- Moog Sonic 6
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Sonic 6 
Robert Moog and Sonic 6 (left)Manufactured by Moog Music Dates 1974 - 1979 Technical specifications Polyphony 2 Oscillator 2 LFO 2 Synthesis type Analog Subtractive Filter low-pass Attenuator ADS or ADR Memory none Effects none Input/output Keyboard 49 keys External control CV/Gate The Moog Sonic 6 (also Sonic VI and Sonic Six) is a duophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1972 to 1979. The Sonic 6 is the result of Moog Music's acquisition of the company Musonics, which had previously made a synthesizer called the Sonic V.
The Sonic 6 is mounted in its own briefcase; the upper control panel folds and latches over the keyboard to ease transportation and storage. This feature was used by a number of synthesizer manufacturers of the time, however the Sonic 6 was Moog Music's only product that incorporated this into its design. The Sonic 6 is also the only Moog synthesizer that featured built-in speakers rather than requiring the user to use an external amplifier.
The Sonic 6 features two VCOs with changeable waveform (sawtooth, triangle, square, pulse), one low-pass VCF, a VCA, two multimode LFOs for modulation and a 49-note keyboard.
The Sonic Six was based on Waytena's Musonics Sonic V. When Musonics bought Moog, they sold the Sonic V as a Moog for a period, and then redesigned it with some castoff Minimoog case designs, and called it the Sonic Six in 1972. It was intended to be the “educational Moog." Bob Moog himself used to tote one of these around for demonstrations. It is the first non-modular duophonic synth.
The Sonic Six is a two-oscillator duophonic synth. It can be set for duophonic, (two notes at a time... one oscillator takes high-note priority and one oscillator takes low note priority), monophonic (both oscs), or monophonic with a drone (one osc changes pitch, one does not). Available waveshapes are pulse (variable), saw, and triangle. The pitch of each oscillator can be controlled by dual LFO, one by contour, and the other by the other oscillator. One can adjust the temperament of the Sonic Six to play scales that have less than 12 notes per octave. The Sonic Six also features pink or white noise.
The Dual LFO design is unique. A mix control allows mixing of each LFO source, while voltage control of each LFO allows additional rate control not often seen in portable synthesizers. Each LFO can produce saw, reverse saw, triangle, and square wave outputs.
The Sonic Six features a ring modulator which allows a player to produce non-chromatic sounds. Audio signals may also be routed through the Moog filter and ring modulator via an external input.
The contour generators are a simple design as compared to other synthesizer models. Decay is provided by a switch, offering long or short decay times.
The filter is standard -24dB/oct Butterworth filter design featuring filter cutoff, resonance, keyboard control switch, contour amount, and LFO amount.
The Sonic Six features “glissando”, another word for portamento. This can be assigned to both oscillators or just one, depending upon the setting. The Sonic Six also features a built in amplifier and speaker, as well as a standard line level output.
External links
Categories:- Moog synthesizers
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