Analog synthesizer
Encyclopedia
An analog or analogue synthesizer (or analog synth) is a synthesizer
that uses analog circuits and analog computer
techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium
were built with a variety of vacuum-tube
(thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built with a variety of operational amplifier
(op-amp) integrated circuit
s, along with potentiometer
(pot, or variable resistor
) to adjust the traits of the sound that is produced. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filter
s and high-pass filter
s to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as the Moog
used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables, later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog
integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems.
The earliest synthesizers used a variety of thermionic-valve (vacuum tube
) and electro-mechanical technologies. While some electric instruments were produced in bulk, such as the Ondioline
, the Hammond organ
, and the Trautonium
, many of these would not be considered synthesizers by the standards of later instruments. However, some individual studios and instruments achieved a high level of sophistication, such as the Trautonium
of Oskar Sala
, the Electronium of Raymond Scott
, and the ANS synthesizer
of Evgeny Murzin
. Another notable early instrument is the Hammond Novachord
, first produced in 1938, which had many of the same features as later analog synthesizers.
s, voltage-controlled filter
s, and voltage-controlled amplifiers. As well, they used envelope generators, low-frequency oscillators, and ring modulators. Some synthesizers also had effects devices such as reverb units, or tools such as sequencers
or sound mixer
s. Because many of these modules took input sound signals and processed them, an analog synthesizer could be used both as a sound-generating and sound-processing system.
Famous modular synthesizer
manufacturers included Buchla & Associates, Moog Music
, ARP Instruments, Inc.
, and Electronic Music Studios
. Moog established standards recognized worldwide for control interfacing on analog synthesizers, using a logarithmic 1-volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal. These control signals were routed using the same types of connectors and cables that were used for routing the synthesized sound signals. A specialized form of analog synthesizer is the analog vocoder
, based on equipment developed for speech synthesis. Vocoders are often used to make a sound that resembles a musical instrument talking or singing.
Patch cords were expensive, could be damaged by use (creating hard-to-find intermittent faults), and made complex patches difficult and time-consuming to recreate. Thus, later analog synthesizers used the same building blocks, but integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems. The most popular of these was the Minimoog
. In 1970, Moog designed an innovative synthesizer with a built-in keyboard and without modular design - the analog circuits were retained, but made interconnectable with switches in a simplified arrangement called "normalization". Though less flexible than a modular design, normalization made the instrument more portable and easier to use. This first pre-patched synthesizer, the Minimoog
, became highly popular, with over 12,000 units sold. The Minimoog
also influenced the design of nearly all subsequent synthesizers, with integrated keyboard, pitch wheel and modulation wheel, and a VCO
->VCF
->VCA signal flow. In the 1970s miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self-contained, portable instruments, which soon began to be used in live performances. Electronic synthesizers had quickly become a standard part of the popular-music repertoire. The first movie to use music made with a (Moog) synthesizer was the James Bond
film On Her Majesty's Secret Service
in 1969. After the release of the film, a large number of movies were made with synthesizer music.
Notable makers of all-in-one analog synthesizers included Moog, ARP, Roland
, Korg
and Yamaha. Because of the complexity of generating even a single note using analog synthesis, most synthesizers remained monophonic. Polyphonic analog synthesizers featured limited polyphony, typically supporting four voices. Oberheim
was a notable manufacturer of analog polyphonic synthesizers. The Polymoog
was an attempt to create a truly polyphonic analog synthesizer, with sound generation circuitry for every key on the keyboard. However, its architecture resembled an electronic organ
more than a traditional analog synthesizer, and the Polymoog was not widely imitated.
In 1978, the first microprocessor
-controlled analog synthesizers were created by Sequential Circuits
. These used microprocessors for system control and control voltage generation, including envelope trigger generation, but the main sound generating path remained analog. The MIDI interface standard was developed for these systems. This generation of synthesizers often featured six or eight voice polyphony. Also during this period, a number of analog/digital hybrid synthesizers were introduced, which replaced certain sound-producing functions with digital equivalents, for example the digital oscillators in synthesizers like the Korg DW-8000
(which played back PCM samples of various waveforms) and the Kawai K5 (waveforms constructed via additive synthesis). With the falling cost of microprocessors, this architecture became the standard architecture for high-end analog synthesizers.
s and samplers
over the middle to late 1980s.
