| Moog synthesizer | |
|---|---|
 A 1975 Moog Modular 55 system | |
| Manufacturer | R. A. Moog Co. |
| Dates | 1965–1981, 2014–present |
| Technical specifications | |
| Oscillator | VCO |
| Synthesis type | Subtractive |
| Filter | VCF |
| Input/output | |
TheMoog synthesizer (/ˈmoʊɡ/MOHG) is amodular synthesizer invented by the American engineerRobert Moog in 1964. Moog's company,R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercialsynthesizer and established theanalog synthesizer concept.
The Moog synthesizer consists of separate modules which create and shape sounds, which are connected viapatch cords. Modules includevoltage-controlled oscillators,amplifiers,filters,envelope generators,noise generators,ring modulators, triggers and mixers. The synthesizer can be played using controllers includingkeyboards,joysticks, pedals andribbon controllers, or controlled withsequencers. Its oscillators producewaveforms, which can bemodulated and filtered to shape their sounds (subtractive synthesis) or used to control other modules (low-frequency oscillation).
Moog developed the synthesizer in response to demand for more practical and affordable electronic music equipment, guided by suggestions and requests from composers includingHerb Deutsch,Richard Teitelbaum,Vladimir Ussachevsky andWendy Carlos. Moog's principal innovation was voltage control, which usesvoltage to controlpitch. He also introduced fundamental synthesizer concepts such as modularity andenvelope generators.
The Moog synthesizer was brought to the mainstream bySwitched-On Bach (1968), a bestselling album ofBach compositions arranged for Moog synthesizer byWendy Carlos.Mort Garson used the Moog to soundtrack the televisedApollo 11 moonwalk, associating synthesizers with space in the popular imagination. In the late 1960s, it was adopted by rock and pop acts including theDoors, theGrateful Dead, theRolling Stones and theBeatles. At its height of popularity, it was a staple of 1970sprogressive rock, used by acts includingYes,Tangerine Dream andEmerson, Lake & Palmer. With its ability to imitate instruments such as strings and horns, it threatened the jobs ofsession musicians and was banned from use in commercial work for a period of time in the United States. In 1970, Moog Music released a portable, self-contained model, theMinimoog.
In the early 1960s,electronic music technology was impractical and used mainly by experimental composers to create music with little mainstream appeal.[1] In 1963, the American engineerRobert Moog, a doctoral student atCornell University who designed and soldtheremins,[2] met the composerHerb Deutsch at aNew York State School Music Association trade fair inRochester, New York. Deutsch had been making electronic music using atheremin,tape recorder, and single-pitch oscillator, a time-consuming process that involvedsplicing tape. Recognizing the need for more practical and sophisticated equipment, Moog and Deutsch discussed the notion of a "portable electronic music studio".[3]
Moog received a grant of $16,000 from the New York State Small Business Association and began work inTrumansburg, New York, not far from the Cornell campus.[3] At the time, synthesizer-like instruments filled rooms.[4] Moog hoped to build a more compact instrument that would appeal to musicians.[5] Learning from his experience building a prohibitively expensiveguitar amplifier, he believed that practicality and affordability were the most important parameters.[5]
Previous synthesizers, such as theRCA Mark II, had created sound from hundreds ofvacuum tubes.[6] Instead, Moog used newly available silicontransistors — specifically, transistors with anexponential relationship between inputvoltage and outputcurrent. With these, he created thevoltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), which generated awaveform whosepitch could be adjusted by changing the voltage. Moog designed his synthesizer around a standard of onevolt peroctave, and used voltage to controlloudness withvoltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs).[3]
Moog developed a prototype with two VCOs and a VCA. As the VCOs could output voltage, one could be used tomodulate the output of another, creating effects such asvibrato andtremolo.[3] According to Moog, when Deutsch saw this, he became excited and immediately began making music with the prototype, attracting the interest of passersby: "They would stand there, they'd listen and they'd shake their heads ... What is this weird shit coming out of the basement?"[3]
