1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Ephemeral is production of I heart three D audio for 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: full exposure. Listen with that phones. Human beings have been 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: building musical instruments for tens of thousands of years, chasing 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: different timbres, textures, and ranges possible in the acoustic world, 5 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: and then in the twentieth century a whole new pallide 6 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: of sounds emerged. This is a MOG synthesizer. MoG's were 7 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: the most popular and innovative synthesizers of the nineteen sixties 8 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: and seventies, and they were the first synths to be 9 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: widely accessible by musicians across the world. Nowadays, MOG Music 10 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: is a very different company, but they still create new 11 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: keyboards and sounds. If Emeral producer Trevor Young took a 12 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: trip to MOUG headquarters to learn more about these machines 13 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 1: and the history behind their creation. Let's say I'm walking 14 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: through the mosium in Asheville, North Carolina. I'm surrounded by keyboards, synthesizers, 15 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: and all sorts of other gadgets that I'm not smart 16 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: enough to recognize, but they're letting me play on some 17 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: of the synthesizers here, and I'm getting a personal tour 18 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: from a very special guest. Hi, I'm Michelle moe Kusa. 19 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: I'm the executive director of the Bob Mog Foundation and 20 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: the Mosium. I'm also Bob MoG's third daughter. We walk 21 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: around a corner to find a huge collage taking up 22 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: an entire wall all about Mog Synthesizers founder Bob Mog. 23 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: What we have here is kind of some arises his legacy, innovation, creativity, 24 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: and inspiration. There's a little passage here that says, welcome 25 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: to the Mosium, where Bob mogs life, work and legacy 26 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: come alive to inspire curiosity and creativity and to give 27 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: us insight into one of the electronic music's most important pioneers. 28 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: So kind of the crowning the back of the Moxium, 29 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: we have an immersive half doome that teaches people how 30 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: electricity turns into sound when it's traveling through a circuit board. 31 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: So this is essentially the very heart of Bob's work 32 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: that we wanted to bring forward. So why don't we 33 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: listen to at least the first minute of it. Sound 34 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: is the movement of air perceived by our ears. An 35 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: electric speaker creates sound by vibrating air molecules using a 36 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: moving membrane by changing the rate of current flow through 37 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: the magnetic field. A speaker membrane can be vibrated at 38 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: different frequencies to create any kind of sound. It might 39 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: seem like a lot of science on terminology to take in, 40 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: but we're going to walk you through how synthesizers work. 41 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: Probably the best place to start, because with the history 42 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: of how synthesizers came into being, the mog machine here 43 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: has made a startling contribution to the new bach rage. 44 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: It can do anything but stand up and take a bow. 45 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: It can produce almost any kind of variation on pure sound, 46 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: including some sounds that have never been heard before on 47 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: this Earth at least, and these sounds can then be 48 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: dubbed onto tape in any combination, from interplanetary noises to 49 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: a bach fugue. Synthesis technology first appeared in post World 50 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: War two North America. By the late nineteen forties, engineers 51 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: were starting to play around with manipulating electrical currents and 52 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: the sounds they make. In Canadian engineer he Like developed 53 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: the sack But, a sort of early rudimentary synthesizer, and 54 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: in n a team at R. C. A. Laps created 55 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: the Mark to synthesizer, a massive unit that was essentially 56 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: glued to a laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey. But the 57 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 1: invention of synthesizers as we know them today is almost 58 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: entirely credited to one man, Bob Moog. I asked Michelle 59 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: to tell us about Bob and how we ended up 60 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,839 Speaker 1: creating one of the world's most popular instruments. My dad 61 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,239 Speaker 1: was an only child of George and Shirley Moak. My grandpa, George, 62 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: was an electrical engineer for conn Edison. He was also 63 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: an amateur woodworker. And you'll understand why I'm telling you 64 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: that in a minute. They lived in Flushing, Queens, New York, 65 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: and my grandfather had a very well outfitted basement workshop. 66 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: And MI grandfather was kind of quiet and more reserved 67 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: and introverted. And I would say that my father was 68 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: also more quiet and introverted, and highly intelligent and interested 69 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: in science from a very early age, in all kinds 70 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: of science. At the age of ten years old, he 71 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: wrote a letter to his aunt and his grandmother proclaiming 72 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: his hobbies and in his hobbies included chemistry, electro chemistry, biology, physics. 73 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: He was obviously very influenced by his father. At the 74 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: same time, at the age of six years old, he 75 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: began taking piano lessons. My grandmother had a great desire 76 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: for him to be a concert pianist, and so she 77 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: made sure that he practiced every day. As a matter 78 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: of fact, he used to tell us stories that she 79 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: would wrap him on the knuckles with a wooden spoon 80 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: when he messed up, so there was no messing up. 81 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: And I think he did enjoy playing the piano, but 82 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: not necessarily under those circumstances. He did become quite profession 83 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: at it and went on to study at the Manhattan 84 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: School the Music and he was offered to pursue a 85 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: professional accompanist track which he declined pretty early. At ten 86 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: years old, he started making small electronic hobbyist projects with 87 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: his father. I think part of it was they would 88 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: both escape down into the basement just to get a break, 89 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: as introverts like to do. That is where my father's 90 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: work in electronics started, and they would make three note organs, 91 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:37,479 Speaker 1: and my dad actually made Geiger counters. Eventually, by the 92 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: time he was around fourteen fifteen, he found an article 93 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,040 Speaker 1: in I think it was called Radio News about how 94 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: to build your own thereman, and that is when he 95 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: fell in love with the thereman, which is an early 96 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: electronic musical device that was invented by the Russian physicist 97 