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The Hot Flash

May 1974
MINGLING WITH MOOG
By Louis Herbert

"The whole synthesizer thing has just begun, said Dr. Robert A. Moog at a press conference which took place Tuesday, April 30. second floor of the Sound Factory.
Dr. Moog (rhymes with vogue) created the Moog synthesizer in collaboration with musicians. The synthesizer is a voltage-controlled keyboard instrument. The name ' synthesizer is derived from the fact that the instrument synthesizes a tone from its basic component parts.
In 1967 when sales to musicians began the synthesizer was considered a gimmick. Dr. Moog said that he "felt like Frankenstein," meaning that he con-ceived the synthesizer as a legitimate instrument and the machine was used in a way not specifically intended. The Musicians' Union viewed the synthesizer as a threat and petitioned the advertisers in New York to ban its use as background music for advertising.
Soon sales took off and musicians everywhere began buying the equipment. The Beatles and Rolling Stones were among the first to purchase synthesizers. Keith Emerson bought his first synthesizer from Moog. Inc. when he left Nice, without Dr. Moog even knowing about it. Emerson now receives equipment to order, including a ribbon controller which shoots actual flame.
Dr. Moog also described later in the interview the prospective future of the synthesizer industry. Today's synthesizers are monophonic, which means they are capable of producing only a single tone at a time. Soon synthesizers will also be capable of producing chords as well as single tones. New ways of controlling the synthesizers other than keyboard are being developed. Some of
alternatives which currently exist are drums hand position actuators, select and hold circuits and ribbon controller. Anything which produces a voltage may be used to actuate a synthesizer. This means, theoretically, that brain waves could be used to control a synthesizer. Dr. Moog was quick to point out however, that the performer would first have to be capable of controlling his brain waves before he could use them in this way.
Later in the evening there was a presentation at Oakland Recital Hall. Dr. Moog gave a slide show introduction outlining the history of electronic instruments. The show was then turned over to Roger Powell, synthesizer virtuoso. He gave an adequate demonstration of what the synthesizer can do, performing improvisations on the modular moog, mini-moog, sonic six and Baldwin electric piano.
The entire two-day Moog exposition was made possible through the energy of Greg Hockman. Mr. Hockman is the president of Systems and Technology in Music. Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is a Moog retailer and is located on the second floor of the Sound Factory on Kalamazoo Avenue.