Moog Music Inc. () is an American
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
company based in
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
(the first commercial synthesizer), followed by the
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
in 1970, two of the most influential electronic instruments of all time.
In 1971, following a
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
, Robert Moog sold Moog Music to
Norlin Musical Instruments
Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was former ...
, where he remained employed as a designer until 1977. In 1978, he founded a new company, Big Briar. Moog Music filed for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in 1987 and the Moog Music trademark was returned to Robert Moog in 2002, when Big Briar resumed operations under the name Moog Music.
Moog Music also manages
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
, a pioneering electronic music and music technology festival in Durham, NC.
History
1953–1967: R. A. Moog Co.
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
founded R. A. Moog Co. with his father in 1953 at the age of 19 in
Trumansburg, New York
Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several differen ...
, selling
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
kits to finance his education.
In 1963, Moog met experimental composer
Herbert Deutsch
Herbert Arnold "Herb" Deutsch (February 9, 1932 – December 9, 2022) was an American composer, inventor, and educator. Until his death in 2022, he was professor emeritus of electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that empl ...
at a music education conference in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, after Deutsch had built a theremin following Moog's design.
With assistance and suggestions from Deutsch and other musicians, Moog built the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
, the first
voltage-controlled synthesizer utilizing a keyboard.
1967–1971: R. A. Moog, Inc. and Moog synthesizer
By 1967, R. A. Moog, Co. had become a larger enterprise, continuing to sell theremin kits but with sales mainly focused on the commercial Moog synthesizer.
Though the Moog synthesizer's sound had rapidly become iconic with the success of
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...
's ''
Switched-On Bach
''Switched-On Bach'' is the debut album by American composer Wendy Carlos, originally released under her birth name Walter Carlos in October 1968 by Columbia Records. Produced by Carlos and Rachel Elkind, the album is a collection of pieces by J ...
'', the instrument nonetheless did not sell well due to its size and impracticality. The company ran deep into debt, turning a profit only one year of its existence – 1969, following the 'Switched-On' sensation ignited by Carlos.
1971–1977: Moog Musonics, Moog Music, Inc., changes of management, and financial duress
In November 1971, rival company muSonics bought R. A. Moog, Inc. and relocated the company to
Williamsville, New York
Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical ...
. An old factory at the north end of Academy Street was purchased. The company was renamed Moog Musonics, then Moog Music, Inc.
In 1972, former televangelist and successful salesman David VanKouvering joined the company as VP of Marketing, creating a network of retail stores throughout the United States and then the entire world.
Despite the increased commercial success the company saw with the introduction of the
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
than with previous products, competition with contemporary manufacturers such as
ARP Instruments
ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman
in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...
,
Oberheim Electronics
Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.
History and products
Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (most ...
, and
Electronic Music Studios
Electronic Music Studios (EMS) is a synthesizer company formed in Putney, London in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell. It is now based in Ladock, Cornwall.
Founders
The founding partners had wide experience in both elect ...
drove the company steadily deeper into debt.
Moog Music, Inc. was ultimately sold to Norlin Industries in 1973. At this point, rival companies such as the aforementioned
ARP Instruments
ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman
in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...
were producing both
monophonic
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
and
polyphonic synthesizers
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
that rapidly outpaced the Moog in popularity. By 1975, ARP owned 40% of the synthesizer market share, effectively boxing out Moog Music, Inc.
In 1976, Norlin moved the company to a facility on
Walden Avenue
New York State Route 952Q (NY 952Q) is an unsigned reference route designation for the portion of Walden Avenue outside of the Buffalo city limits in Erie County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at ...
in
Cheektowaga
Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...
. In 1977, once his contract with Norlin expired, Robert Moog officially left the company to pursue his own ventures, founding the firm
Big Briar
Moog Music Inc. () is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesi ...
.
1978–1987: Contract manufacturing, digital synthesis, and bankruptcy
By 1978, Moog Music, Inc. had released a number of products after the success of the Minimoog, including the
Vocoder
A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation.
The vocoder was ...
, the
Multimoog
The Multimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1978 to 1981. Derived from the earlier Micromoog (internally, it consists of a stock Micromoog circuit board with the extra circuitry on a second board), the Multim ...
, the
Polymoog
The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphony (instrument), polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on Frequency divider, divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs an ...