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: Leon Thereman. If you've never heard or seen a theremin, 98 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: they're incredibly unique instruments. There perhaps the only instrument you 99 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: play without touching them. Instead, you move your hands around 100 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: an antenna and the proximity and movement of the hand 101 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: generates an eerie sound from the theramin. Here's a demonstration 102 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: from Leon Thereman himself. And my dad really was captivated 103 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: by not only this kind of magical interface where you 104 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: produce sound with an instrument that you don't touch, but 105 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: he was captivated by the elegance and simplicity of Leon 106 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: Thereman's circuitry design. And at that time, theremans were no 107 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: longer in production, so he worked at prof in his 108 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: own design. This is when he was about fifteen. By 109 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: the time he was nineteen, he was proficient enough that 110 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: he wrote an article for radio and television news called 111 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: the Theremin, and it was an instructional on how to 112 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: build your own theremin. But what happened is that people 113 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: had a hard time finding the parts. They were somewhat esoteric. 114 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: These were at that time vacuum tube based Theremans with 115 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: big copper coils that were, you know, maybe even a 116 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: foot tall and required hundred and seventy five rounds of copper. 117 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: I can remember my father telling me that's one of 118 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: the things he excelled at, that he would wind the 119 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: copper coils, he would design the circuitry. Grandpa helped him 120 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: some with that. Grandpa built the wooden cabinets for his Theoremans, 121 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: and they both did some of the kind of silk 122 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: screening that went on the front interface. But what happened 123 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: with the article is that people didn't find that they 124 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: excelled at winding copper coils like Bob did or finding 125 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: the parts, and so they wrote him and said, where 126 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: can I get a full built Thereman? And so my 127 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: father started our a Moke co with my grandfather's support, 128 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: to not only self thereman parts, but also fully built thereman's. 129 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: That was the beginning. Bob's Thereman business was booming. He 130 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: was selling his own models left and right, and this 131 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: success is what laid the conceptual groundwork and provided the 132 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: financial means for his work to come. In synthesis. What 133 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: happened is he was at a music educator's conference in 134 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:44,439 Speaker 1: New York rapping his theoreman's and a young professor from 135 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: Hostra University approached him and said, listen, I have one 136 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: of your melodia theramans. I use it in my ear 137 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: training classes, and I'm an experimental jazz composer as well 138 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: as being a professor of music, and there are all 139 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: these sounds that I've to make in my experimental jazz 140 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: compositions that I just can't make with splicing tape, which 141 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: is the technology that was available then. This gentleman's name 142 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: was Herb Deutsch, and he said to my dad, do 143 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: you think you could help me build something that would 144 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: make these sounds that I'm envisioning for my compositions. And 145 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: so that began a year long conversation that ended in 146 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen sixty four when Herb, with a 147 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: two d dollar grant from host University, spent three weeks 148 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: during that summer working with my dad on creating the 149 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: first prototype of the more synthesizer. And essentially it was 150 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: this collaboration where Herb would say, listen, as a musician, 151 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,319 Speaker 1: this is what I need, and my dad would build 152 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: it and then her would test him say I need 153 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: more of this or less of this. Okay, well well 154 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: now we have this, say the oscillator tone generating source 155 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: than what, Well then I need to sculpture somehow. So 156 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: they worked together over three weeks, and then they eventually 157 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: brought in other people over the summer, and my dad 158 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: lectured on this voltage controlled synthesis that he had developed 159 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: in October of nine four the Audio Engineering Society. So 160 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,559 Speaker 1: this big board here is where the sound is made. 161 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: Appropriately enough, we call the analog board. A lot of 162 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 1: parts on you. Each section of this board here corresponds 163 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: to one section of the of the front panel. These 164 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: are cold connectors here bringing the electrical signals that tell 165 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: the analog circuitry what pitch to go at, when to 166 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,559 Speaker 1: start a note and when to stop it and so on. 167 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: And he started selling his modules at that convention, and 168 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: that is when he was offered a booth that someone 169 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: else had vacated. He didn't even plan on exhibiting there. 170 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: So he was there with like a bridge table with 171 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: some kind of bohemian table cloth of my mom's and 172 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: a few little modules. I mean, this has just started. 173 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: And he started getting orders. He got an order her 174 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: from our one Nikolai Wendy Carlos and by hitting a 175 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: note on the keyboard. Now I'm connected up, so I'll 176 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: hear that one sound. It's very low sound, it's very bright. 177 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: If I manually turn this knob, you listen to the 178 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: sound get considerably duller gets very dull down here. Prior 179 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: to Bob Moog, there had been some work in synthesis already. 180 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: We mentioned a few examples at the beginning, like the 181 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:38,680 Speaker 1: r C A Mark two. There were people working in 182 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: synthesis prior to that. Harold Boda was one of those people, 183 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,839 Speaker 1: and also Vladim r Usachski, who was working at the 184 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,319 Speaker 1: Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Studio. They had the r C 185 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: A Mark synthesizer. The r C A synthesizer was this huge, 186 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: room sized synthesizer that function by punch tape, so it 187 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: was very very different, and it was really run by academics. 188 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: But Bob was a musician, so he wanted to create 189 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: something not to be studied in a lab, but to 190 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: be used for the purposes of musical expression. What Bob 191 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: Mug did is he took the synthesis that had already 192 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: begun to be developed and created a system that was 193 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: accessible to musicians. At the very beginning, that was accessible to, 194 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:40,479 Speaker 1: you know, maybe some more experimental musicians originally, but eventually 195 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: a few people, a few very talented people who were 196 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: able to understand modular synthesis decided to wrap those instruments. 