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Electronic Musician

July 1988
GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS
Moog Music Minimoog
By Craig Anderton

Synthesizers began as collections of expensive and temperamental modules, with different elements (oscillators, envelope generators, filters, etc.) separately housed in imposing-sized boxes and interconnected by a veritable maze of patch cords. If they were ever going to reach a wider audience than the groves of academe and wealthy musicians, something had to happen-and that something was the Minimoog (registered trademark of Moog Music). Robert Moog (rhymes with "vogue"), whose name has been literally synonymous with the synthesizer, recalls the genesis of that project:
"During 1970 we were getting lots of calls from studio musicians, especially in the New York area, who wanted to take a synthesizer into a studio without having to have it trucked in. It didn't have to do everything, but you had to be able to get the sounds you wanted in seconds or minutes rather than hours. So we decided to design a new instrument by taking the most frequently used modules-sort of the 'Top Ten' modules-and putting them in a smaller, standardized package thus eliminating the need for patch cords as well. We decided to call it the Minimoog, because the name had a nice alliteration, and because the prefix 'mini' was hip back then.
"Engineering-wise, the Minimoog went through four versions. The Model A
was the result of one of the engineers just taking a bunch of modules, putting them in a box and attaching a small keyboard. Model B went one step beyond that. We then made four Model C pilot models, which were very close to what we put
into production. Model D was the final production version.
"I remember thinking that we would sell maybe 100 Minimoogs. Back then, with few exceptions, there was no such thing as people using synthesizers on stage. They weren't thought of as expressive musical instruments at that time. We first showed the Minimoog at the fall 1970 AES [Audio Engineering Society] convention; the list price was $1,200. Once we began making them, David Van- koevering (who at that time was making a living putting on shows with novelty musical instruments) and a friend of his offered to be our sales representatives. No one thought synthesizers could be sold through music stores, because there wasn't demand from stores and the stores felt there wasn't a demand from musicians. Something like the Minimoog was considered professional audio gear. "It took a while for interest to build- the Minimoog certainly wasn't hot from the day it landed. The first NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show we did was in June '71, and it was pretty rough. Dealers came by,
shook their heads, and said 'What the hell is that?' They just didn't know. "Vankoevering kept banging away especially in the South since he was from there, and after a while working musicians, mostly from Florida to Texas, began
to use these things. In 1973, someone told me that if you were a keyboard player
in Houston, you couldn't get a gig without a Minimoog.

"Around 1973-74 we were building around 200-300 Minimoogs a month; we
were with Norlin at that time, and we could build them faster than they could
sell them. At one point, Moog Music which was a division of Norlin, had 1,400
Minimoogs in a basement room. One day the people at Norlin woke up to this fact
and freaked out-they thought they' never sell them. But the instruments kept
selling, right up to 1980 when they were still making 75-100 a month. I don't know why they stopped making them; at that time I wasn't with the company anymore.

 

Before it was discontinued, over 12,000 Minimoogs had been sold, and it
had been used by enough players to leave an indelible imprint on the way music
was made in that decade. In many ways, the Minimoog is a classic because it was one of the first synthesizers that truly crossed the line separating a piece of laboratory equipment from a musical instrument.
Bob Moog is still very active in the music business, and has the position of vice president, new product research at Kurzweil Music Systems. He seems reluctant to attach any personal credit to the Minimoog's success, saying essentially that it sold a lot because it was around for a long time (although I don't quite see how something can stay around that long without good reason). I asked him why he thought the Minimoog is still held in such esteem, and why people continue to use it instead of "this year's model" to lay down bass lines and single-note solos. After a long pause, he replied "You know, I really don't have any explanation for that. I don't know why the hell that is. As far as I'm concerned, it's dumb luck. . .I don't mean for me, but luck for the instrument."

FOR THE BEGINNER
Modular Synthesizer/Patch Cords

An electronic device that synthesizes sounds and is comprised of multiple, independent sound circuits (modules) is called a modular synthesizer.
Oscillator modules generate sounds at different audible frequencies In a manner similar to electronic organs; additional modules modify these sounds by altering timbre, dynamics and so on. Each module has inputs, outputs and other connections terminating in front-panel jacks; patch cords (cables with plugs attached to both ends) interconnect these modules by plugging into these jacks.