Moog PianoBar "Fall in love with your piano all over again!" brochure, 2003

Moog PianoBar "Fall in love with your piano all over again!" two page colour brochure from approximately 2003.

Well, here's a rare beast - a Moog PianoBar brochure!

I haven't run into this particular piece of literature anywhere online that I can remember - just in my local music store in the early- to mid-2000's.  My "guy" at the store knew I had a Moog Modular, Minimoog and Taurus pedals and would often put other Moog literature aside for me, including this brochure. This is the same awesome dude who gifted me his Sequential Circuits belt buckle, among other things. I've been frequenting that store for what must be over 35 years - and he's still there. And still a great guy.

Anyways, enough personal nostalgia.

If you aren't familiar with the PianoBar... um... that makes two of us. Sure, I'd heard of it. But never bothered to do any actual in-depth research into the thing. Then recently, I was hanging out in the Moog Fan Club Facebook group and one of the members posted some up-close-and-personal photos of the device in its carry-case. Serial number 0009 no less! Wowza.

Now, is that gorgeous, or what?!?!?!

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah...I'm not familiar with the PianoBar. So, I pulled this brochure out of my archives. And that led me to become even more curious, so I did some research and this is what I've found out so far...

According to a 2005 Sound on Sound magazine review article on the PianoBar, it was "Moog, in concert with Buchla" that came up with the piano-to-MIDI converter. A New York Times 2016 article celebrating the life of Tom Buchla seemed to corroborate this by indicating that Buchla consulted with Moog to begin manufacturing the PianoBar in 2002.

But, I'm also finding references in forums indicating that it was more a Tom Buchla innovation that was then marketed by Moog.

For example, in the MusicPlayers forum under the question "What ever happened to the Moog PianoBar", member "The Real MC" commented "To be fair, the PianoBar was actually a Buchla product. Buchla gave it to Moog to sell."

Also, A CDM post from September 2005 indicates that "the device is actually the brainchild of synth legend Don Buchla, not Bob Moog as you might assume."

In any case, I dig any occasion where Moog and Buchla team up.

The brochure itself provides plenty of detail into how the PianoBar operates.

"What makes the PianoBar unique is the revolutionary, patented Scanner Bar, which sits ever so slightly above the piano's keys leaving the touch and feel wonderfully unaffected.  The Scanner Bar is less that 1/2" thick and rests against the fall board out of the way of the flying fingers. It contains sensor for each key that use infrared to detect their motion. The Pedal Sensor rests underneath the piano's pedals to register their motion. The Scanner Bar and Pedal Sensor work together to capture the full range of your expressive touch - from resounding chords to delicate passages."

How unique was it? That Sound on Sound article I mentioned earlier provides some great historical perspective for us by listing a few competing products.

"Approached in the right spirit, the device opens doors that hitherto simply weren't accessible to the piano player, unless you had the ultra-expensive Bösendorfer or Steinway systems, or the less expensive, yet still pricey, Yamaha Disklavier system. All these, of course, are built into the piano and therefore not transferable, unlike the Piano Bar. The ability to extend the sonic palette of your humble Joanna is, if not mind-blowing, pretty marvellous."

Pretty f**king unique.  :)

So, I was gonna stop there, but I've had a glass of wine and my ribs have another hour in the oven before I transfer them to the bbq for the finishing touch. So, lets keep this boat rockin'.

According to Electronic Musician's June 2004 review of the PianoBar by Allan Metts, the cost of the PianoBar was $1,495. And in the end, gave the device these ratings:

FEATURES 4.0
EASE OF USE 4.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS 4.0
VALUE 3.5
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5 

PROS: Accurate piano tracking with no significant latency. Easy, noninvasive setup. Capable sound set.
CONS: Pedal Sensor moves too easily and needs height adjustment. No MIDI SysEx dump capability. Cable attaches only to the left side of the Scanner Bar.

That 2005 Sound on Sound review I keep referencing listed it at a UK price of 899.99 pounds, along with this:

Pros - The only viable device to let virtually any piano output MIDI.
 - Opens up all kinds of sound-layering possibilities.
 - Relatively straightforward to install if you're lucky.
 - Very fast triggering with no dicernable latency.
Cons - Can be fiddly to install and calibrate, depending on your piano.
 - Some piano actions are too far gone to make the Piano Bar usable.
 - Very dependent on the mechanics and tuning of your piano.

And remember that 2005 CDM post I referenced earlier? It indicated that Moog had a sale on the PianoBar at one point bringing the price down to $995.00 US!

"...Moog Music this week is introducing its “Be the First” promotion. Be the first, second, or third person in your U.S. metro area (Moog has identified 364), and you can get the PianoBar for as little as US$995. (You also have to be a school teacher, gigging musician, or someone else who can convince other people to buy them, so you can’t get the discount and take it to your cave — the Phantom of the Opera is totally disqualified.)"

A September 16, 2005 Synthopia article provided even more details on the price structure of the sale:

"If you are the first school, teacher, gigging musician, church, or studio to purchase the Moog PianoBar and are in position to share your enthusiasm for the product, your purchase price will be $995, a $500 savings off the published price. If you are the second qualified person in the metro area, your price will be $1095 – a $400 savings. If you are the third qualified person, your price will be $1195 – still a $300 savings!"

A common reference that come up when I started researching the PianoBar was Bruce Hornsby. Seems he was a big fan, and in a September 2009 interview with Keyboard Magazine it's explained that Bruce used it to play softsynths from the piano:

"You’ve been using the Moog Piano Bar to control soft synths from the piano and expand your sound palette beyond piano and voice, like on the new song “Invisible.” What is it about the combination of acoustic and electronic timbres that you find so alluring?

It all stems from the fact that I always hear an orchestra playing in my head. Not on all the songs, but often on ballads, like “Mandolin Rain,” “Here We Are Again,” and “Continents Drift.” If I’m playing bluesy, you’re not going to hear any MIDI, because I’m not hearing an orchestra in that stylistic setting. But “Invisible” is a perfect example of dialing in the Bob Moog. I’ve done a lot of solo concerts over the years where I’d show up in a new town to a piano supplied by Steinway. But it wasn’t MIDI’ed, so originally I’d put a Korg M1 on top, playing it with one hand and the piano with another. I used the sound “Overture,” which I came to find out that my old friend Bruce Springsteen used as well."

"Dialing in the Bob Moog." I like that phrase 0- going to have to start using it.

You can see the PianoBar in action in this excellent Spectrasonics YouTube video. Note that that lovely Moog PianoBar logo on the right side of the keyboard bar in a few shots.

Even more "legit", here's a 2003 Moog demo of the PianoBar. Audio not as good, but the coolness factor is through the roof:

Time for me to "Dial in the Bob Moog" on my modular.