Moog MG-1 Concertmate

If you can't analog ,, off to MIDI-ville with you!

More than you'll pay for!

Pure R.A. Moog design slightly cheapened due to Tandy components installed during production build, the circuit design remains pure R.A. Moog.

It's a musical instrument, treat it as such and it will perform for you as any other would.

If you own one, you are the support.

Worth every cent, replaced slide-pots and all switches for$105.00 a kit on eBay, spent 4 hrs. recalibrating step by step using the repair manual I downloaded for free and this little marvel lights off in tune and stays in tune, which surprises me as MOOG's VCO's especially the early mod-"A"s required constant adjustments traced to even room temp. changes. So I do suggest that R&R pot kit plus re-soldering any cold looking solder points be hit with a fairly hot iron and a fresh bit of solder,

The Concertmate MG-1 is a fun and incredibly easy-to-use synth (if you know how to use analog synths). There are no presets, display screens, or long menus on this synth; it's just pure analog tweakage. All knobs, sliders, and switches are laid out in a logical order. The naming on the MG-1 is kind of weird ("tone generators" as the oscillators, "rise time" and "fall time" as attack and release, etc), but you'll get used to it.

Many people complain that the MG-1 lacks some features of it's bigger brothers (no pitch/mod wheels, limited envelope generator, no triangle wave, crippled polyphony section), but with the features it does have, it blows away other synths in it's price range. In fact, it even has some features the Minimoog doesn't, like ring mod, sample & hold, oscillator sync, and polyphony. Though the polyphony feature on the MG-1 is nothing more than a square wave, it can run through the filter, which can generate some interesting sounds. I typically use it as a third oscillator just to fatten up the sound a bit.

The sounds are what makes the MG-1 truly fantastic. Don't let the "Realistic" logo on the back fool you. This thing is a full-blooded Moog. It's great for insanely phat basses, screaming ELP-style saw leads, ambient pads, sci-fi sound FX, and pretty much everything else. In order to see (hear) the full possibilities of this synth, you have to play one for yourself. Also, don't use the RCA jacks on the back, they sound like crap. Just use the stereo headphone jack on the front.

I haven't used my MG-1 at a gig yet, but I probably won't gig with it much since it's old and pretty delicate. Apparently, mine sat in someone's basement for 25+ years, so it's in great condition, but the notorious black foam has disintegrated over the years, and I can hear it rattling around inside. I need to open mine up and give it a good cleaning. Also, the sliders are very stiff and need to be cleaned. The oscillators are a bit drifty, but the worst is the sample & hold. If you leave it going, it will start to drift out of tune within 8 seconds or so. What's strange is that if you press the key you originally pressed, it will snap right back into tune. This isn't too big of an issue though, since if you add a bit of release time, it will stay in tune.

If you were to bring this into a RadioShack, they wouldn't even know what this thing is. The best place to find help for this is online. You can find a PDF of the manual and even the service manual.

Overall, this synth is amazing. It sounds 10x better than any software synth, MicroKorg, or even other analog synths. If you want a cheap synthesizer that can get the classic Moog sound and is easy to operate, this is the one. If this ever were to get stolen, I would definitely buy another one (or just beat up the guy who stole it and get it back). Again, don't be fooled by the RadioShack brand, this is a true Moog.

EASY AS PIE! And fun too!
I played it on our CD called ASCENSION, on a tune called "The Hanging Tree" and it sounds dang cool. We added a bit of delay to fatten it up.

You can hear it at our site at:
www.DjamKaret.com






...

Very simple but a fun synth, for sure.

It sounds damn bitchin', but is not very expresive. But that didn't bug me, I'm used to synths with very little "Expresive" features like aftertouch, etc.

We never had problems with ours.

Mikey Likes It!

I like Radio Shack, they have nice batteries for sale there.

about as easy as it comes. Very easy to understand layout. If you've never used an analog synth the MG-1 is a perfect synth to learn on, though you'll need to relearn terminology. Tone source = oscillator, bell = ring modulation, etc.

