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Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments

October 27, 2023

Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments (BEMI) was a manufacturer of synthesizers and unique MIDI controllers. The origins of the company could be found in Buchla & Associates, created in 1963 by synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla of Berkeley, California. In 2012 the original company led by Don Buchla was acquired by a group of Australian investors trading as Audio Supermarket Pty. Ltd. The company was renamed Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments as part of the acquisition. In 2018 the assets of BEMI were acquired by a new entity, Buchla U.S.A., and the company continues under new ownership.

Buchla 200e (2004–) used by Deadmau5
(exhibited at National Music Centre)

Company origin edit

Buchla's first modular electronic music system was the result of a San Francisco Tape Music Center commission by composers Ramon Sender and Morton Subotnick in 1963, who later allotted $500 from a Rockefeller Foundation grant to Buchla in 1964. Subotnick envisioned a voltage-controlled instrument that would allow musicians and composers to create sounds suited to their own specifications. Previously, one had to use either discrete audio generators, such as test oscillators—or musique concrète, manually composed and edited magnetic-tape source recordings of other musical, spoken word, or other audio. Buchla designed the synthesizer in a modular fashion, combining separate components that each generated or modified a music event. Each box served a specific function: envelope generators, oscillators, filters, voltage controlled amplifiers, and analog sequencer modules. Using the different modules, a composer could affect the pitch, timbre, amplitude, and spatial location of the sound. The instrument was controlled and played via an array of touch and pressure-sensitive surfaces.[1]

 
Buchla 100 at NYU

The instrument was named the "Buchla 100 series Modular Electronic Music System," and was installed at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in 1965 and moved to Mills College in 1966. Subotnick completed his first major electronic work, Silver Apples Of The Moon, with another unit that Buchla had built and shipped to New York. This same unit was also used on Buffy Sainte Marie's influential 1969 album, Illuminations.[2] Along with Robert Moog's Moog synthesizer, it helped revolutionize the way electronic music and sounds are made.

Products edit

Buchla 100 series (1960s) edit

The original Buchla modular synthesizer was commissioned by Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender and funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The earliest modules are labeled "San Francisco Tape Music Center." Later modules were offered through the musical instruments division of CBS.

Buchla 200 series (1970) edit

 
Buchla 200

The Buchla 200 series Electric Music Box[3] replaced the previous model in 1970 and represented a significant advance in technology. Almost every parameter can be controlled from an external control voltage.

Computer-controlled instruments edit

Buchla 300, 500, Touché (mid 1970s)
In the mid 1970s, Don Buchla began experimenting with digital designs and computer-controlled systems. The results were the 500 series[4] and the 300 series,[5] both of which paired the new technology with existing 200 series modules to create hybrid analog/digital systems. The Touché[6] was also the result of this research, and was also his final attempt to market a "mainstream" Buchla synth[citation needed].

Buchla 400, 700, and MIDAS (1980s)
Also in 1980s, Buchla released the 400 series[7] and the 700 series[8] software controlled instruments operated by MIDAS, a Forth language for musical instruments, and also equipped with MIDI.

 
Buchla 250e Arbitrary Function Generator
 
Buchla Music Easel

Buchla's unique synthesizer designs edit

Buchla tended to not refer to his instruments as synthesizers, as he felt that name gives the impression of imitating existing sounds/instruments. His intent was to make instruments that create new sounds. This goal is evident in the omission of a standard musical keyboard on his early instruments, which instead used a series of touch plates that were not necessarily tied to equal-tempered tuning.

He also used a naming convention different from most of the industry. One of his modules, for example, is called a "Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator." These differences run deeper than nomenclature. The Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator (or MARF) goes well beyond what a typical sequencer is capable of performing and can act as an envelope generator, LFO, CV selector, voltage quantizer, and tracking generator. The MARF (Buchla model 248)[9][10] is not to be confused with the modern Dual Arbitrary Function Generator (Model 250e) which features a different design.[11]

Buchla's instruments, such as the Music Easel (pictured),[12] use a method of timbre generation different from Moog synthesizers. Moog units use oscillators with basic function generator-type waveshapes and rely heavily on filtering with 24 dB resonant low-pass filters, while Buchlas are geared toward complex oscillators using frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, and dynamic waveshaping to produce other forms of timbre modulation. Many of Don Buchla's designs, including the Lopass Gates, contain vactrols - photoresistive opto-isolator employed as voltage-controlled potentiometers - which can be used for a more "natural", typical Buchla sound. In December 2017, Arturia released a software/plugin emulation of the Music Easel, called the "Buchla Easel V",[13] as part of the V collection.

