[Nate]

That's great, Lee!! I think I've got all of the effects definitions done... I just have to go find where I put them. I haven't really started on the others yet... I've been really busy the past few months with college preparation.... but I'll make sure and finish up the ones I signed myself up for. Looks like we might get this done after all.

[powerpop]

Here's a site you all should check out. TONS of good info.

http://tilt.largo.fl.us/faq/synthfaq.html

[PianoMan]

I don't know them, but i'll research the tech terms stuff or anything else someone doesn't know.

[Nate]

I don't think I'm actually ever going to get around to doing this.

In His love,
Nate

[Nathanael]

Can't believe there's nothing on the Moog or synths yet.

I ripped and edited this from another site - I call it
A short history of The Moog and synths.

The Moog synthesizer was one of the first widely used electronic musical instruments.

Robert Moog created the first playable modern configurable music synthesizer in 1963. It sometimes took hours to set up the machine for a new sound. Among the first pieces of recorded music performed on this synthesizer are the records Switched-On Bach and The well-tempered synthesizer by Walter Carlos.

Robert Moog set up a company to manufacture and market his synthesizers. Unlike the few other 1960s synthesizer manufacturers, Moog shipped a piano-style keyboard as the standard user interface to his synthesizers.
Moog also established standards for analog synthesizer control interfacing, with a logarithmic 1-volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal.

The first instruments were modular synthesizers.

The modular synthesizer is an early type of synthesizer consisting of separate modules which must be connected by wires to create a so called patch. These synthesizers are very flexible. Instead of audio, every output generates a voltage (or a current). All inputs expect a voltage, so that almost any combination of connections between the modules is allowed and valid.

There exist many different modules and even the modules with the same function have different inputs and output on various models. But there are some standards which manufactures followed for their range of synthesizers. Connecting synthesizers from different manufactures often requires converters however.

In 1971 Moog broke into the mass market with the Minimoog, an all-in-one instrument. .

The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog. It was among the first easily available and reasonably affordable synthesizers.

The Minimoog had four sound sources: three voltage controlled oscillators with switchable waveforms, one of which was normally assigned as the low frequency oscillator, and a noise generator. Each of these was passed to a mixer, with independent level controls. The mixed output of the sources was then passed through a voltage controlled filter and a voltage controlled amplifier, each of which had its own ADSR envelope generator.

Eventually, the advent of digital synthesizers made analog synthesizers less popular.

A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds.

The very earliest digital synthesis experiments were made with general-purpose computers, as part of academic research into sound generation.

Early commercial digital synthesizers used simple hard-wired digital circuitry to implement techniques such as additive synthesis and FM synthesis. Other techniques, such as wavetable synthesis and physical modeling, only became possible with the advent of high-speed microprocessor and digital signal processing technology. One of the earliest commercial digital synthesizers was the Synclavier.

The company making the Moog synthesizers went through various changes of ownership, eventually being bought out by musical instrument manufacturer Norlin. Norlin produced a number of synthesizers under the Moog name, but they were less successful than Moog's own designs. Moog Music closed its doors in 1986.

Analog synthesizers have made a comeback in recent years, and they are prized for their "retro" sound. As of 2004, more than 15 companies are making Moog-style synthesizer modules.

After leaving his namesake firm, Bob Moog started making electronic musical instruments again, with a new company, Big Briar. Their first specialty was theremins, yet by 2000 Big Briar was producing synthesizer modules again. Moog managed to buy back the Moog Music name in 2003 and is producing a new version of the Minimoog called the Voyager.