I gig with mine and find it very easy to use live, provided you write down all your settings for each song AND I also suggest you take along a guitar tuning pedal (I use the Boss pedal) and check your tuning with it.

Mine did not come with a manual but Yahoo has an email resource group for the MG-1. I downloaded mine through there.

The MG-1 is your basic analog monosynth with the usual features:
- 2 voltage-controlled oscillators with a choice of pulse, triangle and square waveforms and four octave settings (osc 1 has -2, -1 & 0 settings for your bass; osc 2 -1 through +1 for leads.) oscillators will sync (the rough tuning for osc 2 becomes a pulse-width setting)
- 1 voltage-controlled amplifier with an ASR set-up (though you can also set it for max sustain and let it drone forever)
- the famous patented Moog 4-pole 24dB voltage-controlled filter that will self-oscillate if set properly
- an LFO with square, triangle & sample-and-hold settings (will module the VCO or VCF)
- a mixer section with white noise generator
- CV input for gate and note
- programmable glide

It has a couple of features somewhat unique for synths at the time:
- a 10-note divide-down organ tone ("polyphony" on the mixer) that takes a beating from other reviewers, but I like mine a lot. The keyboard itself has two triggers under each key, one for the synth and one for the organ. So you can use all three oscillators together.
This feature was included by Radio Shack reportedly because their customers would really miss playing chords.
- ring modulation ("bell" on the mixer)

It is missing two key features found on most analog monosynths:
- a modulation wheel (though the modulation slider is located in a reachable place for you to use it and not really miss the wheel)
- a pitch wheel (this you can't really get around unfortunately, but I hardly use a pitch wheel on my other synths so it's not missed.)

It has a master tuning knob and a master volume knob. All parameters are easily accessible via rocker switches and faders. There are stereo RCA outs and ins on the back. The outs aren't hot and are noisy, so I notmally use the 1/4" headphone jack on the front. The ins bypass the filter and are meant for playing along with your favorite albums. There are resources online that tell you how to change those RCA's to 1/4" jacks, eliminate the noise and run the ins through the VCF. I've not done that yet but hope to at some point.

No MIDI but since it has CV ins a Kenton kit will take care of that for you.

The sound versus price is certainly the key to the value of the MG-1. While it isn't a MiniMoog it certainly can dial up Mini-esque sounds, from deep bass to expressive leads, pads, percussion, FX and sounds in-between. I've had the opportunity to run my MG-1 side-by-side with a Moog Rogue and a MiniKoog Model D. The MG-1 and Rogue are virtually indistinguishable (though I prefer the MG-1's layout to the Rogue's) and I found I could get a lot of the same sounds from the Mini on the MG-1. It wasn't a scientific test and I'm sure that had we REALLY analyzed the two that the Mini wwill outperform the MG-1. But a working Model D will set you back at least $2500. You could buy four or five MG-1's for that price.

If you are into really deep synths that yield continuous sonic surprises the MG-1 is not your synth. If you are looking for that Moog sound that software and VA's can really only get close to, then pick up an MG-1. Don't let anyone tell you this synth is "thin" or not really a Moog. Open it up and you'll see Moog stamped on the VCO and VCF cards. Although Moog built this synth for Radio Shack, Moog liked the design so much that they took the prints from the MG-1, altered them slightly (ditched the polyphony & ring mod and added pitch/mod wheels) to manufacture The Rogue.

I've gigged mine for several years without major issue. As I've mentioned above I do use a guitar tuner with mine since I do get some drift throughout a set. I usually try to let the synth warm up for 10 minutes. After that you need only adjust the tuning once or twice a set.

