Tag: Synthesizers

The sound of a Clavioline cannot be said to have dominated popular music, but it could be heard on: Del Shannon’s (1934 – 1990) Runaway (1961); the Tornados/ Tornadoes instrumental Telstar (1962), if only from an imitation Univox, and not a real instrument; three of Sun Ra’s (1914 – 1993) albums, including The Magic City (1966); The Beatles’ Baby, You’re a Rich Man (1967). Fast forward to a new millenium, past several notable musicians, to Mike Oldfield (1953 – ), Return to Ommadawn (2017).

Hearing Telstar on a Clavioline can take less than 30 seconds.

The Clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, regarded as an immediate precursor of the analogue synthesizer. Constant Martin (1910 – 1995), a French radio technician/ electrical engineer, invented and developed it in 1947.

This was not his first electronic instrument. From 1932 to 1937 Martin developed an organ-like instrument, which used harmonium reeds. It was demonstrated in 1939. In 1943, he constructed another electronic organ that used independent oscillators and harmonic analyzers. In the 1950s, he used recently developed integrated circuits to improve organs and bells. In 1961, he used transistors to add harmonic effects to produce sounds that convincingly sound like a pipe organ. Martin pioneered, some would say revolutionized, the manufacture of electronic instruments. He was concerned about producing a variety of sounds, that could impact many musical genres.

The Clavioline consisted of two physically separate units: a keyboard and an amplifier with speaker. In addition to the 36 conventional, horizontal keys expected, the keyboard also used vertically mounted, front-facing switches (called stops) to alter the tone of the sound produced, along with a vibrato, that provided effects and was the instrument’s defining feature. The vacuum tube oscillator produced almost square waveforms, suitably altered using high-pass and low-pass filters, and the vibrato. After the electric signals were passed from the keyboard to the amplifier unit, the amplifier deliberately added distortion to create the instrument’s signature tones.

The Clavioline was covered by US Patent 2 563 477, filed 1948-05-01, issued 1951-08-07. Information about the invention, including circuit diagrams, can be found here. With his intellectual property protected, Martin , licensed production to others, rather than manufacturing it himself: Henri Selmer in France, who also produced and sold it in the United Kingdom; Gibson in the USA; and Jörgensen Electronic in Germany.

Underneath the keyboard there was a knee lever/ slider consisting of two protruding metal rods. Pushed to the left, this transposed the instrument down an octave, pushed to the right it transposed up an octave, giving the Clavioline a five-octave range.

A Selmer Auditorium = Gibson Standard model provided a five-octave range with 18 stops. These were named 1 to 9, plus O, A, B, V and P, along with four vibrato switches: I, II, III and Amplitude.

A Selmer and Gibson Concert model provided 22 stops. These four additional stops were used to provide greater flexibility. These activated octave dividers that produced a tone one octave (Sub I) and two octaves (Sub II) below the unmodified voice. A Reverb Concert model was also produced for a short period that added a spring reverberator.

	Number stops	Letter stops	Vibrato	Amplitude	Range
Alto Saxophone	2 3	–	II	Off	M
Arabian Flute	1 4 8	–	I	Off	H
Bagpipe	1 4 8 or 1 9	–	I	Off	M or H
Banjo	3 4	B P	–	–	M
Bass Saxophone	4	–	III	Off	L
Bass Violin	1	V	I	Off	L
Bassoon	3 7	–	–	–	L
Violoncello	1	V	II	Off	L
Church Organ A	4 6	–	–	–	L or M
Church Organ B	4 9	–	–	–	L or M
Church Organ C	6	–	–	–	L or M
Cornet	6	–	I	Off	M
Electric Guitar	4	P	II	Off	M
English Horn	2 3	B	–	–	M
Harpsichord	3 5 6 8	P	–	–	H
Horn	2 3	–	III	On	L
Fife	–	B O	–	–	H
Flute	3 4 5	–	I	Off	H
French Horn	3	–	–	–	L
Harpsichord	3 5 6 8	P	–	–	M or H
Hawaiian Guitar	1 4 6	P	II	On	M
Hunting Horn	3	–	III	On	L
Mandolin	3 6 8	P	–	–	H
Musical Saw	3	B	II	On	H
Muted Gypsy Violin	1	O	II	On	M
Oboe	1 4 8	–	I	Off	M
Orch Horn	3	–	II	Off	L or M
Piccolo	1 4 0	–	II	Off	H
Reed-Pipe	–	B	–	–	H
Tenor Saxophone	4	–	III	Off	L
Theatre Organ	4	–	III	On	M or H
Trombone	3	–	II	Off	L
Trumpet	–	–	II	Off	M or H
Viola	1	O or V	II	On	H
Violin	1	O or V	II	On	H
Clavioline Tone	3 4 6	–	III	On	M
Vox Celesta	4 5 6	–	III	On	M
Zither	1 4 6	P	III	On	M

