The Polymoog is a hybrid

polyphonic 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, ...

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 v ...

that was 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 synthe ...

from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has sinc ...

s and string synthesizers of the time.

History

The name Polymoog can refer either to the original Polymoog Synthesizer (model 203a) released in 1975, or the largely preset Polymoog Keyboard (model 280a) released in 1978. Polymoog Voice Cards

The Polymoog has a 71-note weighted Pratt & Read

touch-sensitive A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

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 * Mus ...

divided into three sections with a volume slider for each. It also has a three-band resonant

graphic equalizer Equalization, or simply EQ, in sound recording and reproduction is the process of adjusting the volume of different frequency bands within an audio signal. The circuit or equipment used to achieve this is called an equalizer. Most hi-fi e ...

section, which can be changed to a low/bandpass/high-pass filter. The Moog-designed 24 dB/octave filter section allows

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 ...

modulated from its own envelopes,

low frequency oscillation Low-frequency oscillation (LFO) is an electronic frequency that is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This is used to modulate musical equipment such as synthesizers to create audio effects such as vibrato, tremo ...

and sample and hold circuit. Ranks and waveforms of all notes are also adjustable combining waveforms, octaves, tunings, and their own independent LFO rates and amounts. The user can adjust the instrument's sounds, and it offers

preset Preset may refer to: * Default (computer science), a setting or value automatically assigned to a software application, computer program, ''etc''. * Preset (electronics), a variable component on a device only accessible to manufacturing or maint ...

s named " strings", "

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

", " organ", "

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

", "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African Americans, African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African A ...

", " clav", " vibes", and "

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

". Presets were factory created as physical circuit cards and may be modified for live performance using Var(iation) buttons, triggering a red dot next to the preset number in the display. The design of the Polymoog is a hybrid of the electronic organ and the synthesizer using divide-down technology, much like other string synthesizers of the time. Unlike later 1970s polyphonic synthesizers, such as the

Yamaha CS-80 The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice set ...

and

Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with fu ...

, the Polymoog cannot create each voice from individual oscillators and filters, or store sounds programmed by the user. Although criticized for its limited programmability, high purchase price of $5295 and reliability issues, the Polymoog Synthesizer was popular with musicians of the period, and its unlimited polyphony was considered revolutionary upon its initial release.

Polymoog Keyboard (1978–80)

The Polymoog Keyboard 280a is a stripped-down version of the original 1975 Polymoog. The two are similar in appearance, sharing the same case and keyboard. The right-hand control panel is absent, while the left-hand panel has only a few sliders, giving the user less control over the sounds. The Polymoog Keyboard features more presets than its predecessor: " vox humana", "string 1", "string 2", "

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

", "piano", "

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano ...

y", "clav", "harpsi", "brass", "chorus brass", "

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

", "rock organ", "vibes", and "funk". Control over these presets is limited to octave balance, envelope attack, and LFO modulation depth and rate. The lower two octaves may also be split off to play a separate bass tone, with some control over this tone allowed via a dedicated bass filter. Filter control of the main preset sounds is not user adjustable other than via an external controller. The Polymoog Keyboard was less expensive than its predecessor, being priced at $3995 in 1979. The best known of the presets on the Polymoog Keyboard is "Vox Humana", which was not present on the original Polymoog. This preset forms the basis of the electronic string sound in the work of Gary Numan.

Foot operated controller

An optional foot-operated controller known as the Polypedal (model 285a), with control voltage jacks, interfaces with the back panel. It allows the user to switch between single and multiple triggering of envelopes, and controls for pitch, filter, and sustain.

Notable users

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

used the Polymoog on his 1977 album '' Izitso'', including the song "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard".

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his ...

was one of the Polymoog's most recognizable users. The electronic string sound featured prominently on the track "

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

" and most of the album '' The Pleasure Principle'' (1979) became his signature sound in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A Polymoog is shown in his

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Cars" as well as in live performances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of ...

'' and ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

''. French duo

Space Art "Space art" (also "astronomical art") is the term for a genre of modern artistic expression that strives to show the wonders of the Universe. Like other genres, space art has many facets and encompasses realism, impressionism, hardware art, scu ...

used a Polymoog during the recording of their second album, ''Trip in the Centre Head''.

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

used a Polymoog at Sound 80 recording studio on demo tapes for his first album '' For You'' (1978), and the Polymoog became a notable sonic element of the Minneapolis sound. The Polymoog proved popular with 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. Initi ...

musicians.

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 ...

added an early prototype Polymoog (at the time, known as the Apollo) to his stage rig.

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

used one during his second stint with Yes in the late 1970s and Tony Banks of

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 ...

used one between 1978 and 1983.

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

used a Polymoog on "

Sheba Sheba (; he, ''Šəḇāʾ''; ar, سبأ ''Sabaʾ''; Ge'ez: ሳባ ''Saba'') is a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Quran. Sheba features in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions, particularly the Ethiopian Ort ...

" (from his 1980 album '' QE2'') in conjunction with a

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 ...

References

External links