Moogseum Abominatron Listening Party

US Virtual listening party of historic tapes to bid farewell to Moog prototype 19/01/21

The Bob Moog Foundation has announced a virtual listening party of the historic Abominatron tape. The say that, originally sent to Herb Deutsch from Bob Moog in 1964, Moog thoroughly explains every parameter of the Moog synthesizer prototype in a magnificent audio letter. Here's the information that they have sent us...

The listening party, which takes place on February 14, 2021 at 2pm (ET), will be guided by Seva David Ball, the audio engineer who restored and transferred the tape to digital for the Bob Moog Foundation Archives.

Sections from the 84-minute reel-to-reel tape, which was donated to the Foundation by Deutsch, will be explored as Ball sits in the Moogseum beside the prototype, which is currently on loan from The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Many sections of the audio relic have never been shared publicly. In the tape, Moog introduces the brand new instrument, which was the catalyst to a revolution in the world of music, as "the Abominatron". He then turns his attention to leading the listener through the innovative capabilities of this critically important development in the world of synthesis.

"We have been very careful about how we share the rare material on this historic tape," noted Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. "Now, with the prototype ending its days at the Moogseum before being returned to The Henry Ford museum, and given the challenging times that we are all experiencing together, we decided the time was right to reveal more of this invaluable documentation of Bob Moog methodically explaining the instrument he designed, at a time when it was so new that neither he nor Herb Deutsch could have conceived how revolutionary it would be. It will indeed be a rare experience for our audience to hear his thoughts and reflections at such an early stage in the development of synthesis."

"Seva" David Ball
D.L. Ball, known as Seva in the music business, played his first Moog synthesizer at 12 in 1970 (a IIIp at FSU). He was the associate founder of Waves, mastered Dolly Parton records, and archived most of Bob Moog's personal analog tape archive with a Grammy™ grant on behalf of the Bob Moog Foundation. He holds a BA in Music Composition, studying at Belmont, SUNY Buffalo, and UTKnoxville, including master classes from Lejaren Hiller, Morton Feldman, and Aaron Copland.

Pricing and Availability:
Tickets are available through Eventbrite on a "pay what you can" basis.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Moogseum, which was closed for five months due to the pandemic.

More information: