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Moog Schematics

moogfoundation.org

154 pointshappyscrappy18 comments

I Dream of Wires gives a fascinating glimpse into the history of the analog synthesizer and the current state of the scene: http://www.idreamofwires.org/

This is more just the modular synthesizer scene; modular stuff isn't necessarily analog and analog stuff isn't necessarily modular.

Manufactured electronics were really different in those pre-robot, pre-SMD days. As a musician, I have old amps and synths that are really fascinating internally. My favorite guitar amp is a 1977 Mesa/BOOGIE. There are a couple of "gimmick capacitors" wired into the circuit here and there to control oscillations in the high-voltage, high gain circuits (tube amps have 400+ volts in them!). Someone did those manually, in the shop. Really handmade.

A "gimmick capacitor" is just two strands of insulated wire twisted together - very little capacitance, but it works.

Look at the Hammond Novachord in the 1930s if you want to have your mind blown. And of course Western Electric. Both those companies achieved scale far beyond what most people can imagine today.

I just looked it up on YouTube. There's a great video showing the guts of one here[0]. I concur, pretty mind blowing. So many tubes!

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BNvemnifWc

The schematics and service manual (which includes a theory of operation section) for the Minimoog are readily available online. A few years back I redrew the schematics in Eagle, laid out the PCBs, and built a Minimoog clone. I really need to put the Eagle files online somewhere.

When I was younger, one of my dad's best friends was a hacker / electrical engineer who worked primarily with Moogs. He would service Moogs for very well known musicians if they were in the area, but was more well known for his modifications. I remember one story my dad would tell about some new keyboard they released, and within a few days he had modified it to makes hundreds more sounds than it was already capable of. Cool guy.

I saw this recently

http://www.theremin.info/-/viewpub/tid/10/pid/58

While looking for Theremin schematics, it purports to be the Moog Etherwave schematic

Holy fucking shit! I would have given my left nut for these in the 1970s.

It's amazing how many people were influenced by Moog over the years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Moog_synthesizer_playe...

I consider myself a big music fan, lot's of genres and I like to get to know the people involved as much as possible but I'd sadly never even heard of Bob Moog until he died in 2005.

Check out the list, I'm sure you'll find someone on there you like!

Not too dissimilar for the modules in my Arrick [1] synthesizer, except op-amps :-). I got to play a nice model 15 at USC when I took the Electronic Music class there.

[1] http://synthesizers.com

Funny how I find this link just as I'm listening to Tangerine Dream's Green Desert album after a couple decades.

No lowpass filter though :( (not that I expected one.)

I would guess that the modern moog filter is a lot different than it once was. It is still a smooth and delicious filter, but they tend to have some drive circuit that allows for asymmetrical clipping.

The Sub 37 is a real beauty.

http://www.moogmusic.com/products/phattys/sub-37

That one is all over the net though. You can even view the original patent:

http://www.google.com/patents/US3475623

Love moog

If you share that sentiment and want to hear some music a la Moog, Moog Cookbook [0] has a bunch of tunes on Grooveshark [1] , etc.

They were a duo that performed heavily Moog-ified alternative and classic rock tunes while wearing space suits, as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. [0].

I suppose one could see them as a Web 1.0 version of Daft Punk. :-)

If you have time for just one, their take [2] on Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" is probably a good intro to their oeuvre (their take [3] on Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" is also fun with a bit of clever).

Enjoy.

P.S. A Moog Cookbook interview [4]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moog_Cookbook

[1] http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=moog%20cookbook

[2] http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Born+To+Be+Wild/3e7Uum?src=5

[3] http://grooveshark.com/s/25+Or+6+To+4/3Ifoax?src=5

[4] http://www.chunklet.com/index.cfm?section=article&IssueID=9&...

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