Moog synthesizer (pronounced ; often
anglicized to , though
Robert Moog preferred the former) may refer to any number of
analog synthesizers designed by Dr.
Robert Moog or manufactured by
Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled
analog synthesizer systems in the mid 1960s. The technological development that led to the creation of the Moog synthesizer was the invention of the
transistor, which enabled researchers like Moog to build electronic music systems that were considerably smaller, cheaper and far more reliable than earlier
vacuum tube-based systems.