, and a series of
Taurus bass pedals.
Despite numerous artists taking up these products, none of these synthesizers ever achieved the same success. The company began contract manufacturing in 1981 in various other industries, including subway system repairs and
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
systems.
Around the same time,
digital synthesis
A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. This in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital ...
was becoming a viable alternative to analog synthesizers. The
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
, released 1979, was an expensive though fully formed digital synthesizer and
sampler; in 1983, the introduction of the
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
interface allowed rival
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
to release the world's first commercially successful
digital synthesizer
A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. This in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digit ...
, the
DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 19 ...
. Moog Music attempted to pivot to produce digital synthesizers, but declared bankruptcy in 1987.
2000–2005: Legal battle, return to Robert Moog and analog revival
As digital synthesizers rapidly became ubiquitous, the 1990s saw a rise in nostalgia for the iconic analog sound of Moog and Minimoog synthesizers, with musicians like
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
continuing to use them. Minimoogs began fetching high prices as collector's items.
In 1994, the Moog Music trademark expired and was purchased by Don Martin; a legal battle ensued in 2000 over ownership of the name, and it was returned to Robert Moog in 2002.
Moog Music moved to Asheville, North Carolina, and continued its development of products created under Robert Moog's former company
Big Briar
Moog Music Inc. () is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesi ...
, such as the
Moogerfooger
Moogerfooger is the trademark for a series of analog effects pedals manufactured by Moog Music. There are currently eight different pedals produced; however, one of these models is designed for processing control voltages rather than audio signa ...
pedals and theremins, as well as introducing numerous new products such as the
Minimoog Voyager
The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a suc ...
,
Little Phatty
The Little Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 2006 to 2013, preceded by the Voyager and succeeded by Voyager Old School. Its design was conceived, in part, by Robert Moog himself, and is the last instrument ...
,
Sub 37, and
Mother 32 some of which continue to be produced and sold today.
The company has seen fiscal growth and increased interest due in part to the analog revival, evidenced by the introduction of so many new analog synthesizers being released by companies such as Moog,
Korg
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...
, Arturia, and
Dave Smith Instruments
Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, used ...
, that has continued climbing to reach a high point in the 2010s.
2005–present: Death of Robert Moog and transition to employee ownership
After Robert Moog died in 2005 due to complications arising from brain cancer, his collaborator Michael Adams took over the company as president.
The company has since shifted to being largely employee owned, with its 62 employees owning 49% of the company's shares in 2015. The company has in recent years seen the results of a strong incentive to introduce new products to meet the demands generated by today's market and have also produced limited edition reissues of historic Moog synthesizers as well as reaching out into the emerging
Eurorack
Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from ...
synthesizer market with instruments such as
semi-modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch (synthesizer), patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analo ...
s, the
Mother 32, DFAM, Grandmother, Matriarch, and Subharmonicon.
On 1 June 2022 the employees - as "Moog Workers Unite" - launched a union drive with
IBEW
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands; ...
.
Major products
Moog synthesizer (1964)
At the prompting of composer Herbert Deutsch, Moog invented the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
in 1964. Defined by its use of modules, or independent circuits that performed distinctive tasks –
oscillators
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
,
filters
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component tha ...
,
amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
s,
envelope generators – the Moog synthesizer allowed users to connect different modules in arbitrary configurations to create remarkably complex sounds. Famously, it also employed a keyboard interface, as opposed to contemporary synthesizer manufacturer
Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments
Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments (BEMI) was a manufacturer of synthesizers and unique MIDI controllers. The origins of the company could be found in Buchla & Associates, created in 1963 by synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla of Berkeley, Californi ...
who chose to explore alternative control methods instead of using the immediately familiar piano-like interface.
Moog went on to present the synthesizer at the 1964
Audio Engineering Society
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is a professional body for engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products ...
conference, where it rapidly gained notoriety.
The Moog saw some measure of success as experimental artists as
Paul Beaver
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career ha ...
, and
David Borden
David Russell Borden (born December 25, 1938 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer and keyboard player of minimalist music.
In 1969, with the support of Robert Moog, he founded the synthesizer ensemble Mother Mallard's Portable Maste ...
began to employ it in their work,
and the rise of
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
in the 1960s saw numerous commercial artists employ the Moog in their music, including
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, and
the Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
.
