For pictures of this system, go to the MoogArchives,
http://www.moogarchives.com There is a bit of the story behind it there too. [I think one of the funniest bits
is the story of Moog and Deutsch trying to get one of the prototypes across the
Canadian border to the University of Toronto in the mid 60's. Can you imagine
trying to explain a "synthesizer" to someone back then?] The system on display at
DTW has been at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI ever since it didn't sell at a
Sotheby's auction some years ago. It is one of the first Moog prototypes but
contrary to most of the documentation I have seen, it is ∗not∗ one of the synths
used by Carlos.
Eric
--- Tentochi <
tentochi@...> wrote:
> I thought this was cool from the Synth DIY list.
>
> Cheers!
> Shemp
>
> -----Original Message-----
> [mailto:owner-synth-diy@...] On Behalf Of
> theinmans@...
> Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2000 11:50 PM
>
> There I am with 20 minutes to kill in the Detroit Metro
> Airport, so I'm walking and walking and walking and walking.
> My mind begins to wander and I am walking and walking and...
> all of the sudden, I stop. What was THAT? I turn around and
> there, in a glass case, as part of some technology installation,
> is a real Moog -- a detached keyboard and a couple of big wood
> boxes with some silver and classic black metal Moog faceplates.
> Only these were not pefectly finished. The wood boxes look like
> they were stained by a beginner. They were not even well sanded.
> And the faceplates looked like they were something right out of
> the rack of, well, a beginner. Knobs were in not quite the right
> places and some of the wording seems odd. For example, three
> knobs on the keyboard read (left to right): Sustain Height,
> Attack Height, Attack Duration. Aren't those in the wrong
> order? Hey, that looks just like the stuff I make!
>
> As it turns out, the signs say, this is one of two prototype
> (1964) modulars used by Walter Carlos (no mention of Wendy) for
> the Switched on Bach records. It includes the keyboard and
> two large boxes. Some of it looks very "Moog." For example,
> there is a Bandpass 904 module. Some of the others are unfamiliar
> to me. There were two VCOs and two VCAs. However, the VCOs were
> titled, "Generator Module." There was also a white noise
> generator.
>
> What was so cool about this Moog was the whole DIY look of it.
> Different modules in different colors (black, silver). Some
> went across and some were up and down. The wooden boxes that
> may have once looked better, but could never have been as slick
> as the minimoog. The knobs in odd places, perhaps out of
> left-to-right order with odd names. There is a lot of extra
> space on the faceplates and even the modules with more knobs
> and jacks are not as tightly laid out as later mass-production
> Moogs -- an obvious lesson learned by anyone who has tried to
> jam too much into a physically small design. This thing was
> the ultimate DIY synth. In a real way, it made me feel much
> better about some of the things I have thrown together.
>
> What it is doing in the Detroit Metro Airport, I have no idea.
> I can't find anything on the Internet about the installation, so
> I can't say why it is there or how long it will be. But, if you
> have a few minutes to kill in the Detroir Metro Airport, the
> installation is right where gates A-D and E-G break. Have fun.
>
> Elliot
>
>
>
>
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