In the early 1990s however, musicians from the techno
, rave and DJ scenes who were interested in producing electronic music, but without the budget for large digital systems, began to take an interest in the then cheap second hand analog equipment available. This led to an increase in demand for analog synthesizers towards the mid-1990s, as larger numbers of musicians also gradually rediscovered their qualities. Thus the sounds associated with analog synths became more prevalent once again.
This has led to increased demand for used units (such as the 1980 Roland TR-808
drum machine and Roland TB-303
bass synthesizer). Late 1970s-era drum machines used tuned resonance voice circuits for pitched drum sounds and shaped white noise
for others. The TR-808 improves on these designs, by using detuned square wave
oscillators (for the cow bell and cymbal sounds) and analogue reverberation
(for the handclap sound). The demand for the analog synth sound led to the development of a variety of analog modeling synthesizers which emulate analog VCOs
and VCFs
using samples, software, or specialized digital circuitry, and the construction of new analog keyboard synths such as the Alesis Andromeda, Prophet '08
and Little Phatty
, as well as some modular units.
The lapse of patents in recent years, such as for the Moog synthesizer
transistor ladder filter, has led to a small resurgence in DIY or kit synthesizer modules, as well as an increase in the number of commercial companies selling analog modules. Reverse engineering has also revealed the secrets of some synthesizer components, such as those from ARP Instruments, Inc.
In addition, despite the widespread availability during the 2000s of relatively inexpensive digital synthesizers offering complex synthesis algorithms and envelopes, some musicians have been attracted to the sounds of monophonic analog synths. Another factor considered to have increased use of analog synths since the 1990s is weariness with the complex screen-based navigation systems of digital synths, with the "hands-on", practical controls of analog synths—potentiometer knobs, faders, and other features—offering a strong appeal.
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
that uses analog circuits and analog computer
Analog computer
An analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium
Trautonium
The trautonium is a monophonic electronic musical instrument invented about 1929 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's death in 2002. Instead of a keyboard, its manual...
were built with a variety of vacuum-tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
(thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built with a variety of operational amplifier
Operational amplifier
An operational amplifier is a DC-coupled high-gain electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input and, usually, a single-ended output...
(op-amp) integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s, along with potentiometer
Potentiometer
A potentiometer , informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used , it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on...
(pot, or variable resistor
Resistor
A linear resistor is a linear, passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage across the resistor's terminals. Thus, the ratio of the voltage applied across a resistor's...
) to adjust the traits of the sound that is produced. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filter
Low-pass filter
A low-pass filter is an electronic filter that passes low-frequency signals but attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The actual amount of attenuation for each frequency varies from filter to filter. It is sometimes called a high-cut filter, or treble cut filter...
s and high-pass filter
High-pass filter
A high-pass filter is a device that passes high frequencies and attenuates frequencies lower than its cutoff frequency. A high-pass filter is usually modeled as a linear time-invariant system...
s to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as the Moog
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables, later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems.
1920s-1950s
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
) and electro-mechanical technologies. While some electric instruments were produced in bulk, such as the Ondioline
Ondioline
The Ondioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, invented in 1941 by the Frenchman Georges Jenny, and is a forerunner of today's synthesizers.The Ondioline was capable of creating a wide variety of sounds...
, the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, and the Trautonium
Trautonium
The trautonium is a monophonic electronic musical instrument invented about 1929 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's death in 2002. Instead of a keyboard, its manual...
, many of these would not be considered synthesizers by the standards of later instruments. However, some individual studios and instruments achieved a high level of sophistication, such as the Trautonium
Trautonium
The trautonium is a monophonic electronic musical instrument invented about 1929 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's death in 2002. Instead of a keyboard, its manual...
of Oskar Sala
Oskar Sala
Oskar Sala was a 20th century German physicist, composer and a pioneer of electronic music born in Greiz. He played an instrument called the Trautonium, a predecessor to the synthesizer.-Studies:...