Perhaps the greatest commercial success for the Moog synthesizer arrived in 1968 with
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...
's seminal album ''
Switched-On Bach
''Switched-On Bach'' is the debut album by American composer Wendy Carlos, originally released under her birth name Walter Carlos in October 1968 by Columbia Records. Produced by Carlos and Rachel Elkind, the album is a collection of pieces by J ...
'' selling over a million copies and winning three
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
. The success of that album prompted a brief fad of 'Switched-On' music that faded away by 1970.
Minimoog (1970)
![Minimoog](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Minimoog.JPG)
Despite the success of the Moog, its relatively large size made it impractical for general use. Together with engineers Jim Scott and Bill Hemsath, Moog built the
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
. The Minimoog employed the minimal number of modules possible and did away with patch cords, instead hardwiring the various modules together. Furthermore, the Minimoog introduced the pitch wheel, enabling vibrato and pitch-bending an interval of a perfect fifth above or below the note played on the keyboard.
Its compact size and range of available sounds allowed the Minimoog to be a comparative success, selling over 13,000 units over the next decade.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
, and
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...
were among the numerous musicians who used the Minimoog.
Other variations on the Minimoog continued to be produced, until the company simply decided to re-release the Minimoog in 2016.
Taurus (1975)
![Moog Taurus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Moog_Taurus.jpg)
The first true Moog bass instrument was the
Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...
, a pedal-operated analog synthesizer.
Like the Moog, it remained a monophonic analog subtractive synthesizer, initially with 13 pedals in its first model. The Taurus II was expanded to include 18 pedals, and the Taurus III returned to 13.
The Taurus was picked up by various
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
bands, including
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
,
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
, and
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
.
Vocoder (1978)
Though Moog had developed his own
vocoder
A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation.
The vocoder was ...
in 1968, Moog Music's commercial product was not released until 1978 and was based almost entirely on
Harald Bode
Harald Bode (October 19, 1909 – January 15, 1987) was a German engineer and pioneer in the development of electronic musical instruments.
Biography
Harald Bode was born in 1909 in Hamburg, Germany. At the age of 18 he lost his parents and ...
's design.
Many other companies already were releasing their own vocoders, including
Korg
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...
,
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
,
Electronic Music Studios
Electronic Music Studios (EMS) is a synthesizer company formed in Putney, London in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell. It is now based in Ladock, Cornwall.
Founders
The founding partners had wide experience in both elect ...
, and more. Its lack of support for MIDI has made it less enduringly popular than its counterparts. Musicians who used the Moog Vocoder include
Saga (band)
Saga is a Canadian rock band from Oakville, Ontario. Bassist and keyboardist Jim Crichton and Welsh-born vocalist and keyboardist Michael Sadler were the principal songwriters.
Saga had numerous line-up changes over the years. Ian and Jim Cric ...
,
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...
,
The Moog Cookbook
The Moog Cookbook was an American electronic duo consisting of Meco Eno (Roger Manning) and Uli Nomi (Brian Kehew). The project was a parody of and tribute to the novelty Moog records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which featured cover vers ...
, and filmmaker/composer
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
.
Moogerfooger (1998)
![Moogerfooger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Moogerfooger.jpg)
The
Moogerfooger
Moogerfooger is the trademark for a series of analog effects pedals manufactured by Moog Music. There are currently eight different pedals produced; however, one of these models is designed for processing control voltages rather than audio signa ...
, introduced under
Big Briar
Moog Music Inc. () is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesi ...
, is an analog effects pedal that essentially allowed users to apply the modules that constituted the original Moog design to arbitrary sound inputs. Some of the effects included
ring modulation
In electronics, ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing, in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple w ...
,
low-pass filtration,
ladder filtration, and
flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...
. The Moogerfooger was successful, and saw a variety of models produced. It was discontinued in 2018, after 20 years of production.
Minimoog Voyager (2002)
In 2002, on reacquiring the Moog Music trademark, the company began to produce the
Minimoog Voyager
The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a suc ...
, effectively an updated version of the iconic
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
. The Voyager famously featured a true analog signal path from oscillators to output, but integrated digital controls that made storing presets, along with many other features, available to the Minimoog family.