Harald Bode (1909 – 1987) created a six-octave model using octave transposition, that was made by Jörgensen.

As a monophonic instrument, the Clavioline met with initial success. It also inspired imitation. In England, the Jennings Organ Company produced the Univox, their first successful product with a self-powered electronic keyboard. In Japan, Ace Tone’s first prototype, the Canary S-2, launched in 1962, was based on the Clavioline. However, the Clavioline was unable to compete, when polyphonic synthesizers were introduced.

In 1959, Maxfield Crook (1936 – 2020) modified a Clavioline to create the Musitron, made from assorted discarded electronic components sourced from television sets, amplifiers, reel-to-reel tape machines and household appliances. Because most of its components came from previously patented products, the Musitron was unpatentable. Crook first used it for recording at Berry Gordy’s Detroit studio on an unreleased version of Bumble Boogie. Later, it became world famous, for its performance on Del Shannon’s Runaway (1961).

Much of the information about the Clavioline was provided by Gordon Reid, in an article published in 2007. It also has photographs illustrating the technical details.

Sisters with Transistors is a 1h25m38s video about electronic music’s female pioneers. It begins with an assertion that the history of women has been a history of silence. Undoubtedly, an old male is not the best person to comment on this or on any of the challenges female composers/ musicians faced. However, there are similarities with pop art, where female painters, the initial innovators of the art form, were removed from its history, to be replaced by second-wave male copyists, who had the right connections.

These pop artists include: Dorothy Grebenak (1913 – 1990), Corita Kent (1918 – 1986), Elaine Sturtevant (1924 – 2014), Rosalyn Drexler (1926 – ), Marisol = Maria Sol Escobar (1930 – 2016), Marjorie Strider (1931 – 2014) who is my favourite, Idelle Weber (1932 – 2020), Kiki Kogelnik (1935 – 1997), Evelyne Axell (1935 – 1972), Pauline Boty (1938 – 1966) and Marta Minujín (1943 – ).

I suspect a similar situation may very well be the case with these female electronic music pioneers. Once again, one has to ask how much credit men are taking for creative work undertaken by women?

Two of the composers in this film have been featured in previous weblog posts that promote female composers/ musicians/ songwriters/ singers. These are Pauline Oliveros and Delia Derbyshire. Sisters with Transistors also provides insights into other female composers/ experimenters/ musicians who use audio technology to liberate humankind from traditional instruments and to transform how music is produced.

Keyboard instruments are versatile. A single player can play up to ten notes simultaneously on, say, a piano. With foot pedals and stops, organ players can produce even more. However, a synthesizer offers even greater capabilities, particularly in terms of its ability to construct tones that defy the physical limitations of acoustic instruments. Thus, a synth based composer/ musician has an ability to create a personal sonic universe, then shape the music allowed within it.

