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Analog synthesizer

synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ3268757 ↗
Source-derived summary

An analog synthesizer (British English: analogue synthesiser) is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.

The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built using operational amplifier (op-amp) integrated circuits, and used potentiometers (pots, or variable resistors) to adjust the sound parameters. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filters and high-pass filters to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as the Moog used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables, later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems.

History

1900–1950s

The earliest mention of a "synthetic harmoniser" using electricity appears to be in 1906, created by the Scottish physicist James Robert Milne. The earliest synthesizers used a variety of thermionic-valve (vacuum tube) and electro-mechanical technologies. While some electric instruments were produced in bulk, such as Georges Jenny's Ondioline, the Hammond organ, and the Trautonium, many of these would not be considered synthesizers by the standards of later instruments. However, some of these synthesizers achieved a high level of sophistication, such as the Trautonium of Oskar Sala, the Electronium of Raymond Scott, and the ANS synthesizer of Evgeny Murzin. Another notable early instrument is the Hammond Novachord, first produced in 1938.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Analog synthesizer” as synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1900, 1906, 1938—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Analog, synthesizer and uses can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3268757. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1906 and 1938.

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Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Analog synthesizer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.