MIDI controllers (late 1980s) edit

Buchla Thunder, Buchla Lightning, Marimba Lumina

By the late 1980s, Don Buchla had stopped creating instruments and shifted his focus to alternate MIDI controllers. His controller designs have included the Thunder,[14] Lightning,[15] and Marimba Lumina.[16]

 
Buchla 200e

Buchla 200e series (2004) edit

Finally, in 2004, Don Buchla returned to designing full blown modular electronic instruments with the 200e, a hybrid system using digital microprocessors that uses the same size modules and signals as the 100 and 200 series systems. The 200e modules convert all signals to analog at the panel, appearing to the user like an analog system, with patch cables. Systems can be built using a combination of 100, 200 and 200e modules. The 200e modules connect through a digital communications bus, allowing the system to store the settings of the knobs and switches.[17]

At the January 2012 NAMM Show, Buchla & Associates announced new ownership, retaining Don Buchla as Chief Technology Officer and investment in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of Buchla products and the development of an expanded product line, and the company moving forward under the name Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments (BEMI).[18] One year later, BEMI re-introduced the Music Easel.[19] Since then, BEMI has released a small number of new modules, including the 252e Polyphonic Rhythm Generator. The "200h" series of modules (h = half) were also released to allow Buchla system owners to configure their systems in more granular ways.

Current status edit

In 2015, various websites, including FACT,[20] reported that Don Buchla had taken the owners of BEMI to court, citing health problems due in part to unpaid consulting fees and asserting a claim to his original intellectual property. The lawsuit alleged breach of contract and "bad-faith conduct" on the part of BEMI's owners and sought $500,000 in compensation.[21]

Legal documents[22] filed with the state of California indicate that the court ordered the case to be settled by arbitration in July 2015. In August 2016, the court dismissed the case in light of the fact that the parties had reached an out-of-court settlement.

Don Buchla died shortly afterward, on September 14, 2016. His obituary was reported in the New York Times[23] and elsewhere, noting his significant achievements to the world of electronic music and technology.

BEMI attended NAMM 2017 and released the Easel AUX Expander. BEMI also established a new distribution model, discontinuing direct sales to customers and integrating more closely with a worldwide network of dealers.

Gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ Vail, Mark. Vintage Synthesizers, Miller Freeman Books, 1993, p. 97-99
  2. ^ Gordon, Theodore (January 14, 2016). "Unboxing the Buchla Model 100". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  3. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  4. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  5. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  6. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  7. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  8. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  9. ^ MARF Programming tips by JonDent
  10. ^ Page about modern MARF clone with schematics and links to original MARF manuals
  11. ^ Buchla 250 product page
  12. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-12-22.
  13. ^ "Arturia - Buchla Easel V - Buchla Easel V".
  14. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-11-02.
  15. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  16. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2012-01-20.
  17. ^ . Buchla and Associates. Archived from the original on 2009-04-12.
  18. ^ "Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments Debuts At Winter NAMM 2012", Keyboard Magazine (January 2012)
  19. ^ Robair, Gino. "NAMM 2013 Gino's Hits" 2013-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, Electronic Musician, (January 2013)
  20. ^ "Don Buchla is taking the owners of his brand to court". 25 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Buchla v. Buchla".
  22. ^ "Buchla v. Buchla Electronic Musical Instrument, LLC et al".
  23. ^ Pareles, Jon (17 September 2016). "Don Buchla, Inventor, Composer and Electronic Music Maverick, Dies at 79". The New York Times.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buchla synthesizers.
  • Buchla & Associates homepage
  • Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer @ Synthmuseum.com
  • Buchla resource page @ synthsale.com