197 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: I'm thinking right now, Paul Beaver and Bernie Cross on 198 00:13:52,320 --> 00:14:06,719 Speaker 1: the West coast. M Yeah. What they did is they 199 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: tried to sell Moog synthesizers in Los Angeles and they 200 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: had a really hard time. The modulars were big, heavy, 201 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: hard to transport, very expensive. They cost as much as 202 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: a small house at that time, and they were having 203 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: a hard time getting people to embrace them. They talked 204 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: to someone at their record label. They actually had a 205 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: record kind of that was a demonstration of the Mog 206 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: synthesizer on non such records, and they talked to Jack Holsman, 207 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: who was the CEO, and said, you know, we're having 208 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: a hard time getting people to understand these instruments. What 209 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: do you think we should do? He said, why don't 210 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: bring them to the Honorary Pop Festival, which happened in 211 00:14:49,880 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: the summer of n And they did that at and 212 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: what they didn't expect is that they were absolutely mobbed 213 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: with people. They had a tent with a mug modular 214 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: in it, and they were mobbed with people to the 215 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: extent that they had to have security assist them in 216 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: creating a line. But what came out of that is 217 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: the Monkeys, the Doors, Simon and Garf Uncle and the 218 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: Birds all subsequently bought mog synthesizers. The Doors were the 219 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: first to use it. Later and by the time nine 220 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: rolled around, the Beatles were using it. It should go 221 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: without mentioning that in there Wendy Carlos came out with 222 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: the groundbreaking record Switched sham Bab, which didn't just use 223 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: it as these cool sounds in the background, but it 224 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: used it exclusively. It was an entire album of Bach 225 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: music translated with the mog synthesizer, which is incredibly hard 226 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 1: to do. Wendy told me that it would take her 227 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: twenty minutes to do nine notes because she was constantly 228 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: having to patch and repatch. And then Keith Emerson of 229 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: Emerson Like and Palmer actually then of the Nice Heard 230 00:16:46,440 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: switched sham Bach and then he got a huge modular system. 231 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: So it was really these very ambitious musicians, all in 232 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: their own ways, who helped bring the more synthesizer to 233 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: the four of the public consciousness, and it was the 234 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,640 Speaker 1: earliest use of synthesis in that way. Now, Don bouk 235 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: Law also developed a synthesizer at about the same time 236 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,200 Speaker 1: that Bob did, but his approach was very different. They 237 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: were not quite as accessible to most musicians, so they 238 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: were a little bit more what you might call experimental, 239 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: so not as well known the most synthesizers. They were 240 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: the tool of popular musicians, and that is why they 241 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:47,360 Speaker 1: came into the popular consciousness earlier and in a much 242 00:17:47,359 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: stronger way than any other synthesizer at that time. As 243 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: mog synthesizers picked up in popularity, you heard them everywhere, 244 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: and so the sound of the mog became a distinct 245 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: cultural statement that an older sister that was a big 246 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: Beatles and a Monkey's fan. So those were two of 247 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: the first pop groups that actually used the synthesizer and 248 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: a recording. And I remember hearing that. I must have been, 249 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 1: you know, eight or nine years old or whatever, and going, 250 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: you know, well, what's that sound? You know, that's that's interesting. 251 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: There's something about that that really kind of pulls you in, 252 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 1: you know, if you resonate with that sort of thing. 253 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: My name is August Whorlie. I'm an electrical engineer and 254 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: a musician and the former More Music technician, both up 255 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: in Muffalo, New York, the Old Factory and down here 256 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:53,359 Speaker 1: in Asheville the Newer Factor. I work for Bob and 257 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,440 Speaker 1: developing the Mini More Voyagers synthesizer. I asked August where 258 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: his story with synthesizers began it and his answer surprised me. 259 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: I started working on my own equipment as a bassist, 260 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: you know, amplifiers and designing speaker cabinets, and just started 261 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: tinkering around. He's taking a part of my parents stereo systems, 262 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: and I decided to buy a moke Torus bass pedal synthesizer, 263 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: and so that was my first synthesizer and reading up 264 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 1: on it and exploring all the sounds it's It was 265 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: a really good, rudimentary, primary sort of synthesizer because it 266 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: didn't have all the bells and whistles. It was pretty 267 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: much straight ahead, you know, didn't have all the modulation 268 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 1: or noise or any of those other things. It was 269 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: reutilitarian and it was just a lot of fun to 270 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: work with that technology as well as being a bass player. 271 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,879 Speaker 1: People marvel at Getty Lee or whatever because all the 272 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: stuff he had. I never ever heard of Getty Lee 273 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: when I was doing all that. You know, as August 274 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: got more interested, he started thinking about synth technology as 275 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,160 Speaker 1: a future career path, and one day that opportunity fell 276 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: into his lap. I was getting close to graduating. I 277 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: really had no idea what I wanted to do. I 278 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: think it was about two weeks before I graduated when 279 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: my lab partner sat down before class and said, hey, 280 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: I've got a friend of mine I worked at more Music, 281 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: and he said that they're hiring. I'm gonna go down 282 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: there and put in a job application. You want to 283 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: go And it was like, well, let me think about that. Yes. 284 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: And the interesting thing was that I always like to 285 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,199 Speaker 1: tell people that my first job was working on the 286 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: space shuttle. At the time, More Music had a subcontract 287 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,680 Speaker 1: with Fisher Price Toy manufacturing Company to do a little 288 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:57,400 Speaker 1: space shuttle, the Alpha Pro, the Alfa Rican sled Here, 289 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: the electronic sound system Blast, all communications on redd Alert, 290 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: astroplots here on here, life support cable for space walking 291 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: on docking now for the Crucist No No, the Electronic 292 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:23,120 Speaker 1: Alpha Probe by Fisher Price. They needed testers audio testers 293 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: for the little circuit boards that went into their Space shuttle. 