Moog Guitar - The Paul Vo Collector Edition

The Moog Guitar puts revolutionary new technology in the hands of the guitarist. Moog Music is known for building the finest instruments and the Moog Guitar is first and foremost a very fine guitar; designed to be played by the best musicians as their primary axe. Its AAAAA maple top, swamp ash body and ebony finger board bespeak the quality that musicians have come to expect from a Moog instrument.

The addition of Moog Guitar Electronics opens guitarists to a whole new musical vocabulary: Not a guitar synthesizer, not a MIDI guitar or an effects processor; players are intimately connected to The Moog Guitar because it works its magic on the strings themselves.

For more indepth information, read The Moog Guitar interviews with Moog Guitar inventor, Paul Vo and Moog Music president, Mike Adams.

What makes this guitar so special?

The Moog Guitar Electronics add an unparalleled range of expression to the Moog Guitar:

FULL SUSTAIN MODE - like no other sustainer; infinite sustain on every string, at every fret position and at any volume. You may have heard sustain before but not with this power (we call it “Vo Power”) and clarity.

CONTROLLED SUSTAIN MODE - allows you to play sustained single or polyphonic lines without muting technique. The Moog Guitar sustains the notes you are playing while actively muting the strings you are not playing.

MUTE MODE - removes energy from the strings, resulting in a variety of staccato articulations. The mute mode has never been heard on any other guitar; the Vo Power stops the strings with the same intensity that it sustains them. You feel the instrument transform in your hands.

HARMONIC BLENDS – use the included foot pedal to shift the positive energy of Vo Power in Sustain mode and the subtractive force of Vo Power in Mute mode between the bridge and neck pick-ups to pull both subtle and dramatic harmonics from the strings.

MOOG FILTER - control the frequency of the built-in, resonant Moog ladder filter using the foot pedal or a CV Input.


Moog Guitar Controls

There are five knobs:

Vo Power Knob – Controls intensity of sustain and mute. The knob turned fully CW is full Vo Power and fully CCW is no Vo Power.

Piezo Blend Blends the piezo bridge pick-up signal into the guitar's output signal.

Harmonic Balance Knob – Controls the balance of Vo Power between neck and bridge pick-ups. (When the Filter Toggle is in "Tone Control" position, this function is moved to the foot pedal and the Harmonic Balance knob does nothing.)

Master Volume Knob – Controls overall volume (Moog and piezo pick-ups).

Tone/Filter Knob- Adjusts the guitar tone when the Filter Toggle is in Tone Control position; adjusts the resonance of the Moog filters in the two Moog Filter Toggle positions.


There are three switches:

Mode Selector Switch – Switches between Mute Mode, Controlled Sustain Mode and Full Sustain Mode

Filter Toggle Switch Switches the Moog Filter between a standard guitar Tone Control - (toggle away from strings), a Moog Articulated Filter - (toggle centered), and a Moog Ladder Filter - (toggle towards strings).

Five Position Pick-up Selector Switch: Neck, out-of-phase, in-phase, bridge and piezo only. (The piezo signal accessed via the Piezo Blend knob passes through the Moog filter; "piezo only" does not.)

Floor Pedal- Function depends on the setting of the Filter Toggle switch.
- When the Filter Toggle is in "Tone Control" position, the floor pedal controls the harmonic balance. (Forward = high harmonics, Middle = full harmonics, Back = lower harmonics.)
- When the Filter Toggle is in "Moog Articulated Filter" position, the floor pedal controls the filter cutoff frequency that the articulated filter starts with.
- When the Filter Toggle is in "Moog Ladder Filter" position, the foot pedal controls the filter cutoff frequency.

Note about Harmonic Balance: Maximum Vo Power requires both pickups to act together. This only happens when the Harmonic Balace is set to the mid-point because then both pickups are fully active. (Harmonic Balance knob on the center detent and/or the floor pedal set to the mid-position.) If the Vo Power is fully CW and you sense less than full Vo Power, check the Harmonic Balance function at the knob or the pedal.

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Also check out the FAQ’s and Spec tabs above...