Little Phatty (2006)
![Minimoog voyager](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Minimoog_voyager.jpg)
The
Little Phatty
The Little Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 2006 to 2013, preceded by the Voyager and succeeded by Voyager Old School. Its design was conceived, in part, by Robert Moog himself, and is the last instrument ...
, introduced in 2006, was Moog Music's answer to demand for a portable, affordable analog signal path synthesizer.
It was the last instrument that Robert Moog participated in the design of and was released by the company shortly after Robert's death in 2005.
Sub Phatty (2013)
![Moog Sub Phatty, NAMM 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Moog_Sub_Phatty%2C_NAMM_2013.jpg)
With the release of the Sub Phatty in 2013, Moog Music introduced the first synthesizer with an entirely new circuitry schematic since Robert Moog's death in 2005. This new synthesizer featured a new oscillator design with an updated analog sound an increased panel dive edit-ability. This popularity of this instrument inspired multiple subsequent versions from the company with the release of the
Sub 37 and
Subsequent 37. These synthesizers introduced additional features such as a sequencer and brought edit-ability up from the dive format to the immediate accessibility of the front panel.
Mother-32 (2015)
Embracing renewed interest in modular synthesis and the ever growing
Eurorack
Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from ...
synthesizer standard's popularity, Moog Music introduced the Mother-32 as a Eurorack compatible synthesizer featuring Moog circuitry and sound. They have since released a number of modules as well as modular and semi-modular synthesizers.
DFAM (Drummer From Another Mother) (2018)
In 2017, Moog Music unveiled the DFAM at Moogfest as a successor to the Mother-32 series of Eurorack-friendly semi-modular synthesizers. DFAM is a percussive synthesizer with the ability to create "dirty and punchy" drum sounds.
Grandmother (2018)
Following in the footsteps of the early modular synthesizer reissues the company introduced in the 2010s and the
Mother-32 and other
Eurorack
Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from ...
friendly options of the same decade, Moog Music introduced the semi-modular
Moog Grandmother synthesizer, offering buyers of Moog instruments the freedom of modular patchability combined with the immediate accessibility of a fixed path synthesizer. The synthesizer again yielded an expanded version released by the company named the Moog Matriarch in 2019.
Subharmonicon (2020)
Continuing on the Mother ecosystem, Moog Music introduced the Subharmonicon, a Eurorack compatible semi-modular table-top synthesizer designed on the principles of subharmonics and polyrhythms.
Moogfest
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
is the name of a festival started in 2004 in New York City that was founded to honor the work of Robert Moog, better known to the electronic music community as Bob Moog, as well as electronic music and, eventually, technology and development. It eventually moved to Asheville, NC in 2010 and ended its affiliation with
AC Entertainment
AC Entertainment is a music promotion company based in Knoxville, Tennessee. They are the co-producers of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival with Superfly Productions and the producers of the WayHome Music & Arts in Barrie, ON,Waddell, Ray"Excl ...
in 2012. The festival, which, after its first relocation, brought a boom to Moog Music Inc.'s corporate home in downtown Asheville in part thanks to the festival's sizable attendance, eventually relocated to Durham, NC due to an increased desire to bolster the tech and development arms of the festival, taking into consideration Durham's status as an up-and-coming tech center.
The festival has attracted high-profile acts such as
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
,
Laurie Anderson
Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...
,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, and
Jónsi
Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his "angelic" falset ...
of
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
as well as numerous emerging and experimental groups and artists. Additionally, the festival features workshops and presentations that focus on instrument development and building (for instance the
Moog Werkstatt-Ø1 was initially offered as a festival-build activity), music tech, and research.
However, the festival and parent company Moog Music Inc. has been the subject of several lawsuits, for complaints including breach of contract, non-payment, and fraud, including a 2019 lawsuit filed by Q Level LLC and another lawsuit filed in 2021 by Moogfest LLC and UG Strategies LLC, as well as a 2020 sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by former employee Hannah Green.
List of synthesizer models
*
Moog modular synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
(1963–80, 2015–present)
*
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
(1970–81, 2016–2017)
*
Moog Satellite
The Satellite is a lesser known monophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1973 to 1979 in response to the ARP Pro Soloist. It had one VCO. It was designed for use with any organ or sound system. The American company T ...