294 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,439 Speaker 1: I listened to this little Space Shuttle board make, you know, 295 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: sample and hold noises and take off noises and all 296 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff for I think about two weeks. 297 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: It was a second shift job. But August wanted to 298 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 1: do more. He wanted to build his own synthesizers, so 299 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: he found a clever way to do that. I built 300 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,680 Speaker 1: am source from rejected parts from the assembly line. You're 301 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: gonna throw that digital board out, may I haven't. So 302 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: I just started taking parts home and building the unit up. 303 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: And I still haven't. And that was just the big 304 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: inning of a long and storied career in audio engineering. 305 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 1: I figured August would be the perfect person to help 306 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: us understand how synthesizers actually worked. Probably the first place 307 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: to start with thinking about how a synthesizer works is 308 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 1: the concept of a an input in an output where 309 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: there's a beginning of middle and an end to the 310 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 1: signal path until it comes out the other end, which 311 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: can then be amplified and heard. So the first place 312 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,199 Speaker 1: to start was the concept of voltage control, where you 313 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: have a control voltage which doesn't really make a sound 314 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 1: in and of itself, but it tells things like oscillators 315 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: and filters and envelope generators what to do. So an 316 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: oscillator is a periodic waveform generator. By inputting a control 317 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 1: voltage into it of a certain level, you can control 318 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: the frequency of it. You can control the pitch. So 319 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,439 Speaker 1: that lends itself to being able to be connected to 320 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: something that has a discrete incremental array, like a keyboard, 321 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: so that when you move left to right, the voltage 322 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,880 Speaker 1: goes up, and therefore the pitch will follow that control voltage, 323 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: And so the keyboard is a good starting point for that. 324 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: But you don't have to use a keyboard to control 325 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: the pitch of the oscillator. You can use anything that 326 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: creates a voltage. Crawford, the guys used to have suit 327 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: jackets that had conductive lapels, or when you touch the 328 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: lapel of their jacket, you could generate a control voltage 329 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: and put it into you know, the synthesizer, So you 330 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: use your clothing as a control voltage source. The more 331 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: oscillators you add, the more textures you can add to 332 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: the sound. And different waveforms that you can create in 333 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: order to thicken the sound and give the oscillator a 334 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: different texture. That's how you can emulate some of the 335 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: real instruments, such as you know saxophone, which is a 336 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: soft wave. O bos are a triangle wave, so you 337 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 1: can emulate real instruments or just completely derive a texture 338 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 1: out of your imagination by what you have. One of 339 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: the most popular features of a synthesizer is the sequencer. 340 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,680 Speaker 1: A sequencer basically is just what it says. You're able 341 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,959 Speaker 1: to put an array of elements in a row in 342 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: order to create melodies or austinato patterns that is a 343 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,679 Speaker 1: pattern and repeats. And I remember there was always this 344 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: debate about having sequencers there at all, because it's now 345 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,360 Speaker 1: you're turning it over to robots. But it's like anything 346 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: else with music, depends on how your approaches. Let's demonstrate. 347 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: While I was touring the Maxim and playing around with 348 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 1: a synthesize, I got to try out a few sequencers. 349 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: Listen for all the different patterns they can create. SEP 350 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: SEP sep SEP sequencers are just one of the many 351 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:01,240 Speaker 1: innovations Bob mog developed specifically for musicians. As Michelle Moke 352 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: said earlier, Bob was devoted to serving musicians. August agrees 353 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,160 Speaker 1: with that entirely. From the mid sixties to the pretty 354 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: much so. When the minimal came along, sequencers were big, 355 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,439 Speaker 1: expensive and complicated, and we're only available to the very 356 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: wealthy or to large universities or organizations recording studios, that 357 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: sort of thing. And then by the time the seventies 358 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: came along, there was a certain credibility associated with the synthesizer, 359 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: and it looked like people were actually using these creatively. 360 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: Mogul is exceptional and that we did listen to the 361 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 1: musicians what the musicians were looking for, always informed the design, 362 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,879 Speaker 1: you know, just trying again make these more available for 363 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: common musicians in order to give them the tools. With 364 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,639 Speaker 1: the success of the first move, the Moke modular business 365 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,920 Speaker 1: was good throughout the mid sixties, but by around nine 366 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 1: nine it became obvious that people needed something that was 367 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: more affordable, that was more portable. Here's Michelle Moog again. 368 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: At the same time, Arimko was having a hard time 369 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,639 Speaker 1: supporting itself because there was a huge cell of modulars, 370 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 1: but then it kind of peaked and declined and the 371 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 1: company was in financial trouble. So while my dad was 372 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,199 Speaker 1: actually out looking for someone to invest in his company 373 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: to help it survive, a couple of his engineers started 374 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: coming up with the idea of building something that was 375 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:34,360 Speaker 1: much smaller, that was very basic. So they came up 376 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:39,159 Speaker 1: with what would become the prototypes for the Minimog. In 377 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,120 Speaker 1: an analog synthesizer like this, we start out with an oscillator. 