of the Prodigy's knobs and slide switches.

The Liberation is fairly simple to use and has that unique monophonic Moog sound. Its two analog oscillators are combined to produce a monophonic, single-note output. Each oscillator features sawtooth, triangle and square shapes (waveforms can be selected independently on each VCO) adjustable over three octave ranges each, and they can be mixed together to produce a variety of tones. There is also a simple polyphonic section that can be useful for playing organ-type sounds. There is the traditional 24 dB/oct Moog filter section with its own cutoff, resonance (emphasis) and envelope controls (attack, decay/release, sustain), and a Loudness amp with attack, decay/release, sustain envelope controls. Some other nice on-board features include a Ring Modulator, Noise Generator, and syncable VCO's. But one of its great features is its ribbon controller, located in the hand-grip portion of the synth which can be used for pitch bending and modulation effects.

A rare white painted Liberation

If you're looking to perform with a cheap (by Moog standards) analog synth strapped on like a guitar then the Liberation should be right up your alley. Otherwise there's always the Prodigy, a long time staple of electronic musicians. The Liberation has been used by 808 State, Apollo 440, Devo and Kool and The Gang.

Julian

December 6, 2010 @ 11:37 pm

I have one of these. I was wondering how much money these go for? and also.. How many are in existence? I can't seem to find these answers on the net.

BlackDiscoBall

September 23, 2010 @ 8:46 pm

I own one of these and also a prodigy and can say for sure that they sound nothing alike. The Liberation has a much smoother sound while the Prodigy has more edge. They do have some similar features but the similarities end there.

Frank

September 9, 2009 @ 3:19 am

Dominique Perrier used it during the concerts in China of Jean-Michel Jarre 1982, and Jarre recently used it during his world tour.

Kelly

July 31, 2009 @ 9:51 am

The Human League/Phil Oakey used one for the songs Empire State Human, Being Boiled & Circus of Death at the Wickerman Festival 2009.

DAVE BAKER

May 30, 2009 @ 12:49 am

I SAW WAKEMAN USE ONE IN 78, GOIONG FOR THE ONE TOUR, AND ALSO ON THE TORMATO TOUR,..AND I THINK ON THE REUNION TOUR. FACE IT,...WE KEYBOARD PLAYERS JUST AIN'T GONNA' BE OUT FRONT HOLDING A SEXY SOUND MACHINE IN OUR HANDS,....AND IT'S JUST NOT COOL TO TRY AND BOUNCE AROUND A HEAVY KEYBOARD. EMERSON TRIED IT, AND THE ONLY WAY HE PULLED IT OFF WAS HIS BRILLIANCE OF STYLE AND HIS AUDACITY OF TRYING ANYTHING TO BREAK UP HE MONOTONY OF STANDING/SITTING IN FRONT OF A RACK OF KEYBOARDS. IF YOU WANT TO BE SEXY,...LEARN THE DAMNED GUITAR!

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