Novelty

Much of the Moog’s initial popularity was due to its novelty, just as most other technological innovations in music. Initially, however, the synthesizer was met with confusion, as many customers didn’t quite understand why this instrument couldn’t make a sound by itself. By its modular design, the synthesizer had to be connected to headphones or an amplifier before musicians and listeners could hear anything. While the modularity of the Moog was an incredible innovation at the time, it was Moog’s voltage controlled filter that made his synthesizer stand out. By giving musicians the power to control the timing of sounds with this filter, musicians enjoyed the Moog for all of its creative powers. With the new technology came its imperfections, but musicians took this in stride. They enjoyed how each machine sometimes made a different set of sounds, and some would even ask engineers to leave certain parts of the synthesizer alone whenever it was serviced (Pinch and Trocco 23). Unfortunately, as engineers worked to produce a product without faults, these useful imperfections became harder to come by, decreasing the creative and experimental element of the Moog. This was due to the relationship between engineers, customers, and their demand for a synthesizer which more closely resembled the sound of acoustic instruments.