378 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: Oscillator produces a steady pitch sound, and then this synthesizer 379 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: we can control the oscillator sound from either the keyboard, 380 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: from a pitch wheel, or automatically through modulation real Roo Roue. 381 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 1: The mini Mog would essentially be a smaller, more condensed 382 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: version of the Mog modular. It could almost fit in 383 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: your lap, and it had only a fraction of the features, 384 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: but it was more accessible. Bob initially did not like 385 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,640 Speaker 1: the idea of taking these glorious modulars that had over 386 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty thousand different sounds and minimizing it 387 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: down to something, you know, much much less than that, 388 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: but his engineers realized that if the company were to survive, 389 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 1: they had to make something smaller. The result was the 390 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: Mini Mooge, which later became the best selling analog synthesizer 391 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: of all time. Twelve thou two hundred and sixty nine 392 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: units were produced between nineteen seventy and two, and that 393 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: basically set a course for MOG synthesizers after that to 394 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: be accessible. There was a variety of things that happened 395 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: to MOG synthesizers after that. They became smaller and smaller, 396 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: some of them with less capability but still very robust sound. 397 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 1: Just trying to address different needs in the marketplace, they 398 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: started incorporating things like small ribbon controllers so that there 399 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: was different ways to access to sound. After that, the 400 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: memory Mouge made use of stored presets, which some of 401 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: the instruments did not have before that time, and eventually 402 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: some of the instruments became MITI capable, and that's about 403 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: when that part of mode music ended. The mid eighties 404 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: is when everything changed for synthesis with the invention of MIDI, 405 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: that is, musical instrument digital interface analog. Since such as 406 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: MOG became old news. Digital keyboards like the Yamaha d 407 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: X seven became the music industry standard, much to the 408 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 1: dismay of engineers like August. It's funny. Everybody at MOG 409 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: just really hated the sound. Who are so used to 410 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: the analog sound and those textures in that warmth at 411 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 1: hearing these digital keyboards. Really, these things that these guys 412 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: are kicking our ass in the marketplace because we think 413 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: they sound horrible. I'm sure you know the sound stuff 414 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: like aha or alphaville. You heard the same four or 415 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: five sounds on the radio all the time. You know, 416 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,200 Speaker 1: as soon as the latest hit top forty song came 417 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: on and the guy takes a keyboard solo, they go, oh, yeah, 418 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,240 Speaker 1: that's preset number twenty three on the d X seven 419 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: because everybody's using that one. You know, problem with those 420 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,720 Speaker 1: keyboards was that they were very difficult to program. You know. 421 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: That was another thing that we just couldn't get our 422 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: heads around. It's like, okay, so you've got this sound 423 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: on your memory mug or whatever, and if you want 424 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: to change it, all you have to do is grab 425 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: a knob, you know, and there it is with these things. 426 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: You know, you had to go into sub menues after 427 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: sub menu after sub menu in order to change a 428 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: parameter and then enter it and then hopefully it's what 429 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: you're after because it was such opinion, he is to 430 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: go back and change it. Some people made entire careers 431 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: out of programming d X seven sounds. August says, that's 432 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: soon enough, digital synthesis expanded to the point where it 433 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: dominated the music recording industry. Synthesizers were always at that 434 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 1: time were usually found in the context of a traditional band. 435 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,400 Speaker 1: So the synthesizer was added into the guitar based and 436 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: drums and vocals and all that other kind of stuff. 437 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: It was like that little chair in the top of 438 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: the cake, and then more and more started to overtake 439 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: the other aspects of the musical composition. So then before 440 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,880 Speaker 1: you knew what you had synthesizers that were the drums, 441 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: synthesizers that were the base, and synthesizers that were emulating 442 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 1: the guitar, using synthesizers in the vocal parts like the 443 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: vote quarter. So you know, this idea of a purely 444 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: electronic sonic source or modification technology was of the production 445 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: from beginning to end. The microphone is probably about the 446 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: only thing that wasn't an actual digital component of the 447 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: single chain. So why was MOGS so committed to analog 448 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:31,000 Speaker 1: versus digital? We didn't realize that at the time, but 449 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: as I look back on and now, I think the 450 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: thing that we were so used to hearing, which is 451 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:40,160 Speaker 1: why analog keyboards came back, was that there's a warmth. 452 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: There's an ephemeral quality to that form of signal generation 453 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,960 Speaker 1: that I think people connect with in a very different way. 454 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: And I think from the esoteric perspective, I think it's 455 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: because we are continuous beings and so we resonate more 456 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: strongly with continue its waveforms. Despite whatever your sample rate 457 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: is on a digital keyboard, you will always have a 458 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: discrete aspect to the way the digital waveform is being 459 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: generated because you've basically got a series of ones and 460 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 1: zeros that are being read out of memory to create 461 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:22,959 Speaker 1: a waveform that's always going to be, it's very essence, 462 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: a non continual waveform, whereas analog is a continual waveform. 463 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: But by the time we adopted the the notion of 464 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: doing a digital synthesizer, the company was already in pretty 465 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:42,200 Speaker 1: bad shape. The taste that changed away from analog, and 466 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 1: with that, Moog went out of business. The company officially 467 00:33:46,120 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 1: declared bankruptcy, but that wasn't the end of music. For 468 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: a while, things were tough for Bob Moge Music closed 469 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: in the late eighties and he lost the rights to 470 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:13,040 Speaker 1: his name in the Mogan Music trademark. Move Music and 471 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 1: Buffalo went out of business. It started really slowing down, 472 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 1: and I was laid off at the end of nineteen 473 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: eighty four, but the kind of picked up a few 474 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 1: service things for them here and there until they've just 475 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 1: completely closed their doors and five. But I was always 476 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 1: involved with all the different people. It's almost like a 477 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,800 Speaker 1: family working at that company. So I still maintained connections 478 