Widely heralded as a pioneer of electronic music for inventing some of the world's very first synthesizers, Robert Moog would have turned 78 today (May 23), and Google has come up with an awesome way to celebrate. If you've been on the internet this morning, chances are you've already seen what might be the most complex Google doodle to date on the search engine's homepage.
Paying tribute to Moog, the doodle allows Google users to create, record and share snippets of their very own Moog compositions. Complete with 19 knobs, four tracks, plus a modulation wheel and switch, the device allows users to manipulate sound rather impressively.
The project was jump-started by Google's Ryan Germick (Chief Doodler) and engineer Joey Hurst, who previously collaborated on the memorable playable Les Paul guitar doodle last year.
In an interview with Mashable, the Google employees gushed about Moog's work, with Germick claiming that the Moog doodle arose as a challenge of sorts.
"Joey is an amazing engineer and I love to come up with a way to stump him," Germick said.
They also explained that the creation took over four months of work and required thousands of lines of code.
They continued to note that due to the Web Audio API that was recently added to Google Chrome, the doodle is most effective when used with Chrome. Other browsers merely rely on Flash, missing the "Really high-quality, low-latency audio" of the new API.
Moog synthesizers have been used by countless artists over the years, including early use on the likes of the Beatles' Abbey Road, Kraftwerk's Autobahn and the Beach Boys' Love You.
For those struggling to figure out how to make their own masterpiece, there's a handy how-to guide you can check out over here, plus a video demonstration that you can watch below.
Paying tribute to Moog, the doodle allows Google users to create, record and share snippets of their very own Moog compositions. Complete with 19 knobs, four tracks, plus a modulation wheel and switch, the device allows users to manipulate sound rather impressively.
The project was jump-started by Google's Ryan Germick (Chief Doodler) and engineer Joey Hurst, who previously collaborated on the memorable playable Les Paul guitar doodle last year.
In an interview with Mashable, the Google employees gushed about Moog's work, with Germick claiming that the Moog doodle arose as a challenge of sorts.
"Joey is an amazing engineer and I love to come up with a way to stump him," Germick said.
They also explained that the creation took over four months of work and required thousands of lines of code.
They continued to note that due to the Web Audio API that was recently added to Google Chrome, the doodle is most effective when used with Chrome. Other browsers merely rely on Flash, missing the "Really high-quality, low-latency audio" of the new API.
Moog synthesizers have been used by countless artists over the years, including early use on the likes of the Beatles' Abbey Road, Kraftwerk's Autobahn and the Beach Boys' Love You.
For those struggling to figure out how to make their own masterpiece, there's a handy how-to guide you can check out over here, plus a video demonstration that you can watch below.