October 27, 2023
buchla, electronic, musical, instruments, bemi, manufacturer, synthesizers, unique, midi, controllers, origins, company, could, found, buchla, associates, created, 1963, synthesizer, pioneer, buchla, berkeley, california, 2012, original, company, buchla, acqui. Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments BEMI was a manufacturer of synthesizers and unique MIDI controllers The origins of the company could be found in Buchla amp Associates created in 1963 by synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla of Berkeley California In 2012 the original company led by Don Buchla was acquired by a group of Australian investors trading as Audio Supermarket Pty Ltd The company was renamed Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments as part of the acquisition In 2018 the assets of BEMI were acquired by a new entity Buchla U S A and the company continues under new ownership Buchla 200e 2004 used by Deadmau5 exhibited at National Music Centre This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Company origin 2 Products 2 1 Buchla 100 series 1960s 2 2 Buchla 200 series 1970 2 3 Computer controlled instruments 2 4 Buchla s unique synthesizer designs 2 5 MIDI controllers late 1980s 2 6 Buchla 200e series 2004 3 Current status 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksCompany origin editBuchla s first modular electronic music system was the result of a San Francisco Tape Music Center commission by composers Ramon Sender and Morton Subotnick in 1963 who later allotted 500 from a Rockefeller Foundation grant to Buchla in 1964 Subotnick envisioned a voltage controlled instrument that would allow musicians and composers to create sounds suited to their own specifications Previously one had to use either discrete audio generators such as test oscillators or musique concrete manually composed and edited magnetic tape source recordings of other musical spoken word or other audio Buchla designed the synthesizer in a modular fashion combining separate components that each generated or modified a music event Each box served a specific function envelope generators oscillators filters voltage controlled amplifiers and analog sequencer modules Using the different modules a composer could affect the pitch timbre amplitude and spatial location of the sound The instrument was controlled and played via an array of touch and pressure sensitive surfaces 1 nbsp Buchla 100 at NYUThe instrument was named the Buchla 100 series Modular Electronic Music System and was installed at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in 1965 and moved to Mills College in 1966 Subotnick completed his first major electronic work Silver Apples Of The Moon with another unit that Buchla had built and shipped to New York This same unit was also used on Buffy Sainte Marie s influential 1969 album Illuminations 2 Along with Robert Moog s Moog synthesizer it helped revolutionize the way electronic music and sounds are made Products editBuchla 100 series 1960s edit The original Buchla modular synthesizer was commissioned by Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender and funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation The earliest modules are labeled San Francisco Tape Music Center Later modules were offered through the musical instruments division of CBS Buchla 200 series 1970 edit nbsp Buchla 200The Buchla 200 series Electric Music Box 3 replaced the previous model in 1970 and represented a significant advance in technology Almost every parameter can be controlled from an external control voltage Computer controlled instruments edit Buchla 300 500 Touche mid 1970s In the mid 1970s Don Buchla began experimenting with digital designs and computer controlled systems The results were the 500 series 4 and the 300 series 5 both of which paired the new technology with existing 200 series modules to create hybrid analog digital systems The Touche 6 was also the result of this research and was also his final attempt to market a mainstream Buchla synth citation needed Buchla 400 700 and MIDAS 1980s Also in 1980s Buchla released the 400 series 7 and the 700 series 8 software controlled instruments operated by MIDAS a Forth language for musical instruments and also equipped with MIDI nbsp Buchla 250e Arbitrary Function Generator nbsp Buchla Music EaselBuchla s unique synthesizer designs edit Buchla tended to not refer to his instruments as synthesizers as he felt that name gives the impression of imitating existing sounds instruments His intent was to make instruments that create new sounds This goal is evident in the omission of a standard musical keyboard on his early instruments which instead used a series of touch plates that were not necessarily tied to equal tempered tuning He also used a naming convention different from most of the industry One of his modules for example is called a Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator These differences run deeper than nomenclature The Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator or MARF goes well beyond what a typical sequencer is capable of performing and can act as an envelope generator LFO CV selector voltage quantizer and tracking generator The MARF Buchla model 248 9 10 is not to be confused with the modern Dual Arbitrary Function Generator Model 250e which features a different design 11 Buchla s instruments such as the Music Easel pictured 12 use a method of timbre generation different from Moog synthesizers Moog units use oscillators with basic function generator type waveshapes and rely heavily on filtering with 24 dB resonant low pass filters while Buchlas are geared toward complex oscillators using frequency modulation amplitude modulation and dynamic