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 1: with a lot of the people from back in the day. 479 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 1: An acquaintance that I worked with that Mog Music had 480 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,239 Speaker 1: contacted me because he had got a call from Keith 481 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: Emerson to do some work for I'm just like in 482 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 1: Palmer because they were going back out on tour again 483 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:58,560 Speaker 1: and at that time there was no mo Music and 484 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,360 Speaker 1: not a whole lot of people knew about that technology, 485 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 1: and I happened to be one of them, so that's 486 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: how I sort of slid into that. So I got 487 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,360 Speaker 1: the tour with Emerson, like Palmer, off and on for 488 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: about three years. Meanwhile, Bob Mog was determined to get 489 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,239 Speaker 1: the rights to his name back in two thousand two. 490 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: After a lengthy legal battle, Bob succeeded and he reopened 491 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:25,799 Speaker 1: Mogan Music in Asheville, North Carolina. August Whorley was one 492 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,280 Speaker 1: of the first to hear that Bob was back in business. 493 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: I saw that Bob Mog was announcing that he was 494 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:36,080 Speaker 1: going to be doing another synthesizer, like one last synthesizer. 495 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 1: He had said that, you know, he realized he was 496 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: getting on in years and wanted to take some of 497 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 1: the stuff that was in his head and dump it 498 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 1: into younger heads. And I sort of took notice of that. 499 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,600 Speaker 1: Eventually got around it just calling him out of the blue. 500 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:53,480 Speaker 1: I introduced myself as Bob. I We've never met, but 501 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: I've worked for everybody you've ever hired back at the 502 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,480 Speaker 1: old Mog Music, and I'm three names down from you 503 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: in the special thanks liner notes on the list. There 504 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:07,239 Speaker 1: were something so that kind of caught his attention. I 505 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,239 Speaker 1: showed him only materials for the work for Keith and 506 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:11,800 Speaker 1: all the rest of that kind of stuff, and he 507 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,399 Speaker 1: knew all the guys that are worked with. He said, right, okay, 508 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: you're you're in. I like what I see. The next thing, 509 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:22,239 Speaker 1: I know, I'm helping Bob Do, another synthesizer. August worked 510 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:26,239 Speaker 1: closely with Bob to develop the Minimog Voyager, a successful 511 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:32,280 Speaker 1: return to form for the Mog synthesizer. The two thousands 512 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: saw a renewed interest in analog synthesizers, and MUG was 513 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:40,479 Speaker 1: once again a thriving and innovative business. Here's Michelle Mug. 514 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,719 Speaker 1: The modern day m Music, which is located here in Nashville, 515 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:49,080 Speaker 1: has a long line of incredible synthesizers, starting with the Voyager, 516 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:54,440 Speaker 1: and they are constantly innovating and evolving as well, selling 517 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,680 Speaker 1: thousands and tens of thousands of instruments all over the 518 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,360 Speaker 1: world every year. August Worley was a huge part of 519 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: that success. He says getting to work with Bob Moag 520 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,279 Speaker 1: was one of the greatest experiences of his life. I 521 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: had a father that I love very much, but Bob 522 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: was kind of the father that understood me because we 523 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: used to complete each other's sentences, you know, having been 524 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: involved in that professional capacity. I think the biggest thing 525 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:26,719 Speaker 1: that Bob did for me is that he made me 526 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:31,520 Speaker 1: be more confident in my ideas, so I wasn't afraid 527 00:37:31,719 --> 00:37:34,360 Speaker 1: to present some of these crazy ideas that kind of 528 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 1: popped into my head. You know, I remember having a 529 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,920 Speaker 1: conversation once with him, or a sort of outlining, Oh yeah, 530 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:41,840 Speaker 1: and then it worked for this company, and here's what 531 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,920 Speaker 1: we did for a radar simulator or a prepress computer system, 532 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:50,759 Speaker 1: or interfacing a deck main frame with an Apple too. 533 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,839 Speaker 1: And the thing he said to kind of close out 534 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 1: the conversation was I really envy you your broadness, of 535 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: your level of expertise in experience, He said, all I've 536 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,799 Speaker 1: ever done his work on synthesizer, and I was kind 537 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,680 Speaker 1: of like, okay, well, you know, you've pretty much invented 538 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:11,320 Speaker 1: the bloody industry. I mean, I don't think I have 539 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:17,960 Speaker 1: to really apologize Bob is envious of my experience and professional, 540 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:26,880 Speaker 1: you know, credentials. It's like, okay, whatever. I asked Michelle 541 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,080 Speaker 1: mug what it was like growing up with Bob for 542 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,640 Speaker 1: a dad. He held his career at arm's length from us, 543 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,239 Speaker 1: just because I think he was a little uncomfortable with 544 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:42,440 Speaker 1: his celebrity and his fame, and he really just wanted 545 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: a place where he could be Bob or Dad. I 546 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:48,040 Speaker 1: would say, I knew a very kind of surface level. 547 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 1: We all knew that Dad had invented the synthesizer. We 548 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:53,799 Speaker 1: knew that he was famous. We knew that he had 549 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:56,920 Speaker 1: gotten a Grammy. We knew that he knew and loved 550 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 1: a lot of very cool musicians, that he was revere, 551 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:04,239 Speaker 1: heard that he wrote articles in well known magazines. We 552 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:09,440 Speaker 1: had a solid idea of his stature. What we didn't 553 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 1: realize is maybe the impact of his work. The only 554 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 1: access I really ever had to his work in my 555 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 1: early years was when he did have either a basement 556 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:26,120 Speaker 1: workshop in our house or a workshop across the driveway. 557 00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:30,520 Speaker 1: I would go at night in my pajamas to give 558 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:33,279 Speaker 1: him a kiss good night, because his routine was he 559 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,760 Speaker 1: would stop working around six or seven, we'd have dinner 560 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:38,600 Speaker 1: that my mom always cooked, and then my parents would 561 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:40,200 Speaker 1: take a little nap, and then my dad would go 562 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: back out to work until eleven o'clock or midnight. So 563 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 1: by the time it was time for me to go 564 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: to bed around eight thirty or whatever it was, depending 565 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:48,840 Speaker 1: on how old I was, I would pad out to 566 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,759 Speaker 1: the driveway and I would always kind of stand at 567 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,719 Speaker 1: the threshold of the office before opening the door, just 568 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,279 Speaker 1: to listen to what my dad was doing. I had 569 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:02,280 Speaker 1: no context for under standing it, but I was interested, 570 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,040 Speaker 1: and then I would, you know, go in and just 571 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:07,280 Speaker 1: give him a kiss at night. But it was always 572 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,239 Speaker 1: kind of clear when we went in the workshop that 573 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:11,799 Speaker 1: we weren't there for long. You know, he was busy 574 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,440 Speaker 1: and he was very serious and very focused, and so 575 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,880 Speaker 1: it was just a quick, brief, tender moment and then 576 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:21,680 Speaker 1: I would I would leave. So he never said, hey, 577 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 1: come look at this mini mug, or I've gotten the 578 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,000 Speaker 1: mug prototype here, which he did in two I think 579 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,160 Speaker 1: he restored the mug prototype for the Henry Ford Museum, 580 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:36,640 Speaker 1: and he never showed it to us. He was so humble. 