In 1964, Moog and Deutsch demonstrated the synthesizer at the electronic music studio at theUniversity of Toronto.[3] After the presentation impressed the composers, Moog was invited by theAudio Engineering Society to present at their annual convention in New York City that October.[4] Though he had not planned to sell synthesizers there, some customers placed orders at the show, and the choreographerAlwin Nikolais became the first person to purchase a commercially made Moog synthesizer.[3]
Moog constructed synthesizers to order.[6] The first order for a complete Moog synthesizer, for which Moog had to design akeyboard and cabinet, came from the composerEric Siday.[3] With no books and no way to save or share settings, early users had to learn how to use the synthesizer themselves, by word of mouth, or from seminars held by Moog and Deutsch.[1]
Moog refined the synthesizer in response to requests from musicians and composers.[7] For example, after Deutsch suggested Moog find a way to fade notes in and out, Moog invented anenvelope module using a doorbell button as a prototype.[3] At the suggestion of the composerGustav Ciamaga, Moog developed a filter module, a means of removingfrequencies from waveforms.[3] His first filter design created a sound similar to awah-wah pedal. He later developed the distinctive "ladder" filter, which was the only item in the synthesizer design that Moogpatented, granted on October 28, 1969.[3] Further developments were driven by suggestions from musicians includingRichard Teitelbaum,Vladimir Ussachevsky andWendy Carlos.[7] Carlos suggested the first touch-sensitive keyboard,portamento control andfilter bank, which became standard features.[3]
There was debate as to the role of the keyboard in synthesizers. Some, such as the composerVladimir Ussachevsky and Moog's competitorDon Buchla, felt they were restrictive. However, Moog recognized that most customers wanted keyboards and found they made the instrument more approachable. Including keyboards in photographs helped users understand that the synthesizer was for making music.[3]
The classical meaning of "to synthesize" is to assemble a whole out of parts.[3] Moog initially avoided the word, as it was associated with the RCA synthesizer, and instead described his invention as a "system" of "electronic music modules". After many debates, Moog eventually told the composerReynold Weidenaar: "It's a synthesizer and that's what it does and we're just going to have to go with it."[3] He used the word in print for the first time in 1966. By the 1970s, "synthesizer" had become the standard term for such instruments.[3]
Most of the Moog modules were finalized by the end of the 1960s, and remained mostly unchanged until Moog Music ceased trading in the 1980s.[1] Moog had pursued the development of his synthesizer as a hobby; he stressed that he was not a businessman, and had not known what abalance sheet was.[3] He likened the experience to riding theme park amusements: "You know you're not going to get hurt too badly because nobody would let you do that, but you're not quite in control."[3] In 1982, Moog donated his synthesizer prototype to theHenry Ford Museum's permanent collection.[8] In 1989, theStearns Collection of Musical Instruments at theUniversity of Michigan acquired Nikolais' 1964 Moog synthesizer for their permanent collection. The museum director said it was "to the music world what theWright Brothers' airplane is to aviation".[8]
The Moog synthesizer consists of separatemodules – such asoscillators,amplifiers,envelope generators,filters,noise generators, triggers and mixers – which can be connected in a variety of ways viapatch cords.[6][3] The modules can also be used to control each other.[3] They do not produce sound until a workable combination of modules are connected.[1]
The oscillators producewaveforms of different tones andovertones, such as a "bright, full, brassy"sawtooth wave, a thinner, flute-liketriangle wave, a "nasal, reedy"pulse wave and a "whistle-like"sine wave.[3] These waveforms can be modulated and filtered to produce more combinations of sounds (subtractive synthesis).[3] The oscillators are difficult to keep in tune, and small temperature changes cause them to drift rapidly.[1] As Moog's early customers were more interested in creating experimental music than playing conventional melodies, Moog did not consider keeping the oscillators stable a priority.[6]
