Here’s a brief summary of electronic instruments and the main synthesis types. The first of each type are listed here, and all are featured in my book, ‘Synthesizer Evolution’.
1600 - The ‘modern’ discovery of electricity by William Gilbert, who wrote ‘De Magnete’.
1759 - Clavecin Électrique - the first instrument featured in ‘Synthesizer Evolution’; a kind of bell ringing instrument driven by a Leiden jar.
1897 - The Telharmonium - early tonewheel instrument, weighing 200 tons.
1906 - Audion valve - invented by Lee de Forest, used for early ‘heterodyne’ oscillators (beat-frequencies in the audio range of radio-frequency valves).
1922 - Theremin - invented by Lev Teremin, using the heterodyne effect.
1928 - Ondes Martenot - also using the heterodyne effect.
1932 - Electric piano is invented by the Neo-Bechstein company, using electro-static pick-ups on the tines.
1935 - Hammond Tonewheel Organ - invented by Laurens Hammond.
1939 - Hammond Novachord - first commercial synthesizer, using valves for oscillators, tone and envelope control.
1949 - Chamberlin - used tape recordings of instruments and rhythms.
1951 - RCA Sound Synthesizer - room sized experimental sound lab - which also introduced the word ‘synthesizer’ in the modern sense.
1954 - Hammond B3 - the all-time classic electric organ.
1963 - Mellotron - building on the Chamberlin’s technology using tape-recordings of instruments.
1963 - Moog Modular & Buchla Music Box - Moog and Buchla independently invent the modern transistor based synthesizer and laid the ground work for the first generations of analogue synthesizers.
1969 - EMS VCS3 - the first portable semi-modular analogue synth - 3 oscillators and a pin-matrix.
1969 - EML Electrocomp Model 100 - with 4 VCOs was one of the earliest duophonic synths.
1970 - Moog Minimoog (Model D) - the breakthrough portable analogue classic - 3 oscillators and hard-wired architecture.
1972 - Eminent 310 Unique - the first string synthesizer, using divide-down oscillators for full polyphony and individual vibrato for a richer sound.
1974 - RMI Harmonic Synthesizer - early additive synthesizer.
1977 - New England Digital Synclavier - Introduces digital additive synthesis, ahead of the introduction of its sampling capabilities in 1982.
1977 - Yamaha CS-80 - the pre-eminent analogue polysynth - eight note polyphony and gorgeous tones.
1978 - Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 - the first synth with a microprocessor, used for storing patches. Anoher of the of the classic analogue polysynths.
1978 - Crumar DS-1, EDP Wasp, PPG 1020 - early use of Digitally Controlled Oscillators (DCOs) for better tuning stability.
1978 - PPG 360 - Introduces Wavetable synthesis - the ability to use digital waveforms and to sequence them as part of an individual patch.
1980- Casio Casiotone VL1 - first commercial digital synthesizer, albeit a home keyboard.
1981 - Casio Casiotone 401 - the home keyboard to introduce the joys (curse?) of chord auto-accompanient.
1981 - MIDI standard agreed - driven by Dave Smith (Sequential Circuits) and Ikaturo Kakehashi (Roland), based in part on Roland’s DCB interface.
1982 - Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 - first synthesizer to sport MIDI ports.
1983 - Yamaha DX7 - the breakthrough FM synthesizer.
1984 - Casio CZ-101 - the first of Casio’s ‘Phase Distortion’ synthesizers, a technique similar to FM synthesis.
1985 - Atari ST 520 - the computer that had built in MIDI ports and enabled the connected studio to evolve.
1987 - Roland D-50 - the best-selling synth that brought Sample & Synthesis to the masses (earlier S&S synths were made such as Kurzweil K250 (1984) and the 360 Systems Digital Keyboard (1982)).
1987 - Casio HZ-600 - the first of Casio’s Spectrum Dynamic Synthesis synths (using digital oscillators).
1988 - Sequential Circuits Prophet VS - introduces Vector Synthesis - realtime control of oscillators using a joystick.
1988 - Korg M1 - one of the best selling synths of all time; used sample & synthesis.
1994 - Yamaha VL1 - the first physical modelling synth - modelling real-world instruments using maths not samples, digital waves or analogue oscillators.
1995 - Doepfer A100 - Modular synth introducing the Eurorack format which was to dominate by the 2020s.
1995 - Korg Prophecy - the first analogue modelling synth - modelling analogue circuits in software.
1997 - Propellerhead Software Rebirth - computer based modelling software (modelling the Korg TB-303).
2015 - Korg Arp Odyssey - the first of the rebooted vintage synthesizers as modern clones of the originals.