A History of Moog Synthesizers
Robert Moog's Creations: Minimoog to Little Phatty
A history of the Moog synth. The name Moog is synonymous with synthesizers. From Moog Modulars to the Little Phatty, Moog has been influencing music for over 40 years.
Robert A. Moog was already building theremins when his friend Herb Deutsch sparked his interest in synthesizers. When he built a prototype for the 1964 Audio Engineering Society Convention, the response was enthusiastic. He immediately started taking orders for what became the Moog Modular series.
Moog Modulars: Synth-Bach by Wendy Carlos
The Moog Modular got its reputation with the 1968 release of Wendy Carlos's platinum-selling Switched-On Bach, a selection of Bach's work performed on Moog Modular synthesizers. The success of the album combined with the unique sound made Moogs much in demand. The Beatles even used one on Abbey Road.
The Minimoog: Kraftwerk to Yes
By far the most popular of Moog's synthesizers, if not any synthesizer, the Minimoog had quite an impact when it was introduced in 1970. With a huge sound that belied its portable size and the possibility of subtle expression from its pitch bend and mod wheel, it is acknowledged as one of, if not the best analog monophonic synths ever.
The Minimoog has been used by too many artists to name. Any rock band from the '70s had one, from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer to Yes. Experimental electronic groups such as Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra also used them. Its popularity continued into the '80s and is still highly sought after today.
The Minimoog's Successors: Micro, Satellite, Minit and Poly Moogs
- The Micromoog was a less expensive version of the Minimoog. It had the characteristic filter, but fewer oscillators to lower the price.
- The Moog Satellite was a monophonic synth with velocity-sensitive keys, but virtually no editing capabilities. T
- The Minitmoog was a smaller version of the Satellite. Both had an interesting range of preset sounds, but without the ability to edit sounds, they were not as popular.
- The Polymoog was the first to offer polyphonic sound, but had very limited editing abilities, making it similar to string synths of the time. Despite this, it produced some unique sounds, some of which can be heard on Gary Numan's Cars.
Bob Moog Retires: Multi, Rogue, Source and Memory Moogs Released
In 1977, Robert Moog left Moog Music, citing poor management and marketing. Moog Music continued without Robert Moog until their bankruptcy in 1986, producing many synthesizers, but were generally not very successful.
- The Multimoog was an enhanced Micromoog.
- The Moog Rogue was an even more stripped-down, single oscillator version of the Minimoog.
- The Moog Source was the first Moog synth to offer patch memory, but had a clunky interface and was still monophonic.
- The Memorymoog and Memorymoog+ were the first Moogs to offer MIDI capabilities and were billed as every synthesist's dream: six Minimoogs in one. Unfortunately, they were notoriously unreliable and only a limited number were produced.
Despite commercial struggles and inferior products, the popularity of the Moog sound continued to grow. Giorgio Moroder introduced the Moog sound to popular music with Donna Summer's 1977 hit Feel Love. Science fiction movies such as Tron used Moog-based soundtracks to add to their otherworldly feel.
Minimoog Voyager and Little Phatty: Rebirth
In 2002, Robert Moog reformed Moog Music and released the Minimoog Voyager, a recreation of the Minimoog with modern features such as MIDI and expanded modulation capabilities. Daft Punk uses a rackmount version for live performances.
The latest synth Bob Moog helped design was the Moog Little Phatty. Released in 2006, it was another re-working of the Minimoog at an affordable price.
The design and sound of the Moog has influenced virtually every synthesizer since its introduction. The Moog sound is still in demand. With original Minimoogs fetching high prices and the Little Phatty's popularity, it looks like Moogs will be around for the next 40 years as well.