The video is particularly useful in presenting a new history of electronic music. That is, it examines visionary women whose radical experimentations with machines redefined the boundaries of music. These women include: Clara Rockmore (1911 – 1998), Bebe Barron (1925 – 2008), Daphne Oram (1925 – 2003), Éliane Radigue (1932 – ), Pauline Oliveros (1932 – 2016), Delia Derbyshire (1937 – 2001), Maryanne Amacher (1938 – 2009), Laurie Spiegel (1945 – ) and Suzanne Ciani (1946 – ).

Two minutes into the video viewers are told it is 1974-04-30. Suzanne Ciani, is speaking. She describes the Buchla synth she will be playing a concert on, then says: “I think they are sensual. May I have a cigarette?” One is immediately taken back into a time period when smoking was an acceptable activity. It was an era when pants/ trousers were not fully acceptable as female attire, when women were expected to give up their identity and assume that of their husbands.

Assignment #1: What collective noun would readers prefer to be used to describe multiple synths? For example, one has a choir of angels, a bunch of bananas, a deck of cards and a cluster of diamonds. Some suggestions are provided, towards the bottom of this post.

The appeal of a synth

As one of the film’s subjects, Laurie Spiegel explains: “We women were especially drawn to electronic music when the possibility of a woman composing was in itself controversial. Electronics let us make music that could be heard by others without having to be taken seriously by the male dominated Establishment.”

As promotional materials for the video express it, within the wider social, political and cultural context of the 20th century, “the documentary reveals a unique emancipation struggle, restoring the central role of women in the history of music and society at large.”

With Laurie Anderson (1947 – ) as narrator, the video examines the evolution of electronic music: how new devices opened music to the entire field of sound, how electronic music not only changed the modes of production but the very terms of musical thought.

There is little point in discussing the details of this documentary further, without the reader/ listener/ viewer having an opportunity to hear and see it. Thus, readers are encouraged to find the video, enjoy it and reflect on it.

Assignment #1 (revisited)

Collective noun suggestions for synths, include 1) general terms for musical groups: band, choir, combo, ensemble, orchestra; 2) quantity related: duo, trio, quartets, quintets, sextets, septets, octets; 3) computer related: cluster, network.

Interested readers may also want to read av article in the Guardian about the video.

This post was originally scheduled to be published 2021-08-07 at 12:00, but was postponed until 2022-02-26 at 12:00 to allow for further reflection.

The publication date of this weblog post marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Coventry born, bred and blitzed, Delia Ann Derbyshire (1937-05-05 – 2001-07-03) is most famously remembered as the arranger of the theme and incidental music for Doctor Who, based on a score by Ron Grainer (1922 – 1981), while working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Of course, she should have been recognized as a co-composer, at the very least.

The most important source for information about Delia Derbyshire is Breege Brannen’s Thesis in Computer Music at the University of Dublin, submitted in 2008. Reading about her life leads to a greater understanding of how women have been suppressed, right up to the current day.

To appreciate her work, one of the most important documents is a video showing how she created works.

(American, 1932-05-30 – 2016-11-24 )

One track: The difference between hearing and listening.

One quotation: Deep listening is a term invented by Oliveros. It involves “an aesthetic based upon principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation. This aesthetic is designed to inspire both trained and untrained performers to practice the art of listening and responding to environmental conditions in solo and ensemble situations”. She presented some of her ideas on the difference between hearing and listening at a Ted Talk in Indianapolis, 2015-11-12.

One Comment: Pauline Oliveros became world-famous in Port Townsend, Washington, because of her 1988 descent into the Dan Harpole underground cistern and the resulting recording. Deep listening is more than a pun. It incorporates principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation. It inspires everyone to listen to the environment.

Yet Another Comment: In 1966, Pauline Oliveros had been working with tape delay techniques in the San Francisco area, where she lived. That summer, she went to Toronto to study circuit-making with Hugh Le Caine for two months, and while working there she suddenly found that she had access to some of the most innovative and sophisticated electronic sound processing and recording equipment available anywhere. That summer she completed ten tape compositions and six ultrasonic tape studies.