, the Electronium of Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
, and the ANS synthesizer
ANS synthesizer
The ANS synthesizer is a photoelectronic musical instrument created by Russian engineer Evgeny Murzin from 1937 to 1957. The technological basis of his invention was the method of graphical sound recording used in cinematography , which made it possible to obtain a visible image of a sound wave, as...
of Evgeny Murzin
Evgeny Murzin
Yevgeny Murzin was a Russian audio engineer and inventor of the ANS synthesizer.-Murzin's synthesizer:In 1938, invented a design for composers based on synthesizing complex musical sounds from a limited number of pure tones; this proposed system was to perform music without musicians or musical...
. Another notable early instrument is the Hammond Novachord
Novachord
The Novachord is often considered to be the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer. All-electronic, incorporating many circuit and control elements found in modern synths, and using subtractive synthesis to generate tones, it was designed by John M. Hanert, Laurens Hammond and C. N....
, first produced in 1938, which had many of the same features as later analog synthesizers.
1960s-1970s
Early analog synthesizers used technology derived from electronic analog computers and laboratory test equipment. They were generally "modular" synthesizers, consisting of a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables into a patchbay which resembled the jackfields used by 1940s-era telephone operators. Synthesizer modules found in early analog synthesizers included voltage-controlled oscillatorVoltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause frequency modulation or phase...
s, voltage-controlled filter
Voltage-controlled filter
A voltage-controlled filter is a filter whose operating characteristics can be controlled by means of a control voltage applied to one or more inputs...
s, and voltage-controlled amplifiers. As well, they used envelope generators, low-frequency oscillators, and ring modulators. Some synthesizers also had effects devices such as reverb units, or tools such as sequencers
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
or sound mixer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
s. Because many of these modules took input sound signals and processed them, an analog synthesizer could be used both as a sound-generating and sound-processing system.
Famous modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizer
The modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
manufacturers included Buchla & Associates, Moog Music
Moog Music
Moog Music is an American company based in Asheville, North Carolina which manufactures electronic musical instruments. The current Moog Music is the second company to trade under that name.-R.A. Moog Co. and the original Moog Music:...
, ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
, and Electronic Music Studios
Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd
Electronic Music Studios Ltd. is a synthesizer company formed in 1969 by Dr. Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell....
. Moog established standards recognized worldwide for control interfacing on analog synthesizers, using a logarithmic 1-volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal. These control signals were routed using the same types of connectors and cables that were used for routing the synthesized sound signals. A specialized form of analog synthesizer is the analog vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, based on equipment developed for speech synthesis. Vocoders are often used to make a sound that resembles a musical instrument talking or singing.
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
. In 1970, Moog designed an innovative synthesizer with a built-in keyboard and without modular design - the analog circuits were retained, but made interconnectable with switches in a simplified arrangement called "normalization". Though less flexible than a modular design, normalization made the instrument more portable and easier to use. This first pre-patched synthesizer, the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
, became highly popular, with over 12,000 units sold. The Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
also influenced the design of nearly all subsequent synthesizers, with integrated keyboard, pitch wheel and modulation wheel, and a VCO
Voltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause frequency modulation or phase...
->VCF
Voltage-controlled filter
A voltage-controlled filter is a filter whose operating characteristics can be controlled by means of a control voltage applied to one or more inputs...
->VCA signal flow. In the 1970s miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self-contained, portable instruments, which soon began to be used in live performances. Electronic synthesizers had quickly become a standard part of the popular-music repertoire. The first movie to use music made with a (Moog) synthesizer was the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
in 1969. After the release of the film, a large number of movies were made with synthesizer music.
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
, Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
and Yamaha. Because of the complexity of generating even a single note using analog synthesis, most synthesizers remained monophonic. Polyphonic analog synthesizers featured limited polyphony, typically supporting four voices. Oberheim
Oberheim
Oberheim Electronics is an American company, founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim , which manufactured audio synthesizers and a variety of other electronic musical instruments.-Oberheim Electronics:...
was a notable manufacturer of analog polyphonic synthesizers. The Polymoog
Polymoog
The Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...
was an attempt to create a truly polyphonic analog synthesizer, with sound generation circuitry for every key on the keyboard. However, its architecture resembled an electronic organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
more than a traditional analog synthesizer, and the Polymoog was not widely imitated.
