9

Compact and Cheap
These early voltage-controlled synthesizers were modular.One (or several) chassis housed
the power supply and the actual modules. The inputs and outputs of the modules had
to be interconnected via a confusing tangle of patch cords before the synthesizer would
actually make a sound. Establishing these connections properly was an art unto itself,
and obtaining useful settings on the modules required significant expertise.
Moog realized that these modular synthesizers were too complex and expensive for the
average musician and were likely to fail if sold through traditional music retailers. In 1969,
Moog collaborated with engineers Jim Scott, Bill Hemsath, and Chad Hunt to design a
compact, portable, affordable, and easy-to-use synthesizer. After three prototypes were
built, the Minimoog Model D was released in the summer of 1970.
Unlike previous modular synthesizers, it was neither necessary (nor possible) for players
to connect the modules of the Minimoog as they saw fit. All of the modules’ connecting
circuitry was hard-wired at the factory. The type and number of modules was also fixed.
This simplified manufacturing considerably, and cut costs dramatically. Hard on the heels
of a major marketing campaign, the Minimoog became a huge success. Without alteration
in its basic design, 13,000 Minimoogs were sold worldwide, right up to 1981.
Storage and Polyphony
Customers weren’t entirely satisfied, however. Although musicians no longer had to
contend with countless cords in order to play a synthesizer, they still had to deal with
loads of knobs and switches before they could do something as simple as switch from
one sound to another. Moreover, keyboardists were bored with playing monophonic
melody lines on synthesizers—they wanted to be able to play chords. Although dual-voice
keyboards that connected two monophonic synthesizers were available as early as 1970,
customers wanted more.
Attempting to satisfy these demands, two schools of thought emerged in synthesizer
design. One approach called for an independent, monophonic synthesizer to be assigned
to every key on the keyboard. To this end, designers married the design principles of
electronic organs to synthesizer technology. Although this breed of instrument was fully
polyphonic—all notes of the keyboard could be heard simultaneously—it wasn’t as
versatile in its control options as a true synthesizer. The first fully polyphonic synthesizer
to feature this type of design was the Moog Polymoog, released in 1975. Developed
primarily by David Luce, it featured 71 weighted, velocity-sensitive keys.
374 Appendix Synthesizer Basics