You will read about the horrendous black foam turned to sludge inside these synths. It is true. Mine has not been cleaned (I hope to do that at some point) but I've not noticed any noise from the rockers, faders or knobs as a result. Still, I love my MG-1 and want to keep it as long as I can so I will clean it out. There are online resources that will walk you through the process.

It is plastic and the keyboard isn't as fast as a modern board is, but I've dropped mine a time or two without issue.

From Radio Shack? Ha!

Online? Lots of forums, mailing lists and informational websites will help you trouble-shoot a lot of issues with the MG-1.

Overall there are few synths I would trade my MG-1 for. It gives me basically what I'm looking for everytime I play it. I'd love to have a second one to use live strictly for bass drones or with the CV/MIDI kit with a sequencer. They are relatively inexpensive, expressive and reliable. If you want a closer facsimile to the Moog sound than samples, software and VA's can get you then track one down.

MG-1
NO PRESETS. this is OG. you need to know what yr doing. once you've messed around with it for a while you can really make some weird sounds. good luck keeping it in tune.
i have nothing but fun when i'm playing this thing. full size keys are awesome.

Monophonic, with a simple/lo-fi polyphony slider. this thing has the classic moog filter and in the mix section a slider labeled "bell" this is just a ring modulator, but cool.
there is no velocity on these keys. just push them and it sounds. i've seen one that was retrofitted to have midi capabilities, but if i was going to spend money on this thing, i'd get some expression pedals or ribbon controllers for the glide.
it has 2 VCO's called "tone generators" and a few glitchy sounds are hidden in all this things sliders and switches.

this is the keyboard you want if you are looking for cheap moog sounds. think fat bass, psychedelic swells and CLASSIC moog filter. a bit of glide gives this that cool oldschool hiphop lead sound. i think of it as more of a studio tool than something for a live situation. hook up a delay unit to this thing and you could have hours of spaced out psychedellia!!! the Hi-Fi mainstreem guys will tell you that this thing sucks but DON'T believe them. its perfect for yr garage band or in any sort of indie/lo-fi situation.
if yr recording, i recomend you run this thing to an amp and mic it. the direct signal is really noisey.

this thing goes out of tune. if you already have alot of keyboards/instruments in yr live setup i'd reccomend you just buy a microkorg or something. but, if you are going to devote all of yr time to the mg-1 it can work in a live setting. since there are no presets, you have to know exactly where everything goes. if you just want it for basslines or something it is great. just expect a bit of set up time to dial in for each song. mine has only been slightly restored and i've never had much trouble with it.

i don't even have a clue. i doubt that radioshack still has any info on this thing.
but, i've had good experiences calling casio for old manuals and stuff so maybe...

THIS THING IS RAD. plug in effects pedals, push those filter sliders and it takes off. i've had mine for almost two years, its fun, and classic. i've definately played better synthesizers, and presets are really convieniant, but my mg-1 is close to my heart. it makes every sound i've wanted it to and it looks really cool. if and when if breaks down, i'll probably just go digital cause in a live situation i just have too many other instruments to worry about without trying to tune and reset the mg-1 after everysong. if you want to be oldschool and mess with all the settings, this keyboard is for you. if you are a working musician and reliability is key, i recomend something else. perfect for the studio.
i payed alot for mine. i've heard stories about finding them at garage sales and thrift stores for 10 bucks, but with ebay setting second hand retail prices, i doubt you'll find one for this cheap anywhere but in the boondocks.

This synth has no presets, being 100% in your face analog. Editing a patch is as simple as reaching for a control and tweaking it; no stuffy menus here. Some controls have odd names, such as 'bell tone' instead of 'ring mod'; I believe this was intended to make it easier for Joe Citizen to understand what everything does. A very rewarding little synth to play with.

This synth is Monophonic, however there is a third oscillator (simply called 'polyphony') which provides ten notes worth of a simple organ tone; this feature is useful only in some situations. The keyboard feels reasonable for a budget synth; full size plastic keys, no velocity or aftertouch.
There is no expansion provided from the manufacturer; MIDI can be retrofitted using third party kits.

