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Electronic music's most influential instrument turns 60

The Moog Synthesizer. It was one of the pioneering modular voltage-controlled oscillators and amplifiers, developed by Robert Moog.

Robert Moog's synthesizers were the first to fully empower people to craft and shape electronic music. His original prototype featured two voltage-controlled oscillators and a voltage-controlled amplifier. The initial oscillator enabled users to alter the pitch of a generated sound via the applied voltage, which could then be modified by the second oscillator to produce effects like tremolo.

This is the 60th anniversary of the first Moog Synthesizer. At that time, electronic sound synthesizers already existed, but they were very large – the size of entire rooms. Moog, who was a fan of the theremin – the electronic instrument created in the 1920s that could be played without touching it – experimented with adding amplifiers to the synthesizer's oscillators to make a smaller and more portable version of the machine.

In addition to being the first portable modular synth, it was also the first affordable one, relatively speaking. As an initial point, the original Moog Synthesizer cost $10,000 in 1964. When inflation is taken into account, this amounts to around $100,000 (€90,000) in today's equivalent. While it was not affordable in any strict sense, it was significantly less expensive than its modern-day competitors, which cost millions of dollars.

The first client was British-American composer Eric Siday, who had commissioned Moog to create an electronic musical instrument and requested that a keyboard be incorporated into the machine. Other composers who were interested in electronic music similarly continued to contract Moog and requested the addition of filter features, resulting in innovative new sounds such as the "wah-wah" effect.

Scores of musicians rushed to Moog's innovative synthesizers, and it didn't take long before the first impressive piece of music was created. One of the initial pioneers to work with the Moog Synthesizer was Paul Beaver, who collaborated with Mort Garson to produce the album “The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds”, which has since become an influential work that has galvanized numerous experimental musicians. Later, in 1968, the album “Switched-On Bach” saw Wendy Carlos reinterpret Bach's compositions, earning both commercial and critical acclaim. It received three Grammy Awards and holds the distinction of being the first classical album to achieve platinum certification.

-One example of the Moog's innovative impact is evident in the iconic song 'Strange Days', from The Doors' 1967 album of the same name. Beaver brought his synthesizer expertise and modulated Jim Morrison's lead vocals to create an otherworldly atmosphere in the track. It wasn't long before the Moog became a sensation, with The Beatles incorporating it into their album 'Abbey Road'. Other early adopters included The Monkees, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, and jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Sun Ra.

Today, electronic music is everywhere, and synthesizers are manufactured by an immeasurably large number of companies, as well as being simulated through digital music production software. But that didn't mean Moog became complacent.

In 1970, Moog launched a new synthesizer, the Minimoog. This more portable version of the original synthesizer achieved great success. Despite Moog estimating that it would only sell around 100 units to specialized musicians, it sold in the thousands over a decade and paved the way for other products such as the Vocoder, the Micromoog, Multimoog, and the Polymoog. These helped make Moog a well-known brand in the music industry and it featured prominently on progressive rock albums by Yes; Tangerine Dream; and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Probably its most successful commercial hit in the 70s was Donna Summer’s 'I Feel Love', nearly entirely produced on the Moog.

As the competition for Moog's synthesizers increased in the early 80s, his company encountered financial challenges. Digital synthesizers from companies such as Yamaha surpassed Moog's products, leading to bankruptcy in 1987. However, by 2002, Moog's synthesizers elicited a sense of nostalgia, prompting Moog to reintroduce a new range of synthesizers. Moog passed away in 2005 at the age of 71, but his company remains active and continues to manufacture synthesizers, including the Spectravox, Labyrinth, and Muse models, which were released this year.

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