Bob Moog (rhymes with Vogue - Dutch ancestry) developed the first practical electronic music synthesizer. There were others that came before but Moog had the idea to make every parameter controlled by a voltage input as opposed to turning a knob.
This meant that you could use the output of one module to modify the operating parameters of another. Moog also specified that the voltage was one volt per octave of range. Some of the earlier manufacturers did one volt per cycle but since we perceive music by octaves instead of cycles per second, these machines were awkward to use.
Bob was also very particular about the quality of his design - my first exposure to electronic music synthesizers was back in 1971 with a Buchla system in a hot room. Whenever the air conditioning came on, you had to stop and retune. Moog did not have this problem. (1V/Hz is electronically a lot simpler circuit to design than 1V/Octave)
I have owned a couple MiniMoog machines over the years and am a current and happy owner of a Moog Voyager. I also recently bought a system from Rodger at synthesizers.com - he has taken the basic Moog designs and brought them into the 21st century.
What prompted this post is this news item from the New York Times:
Moog Music Gives Employees More Control
At the Moog synthesizer factory in Asheville, N.C., on Tuesday, Michael Adams, the company’s owner and chief executive, wanted to share some life-changing news with the entire staff.
“I’ve sold half the company,” he told them.
Anxious silence descended among the tight-knit group, many of whom feel a familial loyalty to the business, which has been likened to Willy Wonka’s factory for electronic musicians.
Then Mr. Adams revealed the buyer.
“I sold it to you,” he said, to a relieved wave of whoops, applause and happy tears, according to employees present.
This is how you run a business - Capitalism at its finest!