Musical instruments are essentially pieces of technology. In this talk I revisit the early history of the electronic music synthesizer (1964-1994) from the perspective of science and technology studies and sound studies. I will argue that particular sounds became stabilized along with particular performance practices, sociotechnical assemblages, and ways of listening. These sounds, performance and listening practices, and assemblages took electronic music from the margins of the counter culture to a core part of mainstream culture. The talk will be accompanied by some “classic” pieces of synthesizer music.