581 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:40,440 Speaker 1: This humility was kind of legendary, and that extended to 582 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,160 Speaker 1: our household. He just didn't make a big deal out 583 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,759 Speaker 1: of his own work, to the extent that in his 584 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,480 Speaker 1: later years, when he was up for a technical grammy, 585 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 1: my stepmother said to him, you know, Bob, you've got 586 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,439 Speaker 1: to tell the kids, and he said, why, what's it matter. 587 00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:59,360 Speaker 1: I did have a little bit more awareness as I 588 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,480 Speaker 1: got a little older, and then probably the pinnacle of 589 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:06,520 Speaker 1: my understanding prior to my father's illness was when I 590 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:10,320 Speaker 1: was about twenty one, I was a senior in college. 591 00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:12,799 Speaker 1: My dad actually invited me to come to a NAM 592 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:14,440 Speaker 1: show with him, which is the first time he had 593 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:16,839 Speaker 1: ever done anything like that. I don't think I had 594 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,920 Speaker 1: spent any time alone with my father like that prior 595 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,480 Speaker 1: to that. So I went to the NAM show with him, 596 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:27,560 Speaker 1: and it was a very weird experience seeing how revered 597 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,120 Speaker 1: he was, to the extent that there was a guy 598 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:33,319 Speaker 1: who dropped to his knees in front of my dad 599 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:36,760 Speaker 1: and just just like, Oh my god, you're Bob Moog, 600 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,279 Speaker 1: You're my hero. He went on and on and made 601 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:42,560 Speaker 1: my dad so uncomfortable. Nothing against the guy doing that, 602 00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:45,560 Speaker 1: but and I just felt like I was having this 603 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: totally surreal, out of body experience because here I am 604 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:51,399 Speaker 1: just walking around with my cool, geeky dad and all 605 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,520 Speaker 1: of a sudden, there's all this adulation going on. But 606 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,800 Speaker 1: there were some other experiences similar to that that helped 607 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,719 Speaker 1: me understand some of the impact he had. But the 608 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,799 Speaker 1: real impact came when he got ill. In the late 609 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:09,279 Speaker 1: spring of two thousand five, he discovered that he had 610 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,520 Speaker 1: a brain tumor, and unfortunately it was inoperable, and things 611 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:18,479 Speaker 1: rather quickly declined, and at one point on my brother 612 00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,000 Speaker 1: Matthew set up a page on the Carrying Bridge dot 613 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:24,120 Speaker 1: com for him to be able to journal out how 614 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,279 Speaker 1: he was doing, and it was really he didn't but 615 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:30,440 Speaker 1: other people in the family did just to keep people apprised. 616 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,080 Speaker 1: And originally it was just meant for forty people, forty 617 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,160 Speaker 1: of his friends around the world, but it quickly became 618 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,560 Speaker 1: public and in the first seven weeks, sixty thousand people 619 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 1: went on that site. Bob moved passed away on August one, 620 00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:49,160 Speaker 1: two thousand five. On the day he died, twenty thousand 621 00:42:49,239 --> 00:42:53,280 Speaker 1: people logged onto the site, and over four thousand people 622 00:42:53,880 --> 00:43:00,280 Speaker 1: left testimonials on that page speaking to how Bob Loge 623 00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,799 Speaker 1: had inspired them, how he had changed their life, how 624 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 1: he had transformed their life, how because of Bob mog 625 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:11,560 Speaker 1: they were musicians, How Bob Moge gave them their creative voice, 626 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:15,200 Speaker 1: how Bob Mogan inspired them to be an engineer, and 627 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:19,200 Speaker 1: these testimonials just went on and on and on. At 628 00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:21,600 Speaker 1: the time, I owned a small business of my own. 629 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:23,959 Speaker 1: I had two young children, five and ten years old, 630 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:26,960 Speaker 1: and I would um go at night and help take 631 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,239 Speaker 1: care of him. And then when I would put my 632 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:31,200 Speaker 1: kids to bed, I would go down and I would 633 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:36,320 Speaker 1: read these testimonials, and I would honestly just cry the 634 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:39,560 Speaker 1: whole time because it was like, for the first time 635 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:42,279 Speaker 1: someone was introducing me to Bob Mug. I did not 636 00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,759 Speaker 1: know Bob Mogan until I was thirty seven and he died. 637 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,279 Speaker 1: And it was those people through Caring Bridge that not 638 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,360 Speaker 1: only you know, knocked down the kind of walls that 639 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,360 Speaker 1: my father put up around his Bob Mog persona to 640 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:58,240 Speaker 1: kind of protect the family from that celebrity, but enlightened 641 00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:02,840 Speaker 1: the rest of my family to this incredible depth and 642 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 1: breadth that the impact he made had on people all 643 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:11,120 Speaker 1: over the world. We had people from sixty seven different 644 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:17,120 Speaker 1: countries leave testimonials. Michelle says, those testimonials or what inspired 645 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,160 Speaker 1: her to create the Bob Mog Foundation in two thousand six. 646 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,279 Speaker 1: When you have an inspirational force like that, something that 647 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:29,680 Speaker 1: you can use to change the world in a positive way, 648 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:34,400 Speaker 1: that it not only deserves to be carried forward, but 649 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:37,319 Speaker 1: it really demands to be carried forward because you don't 650 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 1: get opportunities like that very often. So it was the 651 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,920 Speaker 1: family who said, you know, we really, we really need 652 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,480 Speaker 1: to do something important here, and that's when the foundation 653 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:51,480 Speaker 1: was created. The official mission is to inspire people through 654 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:56,719 Speaker 1: the intersection of science, music, innovation and technology, which is 655 00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:01,560 Speaker 1: essentially a mirror reflection of Bob MoG's legacy itself through 656 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:04,560 Speaker 1: our three projects. We have three different projects. Dr Bob 657 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,960 Speaker 1: sold School, which is our hallmark educational project that teaches 658 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,880 Speaker 1: little kids about the science of sound through music and technology. 