I found an interesting article on the background and history of the analog synthesizer. It helped me understand some of the basic premises on how it functions and was created. Just thought I would share it.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/50-years-of-moog-the-analog-synth-that-still-beats-1s-and-0s/
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History of the Synthesizer - 50 Years
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(Score: 4, Informative) by toygeek on Wednesday September 24 2014, @09:01AM
ARS really puts out some quality articles. If you haven't read their Amiga series, it's worth a read. It starts in 2008 and spans a few years! This one also really captured my attention and my imagination:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/09/the-little-known-soviet-mission-to-rescue-a-dead-space-station/ [arstechnica.com]
There is no Sig. Okay, maybe a short one. http://miscdotgeek.com
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday September 24 2014, @11:08AM
Good articles, but a terrible web site - they split their articles over multiple pages, so you can't scroll through them with the space bar. You have to stop and find the mouse and get it over the "next" and click it and rescroll to the text and usually I just close the tab rather than bother with it. Ars doesn't even have a print button. One of my least favorite sites for usability.
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 24 2014, @11:49PM
I agree.
they split their articles over multiple pages
Try this workaround:
DO NOT click the link.
Instead, hit F6[1] to move the cursor into the Address Bar
(the entire URL there should be highlighted).
Hit Backspace to blank the Address Bar.
Drag the link into the Address Bar. Hit F6. Hit End.
Append /1/ to the URL (to get the first page).
(See also Step 2, below.)
Drag & drop that URL onto the spot where you want the new tab to be.
.
You have to stop and find the mouse and get it over the "next" and click it [to get the next page]
Hit F6[1], hit End, back up the cursor and change the /1/ to a /2/.
Drag that URL to a new tab (or just hit Enter to reuse the same tab).
.
rescroll to the text
Step 2.
Going back to Step 1, after adding the /1/, also append #archive-head.[2]
You get this:
Page 1 [arstechnica.com]
Page 2 [arstechnica.com]
[1] May work differently in non-Mozilla browsers.
If you don't have an Address Bar showing by default, all bets are off. 8-(
[2] That indexing is specific to Ars; other sites use other text.
(SeaMonkey allows you to highlight an area on the page and view the source code of that bit.
Highly recommended.)
-- gewg_
(Score: 3, Interesting) by SlimmPickens on Wednesday September 24 2014, @11:28AM
There are still people that say this, but not very many. Even the moog fans are usually using the arturia plugins. No-one can tell the difference, they never need servicing and they have instant recall (there's such a thing as a "patch sheet" for analogue synth settings, good luck!). Even the best "analogue" synth, the access virus, is mostly digital.
You can pry Zebra, Omisphere and Sylenth from my cold dead hands.
btw, if anyone is feeling synthey, the Dance Music Manual by Rick Sonoman is a very good introduction to synthesis, and does a pretty good introduction to production (in many ways it's different application of the same things).
Also, Bitwig is a new DAW that runs natively on Linux, I've often heard it described as a sound designers wet dream. It has a few synths included including simple synths like "kick" and "snare" which can give you powerful drums in short order that no-one else is using. Download it and have a go!
(Score: 2) by fadrian on Wednesday September 24 2014, @01:53PM
Sonoman's book is good, but tends to get a little repetitive. You're right about the Arturia stuff - most keyboard players I know use this software in the studio, rather than analog devices (these videos notwithstanding). Analog synths (like most analog gear) gets cranky over time as their components age and they drift further out of spec. You really do have to stay on top of them or they decay into large repair bills - a friend of mine spent way too much money getting a thirty year old ARP Odyssey of his back into shape.
Which is another complaint I have about this article. Moogs were/are great. But ARPs were more stable, their small models were more flexible than the mini-Moog, and a bit more cleanly laid out and, thus, easier to deal with. I'm surprised that the article didn't give a broader view of the instrument market at the time. Plus, they cut off the story just as it gets interesting - they don't talk about Moog's company's failure in the 90's (when digital started becoming the rage, with Oberheim and Kurtzweil and the Japanese companies taking off) and the company's comeback in the 2000's.
Oh well, what do I know? I'm just a guitar player anyway (although I do have a synth-ready guitar and I'm not afraid to use it)!
That is all.
(Score: 3, Informative) by hubie on Wednesday September 24 2014, @02:16PM
The virtual synths might sound nice, but how are you going to jam a knife in one and flip it over [youtube.com]??
And I don't compose very often, but when I do, I prefer Google [google.com]. Stay Moog-y my friend.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 24 2014, @02:43PM
(Score: 2) by TGV on Wednesday September 24 2014, @06:31PM
I half agree. I'm not fond of Arturia, there are nicer plugins, IMO, but the biggest advantage of a real synth, is its immediacy. You can control anything, intuitively, quickly. No frustrating mouse movements, missed clicks, wrong drags. But there's no need to buy one for the sound. I don't think anyone can reliably distinguish between a suitably programmed plugin and a Moog when listening to an MP3, not even the golden ears.
I also find that having a cheap controller (such as the Korg Nanokontrol) helps a lot in overcoming the limitations of working on-screen. Really, consider getting something like that if you dig tweaking.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by jcross on Wednesday September 24 2014, @01:50PM
For those interested in more technical depth on the subject, there's an awesome article series on analog synth techniques. It ran monthly over a period of five years, and follows a lot of fascinating digressions into digital synthesis, physics, history, and performance technique:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm [soundonsound.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 24 2014, @02:28PM
Mo-o-og or Mohg? It seems the hip people used the latter pronunciation.
So if I met the guy, he'd probably tell me, "No, you were right. All my musician friends call it a Mohg, but you can call it a Mo-o-g synthesizer."
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday September 24 2014, @04:28PM
It rhymes with rogue, in fact there was a moog rogue mini synth (which, sadly, nobody dared to buy for fear of being mocked when naming it at the music store).
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by drussell on Wednesday September 24 2014, @02:35PM
A friend of mine was given a Roland System 100 modular analog synth in about 1990 as worthless junk... IIRC it came from what was his junior high school at the time. I used the mixer/amp for several years as my "home" stereo as a kid in the basement but started amassing real stereo and PA equipment so he took it back and ended up using it for parts. We ended up disassembling it all to use all the various little electronic bits and pieces for projects.
Sheez, with what they're worth now (thousands and thousands and thousands), we both wish we'd saved it intact! :(
I think I still have the sequencer, mostly in one piece, IIRC, in with some of my old DJ gear (I used to use it for light-show control) but the mixer is long gone, the keyboard is gone, all the other modules he had inherited are gone.
So sad! :(
(Score: 2, Informative) by willoughby on Wednesday September 24 2014, @03:42PM
Moog also manufacture radio remote control systems for heavy equipment. If you need to control your scoop, truck, or bulldozer remotely you can retrofit a moog setup. They work pretty well.
(Score: 2) by carguy on Thursday September 25 2014, @12:46AM
I was going to post on William C. "Bill" Moog anyway, thanks for starting a separate thread. Bill was Bob (music) Moog's cousin. Bill Moog started a completely different company in the early 1950s, the first product was electro-hydraulic servo valves. Moog Inc. is the company that makes radio remote control systems and many other kinds of aerospace and industrial controls. They currently have all the flight control system business for both Boeing and Airbus commercial jets.
http://www.moog.com/about/ [moog.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moog_Inc [wikipedia.org].
Bill Moog was also interested in music and one of his early servo valves was successfully connected to a big loudspeaker (presumably for bass frequencies, but I don't have a reference).
There is yet another Moog company that makes automotive suspension and linkage parts, but I don't believe there is any family connection.
As another poster said, Moog rhymes with rogue.