In 1978, the first microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
-controlled analog synthesizers were created by Sequential Circuits
Sequential Circuits
Sequential Circuits Inc. was a California-based synthesizer company that was founded in the early 1970s by Dave Smith and sold to Yamaha Corporation in 1987. The company, throughout its lifespan, pioneered many groundbreaking technologies and design principles that are often taken for granted in...
. These used microprocessors for system control and control voltage generation, including envelope trigger generation, but the main sound generating path remained analog. The MIDI interface standard was developed for these systems. This generation of synthesizers often featured six or eight voice polyphony. Also during this period, a number of analog/digital hybrid synthesizers were introduced, which replaced certain sound-producing functions with digital equivalents, for example the digital oscillators in synthesizers like the Korg DW-8000
Korg DW-8000
The Korg DW-8000 synthesizer was released to the buying public in late 1985 along with its cheaper stable mate the Korg DW-6000 synthesizer. The DW-8000 was an eight note polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer instrument...
(which played back PCM samples of various waveforms) and the Kawai K5 (waveforms constructed via additive synthesis). With the falling cost of microprocessors, this architecture became the standard architecture for high-end analog synthesizers.
1980s-2000s
Analog synthesizers were mostly replaced by digital synthesizerDigital synthesizer
A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing techniques to make musical sounds.Electronic keyboards make music through sound waves.-History:...
s and samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
over the middle to late 1980s.
In the early 1990s however, musicians from the techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, rave and DJ scenes who were interested in producing electronic music, but without the budget for large digital systems, began to take an interest in the then cheap second hand analog equipment available. This led to an increase in demand for analog synthesizers towards the mid-1990s, as larger numbers of musicians also gradually rediscovered their qualities. Thus the sounds associated with analog synths became more prevalent once again.
This has led to increased demand for used units (such as the 1980 Roland TR-808
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
drum machine and Roland TB-303
Roland TB-303
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a bass synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation from late 1981 to 1984 that had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic music.-History:...
bass synthesizer). Late 1970s-era drum machines used tuned resonance voice circuits for pitched drum sounds and shaped white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
for others. The TR-808 improves on these designs, by using detuned square wave
Square wave
A square wave is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform, most typically encountered in electronics and signal processing. An ideal square wave alternates regularly and instantaneously between two levels...
oscillators (for the cow bell and cymbal sounds) and analogue reverberation
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
(for the handclap sound). The demand for the analog synth sound led to the development of a variety of analog modeling synthesizers which emulate analog VCOs
Voltage-controlled oscillator
A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause frequency modulation or phase...
and VCFs
Voltage-controlled filter
A voltage-controlled filter is a filter whose operating characteristics can be controlled by means of a control voltage applied to one or more inputs...
using samples, software, or specialized digital circuitry, and the construction of new analog keyboard synths such as the Alesis Andromeda, Prophet '08
Prophet '08
The Prophet '08 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer created by Dave Smith of St. Helena, California, USA, for Dave Smith Instruments , released in late 2007...
and Little Phatty
Little Phatty
The Little Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music since 2006, preceded by the Voyager and succeeded by Voyager Old School. Its design was conceived, in part, by Robert Moog himself, and is the last instrument to have that distinction, although the primary engineer was...
, as well as some modular units.
The lapse of patents in recent years, such as for the Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
transistor ladder filter, has led to a small resurgence in DIY or kit synthesizer modules, as well as an increase in the number of commercial companies selling analog modules. Reverse engineering has also revealed the secrets of some synthesizer components, such as those from ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
In addition, despite the widespread availability during the 2000s of relatively inexpensive digital synthesizers offering complex synthesis algorithms and envelopes, some musicians have been attracted to the sounds of monophonic analog synths. Another factor considered to have increased use of analog synths since the 1990s is weariness with the complex screen-based navigation systems of digital synths, with the "hands-on", practical controls of analog synths—potentiometer knobs, faders, and other features—offering a strong appeal.
External links
- ARP synthesizer patents
- Modular Analog Synthesizers Return! - a discussion of modern modular equipment with links to major manufacturers.