The Bob Moog Foundation is excited to announce the debut of the Vox HumanaSample Bank, a sample library that masterfully recreates the Vox Humana setting of a Polymoog 280A. The sample bank can be purchased through the Bob Moog Foundation’s online store using this link: https://bit.ly/VoxHumanaSampleBank.
Carefully sampling every note of a Polymoog 280A set to its Vox Humana setting, musician, educator, and creator Alex Ball was able to recreate the famous patch as a downloadable sample bank. Ball recorded each note twice to capture variation. Seamless looping, attack and release controls, and reverb were meticulously scripted into the associated Kontakt patch. A full version of Kontakt 7 is required to operate the Vox Humana Sample Bank. Open WAV samples are also included.
“Vox Humana is one of those sounds that is so familiar and yet so otherworldly – synthetic but somehow organic,” noted Alex Ball. “Hopefully, this multi-sampled version of the sound will get a lot of use and bring a lot of happiness to those who can't access an original unit.”
Released in 1978 as a new and simplified version of the Polymoog 203A, the Polymoog 280A was a fully polyphonic preset-based synthesizer. The 280A model featured fourteen preset sounds, including the Vox Humana setting, which was made famous by Gary Numan with his 1979 hit song “Cars.” To this day, the Vox Humana setting remains the most celebrated preset from the Polymoog 280A for its full and rich sound.
The Vox Humana Sample Bank can be purchased for $15 through the Bob Moog Foundation’s online store, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Foundation’s projects as Ball donated the sample bank. Upon purchasing the sample bank customers will receive a follow-up email that will provide them with a zip file containing the complete files.
Funds raised from Vox Humana sales will be used to expand the Bob Moog Foundation’s hallmark educational project, Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, which has inspired over 30,000 elementary school students through the science of sound. The raffle also helps support the Bob Moog Foundation Archives and the Moogseum, an immersive, experiential museum located in Asheville, North Carolina, which brings Bob Moog’s pioneering legacy and the science of sound and synthesis alive for people of all ages. The Moogseum opened in May 2019 and has since welcomed over 40,000 visitors from all over the world.
