Video: Is This the First Portable Synthesizer?

Moog Musonics Sonic V. Photo from Switched On Music Electronics.

One of the reasons that synth designer Gene Zumchak left Moog, after working on instruments like the Synthesizer 10 and the 960 Sequencer, is that he wanted to design a simplified portable synthesizer at a time when Bob Moog wasn’t interested.

And, after Zumchak left, that's just what he did, with the Musonics Sonic V.

But how did it happen that this, one of the first modern portable synthesizers is almost unknown compared to the Minimoog and the other initial portable synthesizers of the time? And how on Earth did it later become a Moog product?


The Moog Sonic Six
The Moog Sonic Six. Photo by Analog U.S.

What secrets lie at the source of this strange outcome? Was there intrigue? Was Gene Zumchak’s design stolen?

Well, it might not be as sensational as all of that, but the actual story is even more strange!

Watch the tale above. To learn more about The Astonishing History of Synthesizers, watch our previous videos in this series: "The Light Bulb Is the Origin of the Modern Synthesizer," "The Famous Moog-ARP Lawsuit… That Never Happened," and "Moog vs. Buchla—Who Created the First VC Modular Synth?"

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