Excellent for bass, good searing leads, simple effects. This synth could probably be used in almost any genre. Did I mention it was great for bass? It also has excellent bass. All analog controls mean excellent tweakage; it really is fun to use. It has a lot of character and warmth. The filter is excellent, it is very squelchy. The sample and hold LFO wave is a gem.

Don't know how reliable this is, but when I got mine, it was covered in all sorts of gunk, and it still sounded great. A couple of the sliders are a bit scratchy, but that can be fixed. Build quality leaves a lot to be desired; the plastic is strong but a little too flexible for my liking. I guess that's realistic for you.

Meh. The only support you'll get is online (but it's probably better than dealing with Radio Shack!).

What a great little synth - it's my first fully analog synth, and now I've taken the plunge into pre-midi gear, I want more! I own two Juno 106's, a TX7 and an MS2000B, and this is the best of the lot. The bass that comes out of this thing is so chunky you can carve it. I'd seek to replace this if it were nicked or busted, but I might consider finding a mightier MOOG instead. I was fortunate enough to receive this for free, but I would recommend purchasing it to anyone who likes synths or just wants cheap, beefy sound (albeit with a 2.5 octave keyboard); especially if you've never played with a fully analog synth before. Definately the most fun you can have for this price.

No presets; just have to move sliders to obtain a tone. Mine came with both manuals. Although they are both a little water damaged, they are informative especially if it's your first analog synth (it's my first). The service manual has all the schematics but is the most damaged of the two which kinda sucks because it has a nice drawn out pcb layout for when you need to replace parts, which I'll get to later...

All I can say is, this is a Moog and deserves the name. There are 6 different sections to this synth: modulation, tone source 1 and 2, contour, filter, and the mixer. There is a slider for polyphony but it definately is "phony", because it is like a square-wave toy organ sound that as you move up the slider you can hear all the notes respond, but if it's mixed in with your tone sources, the tones are only mono so it doesn't realy sound good at all - not useful for anything of today. There is no midi, but threre are instructions online on how to make it possible. This was manufactured by Realistic but I'm one of the lucky ones to own such an awesome machine - it was made entirely by Moog in 1981 and in the RadioShack catalogs for '82. Basically it's a Moog Rogue with a little less features, but more people seem to like this model better.

Well, it's analog, so expect it to sound analog. It sounds great if you ask me. In the manual they give you patch settings for instruments but they're kinda boring. It's better to just tweak it out slowly on a boring Friday night and discover all the potential it really has for such a limited synth. The keyboard action is kinda stiff, and the keys feel like glass because they're made out of really smooth hard plastic. But it's not touch-sensitive and has no aftertouch or anything so it really doesn't matter. The tone sources can be sync'd together and sound much fuller and better when they are. I just got mine today and I was already making really deep bass hits and growling analog leads, so I can imagine what I can make when I'm actually spending some time really paying attention to it! Overall, sounds like a really smooth analog, and beijg my first Moog I can't say "it sounds like a Moog" but I'm sure it does.

I'm not sure about this yet... I mean, it seems to go out of tune a little when I turn it on from the previous time, and the casing except for the bottom is all plastic, though it's a good grade plastic. The casing is a bit wobbly though. You can't fault RadioShack for this either, because I played a Moog Micromoog and the casing on that is pretty flimsy too, and that's straight up Moog. Well, then again, so is this. I personally wouldn't want to take it out of the house for a gig but that's just me. But at the same time, if I'm aiming for a particular sound and bought the MG-1 particularly for that purpose, then I guess that would be the point. However, because it seems to go out of tune easily, I'd be annoyed if I had to keep tuning it all the time at a live show.

