# RIP: Bob Moog, creator of the synthesizer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081 "2005-08-22T05:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/1 "2005-08-22T05:46:37Z")
Bob Moog died this afternoon. Synthesizer enthusiasts have known about his battle with an inoperable brain tumor for months; frankly, it never looked remotely hopeful for the guy, but we all sent him our prayers and best wishes. Moog’s contribution to modern music is almost incalculable; his modular moog systems and later the Minimoog synthesizer had an enormous impact on the direction of modern music, truly changing the course and guiding the development of all genres of music and all music technology that followed. He’ll be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/2 "2005-08-22T05:52:13Z")
I miss him already. He was a way cool guy. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/3 "2005-08-22T07:38:09Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/4 "2005-08-22T14:07:45Z")
I was one of the 12 people who actually went to a THEATER to see the documentary on him last year. This is very sad news for me. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/5 "2005-08-22T15:50:16Z")
It really is strange when I look at my moog equipment (the moogerfooger pedals and the more recent Mimimoog voyager) and think “this guy’s not around anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/6 "2005-08-22T20:22:59Z")
I was so hooked on my Switch on Bach record, I actually attended one of the first concerts. It consisted of a sound engineer in a t-shirt who turn on a bunch of jerry-rigged computers attached to several moog synthesisers. :eek: 😛😛 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/7 "2005-08-22T20:28:32Z")
Wow. My brother dated his daughter, and my wife dated a theramin-player, and I believe he lived here in Asheville. I imagine my social group is going to be kinda rocked by this. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/8 "2005-08-22T21:35:11Z")
I had an album years ago, “Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog”. First time I’d heard _Bolero_. I have a Theramin, but it’s not a Moog. In the closed MPSIMS thread, a couple of Theramin players reported in. And now a couple in this thread. I run my Theramin through a guitar effects box for added fun, but I’m hardly a virtuoso. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/9 "2005-08-23T03:37:56Z")
damn… I learned to play on a moog micromoog. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/10 "2005-08-23T04:00:38Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > and I believe he lived here in Asheville Don’t know if he still lived there during his illness, but he definitely was living there a few years ago. Saw him at services at Beth Israel a few times when I was visiting with my wife’s family. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/11 "2005-08-23T04:58:06Z")
[hijack]So, I’ve wondered all these years – is it pronounced “moooog” or “mohg” ?[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/12 "2005-08-23T05:14:10Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > [hijack]So, I’ve wondered all these years – is it pronounced “moooog” or “mohg” ?[/hijack] According to something I saw on Slashdot, it’s supposed to be pronounced as the latter (as in “Worf, son of,” as a Slashdot wag pointed out), but that the man himself said that he kind of liked the “cow” sound better. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/13 "2005-08-23T05:51:07Z")
yeah, mowg… Its always been a litmus test among keyboard players…if you pronounce it mooooog you are shunned, and beaten. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/14 "2005-08-23T08:05:19Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > yeah, mowg… > > Its always been a litmus test among keyboard players…if you pronounce it mooooog you are shunned, and beaten. [Exasperatingly petty nitpick]You don’t mean ‘litmus test’. You mean ‘shibboleth’. (Look it up.)[/end of e.p.n.] I always heard that the correct pronunciation was that ‘moog’ rhymes with ‘vogue’. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/15 "2005-08-23T14:02:36Z")
Yep–he lived in Asheville, although I was wrong about who his daughter was. She was a friend of my brother’s, not a girlfriend, and a very sweet person. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-bob-moog-creator-of-the-synthesizer/318081/16 "2005-08-24T02:48:32Z")
Back when I was in college, one of our professors (Dick Grayson\*) was a friend of his. They performed together and I saw 'em. Great, cutting edge stuff. I’m am saddened beyond words. \*No joke. We put a Robin poster on his door.