Moog is one of the names that has been echoing from the distant past to now and will be echoing in the distant future as well. This is one of the names that filled up the world of musical creations with vast possibilities. Moog helped people to reach out for the sound that was beyond the possibilities of conventional instruments. From the birth of the first Moog synthesiser until now, Moog has been dominating the world of synthesisers due to its unique sound that is signature to Moog only.
A brief history of Moog Music
A synthesiser is an electronic instrument that generates sounds based on various electronic components such as circuits and transistors etc. Electronic had been in the scene with the one like Teleharmonium for example. Yet, they were not good enough for the commercial use like the synthesisers were. Synthesisers came in 1960s when, synthesisers were handed out to the public by means of sale. This brought a lot of talent straight on to the surface.
Moog synthesisers came to existence in the 1960s. With the mighty innovative mind of American engineer Robert Moog, Moog synthesisers came on earth. Initially, the company was known as R.A. Moog Co. The name changed to Moog Music later on. From the birth of first Moog synthesiser until now, Moog music has manufactured various top-notch synthesisers. Moog Music was the one who made the synthesisers available for commercial use rather than putting it on then lab or some museum.
With the album like “Switched on Bach” by Wendy Carlos, exposed the sound of Moog to the mainstream. Furthermore, the iconic soundtrack for the film “Clockwork orange” exposed the Moog to a whole new level of crowd. Many of the top-notch figures from the musical history used Moog Modular. Likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Emerson, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis, Hans Zimmer and others.
The Moog Modular system design
A classic Moog synthesiser primarily operates as an analogue synthesiser rather than a digital synthesiser. Even though some of the features still look like digital, yet the sound they are creating is analogue.
Moog Modular system consists of various separate components. With all of these components patched with each other, you are able to create massive sounds.
The best thing about modular synthesis is that, you are never out of idea how to shape the sounds of your imagination or the already existed ones.
Moog Modular is a huge machine with crazy number of knobs, buttons and sockets. At first glance, if you are used to playing with a small synthesiser or just a digital keyboard, you may get overwhelmed just by looking at it.
This immense machine consists of separate components. Each one does something unique and has their own functionality. Although it may look overwhelming, Moog components are quite user-friendly once you got the fundamental idea of the operation of modular synthesis.