Who
Robert Arthur Moog (1934 – 2005) was an engineer, inventor, and trailblazer in the area of electronic music whose innovations revolutionized music synthesis. He expanded the boundaries of music expression in ways that changed the lives of musicians all of the world in ways that continue to resonate today.
50th Anniversary of the Moog Modular Synthesizer
What and Why
Bob Moog is best known as the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer – the Moog Modular 55, or simply The Moog. The Moog debuted as a keyboard attached to a cabinet of oscillators, amplifiers, and filters. It was smaller and cheaper than competing devices from RCA which cost in the low six figures and could occupy an entire room! The Moog synthesizer was also considerably more user friendly than its contemporaries. Artists played the Moog using a keyboard where the RCA synthesizer had to be programmed using punchcards. Moog improved upon all of the innovations realized with The Moog when he introduced the Minimoog – a smaller, portable version of the Moog synthesizer considered the most famous and influential in music history.
When and Where
In his words
