The Moog Source is a

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 ...

Z80

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

-controlled

analog synthesizer An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...

manufactured by

Moog Music 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 ...

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 synthesizer to feature a flat-panel

membrane keyboard A membrane keyboard is a computer keyboard whose "keys" are not separate, moving parts, as with the majority of other keyboards, but rather are pressure pads that have only outlines and symbols printed on a flat, flexible surface. Very little, if ...

to replace the standard buttons, knobs and sliders, along with multihued panel graphics that were very different from anything Moog offered at the time. Sound wise it is considered to sound more like the original Moog Minimoog than any other synthesizer made by Moog and was introduced as its replacement.

Capbilities

In addition to the memory capable of holding 16 presets, the Source features a 37-note

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, and two VCOs that can be selected among three

waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electronic ...

s and three

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s. Programmed presets can be saved to an audio cassette interface to free up the onboard memory for additional new patches. The 24 dB/octave VCF has parameters for keyboard tracking, cutoff frequency, resonance, and envelope amount. There are two fully analog

ADSR envelope generator In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. It may relate to elements such as amplitude (volume), frequencies (with the use of filters) or pitch. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immedi ...

s that can be set in single or multi trigger modes, one for the VCF and one for the VCA. For

modulation In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

, the Source features LFO and

sample and hold In electronics, a sample and hold (also known as sample and follow) circuit is an analog device that samples (captures, takes) the voltage of a continuously varying analog signal and holds (locks, freezes) its value at a constant level for a ...

. The unit also features a rudimentary

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

. The Source was made in at least 2 versions the latter offering more voltage control options. A modification offered by Encore Electronics offers the addition of MIDI, significantly increased memory, and with the latest software update a MIDI clockable arpeggiator.

Notable users

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

The instrument was used extensively on their 1981 album ''

New Traditionalists ''New Traditionalists'' is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released on August 26, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981, at the Power ...

'', and the band also appeared in early print ads for the keyboard. *

Toby Smith Toby Grafftey-Smith (29 October 1970 – 11 April 2017), known professionally as Toby Smith, was an English musician, most famous for being the keyboardist and co-songwriter for Jamiroquai from 1992 until his departure in 2002. Background and p ...

, keyboard player of

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

Depeche Mode keyboards and other tech stuff
Retrieved 17 February 2017 * New Order, especially on the track " Blue Monday", for which it provides the throbbing bassline heard throughout the song. *

Harvey Bainbridge Harvey Frederick Bainbridge (born 24 September 1949, Dorset) is an English bass and keyboard player. He is best known as the bass player and keyboard player in Hawkwind. Career Bainbridge's first musical group was when he was at school. A gro ...

Matthew Seligman Matthew Seligman (14 July 1955 – 17 April 2020) was an English bassist, best known for his association with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Seligman was a member of the Soft Boys and the Thompson Twins, and was a sideman for Thomas Do ...

, bass player for

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

, he also prominently used The Source on his EP "Sendai" (with

Jan Linton Jan Linton is a British singer, musician and producer from Warrington who helped internationalise the music scene in Tokyo, Japan. Biography Jan Linton studied violin from the age of four, moving briefly onto piano, before discovering pop ...

) *

Minoru Mukaiya is a Japanese musician best known as the former keyboardist of the jazz fusion band Casiopea and producer of the Train Simulator series of Japanese video games. Mukaiya joined Casiopea during its formation in 1977 (with guitarist Issei Noro, dru ...

, keyboard player for

Casiopea , now known in its fourth iteration as Casiopea-P4, is a Japanese jazz fusion band formed in 1976 by guitarist Issei Noro, bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, drummer Tohru "Rika" Suzuki, and keyboardist Hidehiko Koike. In 1977, keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya ...

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Fr ...

, used on their 1982 album ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

References

External links

Moog Source at Synthmuseum.com

Moog Source used in a Studio Performance

Moog Source at Vintage Synth Explorer

* ttp://www.encoreelectronics.com/cont_smk.html Moog Source Midi Retrofit - Moog Source modification giving midi in, 256 patch memory locations and midi system exclusive control
Moog Source pics and demo at RetroSound.de
{{Moog Music

Source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

Monophonic synthesizers Analog synthesizers

Capbilities

Notable users

See also

References

External links