How did Robert Moog’s synthesizers differ from Donald Buchla’s synthesizers?

The primary difference between the synthesizers developed by Robert Moog and Donald Buchla in 1964 lay in their control interfaces.1

• Moog Synthesizers: These instruments featured conventional, piano-like keyboards alongside other manual control devices. This design made them more accessible for the performance of traditional music, as exemplified by the commercial success of Wendy Carlos’s Switched-on Bach.12
• Buchla Synthesizers: Instead of traditional keys, Buchla instruments utilized touch-sensitive contact plates. These interfaces, which lacked movable keys, were designed to initiate sounds and patterns in ways more comparable to a violin fingerboard. Consequently, they were primarily adopted by experimental composers, such as Morton Subotnick, for avant-garde works.12

While both designers utilized analog technology to create modular systems, Moog’s keyboard-centric approach helped bridge the gap between electronic synthesis and traditional musical performance, whereas Buchla’s interface focused on alternative methods of musical expression.12