The AM Forum

Robert Moog is daed at 71.

Mild mannered Technician made a name for himself among stars of Rock, Funk, hip hop and techno.

A Cornell graduate, Moog developed and then created the Moog Synthysiser

More history going by us - - - -

http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-moog23.html

Moog is gone but have you ever seen the Tom Vu synthesizer?

I met Moog sometime in the mid-1970s -- sorry, kind of hazy about those years. The music store for which I worked had the franchise for Moog synthesizers.  The units were, frankly unimpressive and they were expensive.  They had a few presets -- tone type (sawtooth, sine)  and decay rate, etc. as I recall.  In the hands of a determined keyboardist, they could be made to do a few things, but better synthesizers -- even if they weren't TRUE synthesizers a'la Moog --- were already on the market.

Moog synthesizers were monophonic while the Japanese were coming out with polyphonic Korgs and Rolands.  They ate the Moog synthesizer for lunch as far as the rock bands were concerned.  The Moogs, as I recall, also had a few QC problems.  As the Chicago Sun Times article G linked to said, Moog had by then lost control of his company.

In what was probably a last ditch effort to boost sales and save the business, Bob Moog was sent on the road for a series of demos.  Our store spent some money on advertising and hired a big hall where Moog would appear.  We'd anticipated a big turnout.  Maybe 20-30 people showed up.  The man went ahead with the demo and answered questions.  It was very embarrassing for all concerned. 

Not long afterwards, the Moog Synthesizer company went under. 

Jees Paul,
U make him sound like an idiot. True he did not continue to develop his product BUT he was the first. I fondly remember his products and I will miss the man reguardless of what u think.

Hey Paul, What is the correct pronounciation of his name?

Moog rhymes with "vogue".

His cousin has a robotics company in the Batavia? NY area.

I remember building a few of the VCO's for a Home-Brew Synthesizer. The complete details were in a six (?) part issue of Popular Electronics in I believe it was 1975. It had all the stuff needed including 'positives' for exposing copper clad boards for etching. Even a keyboard! I just built the VCO's on perf-o-board and plaid around with the parameters. That was pretty fun for a high school kid, (girls weren't in the picture yet). Popular Electronics was pretty cool then before they got into computers and crap.

That was Paia? Electronics who made those kits and was featured in PE. I also used those articles to get started in 1975 and later designed my own to go on to build a synthesizer with 200 controls, with every conceivable high pass, low pass filter, VCOs, balanced modulators, square wave modulators, noise generators, etc. Still have the machine today. Used mostly IC-741's and 2N2222s.  I actually expected to manufacture them until I smartened up...

It was soon hopelessly outdated - and as Paul said, when the Jap stuff came out with programmable functions it was all over. Mine was like a Sinclair computer compared to a Pentium within a short time.  Learned a lot about solid state low level stuff as a result. Blew $3K in 1975 dollars building it... cheeezz. I was out of my frick'in mind.  Shoulda blown the money on good drugs.

T

Sheesh, Bill!  That was certainly not my intention. I don't quite see how you have me regarding him as an idiot. 

Bob Moog had fallen into a situation with the business that was beyond his control by the date I wrote about.  He was literally going around the hinterlands trying to save  the business that bore his name and which, it was quickly becoming apparent, was beyond saving.  But you know, he sure tried.  He didn't act like a "star" and despite the puny response to the advertising and such I mentioned, he went ahead and put on the demo and answered the questions that people asked. 

The embarrassment I mentioned was the fact that a guy of his stature was reduced to putting on dog and pony shows to boost a product that he probably felt as little affinity for as the musicians who weren't buying it.  And that so few people came to see him.  Yeah, that WAS embarrassing for everyone.  It wasn't that Bob Moog was an idiot.  It was that the developer of the synthesizer, a famous guy, was not getting any respect and that a product that bore his name was not very good.

So, as I recall, we ended up selling the Moogs below cost to get them off the floor.    Bob Moog (rhymes with vogue, Dave) was NOT an idiot.  He'd sold his name to an outfit that tried to capitalize on it by producing something that ended up making no one happy. 

I think you may be selling this most famous of synthesizers a little short Paul... They were great synth's and thousands were sold worldwide.

I think Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson would disagree with you...can you imagine a Yes or Emerson Lake and Palmer album without a Mini-Moog?  ??? (or dozens of other famous bands that used them both live and in the studio)

Despite the stability and QC problems, the Mini-Moog was the undisputed king of synthesizers even after the release of polyphonic synths. Although the newer crop of poly synths allowed you to play more than one note at a time, they were still analog in design and were not that much of an improvement in stability over the Mini-Moog. It wasn't until Yamaha came out with the first digital poly synth that these problems finally went away for good.

Today, original Mini-Moogs command a very high price on the used market in fact, there are several companies who have re-issued an improved, MIDI version of the original.

(http://www.fantasyjackpalance.com/fjp/sound/synth/002/mini_13.jpg)

Back in the mid 70s, I worked on a Mini with a stubborn pitch intermittent.  It had been back to the factory, but it still had the problem.  Finally I took the pitch pot apart and found a found a cut-off piece of #22 or #24 wire lead flopping around inside.

The keyboards were an education in contact resistance, but then again, all contacts are.  I had the same thing happen to the little gold wires in the GE vibrating-reed tone detectors. 

The best memory I have of Bob Moog was at a concert in the garden at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Moog and some others had set up outside with a number of synthesizers to play live. As I recall they used some very nice custom speakers, tall, and a bunch of Dynablow 120 soylent state umplifiers.

It was very, very, very good.

I was probably a teen at the time. How I got in? Don't know, don't remember how I knew about it.

Switched On Bach kicked butte - it still sounds very good today. That's the premier example of a Moog performance, imho.

             _-_-bear

And where would Walter/Wendy Carlos be today without the Moog synth. I never had a Moog but I did have and ARP Axe, which was quite a similar monophonic synth. Wish I still had it today. What a great sound.  Early Yes and ELP...what a sound!!

Cheers

Paul
VE7KHz