659 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:13,480 Speaker 1: We have the Bob Mog Foundation Archives, which is a 660 00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:17,200 Speaker 1: vast collection of over ten thousand pieces of archival material 661 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: that we protect, preserve, and share with other museums and researchers. 662 00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:25,600 Speaker 1: And then we have the Mogsium in downtown Nashville, North 663 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:30,440 Speaker 1: Carolina that carries that mission forward to inspire both children 664 00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:34,960 Speaker 1: and adults through all these interactive exhibits that bring Bob 665 00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 1: Mug's legacy alive, not just his life story and his 666 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,359 Speaker 1: work story, but the science that really drove his work, 667 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,560 Speaker 1: to science and engineering that he was so passionate about. 668 00:45:47,040 --> 00:45:49,719 Speaker 1: One has to wonder what might Bob Mog have done 669 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:54,040 Speaker 1: in today's world with today's technology. Well, Michelle has some 670 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:58,040 Speaker 1: insight into that. At the end of his life, he 671 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:02,960 Speaker 1: really was more focused not on synthesis itself, but on 672 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 1: how we were accessing synthesizer interfaces. He told one of 673 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,840 Speaker 1: his engineers at move Music that the keyboard wasn't antiquated interface, 674 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:14,600 Speaker 1: and that we needed to move on. He told him 675 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:17,640 Speaker 1: that when he was moving his office, he was already 676 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:20,879 Speaker 1: walking with a cane because his left side had become 677 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,960 Speaker 1: somewhat debilitated because of his brain, and he knew he 678 00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:27,239 Speaker 1: wasn't going back, and those were his parting words to 679 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,320 Speaker 1: that engineer. And my dad had been working on multi 680 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:35,640 Speaker 1: touch sensitive interfaces for decades at that point, and he 681 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:39,200 Speaker 1: had been developing a multi touch sensitive keyboard with an 682 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:54,719 Speaker 1: avant guarde opera composer named John Eaton. That kind of 683 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:58,560 Speaker 1: work was actually ahead of its time, and what he 684 00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:02,680 Speaker 1: was aiming for is ubiquitous now. The roly controllers, the 685 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:07,680 Speaker 1: Hawk and Continuum. The Hawk and Continuum as a newer 686 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:11,160 Speaker 1: instrument made of foam. It's not unlike a keyboard, but 687 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,239 Speaker 1: you hold it more like a guitar. You can manipulate 688 00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,319 Speaker 1: the sounds based on the speed with which you move 689 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 1: your fingers, the amount of pressure you apply, and all 690 00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:38,439 Speaker 1: sorts of other new parameters, all of that touch sensitivity, 691 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,920 Speaker 1: pressure sensitivity, velocity sensitivity. He was working on all of 692 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:47,680 Speaker 1: that starting in He actually told my stepmother that the 693 00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:50,680 Speaker 1: multi touch sensitive keyboard he felt was his most important 694 00:47:50,719 --> 00:47:53,040 Speaker 1: contribution to the world of music. He felt like the 695 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:56,360 Speaker 1: world of synthesis had kind of gone far enough, but 696 00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:00,320 Speaker 1: there wasn't enough human nurance in that world. That's what 697 00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:04,080 Speaker 1: he was really interested in near the end of his life. Now, 698 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:09,879 Speaker 1: I played the Hackam continuum. That is a really interesting technology. 699 00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:13,000 Speaker 1: The first time I ever checked it out, that foam 700 00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:17,320 Speaker 1: keyboard idea and being able to interface with the sound 701 00:48:17,400 --> 00:48:20,120 Speaker 1: in a tactile way led me to believe that it 702 00:48:20,239 --> 00:48:22,840 Speaker 1: was going to be a winner, because there is always 703 00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:27,160 Speaker 1: going to be that barrier between the musician and the 704 00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:31,840 Speaker 1: musical instrument. The more steamless that is, the more useful 705 00:48:32,120 --> 00:48:34,680 Speaker 1: and expressive it is. Because at the end of the day, 706 00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,520 Speaker 1: you know, these are all supposed to be a means 707 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:41,120 Speaker 1: of expression for the musician, and so being able to 708 00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:45,279 Speaker 1: interact with the sound that you're creating is is imperative. 709 00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:49,680 Speaker 1: And even Bob recognized that aspect of the synthesizers, which 710 00:48:49,760 --> 00:48:52,879 Speaker 1: is why you always wanted to incorporate some would into 711 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:56,040 Speaker 1: the instrument. And we as humans feel connection to that. 712 00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,560 Speaker 1: I think it's because it used to be alive. So 713 00:48:58,719 --> 00:49:01,880 Speaker 1: being able to connect with that at some level, I 714 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:05,319 Speaker 1: think is what makes a musical instrument much more expressive. 715 00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:09,880 Speaker 1: But I kind of think that the actual synthesizer is 716 00:49:10,560 --> 00:49:14,000 Speaker 1: sort of reached full maturity. I mean, the actual sound source. 717 00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,000 Speaker 1: You can keep any more stuff onto it. But I 718 00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:19,799 Speaker 1: think any future progress is probably going to be made 719 00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:23,400 Speaker 1: in the domain of how we control and express what 720 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:29,000 Speaker 1: that sound is. Even still, August says we should continue 721 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:32,680 Speaker 1: to explore the world of analog synthesis. There's still plenty 722 00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:36,120 Speaker 1: of sounds to be discovered. I like to tell the 723 00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:38,239 Speaker 1: story that some of the best sounds I ever got 724 00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:40,320 Speaker 1: out of a memory mode was back at the factory 725 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:44,120 Speaker 1: on my test bench just before they died. I mean, 726 00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,799 Speaker 1: you know, you'd start playing this thing and it's like, oh, 727 00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:49,800 Speaker 1: you know, this thing's got a problem. It starts getting 728 00:49:49,800 --> 00:49:52,160 Speaker 1: all kind of crunchy, and like, Trevor, you gotta hear 729 00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:54,760 Speaker 1: this sound, man, This thing sounds like it's just about 730 00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:57,040 Speaker 1: the like the bed part of my French And you know, 731 00:49:57,120 --> 00:49:59,600 Speaker 1: he put the headphones on and go, wow, that is amazing. 732 00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,160 Speaker 1: If only we can make it do that all the time. 733 00:50:05,640 --> 00:50:07,399 Speaker 1: You put the headphones on and play like a couple 734 00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:10,560 Speaker 1: of chords, and then it just stops. I was like, oh, correct, now, 735 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:13,640 Speaker 1: I gotta find out what's wrong with it. But in 736 00:50:13,719 --> 00:50:16,920 Speaker 1: that thirty five seconds, man, it was like audio bliss. 737 00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:27,320 Speaker 1: This episode of Ephemeral was written and assembled by Trevor 738 00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:31,440 Speaker 1: Young and produced with Max and Alex Williams. August Borley 739 00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:35,359 Speaker 1: is a former engineer for mog Music, and Michelle Mokusa 740 00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:39,440 Speaker 1: is the executive director of the Bob Mogue Foundation. Special 741 00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:42,319 Speaker 1: thanks to Michelle for the tour of the Mogzium, which 742 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:46,080 Speaker 1: you can visit any time you're in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. 743 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:50,960 Speaker 1: Links pictures, sounds, and more on our social media at 744 00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:55,160 Speaker 1: Ephemeral Show. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit 745 00:50:55,200 --> 00:50:58,480 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 746 00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:06,480 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. The player