Moog modular synthesizer refers to any of a number of monophonic analog modular synthesizers designed by the late electronic instrument pioneer Dr. Robert Moog and manufactured by R.A Moog Co. (Moog Music after 1972) from about 1963 until 1981. Monophonic can mean: In music, see: Texture (music). ... Sine, square, triangle, and sawtooth waveforms The modular synthesizer is an early type of synthesizer consisting of separate modules which must be connected by wires to create a so called patch. ... An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. ... Dr. Robert A. Moog (pronounced /moʊg/ to rhyme with vogue, not /muːg/) (May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... The Moog Music logo Moog Music Inc. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

By 1963, Robert Moog created the first modern, realtime playable and reconfigurable music synthesizer and demonstrated it at the AES convention in 1964. Moog employed his theremin company to manufacture and market his synthesizers which, unlike the other 1960s synthesizer manufacturers, featured a piano-style keyboard as the standard user interface. Moog also established standards for analog synthesizer control interfacing, with a logarithmic one volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal. Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, manufacturers and other organisations and individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. ... Léon Theremin playing an early theremin The theremin or thereminvox (originally pronounced but often anglicized as [1]) is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The layout of a typical musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which cause the instrument to produce sounds. ... An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. ...

Interest in Moog synthesizers increased after Wendy Carlos' 1968 Switched-On Bach which featured Carlos' custom-built modular synthesizer as the only instrument featured on the recording. This new popularity led to the 1970 release of the classic Minimoog and subsequent Moog synthesizers, modeled after the larger modular systems and designed for portability, usability, and affordability. Wendy Carlos in 1980 Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos—see Personal life section below—November 14, 1939 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island) is an American composer and electronic musician. ... See also: 1967 in music, other events of 1968, 1969 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 4 - Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding. ... Switched-On Bach is a 1968 album by Wendy Carlos on CBS Records . ... The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog. ... Bob Moog Dr Robert A. Moog (born May 23, 1934) is the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. ...

The Moog modular synthesizer is considered by enthusiasts to be the original and definitive synthesizer. Although digital synthesizers and samplers are generally more user friendly than a modular synthesizer and available at a fraction of the price that it would take to acquire and maintain a modular system, modular Moogs continue to be valued by collectors and musicians alike. A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. ... A sampler can be any of the following things: In general, a sampler is any broadly representative cross-section of some collection; for instance, food products are sometimes packaged in samplers containing a variety of chocolates or beers. ...

Nearly 20 years after production of Moog systems ceased, VST software manufacturer Arturia released Moog Modular V, a PC software version of the Moog modular system which overcame many of the Moog's analog deficiencies and added new features including note polyphony (modular systems could only play one note at a time) and digital storage of patches for instant sound recall. Virtual Studio Technology and its acronym VST refer to an interface standard for connecting audio synthesizer and effect plugins to audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. ... Arturia is a software company, located in Grenoble, France, and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. ...

Basics

The Moog modular system consists of a number of various modules mounted in a cabinet. Each module performs a specific signal-generating or -modifying function. These modules offered unprecedented control over creating sounds by allowing a user to modify primary sound waveforms (sine waves, square waves and other waveforms provided by voltage controlled oscilators or VCO) with amplitude modulators (voltage controlled amplifiers or VCA) and frequency modulators (voltage controlled filters (VCF) or fixed filter banks) and other modifiers. Envelope generators provided further control by modulating the attack, decay, sustain and release (ADSR) parameters of the VCAs, VCFs and other modules. The modules are patched together with ¼ inch patch cords. The patch cords and module parameter knobs could be adjusted in countless ways to create a nearly infinite number of sounds. The final sound was heard ('triggered') from the system by pressing a key on an attached keyboard or pressing on the ribbon controller. A module is a self-contained component of a system, which has a well-defined interface to the other components; something is modular if it is constructed so as to facilitate easy assembly, flexible arrangement, and/or repair of the components. ... Cabinet (computer) - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic circuit that uses amplification, feedback, and a resonant circuit to generate a repeating voltage waveform. ... A voltage-controlled amplifier is an electronic amplifier that varies its gain depending on a control voltage (often abbreviated CV). ... A voltage-controlled filter is a signal processing device in a modular analog synthesizer positioned after the oscillator. ... An ADSR envelope is a parameter used in synthesizers, including those that produce sound by subtractive synthesis, to control the sound produced. ... A ribbon controller is a user interface used to control parameters of electronic musical instruments, primarily used with analog synthesizers. ...

The Moog modular synthesizer offered musicians a revolutionary new way to produce sound when it was released in the 1960s. It was originally intended for use in recording studios and universities and was not intended for (or widely embraced by) muscians for use in live performance. The analog electronics of the system often made sound generation unreliable and unpredictable during live performances. For example, the VCOs were notorious for their inability to hold a fixed frequency for any extended period of time and would often change pitch and go out of tune, especially in hot or damp environments. Additionally, modular sounds could not be programmed and stored for retrieval due to the instrument's analog nature. Changing sounds on the system was a time-consuming task requiring the phyical rerouting of numerous patch cords and manual knob adjustments. A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctor) in a variety of subjects. ...