The Moog's 24db[9]low-pass filter is particularly distinctive, with a "rich", "juicy", "fat" sound.[3] The filter, based on pairs of transistors connected by capacitors arranged in a ladder-like layout, attenuates frequencies above a level set by the user, and boosts the frequencies around the cut-off frequency.[3] When overdriven, the filter produces a distinctivedistortion described as the "Moog sound".[3]
The synthesizer can be played using controllers includingkeyboards, joysticks, pedals and ribbon controllers.[6] The ribbon controller allows users to control pitch similarly to moving a finger along a violin string.[3]
New Scientist described the Moog as the first commercial synthesizer.[10] It was much smaller than previous synthesizers, and much cheaper, at US$10,000 compared to the six-figure sums of other synthesizers.[4] Whereas the RCA Mark II was programmed withpunchcards, Moog's synthesizer could be played in real time via keyboard, making it attractive to musicians.[4]
According to theGuardian, Moog's 1964 paperVoltage-Controlled Music Modules, in which he proposed the Moog synthesizer modules, invented the modern concept of theanalog synthesizer.[6] The authors ofAnalog Days wrote: "Though the notion of voltage control and Moog's circuit designs were not original, Moog's innovations were in drawing the elements together, realizing that the problem of exponential conversion could be solved using transistor circuitry and building such circuits and making them work in a way that was of interest to musicians."[3]
Moog features such asvoltage-controlled oscillator,envelopes,noise generators,filters andsequencers became standards in the synthesizer market.[3][11] The ladder filter has been replicated in hardware synthesizers,[12]digital signal processors,[13]field-programmable gate arrays[14] and software synthesizers.[15]
Most Moog synthesizers were owned by universities or record labels, and used to create soundtracks orjingles. By 1970, only 28 were owned by musicians.[16] The Moog was first used by experimental composers includingRichard Teitelbaum,Dick Hyman,[7] andPerrey and Kingsley.[17]
The composerMort Garson recorded the first album on theWest Coast to use the Moog synthesizer,The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (1967). Moog attended a recording session for the album, which helped convince him of the synthesizer's commercial potential.[18] Garson also used the Moog to write jingles and soundtracks, which helped make its sounds ubiquitous. In 1969, Garson used the Moog to compose a soundtrack for the televised footage of theApollo 11 moonwalk, creating a link between electronic music and space in the American popular imagination.[18]
In 1968,Wendy Carlos releasedSwitched-On Bach, an album ofBach compositions arranged for Moog synthesizer. It won threeGrammy Awards and was the first classical album certifiedplatinum.[19][5] The album is credited for popularising the Moog and demonstrating that synthesizers could be more than "random noise machines".[7] For a period, the name Moog became so associated with electronic music that it was sometimes used as ageneric term for any synthesizer.[7] Moog liked this, but disapproved of the numerous "cruddy"novelty records released with his name attached, such asMusic to Moog By,Moog España andMoog Power.[citation needed]
Also in 1968,Doug McKechnie gained access to a Moog modular Series III[20][21] (one of the first to be produced, with serial number 004[22]) through his friend Bruce Hatch. McKechnie was one of the first musicians to use the instrument for live performances.[22] He appeared with it on "What's Become of the Baby", onGrateful Dead'sAoxomoxoa (1969),[23] and performed live with the band at Bay Area gigs[24] as well as at theAltamont Free Concert (1969).[25] McKechnie used the Moog for a performance ofTerry Riley'sIn C at theSan Francisco Opera House (1969).[20] Other performances included at the opening ofFrank Oppenheimer'sExploratorium;[23] the multimedia attraction Robin (1972) screened at the Family Dog concert hall;[26][27] and the first ever concert at theBerkeley Art Museum.[23] McKechnie was forced to stop playing the Moog after Hatch sold it toTangerine Dream in 1972.[20][23][25]
