Minimoog
Definition
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog. Released in 1970, It was among the first widely available, portable and relatively affordable synthesizers.
The Minimoog has four sound sources: three voltage-controlled oscillators with switchable waveforms, one of which was normally assigned as the low-frequency oscillator, plus a noise generator. Each of these sources then passes to a mixer, with independent level controls. The mixed output of the sources is then passed through a voltage-controlled filter and a voltage-controlled amplifier, each of which has its own ADSR envelope generator.
It can be played using its in-built keyboard, which is equipped with modulation and pitch-bend wheels, or by feeding in external pitch and trigger voltage signals.
Due to its 24dB/octave filters, the Minimoog can produce an extremely rich and powerful bass sound. In the Eighties and beyond, and despite the advent of low-cost digital synthesisers and samplers, the Minimoog remained in high demand with producers and performers of electronic pop and electronic music.
Jazz composer and bandleader Sun Ra used one of the first Minimoogs, a prototype lent him by Moog in 1969: " We loaned it to him and Sun Ra’s way of working is that when you loan him something you don’t expect to see it back." [1] (http://www.sunraresearch.com/html/robert_moog_conversation.html)
The Minimoog was hugely popular in 1970s electronic music and used by artists such as
- Kraftwerk on their album Autobahn,
- Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer,
- Rick Wakeman of the band Yes
- Gary Numan on his albums Replicas (with his band Tubeway Army), The Pleasure Principle, and
- Chick Corea with his band Return to Forever.
your Amazon recommendations