Minimoog Model D
It is, without doubt, the single most famous synthesiser ever created. Initially issued in 1970 and manufactured until 1981, the Minimoog’s influence can be felt on nearly every synthesiser that came after it. Its near-perfect combination of three voltage-controlled oscillators (one of which can be used as an LFO), 24dB low-pass resonant filter, dual envelope generators, and lefthand pitch and modulation wheels allowed gigging musicians to learn and use the basics of analogue synthesis on an instrument that was (and is) a joy to play.
Cobbled together from Moog’s modules and a sawed-off keyboard by engineer Bill Hemsath on his lunch breaks, the Minimoog w was initially meant to be a personal, portable o one-off. Yet it was perfect for musicians for w whom a massive modular synthesiser was im impractical. It was small, (relatively) light, an and didn’t require patch cables. More im importantly, it sounded huge. This was an in instrument that could cut through the din o of a hard rock band playing at full tilt.
The Minimoog was mercilessly copied by the competition, but reigned supreme thanks to an undeniable sonic signature. Nothing else sounded quite like it. In fact, no two Minimoogs sound alike. This makes emulating the instrument something of a fool’s errand, as no copy can possibly sound like every Minimoog. Even Robert Moog’s own successor to the throne, the Minimoog Voyager, failed to convert some die-hard Minimoog players.
That hasn’t stopped manufacturers and developers from trying, though, and there have been some remarkably close copies, three of which we’ll use to explore the Mini’s architecture in our step-by-step tutorials.
As we write this, the Minimoog story has now come full circle with Moog themselves announcing a new Minimoog Model D that closely follows the design of the original, albeit with a few popular modifications thrown in for good measure.