Posted on 08/22/2005 7:13:05 AM PDT by Borges
RALEIGH, N.C. - Robert A. Moog, whose self-named synthesizers turned electric currents into sound and opened the musical wave that became electronica, has died. He was 71.
Moog was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, detected in April. He died Sunday at his home in Asheville, according to his company's Web site.
A childhood interest in the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments, would lead Moog to a create a career and business that tied the name Moog as tightly to synthesizers as the name Les Paul is to electric guitars.
As a Ph.D student in engineering physics at Cornell University, Moog — rhymes with vogue — in 1964 developed his first voltage-controlled synthesizer modules with composer Herbert Deutsch. By the end of that year, R.A. Moog Co. marketed the first commercial modular synthesizer.
The instrument allowed musicians, first in a studio and later on stage, to generate a range of sounds that could mimic nature or seem otherworldly by flipping a switch, twisting a dial, or sliding a knob. Other synthesizers were already on the market in 1964, but Moog's stood out for being small, light and versatile.
It's not really rock and roll, but I thought I'd ping you anyway....
Oops. Screwed up the source/link. Friendly neighborhood mod?
When I was in elementary school in the 60's, our music teacher played some of the first electronic music (outside of the theramin, that is) by Moog. It was extremely crude and experimental by today's terms, but fascinating.
I loved Switched-on Bach.
Loved his work. He had an impact well beyond the world of music. His work was one of the reasons I began dabbling in electronics at an early age.
Les Paul , Theremin , Moog ...where would modern music be without them ...R.I.P...
Dan
I can remember studying physics as part of the undergrad science requirement at the world famous Berklee College of Music back in the early-mid-70s.
The physics requirement was basically presented as a course in acoustics (fascinating). We played with some of the monoponic synthesizer keyboards that were available.
We quickly became aware of all the obstacles that stood in the way of develop a "polyphonic" synthesizer, which of course was an impossibility prior to the availability of computer chips.
In those days, you had to build your sounds from scratch, starting with a sine wave, or square wave and sawtooth wave, and then using filters and other gizmos to shape the sound.
I was so excited when I actually created a Chinese gong sound on one of those things -- it didn't even have a keyboard. Just a box with a control panel on it.
What a hoot.
The early Moog-era synthesizer recordings were way cool, and when I finally heard my first polyphonic keyboard that could produce really good instrument approximations in the 80s, I was absolutely amazed.
Ah, it was Dick Hyman. You can hear a clip here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000150M/104-3127822-5083953?v=glance
Dan
A true innovator in the music industry. The original Moog synth had at least the same impact as the first electric guitar.
He can rest with the knowledge that his legacy will continue for generations.
May he rest in peace. I carried a mini-moog around for years. Besides all the special effects, you could get a heck of a horn sound. No matter what you did with it, the tone was ultra-fat. I loved that thing.
I watched a band in the late 90s still using a 70s Moog along with their high-tech digital equipment. They wanted that more "natural" analog sound.
The modules and the patchcords were fascinating. It's done digitally now, but those old ones were a lot more fun. Moog was young.
RIP, Mr. Moog - someone who had such a great impact on modern music. Love that analog sound.
Same here. In the late 70s/early 80s I bought several VCOs, VCAs, and VCFs (remember the old analog synthesizer chips with onboard heaters for stability?). Breadboarded them with a full size keyboard I ripped from an old organ. Great sound and learned a tremendous amount of circuit theory. Same goes for making my own guitar effects: flangers, choruses, wahs. This was before everything went digital.
I still think that EE classes should have a relatively short theory section followed by designing and building analog guitar effects and synthesizers. There's nothing like designing something and seeing it put into use.
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