Robert Arthur Moog, better known as Bob, was an American engineer best known for his work with synthesizers and electronic music. Moog didn’t invent the synthesizer, but he did revolutionize it. Before Bob, synthesizers were huge, unwieldy machines that took up an entire room and cost far too much to make them commercially viable.
The Bob Moog Foundation will open The Moogseum in downtown Asheville on Thursday, May 23, which would have been Bob Moog’s 85th birthday. The Moogseum is intended to inspire and educate people through electronic music.
Robert Moog changed the landscape of music forever when he launched the first commercial synthesizer in the ‘60s. Since then, the Moog name has become synonymous with synthesis and iconic pieces of hardware like the Minimoog. Now, the Bob Moog Foundation has opened the Moogseum — a museum dedicated to Moog’s work and other important music devices — in Asheville, North Carolina.
There’s no doubt that Bob Moog had a massive influence on music by making synthesizers popular and accessible, and now there’s a dedicated place to pay homage to his legacy. The Bob Moog Foundation has opened the Moogseum, a museum in Asheville, North Carolina that includes static and interactive exhibits devoted to its namesake’s synths as well as other electronic instruments.
Asheville, North Carolina is already a kind of mecca for a certain type of musician. It’s the home of Moog Music, the company which carries on the legacy of manufacturing Dr. Bob Moog’s legendary instruments and continuing his explorations in music synthesis. It’s a three hour drive from Moogfest in Durham. And it’s the home of the (independent, non-profit) Bob Moog Foundation.