- MOOG modular synthesizers
First embodiment of the synthesizer: to get a sound, you had to plug
each module into another. You couldn't memorize sounds (you had to draw
the connections on a sheet of paper). The keyboards were monophonic
(i.e. you could only play one note at a time, therefore, no chords were
possible), but you could create an infinite number of sounds (you could
get the number and type of modules you wanted).
The first portable pre wired synthesizer (no need to plug to get a sound anymore), but still monophonic and without memory.
First polyphonic synthesizers (you could play 2, 4, 6 or 8 notes at the same time, depending on the models): one synthesizer necessary by note (Expander Module). Emergence of the first memories, but for each module we could only memorize a couple of parameters ! (16 memory slots).
First fully programmable polyphonic (5 notes) synthesizers (32 memory slots to record all the synths' parameters)
The bass synthesizer which went down in History with the emergence of Techno music in 1987!
The first MIDI synthesizer.
The first fully digital synthesizer (FM synthesis technology - frequency modulation). No more front buttons. Here came complex use and countless preset banks! (sounds pre-programmed in factory). The quality and precision of the sounds were increased. Improved sound tuning when compared to the previous synthesizer generation (analogic technology).
The first synthesizers which combined digital wave shapes (basic sounds) (the ancestors of the samples) with subtractive analog synthesis treatments (just like in the first synthesizers). You could also create or revise the wave shapes on a screen (WAVETERM).
The first affordable sampler (from 2900 to 7600 euros for the best one, called FAIRLITE). But the sound memory was still very limited (only 10 seconds in mono) and the sampling rate was mediocre (8 bits - compared to 16 or 24 bits now).
The return of subtractive synthesis (like the analogical synthesizers) but digitaly modelized (by calculus): the return of the front buttons, long awaited by a new generation of musicians and the possibility to record each potentiometer movement (to edit the sounds) in MIDI.
The first affordable computer program dedicated to sound synthesis (combining several types of synthesis, including the subtractive, the FM, the additive, etc..).
The virtual embodiment of former synthesizers (using software).