Electronic Sound Magazine Issue 83 Vorige editie

If you had to choose a single instrument to represent the entire spectrum of synthesisers, it would have to be the Minimoog. It wasn’t the first portable synth to market, that would be Peter Zinovieff’s VCS 3, but it was the most widely adopted and the most successful – both technologically and commercially.

The Minimoog is the embodiment of the musician-oriented philosophy of Robert Moog’s approach to synthesis. “What do musicians want?” Dr Bob asked. The answer was a machine with the sonic power of his modular system and an integrated keyboard – no patching required, thanks – that you could abuse night after night on tour without it falling apart. It also needed
to be vaguely affordable.

After three prototype iterations, the Model D was finally ready for release in 1971 and the Minimoog was soon a de rigueur addition to the keyboard player’s arsenal. Rick Wakeman’s early enthusiasm for the instrument led to it becoming a prog rock staple in the first half of the 1970s and it was a regular solo feature of many soul and funk records of the era too, not least because of its ability to sound slinky and sensual.

The Minimoog was also a foundation instrument for Kraftwerk, the German pioneers using its deep and rounded bass tones to create the rubbery hooks of ‘Autobahn’. Four years later, when Gary Numan found a Minimoog in the studio during the recording of the first Tubeway Army album, he thought he’d invented electronic music. With ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ in 1979, he can certainly claim to have at least reinvented it, the strength and majesty of the Moog making it the star component of that stately track.

We’re delighted that you’ve joined us to celebrate 50 years of this marvellous machine and its abiding place in the affections of electronic music fans everywhere.