An early use of the Moog synthesizer in rock music came with the 1967 song bythe Doors "Strange Days".[28] In the same year,the Monkees used a Moog on their albumPisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.[7] In 1969,George Harrison released an album of Moog recordings,Electronic Sound, and theBeatles used the Moog on several tracks on their albumAbbey Road.[7] Other rock bands who adopted the Moog include theGrateful Dead and theRolling Stones.[2] It was also adopted by jazz musicians includingHerbie Hancock,Jan Hammer andSun Ra.[7]
In the 1970s, at the height of its popularity, the Moog was used byprogressive rock bands such asYes,Tangerine Dream, andEmerson, Lake & Palmer.[7]Keith Emerson was the first major rock musician to perform live with the Moog, and it became a trademark of his performances. According toAnalog Days, the likes of Emerson "did for the keyboard whatJimi Hendrix did for the guitar".[3]
Almost every element ofDonna Summer's 1977 influential song "I Feel Love" was created with a Moog synthesizer, with the producers aiming to create a futuristic mood.[29] Robert Moog was critical, saying the sequenced bassline had a "certain sterility" and that Summer sounded like she was "fighting the sequencer".[30] In later decades,hip hop groups such as theBeastie Boys and rock bands includingThey Might Be Giants andWilco "revived an interest in the early Moog synthesizer timbres".[7]
TheGuardian wrote that the Moog synthesizer, with its dramatically new sounds, arrived at a time in American history when, in the wake of theVietnam War, "nearly everything about the old order was up for revision".[5]Session musicians felt synthesizers, with their ability to imitate instruments such as strings and horns, threatened their jobs. For a period, the Moog was banned from use in commercial work in the US, a restriction negotiated by theAmerican Federation of Musicians (AFM).[3] Robert Moog felt that the AFM had not realized that the synthesizer was an instrument to be learnt and mastered like any other, and instead imagined that "all the sounds that musicians could make somehow existed in the Moog — all you had to do was push a button that said 'Jascha Heifetz' and out would come the most fantastic violin player".[31]
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Although customers could choose any combination of modules, Moog sold several standard systems.
| Name | Produced | Reissued | Reissue price | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ic | 1967—1973 | — | — | [34][35] |
| IIc | 1967—1973 | — | — | [36][35] |
| IIIc | 1967—1973 | 2017 | $35,000 | [37][38][35] |
| Ip | 1967—1973 | — | — | [34][35] |
| IIp | 1967—1973 | — | — | [36][35] |
| IIIp | 1967—1973 | 2018 | $35,000 | [39][40][35] |
| Emerson Moog Modular System | 1969—1970 | 2014—2017 | $150,000 | [41][42][43][44] |
| Model 10 | 1971—1973 | 2019—present | $9,950 | [45][46][47][35] |
| Model 12 | 1972—1973 | — | — | [48] |
| Model 15 | 1973—1981 | 2015 | $10,000 | [33][32][49] |
| System 35 | 1973—1981 | 2015 | $22,000 | [33][32][49] |
| System 55 | 1973—1981 | 2015 | $35,000 | [33][32][49] |
In 1970, Moog Music released theMinimoog, a portable, self-contained model, and the modular systems became a secondary part of Moog's business.[1] The Minimoog has been described as the most famous and influential synthesizer in history.[16]
After the sale of Moog Music, production of Moog synthesizers stopped in the early 1980s. The patents and other rights to Moog's modular circuits expired in the 1990s. In 2002, after Robert Moog regained the rights to the Moog brand and bought the company, Moog released theMinimoog Voyager, an updated version. Moog released several Minimoog reissues, with some changes, starting from 2016.[1][50][51] In 2018, Moog released theGrandmother, followed by the Matriarch in 2019; parts of the circuitry used in these instruments were inspired by the Moog synthesizer.[52][53][54]
After production of the original Moog synthesizers stopped in 1980, some manufacturers, such asSynthesizers.com, created their own modules and clones of Moog modules. Moog modules, known as the "dotcom" or "5U" format, are still available but have been superseded as the dominant synthesizer format byEurorack.[55] Since 2020,Behringer has manufactured clones of Moog modules in the Eurorack format, also sold in configurations based on the original Moog systems.[56][57]
The Moog synthesizer has been emulated insoftware synthesizers such as theArturia Modular V.[58] In 2016, Moog released the Moog Model 15 app, a software emulation of the Model 15 initially foriOS and later in 2021 formacOS.[59][60][61]
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