(1974–79)
*
Moog Sonic Six (1974–79)
*
Minitmoog (1975–76)
*
Micromoog
The Moog model 2090 Micromoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1975 to 1979.
During 1973 and 1974, Moog attempted to produce a synth system, possibly as a result of seeing Yamaha's massive GX-1. The bass and pol ...
(1975–79)
*
Polymoog
The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphony (instrument), polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on Frequency divider, divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs an ...
(1975–80)
*
Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...
(
bass pedals
Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged ...
) (1976–83)
*
Multimoog
The Multimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1978 to 1981. Derived from the earlier Micromoog (internally, it consists of a stock Micromoog circuit board with the extra circuitry on a second board), the Multim ...
(1978–81)
*
Moog Prodigy
The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and cont ...
(1979–84)
*
Moog Liberation
The Moog Liberation was one of the first commercially produced "keytar" synthesizers, released in 1980 by Moog Music. The instrument is comparable to the Moog Concertmate MG-1 and the Moog Rogue, but it is most closely related to the Moog Prodigy ...
(1980–81)
*
Moog Opus 3 (1980–83)
*
Moog Concertmate MG-1
The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music in 1981 and sold by Radio Shack from 1982 to 1983 under their " Realistic" brand name. It was produced without some standard Moog features, such as pitch and mo ...
(1981–83)
*
Moog Rogue
The Moog Rogue is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by the original Moog Music in the early 1980s, but, was not designed by Bob Moog. Very basic in its design and use, the Rogue featured a 32-note keyboard and two VCOs. VCO number 2 is ...
(1981–83)
*
Moog Source
The Moog Source is a monophonic Z80 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first (and only) Moog sy ...
(1981–84)
*
Memorymoog
The Memorymoog is a polyphonic electronic music synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1982 to 1985, the last polyphonic synthesizer to be released by Moog Music before the company declared bankruptcy in 1987. While comparable to other polyph ...
(1982–85)
* Moog SL-8 prototype (1983)
*
Moogerfooger
Moogerfooger is the trademark for a series of analog effects pedals manufactured by Moog Music. There are currently eight different pedals produced; however, one of these models is designed for processing control voltages rather than audio signa ...
(1998–2018)
*
Minimoog Voyager
The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a suc ...
(2002–15)
*
Moog Little Phatty (2006–13)
*
Slim Phatty (2010–14)
*
Taurus 3 bass pedal (2011)
*
Minitaur (2012)
*
Sub Phatty
Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to
Places
* Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB
Computing and technology
* , an HTML tag for subscript
* SUB designa ...
(2013)
*
Sub 37 (2014)
*
Moog Werkstatt-Ø1 (2014 kit, 2014 retail) ''limited kit for the 2014
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
Engineering Workshop, retail release later that year''
*
Emerson Moog Modular (2014)
*
Mother-32 (2015–present)
*
Moog BFAM (Brother From Another Mother) (2016) ''limited kit for the 2017
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
Engineering Workshop''
*
Subsequent 37 CV (2017) ''limited run of 2,000 units''
*
Subsequent 37 (2017–present)
*
Moog DFAM (Drummer From Another Mother) (2017 kit, 2018–present) ''limited kit for the 2017
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
Engineering Workshop, retail release in 2018''
*
Moog Subharmonicon (2018 kit, 2020–present) ''limited kit for the 2018
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
Engineering Workshop, retail edition released in 2020''
*
Moog Grandmother (2018–present)
*
Moog One (2018–present)
*
Sirin: Analog Messenger of Joy (2019–present)
*
Moog Spectravox (2019) ''limited kit for the 2019
Moogfest
Moogfest is a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions.
This multi-day, multi-venue event hosts artists and audiences from throughout the w ...
Engineering Workshop''
*
Moog Matriarch (2019–present)
* Moog Mavis (2022-present)
References
External links
*
The Moog ArchivesThe Bob Moog FoundationMoog Guitar infoNAMM Oral History ProgramInterview with Mike Adams (2010)
{{Authority control
Companies based in Asheville, North Carolina
Synthesizer manufacturing companies of the United States
Guitar effects manufacturing companies
Manufacturing companies established in 1953
1953 establishments in New York (state)
American companies established in 1953
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