This is the very source of cheap Moog bass! It is a lot like the strap-on Moog Liberation in its design and architecture and also looks and sounds very much like the Moog Rogue. The MG-1 was built by Moog for Realistic (Radio Shack), and was designed specifically for the home market. Very basic and easy to use, this is a nice cheap way to get your hands on Moog sounds!

The MG-1 is a 2-VCO monophonic/polyphonic analog synth with a genuine 24dB/oct Moog filter, however the overall sound is thin. On the MG-1, the VCOs are referred to as 'Tone Generators'. It can produce sawtooth, square and pulse waveforms, and the oscillators are detunable and syncable. A simple ASR (attack, sustain, release) envelope called 'Contour' can be applied to both the amp and the filter. The LFO section provides triangle or square wave patterns as well as Sample-and-Hold. Additionally there is a simple Ring-Mod effect called 'Bell'.

Unique to the MG-1 is a slider on the far right side of the keyboard which controls the volume of a simple divide-down polyphonic organ sound. This feature makes it at least a little more versatile than the Rogue. There are RCA inputs and outputs (the input is routed straight to the output for playing along with music from your stereo system) but no external speakers as in most other home marketed synthesizers. There is also no sign of Midi or patch memory on the MG-1. It is used by Peter Gabriel, 808 State, Remy Shand, and KMFDM.

Here is a little table highlighting some of the differences pointed out by a user between the MG-1 and Rogue.

35 VISITOR COMMENTS

raymond

February 25, 2012 @ 5:17 pm

My first one, i found in a thrift store for 35$ they had no idea what it was. Too bad for them

Skoulaman

February 20, 2012 @ 2:44 pm

I love this baby, not so deep (for example in comparison with a Moog Little Phatty), but it can make beautiful solo sounds. In my opinion the MG-1 i gives a lot of Moog fun.
For sequencing I use the Doepfer Dark Time and that suits well with the cv trigger and gate of the MG-1. One point, the gate setting of the Doepfer must be at mimimum, then the MG-1 follows without any problems. Look on YT "Skoulaman" where I demostrate this.

Paul FitzZaland

January 17, 2012 @ 3:30 pm

I'd never coveted a Moog before ( I come from the Roland / Korg camp ) but now that ones fallen into my lap I understand the appeal.

Can anyone point towards the most appropriate & affordable step sequencer for the MG-1? Something that can sync to too her gear would be preferable. Also, can you attach any sort of expression/volume pedal like the VP-2 I use on my Juno-6?

Thanks!

Paul@PaulFitzZaland.com

Paul FitzZaland

January 17, 2012 @ 3:24 pm

I just purchased an MG-1 for a ridiculously awesome price. It's got one bent slider and I'm sure it's filled with dreaded foam goo (which I'll deal with later) but otherwise it looks and functions like new!

Contrary to some of the reviews it's anything but thin. I've been able to pull some very thick, rich sounds out of this little monster. Also, it seems to be the perfect compliment to my Juno-6. Not only does the colour scheme match but sonically it has a similar sound yet seems to fill in the spaces around the Juno. With a little tweaking it can be quite expressive. I love this synth!

kos

January 5, 2012 @ 9:57 pm

Has anyone tried using a moog ep2 pedal with the mg1?

I cant seem to get mine to work. Ive tried all the inputs. The Trigger and Pitch inputs react to the pedal but dont effect the filter. However, my mg1 came with several mods, one including a VCF CV IN. That one doesnt work either. Is it a voltage issue?

Anyone have success using the expression pedal?

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