Radio Shack Realistic Concertmate MG-1
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The ConcertMate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer built in collaboration between Tandy and the original Moog Music, Inc and marketed by Radio Shack under the Realistic brand in the early 80's. Despite its being sold through The Shack, the MG-1 is all Moog. It even has the famous Moog ladder filter, making the sound unmistakably MOOG! 31 note keyboard (F to C) Monophonic, using a really bad organ sound to achieve "polyphony" (which can be shut off at the Mixer) Two tone sources / oscillators, square and saw waves Oscillators can be synced or detuned noise generator Bell tone generator A countour generator External ports for trigger and pitch A 50dB signal to noise ratio...
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User Reviews of the Radio Shack Realistic Concertmate MG-1
- Submitted by Alex from Springfield, MO (12 points) on Nov 23, 2006
- I've got one of these, and while I don't normally use it as often as I feel I should, I definitely respect it's capabilities as a potential noise-generator. It's great fun to use because it's old-school a bit, but maybe a little confusing at first if you're used to the usual attack / decay / sustain / release setup featured on most synths - instead you're using a more complex system with contoured cutoff knobs that gauge the attack and sustain, along with several other options, but experimentation is the key to using this effectively. I don't think I'd buy it though unless you get or can find a manual explaining what some of these things do exactly. I find, even having read the manual several times, that after awhile I'll forget what I'm doing to the sounds. Ah well. I'd recommend this synth to anyone wanting to create experimental music, but for noise it's probably best to put it through effects.
- Good Points: Moog sound for pretty cheap, excellent synth for sound construction, perfect for experimental music and when coupled with effects the possibilities are literally endless. Most of all, it's a lot of fun to use.
- Bad Points: The sound is still a little on the flat side compared to other Moogs, only two waveforms (pulse & saw), no saving (though manual comes with sheets allowing you to mark knob placements), no tempo gauge, knob functions are peculiar and occasionally unclear... and it's a micro-keyboard (but that's really not so bad either).
- Price Paid: US$50.00
- Purchased At: ... bought off my dad. Ha!
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- Submitted by tapesss from Brooksville, FL (344 points) on Dec 3, 2005
- First of all, this thing it totally Moog. ignore the ratshack logo. I love using this for noise. The fact that it's analog really helps when running it through a chain of effects. what i like to do is set the oscillators on continuous, and have the lfo modulate the filter for a throbbing pulse. couple that with a dod death metal, you get insane throbbing evil. The filter is excellent on this, true moog, it can go from rumbling, down in the depths low to a fairly painful screeching high. The mixer section is great, it adds a noise generator and a ring mod("bell tone"), as well as a polyphony section, which i happen to like, even if most people don't. It's a squarewave tone, and you can play damn near every note on the synth if you want to. the LFO is also good on this, three selectable waveforms:triangle, square, and random(sample and hold), you can modulate the filter or oscillators with it. I could go on forever describing the sounds this device can make, even a slight tweak can make any sound completely different. lack of any sort of patch storage kind of sucks, but it's easy enough to write stuff down if you really need to. There is a mod on the internet somewhere that allows you to run things through the filter, if that interests you. overall, this thing is a great asset to my setup, check it out if you get the chance, or if you need a relatively inexpensive, easy to use analog synth.
- Good Points: lots of features, excellent filter section, intuitive layout, mixer, tons of sliders/switches/knobs for tweaking, size makes for easy portability
- Bad Points: no patch storage, but thats not too bad.
- Price Paid: US$330.00
- Purchased At: eBay
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- Submitted by Phil from Seattle, WA (78 points) on May 26, 2002
- true Moog LPF, similar to the Moog Rogue but better. This was designed by Paul Scheiber who now runs MOTM http://www.synthtech.com Tis is a great noise synth, although the prices are way too inflated these days.
- Good Points: Nice Moog filter. Great overall sound.
- Bad Points: Horrid RCA jacks, bad deceptive legends. The polyphony thing sucks just a gimmick, although perhaps useful for noise.
- Price Paid: US$25.00
- Purchased At: pawn shop (1994)
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