at nyu buchla 200 buchla electronic musical instruments is a manufacturer of synthesizers and unique midi controllers . the company was originally founded as buchla & associates by synthesizer pioneer don buchla in 1963 in berkeley california . 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 links 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 concr te recorded sounds from natural sources . 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 . utilizing 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 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 sound is made . products edit buchla 100 series 1960s edit the original buchla modular synthesizer originally commissioned by morton subotnick and ramon sender and funded by a grant from the rockefeller foundation . the earliest modules have no company name on the front panel or are labeled san francisco tape music center . later modules were offered through the musical instruments division of cbs . buchla 200 series 1970 edit 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 touch 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 touch 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 different naming convention than most of the industry . for example one of his modules is called a multiple arbitrary function generator . these differences run deeper than nomenclature though . the multiple arbitrary function generator or marf goes well beyond what a typical sequencer is capable of performing and is capable of acting as an envelope generator lfo cv selector voltage quantizer or tracking generator . buchla s instruments such as the music easel pictured 9 use a different method of timbre generation than 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 low pass gates later called dynamic managers contain vactrols photoresistive opto isolator employed as voltage controlled potentiometers which contribute to a very natural buchla sound . 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 10 lightning 11 and marimba lumina . 12 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 . 13 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 . 14 one year later bemi re introduced the music easel . 15 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 16 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 . in 2016 bemi and don buchla amicably settled all issues prior to any court or arbitration proceedings . buchla passed away on september 14 2016 . gallery edit buchla marimba lumina on lemur buchla 200e rear with 223e tactile input port front earliest analog sequencers on buchla 100 array of knobs on the bottom see also edit harald bode modular synthesizer moog synthesizer serge synthesizer references edit notes 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 . buchla 500 electronic musical instrument photograph only . buchla and associates . buchla series 300 digital control for 200 series module . buchla and associates . buchla touche introduction front page . buchla and associates . buchla 400 product information . buchla and associates . buchla 700 front page . buchla and associates . music easel summary description december 1973 . buchla and associates . buchla thunder . buchla and associates . buchla lightning ii . buchla and associates . marimba lumina 2.5 . buchla and associates . buchla series 200e front page . buchla and associates . buchla electronic musical instruments debuts at winter namm 2012 keyboard magazine january 2012 robair gino . namm 2013 gino s hits electronic musician january 2013 http www.factmag.com 2015 03 25 don buchla audio supermarket buchla electronic musical instruments lawsuit external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to buchla synthesizers . buchla & associates homepage buchla & 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 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title buchla electronic musical instruments & oldid 740829131 categories synthesizer manufacturing companiesbuchla synthesizersmusic sequencersmodular synthesizershidden categories all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from may 2011 navigation menu personal 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