waveshaping to produce other forms of timbre modulation Many of Don Buchla s designs including the Lopass Gates contain vactrols photoresistive opto isolator employed as voltage controlled potentiometers which can be used for a more natural typical Buchla sound In December 2017 Arturia released a software plugin emulation of the Music Easel called the Buchla Easel V 13 as part of the V collection MIDI controllers late 1980s edit Buchla Thunder Buchla Lightning Marimba LuminaBy the late 1980s Don Buchla had stopped creating instruments and shifted his focus to alternate MIDI controllers His controller designs have included the Thunder 14 Lightning 15 and Marimba Lumina 16 nbsp Buchla 200eBuchla 200e series 2004 edit Finally in 2004 Don Buchla returned to designing full blown modular electronic instruments with the 200e a hybrid system using digital microprocessors that uses the same size modules and signals as the 100 and 200 series systems The 200e modules convert all signals to analog at the panel appearing to the user like an analog system with patch cables Systems can be built using a combination of 100 200 and 200e modules The 200e modules connect through a digital communications bus allowing the system to store the settings of the knobs and switches 17 At the January 2012 NAMM Show Buchla amp Associates announced new ownership retaining Don Buchla as Chief Technology Officer and investment in the design manufacturing and marketing of Buchla products and the development of an expanded product line and the company moving forward under the name Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments BEMI 18 One year later BEMI re introduced the Music Easel 19 Since then BEMI has released a small number of new modules including the 252e Polyphonic Rhythm Generator The 200h series of modules h half were also released to allow Buchla system owners to configure their systems in more granular ways Current status editIn 2015 various websites including FACT 20 reported that Don Buchla had taken the owners of BEMI to court citing health problems due in part to unpaid consulting fees and asserting a claim to his original intellectual property The lawsuit alleged breach of contract and bad faith conduct on the part of BEMI s owners and sought 500 000 in compensation 21 Legal documents 22 filed with the state of California indicate that the court ordered the case to be settled by arbitration in July 2015 In August 2016 the court dismissed the case in light of the fact that the parties had reached an out of court settlement Don Buchla died shortly afterward on September 14 2016 His obituary was reported in the New York Times 23 and elsewhere noting his significant achievements to the world of electronic music and technology BEMI attended NAMM 2017 and released the Easel AUX Expander BEMI also established a new distribution model discontinuing direct sales to customers and integrating more closely with a worldwide network of dealers Gallery edit nbsp Buchla Marimba Lumina on LEMUR nbsp Buchla 200e rear with 223e Tactile Input Port front nbsp Earliest analog sequencers on Buchla 100 array of knobs on the bottom See also editDon Buchla Modular synthesizer Moog synthesizer Serge synthesizer Robert Moog Harald Bode Serge Tcherepnin Suzanne CianiReferences editNotes Vail Mark Vintage Synthesizers Miller Freeman Books 1993 p 97 99 Gordon Theodore January 14 2016 Unboxing the Buchla Model 100 Library of Congress Retrieved September 18 2016 The Electric Music Box Buchla Series 200 Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Buchla 500 electronic musical instrument photograph only Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Buchla Series 300 digital control for 200 series module Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Buchla Touche Introduction front page Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Buchla 400 Product Information Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Buchla 700 front page Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 MARF Programming tips by JonDent Page about modern MARF clone with schematics and links to original MARF manuals Buchla 250 product page Music Easel Summary Description December 1973 Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 12 22 Arturia Buchla Easel V Buchla Easel V Buchla Thunder Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 11 02 Buchla Lightning II Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2011 10 05 Marimba Lumina 2 5 Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2012 01 20 Buchla Series 200e front page Buchla and Associates Archived from the original on 2009 04 12 Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments Debuts At Winter NAMM 2012 Keyboard Magazine January 2012 Robair Gino NAMM 2013 Gino s Hits Archived 2013 02 12 at the Wayback Machine Electronic Musician January 2013 Don Buchla is taking the owners of his brand to court 25 March 2015 Buchla v Buchla Buchla v Buchla Electronic Musical Instrument LLC et al Pareles Jon 17 September 2016 Don Buchla Inventor Composer and Electronic Music Maverick Dies at 79 The New York Times External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to wbr Buchla synthesizers Buchla amp Associates homepage Buchla amp Associates Historical Systems Overview Buchla Current Model 200e page Buchla 200 Series Information Photos Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer Synthmuseum com Buchla instrument collection Audities org Buchla resource page synthsale com Sound On Sound Buchla 200e Part 1 Sound On Sound Buchla 200e Part 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments amp oldid 1180665114, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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