A Renaissance of Modular Synthesizers

Remember the eerie "space" sounds in those old black and white science fiction movies of the 1950s? Many of those sounds, and some heard in popular television commercials like the "popping" Maxwell House coffee song, were created using analog electronic oscillators and filters. The term "synthesizers" became attributed to these devices that could be connected together, and were seemingly only good for producing weird sound effects.

Then in the 1960s, musician and engineer Robert Moog designed and manufactured a series of analog sound modules that could be controlled by a traditional piano-like keyboard device, enabling a musician to easily produce musical compositions using this new technology. Analog modules could be assembled in any configuration to create what became known as analog modular synthesizers.

Musician Wendy Carlos used one of the first Moog synthesizers, along with multi-track tape recording techniques, to create the now legendary album, "Switched On Bach". This album demonstrated that these instruments were capable of producing serious music, and a new era in musical history was launched.

The collaboration of Bob Moog and musicians like Wendy, thrust this unique instrument into world view, and soon many other musicians, bands and universities jumped on the Moog synthesizer bandwagon. The band Emerson, Lake and Palmer was the first to use a huge modular Moog synthesizer in live performances, which not only enabled keyboardist Keith Emerson to achieve previously unheard sounds for his audience, but it also added to the "cool" factor on stage, with it's towering banks of knobs and blinking lights. Wendy Carlos later went on to use her Moog system to create sound tracks for such movies as "A Clockwork Orange" and Disney's "Tron".

Modular synthesizers are comprised of various independent sound producing and shaping modules, placed in cabinets and connected together using patch cords. Because any number and configuration of modules is possible (limited only by one's budget), they offer a wealth of unique sounds not producable on any other musical instrument.