Desktop Instruments

The first synthesizers were modular behemoths, great big beasts that commanded the room and obliterated the savings of anyone lucky enough (foolhardy enough?) to own one. The first two big synthesizer manufacturers, Moog and ARP, both started life with modular systems, and both soon progressed to smaller machines. Moog developed the Minimoog Model D and set the blueprint for hardwired synthesizers. ARP took a different approach and came up with the 2600, the first synth with semi-modular architecture.