The Minimoog proved that you did not need a room full of cables to make electronic music.
The Moog synthesizer was invented by Robert Moog in the early 1960s as a modular system: separate units mounted on a rack, patched together with cables. The system was enormous, expensive, and difficult to transport. Only universities, research institutes, and wealthy musicians could afford to own one.
In 1967, Moog and his team designed the Minimoog Model D as a portable version. Instead of modules you could patch, the Minimoog had a fixed architecture: three oscillators, a filter, an amplifier, and an envelope generator, all internally connected. You could not patch arbitrary connections, but you could adjust parameters and produce a remarkable range of sounds.
The Minimoog sold approximately 13,000 units between its 1970 release and 1981 discontinuation. Rick Wakeman, Stevie Wonder, and Keith Emerson all used Minimoogs extensively. The instrument became synonymous with 1970s keyboard music. The Moog Ladder Filter — a four-pole low-pass filter that became the most copied electronic music filter in history — gave the Minimoog its characteristic warmth.
Moog Music was acquired by Norlin Musical Instruments in 1971, who discontinued the Minimoog in 1981. The machine remained influential despite being out of production. Bob Moog reacquired the Moog Music name in 2002 and in 2003 released the Minimoog Voyager, a modern version. Demand from musicians who had grown up using the Minimoog was immediate. In 2016, Moog reissued the Model D in its original form. The instrument that had defined synthesis in 1970 was still desirable fifty years later.
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