Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 I have been seriously considering reconfiguring the Moog Liberation. I would make a custom bed for it that would allow for the controls that are placed on the neck to be directly north of the keys followed by the regular control panel. Since I have never strapped this thing on, and I never intend on doing so, and since I usually have it on top of the Hammond, I decided that I would prefer a more traditional arrangement. Also, I believe that I would like having the ribbon controller and other neck controls available to either hand while still holding keys. this is what a Lib control panel looks like stock: And here is the "neck". It looks as though I could reposition that panel. So I wonder, are any of you familiar enough with the inner workings of this synth to foresee any complications? Another consideration, is whether or not to include the power supply in the new casing. Any opinions here? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 What ?!? You're going to butcher a Liberation? Don't do it. Sell it to someone who'll use it as it was designed to be used and buy yourself a nice Little Phatty or something. I hope this was a bad joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldgearguy Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 an alternate view -- if it's yours, do as you see fit to make the best use of it. Assuming you can make a clean break where the neck meets the body, rerouting the cabling to a different part of the synth won't be too bad. Worst case is that you have to replace or extend some cabling if it's very short. If you open it up and there's a circuit board extending from the handle into the body area then you're going to have to make a difficult decision. I'd suggest just popping it open to see what you'll be dealing with, just to start the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Don't do it! Think of the children! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 What ?!? You're going to butcher a Liberation? Don't do it. Sell it to someone who'll use it as it was designed to be used and buy yourself a nice Little Phatty or something. I hope this was a bad joke. Well...maybe you should understand that it is not out of lack of appreciation for the synth. I happen to believe that the Liberation is one of the most expressive instruments out there, but that doesn't mean I have to stand up to play it. I have it on top of the A100, and it is is plugged into the Leslie, so I usually consider it a third manual for the Hammond. I typically play it with both hands and I think that having the neck controls at my finger tips would make it even more expressive. Besides, under the logic stated above, I would have to sell my Hammond to someone like Laurence Welk, because I don't play pipe organ music, and I use a Leslie. Not to mention how I play funk on teh Clavinet and not Baroquen harpsichord music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Worst case is that you have to replace or extend some cabling if it's very short.If you open it up and there's a circuit board extending from the handle into the body area then you're going to have to make a difficult decision. I'd suggest just popping it open to see what you'll be dealing with, just to start the process. Thank you, this is much more along the lines of the responses I was hoping for. Since I haven't opened it yet, I don't know if the neck controls are mounted to a PCB, I would be inclined to think that they are not, because I don't think it would be necessary, but there is absolutely no reason to assume they are not mounted to a PCB. --------- Now for the really silly part of this idea...I have actually payed with the notion of designing the new cabinet so that the base would be a reproduction of a Hammond A100 top, so that it could actually mount on the organ semi permanently. Of course this would be ridiculous, but there is a practical aspect to it. --------- Anyway, I have always been a believer in function over cosmetics, so this idea will likely move forward eventually. As an aside, at one point I considered redesigning the main control panel to have a larger surface with Moog style knobs instead of sliders and maybe more of a pitched angle - or even an adjustable angle like a Mini, but that ain't gonna happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Don't do it! Think of the children! I promise you...I will not ever allow my daughter to strap this thing on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleepykeith Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 i always thought the liberation was just a prodigy with ring mod and a neck.seriously... sell it and go buy three prodigy's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Seriously, if you don't use Ring Mod or Noise, the Prodigy will give you the Liberation sound and the controls you want... edit: sleepykeith beat me to it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Oh...so you don't know what a Liberation is...OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Well then enlighten us, mr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Teh Moog Liberation was [i think] the first synth to have aftertouch. This is incredibly important, as it is the secret weapon that makes this thing so bloody expressive. I personally usually modulate the filter with it, but of course there are many other uses as well. It also has the poly section, which through a Leslie along with a Hammond is quite useful. I would have to check, but it probably has more keys too. And, I use Ring mod 90% of the time. As a side note, STG and I once did a comparison of a Prody that only had one working osc and a Mini...guess which one had more bass???? ...nope, the other one. