ABSTRACT
The Bob Moog synthesizer, produced in both modular and preset designs, was the most commonly used instrument in electronic music studios during the late 1960s and 1970s. The secret of Moog’s success was that he listened to musicians and solved the three most pressing challenges plaguing the use of synthesizers at that time: size, stability, and control. Transistorized and solid-state components solved the first two problems by reducing the size of the sound-generating components and producing stable oscillators. In a voltage-controlled device, a small amount of current is applied to the control input of a given component to modify the output signal. Moog’s entrée into the world of electronic music came from a different direction. The basic studio model of the Moog Modular Synthesizer was assembled from a variety of independent components that could all be interconnected, all packaged in handsome walnut-framed cabinets that gave the instrument a superbly professional appearance.
