This combination resulted in a happy accident, producing the rich and expressive sound the Minimoog is famous for.
On top of that, Moog engineers never found a way to properly stabilize the instrument’s power supply, so its oscillators couldn’t stay in phase. But what made it truly unique was a series of unintentional production quirks.įor one, the Minimoog’s voltage-controlled filter was unintentionally overdriven, but the mistake was only discovered after the synth was in commercial production. And its three powerful oscillators meant it was a versatile instrument with the capability to produce alien soundscapes. It was the first true portable synthesizer, which made it easy to incorporate into music studios and bring on tour. The Minimoog created the blueprint for nearly every synth to follow.
Everything in the original Minimoog came from the graveyard, except the modular controller, which Hemsath stole from the company stockroom. Zeroing in on one keyboard that was relatively intact, Hemsath hacksawed three usable octaves off and bolted it to a modular control panel, creating the framework for what would become the Minimoog. The boneyard became a pick-n-pull for his pet project. So, he cobbled the first version together on his lunch breaks with discarded parts from the company’s “synthesizer graveyard,” a room filled with spare parts and broken odds and ends. Bob Moog and company first invented in the ‘60s. Hemsath wanted to create a portable version of the modular giants that Dr. Below, we outline some of our favorites, like Arcade, and delve into the history of what makes this little powerhouse synth such an indelible part of music history. Even Trent Reznor and the late J-Dilla heavily relied on the Minimoog to craft their trademark sounds.īuying an original Minimoog will burn a hole in your pocket, but snapping up a soundalike plugin won’t. Dre, it’s remained an indelible part of modern music for decades. Created by Moog engineer Bill Hemsath, the Minimoog has touched every genre with a sound that’s as sonically diverse as the musicians that have used it.įrom Kraftwork’s “Autobahn” to Georgio Moroder and Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” to the Parliament-inspired West Coast hip-hop of Dr.
Since 1970, the Minimoog has endured as one of the most iconic hardware synths ever produced.
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