The Moog Modular
Like the Minimoog that followed it, Moog’s mighty Moog Modular synthesiser created the template for every instrument of its kind to follow. Before Moog, electronic musicians were forced to make do with surplus lab equipment, which was difficult to use for tonal, pitch-based compositions. A few intrepid composers kludged together rudimentary keyboard controllers, but most created musical passages by cutting and splicing together bits of tape containing individual pitches.
Moog changed all of that when he introduced his first voltage-controlled modules at the AES convention in October 1964. Notably, he introduced the 1V/Octave standard, an elegant means by which pitch could be transposed. Not coincidentally, the musically-inclined Moog would offer an organ style keyboard for his modular systems, providing musicians with a familiar touchstone with which to control this strange new instrument.
Along with his voltage controlled oscillators, Moog’s made-to-order systems made use of now-familiar ADSR envelope generators, voltage controlled amplifiers, and that superlative four-pole filter. Eventual additions included a ribbon controller, fixed filter bank, frequency shifter and the brilliant 960 sequencer, so beloved by pioneering German electronic bands of the 1970s.
Moog’s system was not for the faint of heart. There were no presets and no instruction manual. It made no sound until the signal was routed via patch cables, and even then, it didn’t stay in tune. Nevertheless, it was embraced by academics and studio musicians and even a few rock and rollers who helped to expose electronic music to a public hungry for something new.
Today, in answer to the current full-blown modular renaissance, Moog is once again building modular systems, albeit in limited quantities and at collector prices.