I'm told that Tandy still has the manuals for this and since my service manual is so damages I may end up calling to request one. But don't walk into a radioshack with yours because no one will know what it is.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd be upset but I'd probably move on and get a really nice Moog. This is a starting point for me, though I sure hope no one ever ganks it from me. That would really suck because I've been searching for one of these for a long time and finally have one. It wasn't easy, either. But all of the MG-1's were made with a foam liner over the sliders and pots and over time it degrades and turns into sticky jello foam. I didn't really think it'd be as bad as people say, but it is pretty nasty. Some of my sliders cut out and feel a little stiff and I know that the congealed foam is to blame. So now I have to spend the time to clean it out, but I'll probably replace all the sliders and switches anyway if I'm going to do that much. I like this synth and I'd like it to be playable for many years to come, so I feel it's worth the effort. But buyer beware, that this is a common problem and you most likely will have to do some cleaning up in there so it doesn't ruin anything else in the future. Overall, a great synth by Realistic worthy of the Moog name and a great addition to any synth rig, digital or analog. Can make those cool dance beats if you play with it, and can make spaceships as well!

I'm just following up on my MODs...yes, it came out better then expected, now the thing is rack mountable, nice big knobs (sliders are stupid, and they get noisy and dirty). I had to chop the circuit board in half and rewire, but the thing was suprisinging willing to agree to my hacking.

I'll be adding some new features soon.....

There was a reason I mounted the guts in a rack mount case and stuck a bunch of high quality knobs and switches on the front.

There was a reason I mounted the guts in a rack mount case and stuck a bunch of high quality knobs and switches on the front.

Try calling your local Radio Shack store and ask them if there is anyone there who knows how to fix a Radio Shack Concertmate 1.

I love this little guy......

It just doesn't get any simpler. All of the elements are within this synth. No software/presets/patches/programability. Pure analog. The manual is meant for the home hobbyist intrigued by synthesizers.

As mentioned before, an organ-ish polyphony. The Moog filter is killer! Outstanding for bass and all kinds of other foolishness. Got a neighbor that you dislike? Cook up a sound that makes your teeth itch and set the envelopes on "continuous".

I'll bet it can weave it's way into just about every style. It's a blast to play.

The only trouble I have had is with one of the frequency dividers going bad causing a few keys to not work. The excact I.C. is no longer available but there is a replacement. If yours is acting this way, don't despair. Google yerself and warm up yer iron 'cuz help's on the way. Oh yeah, the foam is a pain in the dorsal fin. Get rid of it and touch up all the connections for the sliders on the main board.

Yeah, Radio Shock refused to own up to the fact that in a by-gone era, they were the purveyors of this here fine synthi. Shame, shame. Lotsa info is out there should you take the time to look.

I'd be crushed if anything ever happened to it. It was a Christmas gift from my Mom to my Dad back in '82, so obviously it can't be replaced. In my estimation they are worth the 2-300 bucks they seem to be fetching on e-blah.

As easy as pie, if you can't figure it out you have some problems

Well, it is pretty old. no polyphony no midi no expnasion etc. but that is pretty par for the course for a true analog synth. One feature that is notably missing is the evenelope is only AR which makes it much harder to do bleeps and drum type sounds. Also real inputs would be nice to use that sweet filter on other sounds.

This synth sounds awesome!! The filter is goregeous and the oscilators are nice and dirty, esp if you detune them just a touch. The ring modulator makes some nice filthy tones and the ability to mix the 4 settings is good. This thing rocks for bass, blows my juno-60 out of the water

Mine is great and stays in tune really easy. I just started a new band (Joy Division, TransAm) in which it's the ONLY thing I play (sometimes I run it through a delay pedal which sounds VERY nice). nuff said

Uhhh I have no idea

If it were lost stollen or broken I would cry cry cry and then go on ebay and buy a new one. Although if I have a bit more money I would probably go with a prodigy (to get the features I said the mg-1 didn't have), but the mg-1 is small and easy to cary to rehearsal and gigs. So maybe i'd just stick with the mg-1 anyway!