The Bob Moog Foundation let us know that it has added a Minimoog Model D, serial number 7872, previously owned and played by Billy Joel, to its historical archives.
This adds to the Foundation’s recent surge in major hardware acquisitions, including:
- Major inMusic donation July 2026 – A collection of 4,489 items, including more than 500 schematics, 700 letters, Moogerfooger prototypes, a Fairlight CMI, Synton System 3000, and a Minimoog Voyager prototype.
- R.A. Moog Model 351 Theremin July 2026 – A rare 1954, five-octave vacuum-tube theremin donated by Tammy and Phil Niemeyer. Built when Bob Moog was 20.
- The Rensitron April 2026 – Bob Moog’s earliest known keyboard instrument, a two-octave tube electronic organ built in 1951 when he was 16.
- Gary Wright’s white Moog Liberation March 2026 – The Foundation plans to restore it for eventual display and hands-on use.
The donation includes a signed letter from Joel confirming that he used the synthesizer “on tour and/or in the studio,” along with its Anvil road case and original documentation, including a 1974 Minimoog operating manual and a 1979 service manual.
Billy Joel’s Minimoog will be displayed at the Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina, from November 12–16, 2026, as part of the Foundation’s upcoming Minimoog Through the Ages exhibition.
