Moog Rogue

Last updated
Rogue
Moog Rogue angled.jpg
Manufacturer Moog Music
Dates1981
Technical specifications
Polyphony Monophonic
Timbrality Monotimbral
Oscillator 2
LFO 1
Synthesis type Analog subtractive
Filter low-pass
Attenuator ASR
Storage memorynone
Input/output
Keyboard 32 keys
Left-hand controlnone
External control CV/Gate
Moog Rogue left panel.jpg

The Moog Rogue is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music in the early 1980s. Very basic in its design and use, the Rogue featured a 32-note keyboard and two VCOs. VCO number 2 is tunable between a half-step below to an octave above VCO number 1. This allows the Rogue to play atonal sounds like the Moog Prodigy. The Rogue did not have features to allow the user full flexibility to program the patch settings. However, the VCF and the VCA were simple to operate. The design of the hard-wired patch system was well thought out (considering its size and cost) and a wide variety of sounds and modulation effects are possible. The Rogue also includes a Sample-and-Hold feature that the Prodigy does not. The synthesizer is most commonly used for its powerful bass. The Rogue is similar in some respects to the famous ARP Odyssey, though smaller and less versatile.

Moog Music was criticized for repackaging the Rogue as the Taurus II, changing the design to a pedal-operated synthesizer with little difference in sound quality.

The Rogue is very similar in design and sound to the less-expensive Moog Concertmate MG-1, also made by Moog Music, but re-branded for Realistic around the same time for home use. This was perhaps the first example of a keyboard designed for the home musician.

Notable users

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic musical instrument</span> Musical instrument that uses electronic circuits to generate sound

An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker, creating the sound heard by the performer and listener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analog synthesizer</span> Synthesizer that uses analog circuits

An analogsynthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modular synthesizer</span> Synthesizer composed of separate modules

Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, or digital signals for logic or timing conditions. Typical modules are voltage-controlled oscillators, voltage-controlled filters, voltage-controlled amplifiers and envelope generators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CV/gate</span> Analogue method of electronic sound production

CV/gate is an analog method of controlling synthesizers, drum machines, and similar equipment with external sequencers. The control voltage typically controls pitch and the gate signal controls note on-off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Taurus</span> Foot-operated analogue synthesizer

The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular redesign, Taurus II, followed from 1981 to 1983. Instead of a conventional keyboard, the Taurus uses an organ-style pedal board similar to the pedal keyboard of a spinet organ. This control method was chosen because the Taurus was intended to be played by foot while the player's hands played one or more keyboards, although it was often used by guitarists. While the original Taurus featured its own synthesis engine, the Taurus II was essentially the same as the Moog Rogue. In 2010, Moog issued the Moog Taurus III which closely emulates the analog circuitry of the Taurus I, in addition to adding some modern features.

Electronic Music Studios (EMS) is a synthesizer company formed in Putney, London in 1969 by Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell. It is now based in Ladock, Cornwall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Music</span> American synthesizer manufacturer

Moog Music Inc. is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesizer, followed by the Minimoog in 1970, two of the most influential electronic instruments of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARP 2600</span> Analog synthesizer

The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments, Inc in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Concertmate MG-1</span> Monophonic analog synthesizer

The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music in 1981 and sold by Radio Shack from 1982 to 1983 under their "Realistic" brand name. It was produced without some standard Moog features, such as pitch and modulation wheels, as a cost-cutting measure aimed at achieving a lower price for the consumer market. The synthesizer also featured a pair of pass-through RCA jacks, which allowed users to mix radio or records into the final live synthesized sound output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog synthesizer</span> Electronic musical instrument

The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer and established the analog synthesizer concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Jupiter-4</span> Polyphonic analog synthesizer

The Roland Jupiter-4 (JP-4) was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphonic synthesizer, and for employing digital control of analog circuits, allowing for such features as programmable memory, voice assignment modes, an arpeggiator, polyphonic portamento and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korg MS-20</span> Patchable semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer

The Korg MS-20 is a patchable semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer which Korg released in 1978 and which was in production until 1983. It was part of Korg's MS series of instruments, which also included the single oscillator MS-10, the keyboardless MS-50 module, the SQ-10 sequencer, and the VC-10 Vocoder. Additional devices included the MS-01 Foot Controller, MS-02 Interface, MS-03 Signal Processor, and MS-04 Modulation Pedal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micromoog</span> Monophonic analog synthesizer

The Moog model 2090 Micromoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1975 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Source</span> Monophonic analog synthesizer

The Moog Source is a monophonic Z80 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first Moog synthesizer to feature a flat-panel membrane keyboard to replace the standard buttons, knobs and sliders, along with multihued panel graphics that were very different from anything Moog offered at the time. Sound wise it is considered to sound more like the original Moog Minimoog than any other synthesizer made by Moog and was introduced as its replacement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Sonic Six</span> Duophonic analog synthesizer

The Moog Sonic Six is a duophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1972 to 1979. Because of its portable design and built-in speaker, the Sonic Six was widely used for lectures and educational purposes, often by Bob Moog himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korg Polysix</span> Synthesizer

The Korg Polysix(PS-6) is a six-voice programmable polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic Music Laboratories</span> American synthesizer company

Electronic Music Laboratories, commonly abbreviated to EML, was a synthesizer company founded in 1968 in Vernon, Connecticut, by four engineers. It manufactured and designed a variety of synthesizers sharing the same basic design but configured in different ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimoog Voyager</span> Monophonic analogue synthesizer

The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a successor to that instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Prodigy</span> Monophonic analogue synthesizer

The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and controlled by an external source. These later versions began at serial number 4610. The official model number of the instrument is 336. 336A would indicate a domestic (US) model, while a 336BX would indicate an export unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Grandmother</span> Synthesizer

The Grandmother is an analog semi modular, 32 key synthesizer released by Moog Music Inc. incorporating circuits based on the Moog modular synthesizer Model 15, and the Minimoog.