First man on the Moog

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First man on the Moog

From meeting Bob Moog to creating sounds that defined the Prophet-5, John Bowen’s journey traces the evolution of modern synthesis. Read how Moog’s first clinician went from demoing Minimoogs at NAMM to crafting factory presets informing electronic music history.

John Bowen – Moog Music’s first clinician

John Bowen wanted into synthesizers badly. As a young musician, he split his time between keyboard gigs in Sacramento, California, and days in a local music shop. Having met Moog’s in-house evangelist David Van Koevering at a trade show, John sent him a letter along with a tape of his music and a résumé – and hoped for the best.

A few months later, he found himself at the company’s plant in Williamsville, New York, on a trial basis – in front of Bob Moog himself.