Another common problem is the Moog's incompatibility with the gate/trigger voltage used in most other synthesizers of the time. Moog equipment used a high-state logic called S-trig, which maintained at +5 volts until the trigger was sent, dropping the voltage to 0, the opposite of what was commonly used by other manufacturers. In addition to this incompatibility, if a certain patch used an extensive amount of triggering connections, each module would cause a voltage drop sending the logic over into low-state and firing the S-trigger. In spite of all its shortcomings, a few notable artists (including Keith Emerson of ELP, and Tangerine Dream) successfully toured with Moog modular systems. The volt (symbol: V) is the SI derived unit of electric potential difference. ... Voltage drop is a reduction in voltage in an electrical circuit. ... Throughout his career with The Nice, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and as a solo artist, Keith Emerson has proven himself perhaps the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardist in rock history. ... ELP can also stand for Extra Long Play, a format for the VCR tape. ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ...

Models

In the early and experimental days of electronic instruments, R.A Moog Co. sold made-to-order synthesizer systems comprised of whatever modules the musician desired. Starting in 1967, the company began manufacturing a number of pre-assembled stock modular systems that contained a predetermined number of modules. Later on, these systems were manufactured and modified based on customer specifications. Produced from 1967 to 1972, the earliest Moog modular systems were named the Moog 3, the Moog 2, and the Moog 1. The "C" series featured solid walnut cabinets and, starting in 1970, the "P" series, designed for portability, came in a road case. From 1971 to 1973, the Moog 10 and the Moog 12 were manufactured, each mounted in a road case. Produced from 1972 to 1981, the Moog 15, the Moog 35 and the Moog 55 featured walnut cabinets like the earlier "C" series. Moog also produced the Moog Co-ordinated Electronic Music Studio ( C.E.M.S.). 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Species See text The walnuts (genus Juglans) are plants in the walnut family Juglandaceae. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... A road case is a box specially built to protect musical instruments or other theatrical properties when they must be moved between locations. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Modules

The following is a list of modules manufactured by Moog. Many modules were designed to replace existing ones.

A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic circuit that uses amplification, feedback, and a resonant circuit to generate a repeating voltage waveform. ... An electronic oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a repetitive electronic signal, often a sine wave or a square wave. ... A voltage-controlled amplifier is an electronic amplifier that varies its gain depending on a control voltage (often abbreviated CV). ... // CV, cv, Cv or cV can stand for: CV Aircraft carrier, United States Navys hull classification symbol Cape Verde, ISO 3166, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram Cardiovascular, in medicine Cargolux, IATA airline designator Central Vermont Railway reporting mark Coefficient of variation, in mathematics Combat Vehicle 90... For other uses of the term white noise, see white noise (disambiguation). ... Pink noise ( (help· info)), also known as 1/f noise, is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is proportional to the reciprocal of the frequency. ... A voltage-controlled filter is a signal processing device in a modular analog synthesizer positioned after the oscillator. ... A low-pass filter is a filter that passes low frequencies well, but attenuates (or reduces) frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. ... DB or db or dB may stand for: Database, an organized collection of data DB (car), a French automobile maker Decibel (dB), the ratio between two quantities, used in acoustics and electronics Deutsche Bahn, the major German railway company Deutsche Bank, a German bank Discovery Bay, a residential development in... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or 8va) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double the frequency. ... A high-pass filter is a filter that passes high frequencies well, but attenuates (or reduces) frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency. ... When sound is produced in an enclosed space multiple reflections build up and blend together creating reverberation or reverb. ... An ADSR envelope is a parameter used in synthesizers, including those that produce sound by subtractive synthesis, to control the sound produced. ... Mil-li-sec-ond One hundreth of a second ... Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ... In electronics, a sample and hold circuit is used to interface real-world, changing analogue signals to a subsequent system such as an analogue to digital converter. ... In synthesizers, capable of sounding two voices, or notes, at a time. ... The word pedal comes from the Latin (Pes, Pedis) and relates to the foot. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... The word sequencer can mean: a microsequencer in a computer CPU a music sequencer in the field of electronic music a DNA sequencer or a protein sequencer in the field of biology Sequencer (album) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... In telecommunications a mixer is a frequency mixer. ... An attenuator is a telecommunication device that reduces the amplitude of a signal without appreciably distorting its waveform. ... Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863 Several American Indian-style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... A ribbon controller is a user interface used to control parameters of electronic musical instruments, primarily used with analog synthesizers. ... Ring modulation is an audio effect performed by multiplying two audio signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. ... // CV, cv, Cv or cV can stand for: CV Aircraft carrier, United States Navys hull classification symbol Cape Verde, ISO 3166, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram Cardiovascular, in medicine Cargolux, IATA airline designator Central Vermont Railway reporting mark Coefficient of variation, in mathematics Combat Vehicle 90...

Headline text

FAMOUS MODULAR MOOG USERS

Keith Emerson (Always tours with his monsterous Modular Moog), Wendy Carlos (Used a Moog System III Modular in 'Switched on Bach' and her other albums), Jean-Micheal Jarre (Used a Moog System 55 Modular), Mick Jagger, The Beatles.

External links

• Modular Moogs at Synthmuseum.com
• Vintage Synth Explorer
• Moog archives