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Besides, under the logic stated above, I would have to sell my Hammond to someone like Laurence Welk, because I don't play pipe organ music, and I use a Leslie. Not to mention how I play funk on teh Clavinet and not Baroquen harpsichord music. Bunk. I don't care if you play nothing but children's tunes on your Liberation while seated in the toilet... once you hack that vintage instrument up it's value will decrease tenfold and it'll never again be worth what it is today, especially to someone who might be able to play it like you don't, no offense. I've seen Minimoogs done the opposite - with the keyboard cut off and turned into a keytar with a cable. It was a monstrosity and a shame. Why not sell your Liberation? You'll likely get a good price for it and you can buy a nice new synth that'll do exactly what you need while retaining it's value. It's your synth and all that but it's also an irreplaceable instrument that deserves care and respect IMHO. If it were mine I'd make sure it went to a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Maybe I will try to mixdown some recordings of me playing the Libo and post em here. When you hear it, let me know if you can do that on a Prody and I will buy six of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Bunk. I don't care if you play nothing but children's tunes on your Liberation while seated in the toilet... once you hack that vintage instrument up it's value will decrease tenfold and it'll never again be worth what it is today, especially to someone who might be able to play it like you don't, no offense. Wow. Well, let me reiterate. I hope to god that I NEVER and I mean NOT EVER sell this synth. It is a treasure to me and I play it all the ******* time. I could honestly give at least two {censored}s about how much it could be sold on ebay for because it is so important to the music that I make, that I would [figuratively, of course] glue it to the Hammond so that it would always be there. My intentions are simply to make it even more useful to the music that *I* play. Why the {censored} would I sell it to somebody else? indeed it is my synth, and luckily they are still replaceable, which is why I hope buy a few more of them, so that I can live out the rest of my life insuring that I have one to play. It is in a very good home. ----------- Mind you---- I would TOTALLY never do this: and no, that is *not* a "5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thebedroom Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Surprise, surprise. Another Harmony Central thread where someone who actually makes music and performs with their synths asks a question on how to improve their setup only to have the forumites feedback with useless advice that has nothing to do with the original post. This place is unbelievable. Go for it Clav, who cares what it looks like if it does what you want and need it to do on stage or in the studio. Anyone think that maybe he isn't interested in ever reselling it? OMG someone who actually plays/modifies the synths he has instead of going through the gear merry-go-round. Admittedly off topic as well, but the more I read these threads the more I wonder why I waste my time. But I guess that's what work is for. Also off topic. Sleepykeith, I listened to your myspace music as well. Great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 I've seen Minimoogs done the opposite - with the keyboard cut off and turned into a keytar with a cable. It was a monstrosity and a shame. indeed, that would be retarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Here's one that is probably not the greatest example of what it can do, but at least hopefully shows that it is something different than a Prodigy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members suitandtieguy Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 A) the Liberation's aftertouch isn't the first, but it's the _only_ that is constructed the peculiar (and serviceable) way it is, which results in the most delightful throw of any AT-capable keyboard i've ever played. B) i'm going to be heavily involved in this project, and it actually was my suggestion, so don't worry it's going to be done right. C) i've got his Liberation in different pieces all over my studio right now, so i'm really getting a kick out of these replies. i've already gone through and replaced all the sliders, and they feel great. there's going to be some room over to the left side of the keyboard, (this is going to be mounted _in_ his A-100) and i might put some of my modules there. i think the Liberation could do with a third oscillator, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 I stand enlightened. Great track! I don't see why anyone needs to come in here and bitch at the fact that we are discussing synths and their use. It's been a pretty friendly conversation, I think, and I've learned stuff (I hadn't seen anywhere that the Liberation has aftertouch - VSE omits this, for example).It does indeed have quite a few more keys than the Prodigy, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 A) the Liberation's aftertouch isn't the first, but it's the _only_ that is constructed the peculiar (and serviceable) way it is, which results in the most delightful throw of any AT-capable keyboard i've ever played. B) i'm going to be heavily involved in this project, and it actually was my suggestion, so don't worry it's going to be done right. C) i've got his Liberation in different pieces all over my studio right now, so i'm really getting a kick out of these replies. i've already gone through and replaced all the sliders, and they feel great. there's going to be some room over to the left side of the keyboard, (this is going to be mounted _in_ his A-100) and i might put some of my modules there. i think the Liberation could do with a third oscillator, for example. LOL WUT In a A-100 case, adding new modules? This thing is gonna be so kickass it's not even funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 he also thinks it should be able to go down another octave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClavAnother Posted January 22, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 some of you would really think I was nuts if you would have been able to hear a few of the drunken phone conversations between us about this. Some of the initial ideas ranged all the way to making a dually with a Pro-One on the left and the Libo on the right [think Chamberlain], with a tall nearly vertical panel stuffed with knobs and STG Sound Labs modules; maybe even a xoxbox for good measure, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members suitandtieguy Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 it's going to be more wicked than that X-66 with the Minimoog built into it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AfroRouge Posted January 22, 2009 Members Share Posted January 22, 2009 Aside from the "I can't believe greatgrandpa did that to this thing so we can't sell it for $1.2 million to the Museum of Ancient Technologies" estate sale conversation, I don't see the issue with doing a pro-caliber mod, and S&TG is no doubt going to do a bang-up job. It's pretty funny to me that one of these people who use the "people who actually play" distinction to swat our faces with their little egococks would say that about advice given by The Pro . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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