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Moog and Korg make synth apps free to help musicians stuck at home
If you're a musician (or fan) whose concerts got scrapped over coronavirus concerns, you'll at least have more tools to produce music when you're at home. To start, Moog has made its Minimoog Model D iOS synth app available for free. It wasn't hugely expensive to start, but this could make it easy to recreate the first portable synth and slip some Kraftwerk- or Dr. Dre-inspired sounds into your latest track. Moog didn't say how long the price change would last, but you might want to act quickly.
The revolutionary Minimoog Model D synth is now available as an iOS app
From Kraftwek and Michael Jackson to Nine Inch Nails and Dr. Dre, the Minimoog has spanned musical genres and decades. Released in 1970, it was one of the first synthesizers to include a keyboard. It gave musicians the ability to step up to the instrument and start composing instead of figuring out the complex world of modular synths. Sadly, Moog (rhymes with vogue) ended production of the Minimoog Model D in 1981.
Hip-hop producer J Dilla's beat-making gear headed to Smithsonian
Last week, the Smithsonian announced two of J Dilla's production tools would be displayed at the upcoming National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thanks to a donation from his mother (pictured above), the influential artist/producer's custom Minimoog Voyager and Akai Music Production Center (MPC) 3000 Limited Edition will be part of a collection that aims "to explore how popular music helped shape the nation's history and culture politically and socially." Before passing away in 2006, J Dilla worked with A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, The Roots, The Pharcyde and many more, creating unique sounds for each in addition to his own solo work. "Everyone who pays attention to hip-hop has heard J Dilla's work whether they realize it or not," said Timothy Ann Burnside, the museum's popular music historian. "In the very demanding world of hip-hop producers, he was one of the busiest and most sought-after." When the museum opens in 2016, Dilla's instruments will be included in the "Musical Crossroads" exhibit -- one of the venue's 11 inaugural collections. If you're unfamiliar with his work, there's a brief introductory Spotify playlist from our Engadget channel just after the break.
Synthesizer giant Bob Moog to be inducted into Inventors Hall of Fame today (video)
Lovers of classic synth, celebrate: pioneer Bob Moog will join the Inventors Hall of Fame today. The USPTO is bestowing that honor for patent number 3,475,623 granted in 1966 for the so-called Moog ladder filter that gave rise to its original synth and Minimoog Synthesizers, and is still used in synths like the Voyager and Sub Phatty today. To fete the occasion, the company is reissuing its classic ladder filter t-shirt that'll come with a free hall of fame induction poster, and will also hold an ice cream social at the factory store in Asheville, NC. That'll culminate in a rare Moog synth-heavy performance by aptly-named local group Ice Cream, so if you're lucky enough to be in the area, the festivities kick off at 6 p.m.
Moog shows off the analog Minimoog Voyager XL, just another thing from the past that isn't dead
Hey Moog, thanks for continuing to be so awesome, and thanks for busting out the Minimoog Voyager XL, a brand new, analog-loving synthesizer. This beauty boasts a ribbon controller, a 61-note velocity sensitive keyboard, a panel-mounted touch surface controller. In addition to all its analog features, the Minimoog's got MIDI for if you're from the future (or you know, the present). The updated Minimoog -- which is being released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its arrival on earth -- is available now, and if you can cough up the nearly $5,000 it'll cost you, it'll probably be worth it.