Paul Vo Collector Edition Product Specifications

Product Specifications

Guitar Double-Cutaway, Set-neck Body Premium Swamp Ash or Mahogany Top Wood Flame Maple or Quilted Maple Fingerboard Ebony Finish Tiger Eye, Tobacco Burst, Navy Mist, Plum, Emerald, Honey, Scarlet, Aqua. (See Finish Chart) Neck 7degree Angled Peghead, 22 Fret, 12" Radius, 25 1/2" Scale, Headstock finished to match body. Pickups 2 custom-designed Moog pickups Piezo saddles in bridge. Output The piezo is blended in with the normal output of the Moog Guitar and it can be output separately thru the quarter inch jack. The piezo does not require external power; it receives auxiliary power from an onboard 9V battery. Hardware Finish Gold and Black. Bridge Moog customized Wilkinson Tremolo with Graph Tech piezo saddles. Strings Custom Moog Guitar Strings; ships with 11-52 Also available: Packaged Set 9-46 (009, 011, 016, 026, 036, 046) Packaged Set 10-52 (010, 013, 017, 030, 042, 052) Packaged Set 11-52 (011, 014, 018, 030, 044, 052) Bulk Individual 009, 010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 016, 017, 018, 042 Moog Foot Pedal Controller Controls Harmonic Blend and the frequency response of the Moog Ladder Filter. Supplies Power to the guitar. External Control Voltage Input (0 to 5VDC) More details on the Pedal Controller are located in the "Info" tab. Electronics Moog patented Guitar Electronics including Moog Ladder Filter. More details on the Moog Guitar electronics are located in the "Info" tab. Specifications Subject To Change Without Notification

Carrying Case

Hardshell Gold Tweed with leather bound corners Gold Moog Logo Imprinted metal plate on outside edge Interior Custom Form-fit for Moog Guitar body Internal covered storage compartment Storage compartment for expression pedal Specifications subject to change without notice

Innovative guitarists everywhere are buzzing about The Moog Guitar. Players from all genres are discovering new ways to connect to their music.

The "Early Adopters" include...

Lou Reed
Trent Reznor
James Valentine of Maroon 5
Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts
Joe Walsh
Hans Zimmer Studios
Fareed Haque of Garaj Mahal
Chris Stein of Blondie

WOOD TYPES Flame Top Tiger Eye Tobacco Burst Honey Navy Mist Quilt Top Honey Emerald Navy Mist Agua Plum Scarlet

Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented it?

The basic technology behind the Moog Guitar Electronics is from Moog Associate and inventor, Paul Vo.

What Models will be available?

The initial release is the Paul Vo Collector Edition.

Did Bob have anything to do with it?

Bob and Moog President Mike Adams often spoke of entering the guitar market, but it was not until Paul brought this idea forward that we felt we had something truly innovative to bring the market. Some may know that when Moog and Gibson were both part of Norlin (in the 70's), Bob actually worked with Gibson and they jointly created the Gibson RD Artist Guitar. So Bob's interest in technology and the guitar was nothing new.

Is Moog building the guitar?

The guitars will then be built by North American luthiers and shipped to Moog where the electronics will be installed. The final set-up and intonation will be done by Moog's in-house luthier, Doug Wyatt.

Tell me about the Paul Vo Collector Edition.

For this first ever Moog guitar will be the "Paul Vo Collector Edition" guitar. It�s a AAAAA maple top with mahogany body and ebony finger board. This will be a very limited build. They will be individually signed by Paul Vo and a Certificate of Authenticity verifying the Paul Vo Collector Edition as the first "Moog Guitar" will be included.

What finishes are available?

There are eight finishes available: Honey, Navy Mist, Tiger Eye, Tobacco Burst, Aqua, Emerald, Plum, Scarlet.

Can I change out the pickups?

The Moog Pick-ups are the heart of our system. They cannot be changed.

Does the guitar require special guitar strings?

The Moog strings that come with guitar have a specific metallurgy designed to work with the Moog Pick-ups. Other strings will work in emergency situations but the guitar will respond best with Moog strings.

What gauge strings will be available?

The guitar will ship with 10-52's. Also available will be: 9-46, 11-52 and bulk individual strings: .012, .016, .042

Can I get a bolt-on neck?

At the present time this technology does not allow for a bolt-on design.

Can I customize the guitar (neck, hardware, bridge, etc.)?

At some point we will have a Custom shop capability, but for the foreseeable future, the guitar will be built as specified.

The Moog Guitar
Just a few of the many great videos on the Moog YouTube Channel...

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