page_title: Moog Music
section_title: 1964 – Moog synthesizer
hierarchical_section_title: Moog Music / Major products / 1964 – Moog synthesizer
caption_attribution_description: The 1st commercial Moog synthesizer (Stearns 2035) commissioned by the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theater of NY in 1964. Now it is part of Stearns Collection, University of Michigan Posted by twitter.com/AngryChad
context_page_description: Moog Music Inc. is an American company based in Asheville, North Carolina, which manufactures electronic musical instruments. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included various Moog modular synthesizer systems, including the world's first commercial synthesizer, followed by the launch of the Minimoog in 1970, which became one of the most coveted and influential electronic instruments of all time.
  In 1971, following a recession, Robert Moog sold Moog Music to Norlin Musical Instruments, where he remained employed as a designer until 1977. In 1978, he founded a new company, Big Briar. Moog Music declared bankruptcy in 1987 and the Moog Music trademark was returned to Robert Moog in 2002 when Big Briar resumed operations under the name Moog Music.
  Moog Music also manages Moogfest, a pioneering electronic music and music technology festival in Durham, NC.
context_section_description: At the prompting of composer Herbert Deutsch, Moog invented his now iconic Moog modular synthesizer in 1964. Defined by its use of modules, or independent circuits that performed distinctive tasks – oscillators, filters, amplifiers, envelope generators – the Moog synthesizer allowed users to connect different modules in arbitrary configurations to create remarkably complex sounds. Famously, it also employed a keyboard interface, as opposed to contemporary synthesizer manufacturer Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments who chose to explore alternative control methods instead of using the immediately familiar piano-like interface. 
  Moog went on to present the synthesizer at the 1964 Audio Engineering Society conference, where it rapidly gained notoriety. The Moog saw some measure of success as experimental artists as Paul Beaver, Suzanne Ciani, and David Borden began to employ it in their work, and the rise of psychedelic rock in the 1960s saw numerous commercial artists employ the Moog in their music, including The Byrds, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Doors.
  Perhaps the greatest commercial success for the Moog synthesizer arrived in 1968 with Wendy Carlos's seminal album Switched-On Bach selling over a million copies and winning three Grammy Awards. The success of that album prompted a brief fad of 'Switched-On' music that faded away by 1970.
caption: First commercial Moog synthesizer, constructed 1964
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