Hugh Le Caine (1914-05-27 – 1977-07-03) was a Canadian physicist, composer, inventor and instrument builder. This weblog post asserts his claim as an inventor of the synthesizer, the Sackbut, in 1945.

Before continuing, there are two predecessors who do not quite meet the bar in terms of inventing the synthesizer. Thadius Cahill (1867 – 1934) is credited by Thom Holmes in Electronic and experimental music: pioneers in technology and composition (2002) p. 42 – 49, with inventing the term synthesizer in 1896. He did not build or design one. Instead, he constructed three telharmoniums, the first electromechanical musical instruments. These were essentially electric organs, operated by an organist/ performer sitting at a keyboard with 153 keys. The Mark I weighed 7 tonnes = megagrams (Mg), to be politically correct. The Mark II and Mark III each weighed 210 Mg. Invented and patented in 1896, before the advent of vacuum tubes, these used tone wheels and additive synthesis to generate musical sounds as electrical signals. These signals were amplified by dynamos before being sent to horn speakers. Cahill used the term synthesizer to describe these dynamos. When operating, a telharmonium consumed 671 kW of power.

The second, non-inventor of a synthesizer is Homer Dudley (1896 – 1980) who in 1939, working at Bell Labs, invented the Vocoder (a portmanteau of voice and encoder), a method/ machine that electronically reproduced speech, so that it could be transmitted over distances through telephone lines, providing greater clarity, but compressed to use less transmission bandwidth. Key features included envelope control and amplification using voltage control components.

Unfortunately, there are a pair of inventors who do have a prior claim to what some experts consider the first true synthesizer, that appeared at the end of the 1920s. French Edouard E. Coupleaux (or Coupleux) and Joseph A. Givelet demonstrated an Automatically Operating Musical Instrument of the Electric Oscillation Type at the 1929 Paris Exposition. It used four vacuum-tube oscillators to control pitch, then from that output varied the amplitude and introduced further filtering to vary its timbre. The instrument incorporated a paper-tape reader with a pneumatic tracker bar like a player piano. Holes punched in specific rows of the tape varied the instrument’s parameters, allowing the sequencing and articulation of predetermined notes and audio control.

Coupleaux and Givelet built and installed organs that generated sound from hundreds of vacuum tubes in French churches (and radio stations) during the 1930s. Yet, their synthesizer disappeared. One wonders if the potential offered by their 1929 musical instrument, was in some way beyond their comprehension. Personally, I think not. It was undoubtedly, the dismal economic outlook of the 1930s that forced them to concentrate on the most profitable options available.

Hugh Le Caine was a physicist who, after helping develop early radar systems during World War II. When the war ended, he turned his attention to electronic music devices. Le Caine invented an early voltage-controlled synthesizer nearly 20 years before Robert Moog and Donald Buchla. As an academic his work was published in engineering journals. In 1954 he was working at Canada’s National Research Center on inventing and developing electronic music technology. His technology equipped electronic music studios at the University of Toronto (from 1959), the Centre for Electronic Music in Jerusalem (in 1962) and McGill University in Montreal (from 1964).

One criticism of Le Caine was that his inventions were always in a state of flux. There was no cut-of date, at which a particular design was fixed, so that it could be built as a production model. Instead, there was always just another adjustment that needed to be made.

Electronic Sackbut (1945–73)

Le Caine began working on the Electronic Sackbut synthesizer in 1945. As this was a time when major advances were being made in electronics, the Sackbut continuously improved until it was completed in 1971. It was monophonic, but conceived with enough synthesizing flexibility to serve as the starting point of musical thinking. When it was finally launched commercially, it met with little success, because other synthesizers were much more visible.

The Sackbut used voltage control to trigger and modify sounds, a keyboard – with spring-mounted/ pressure sensitive keys, for pitch control, Sideways movement of a key resulted in a gliding of toward the next higher or lower key. Waveform and timbre could be modified using a touch-sensitive pad for the left hand with individual finger controllers. Minimal dexterity was needed to control the instrument. The thumb had two pads. One controlled the overtone balance in a note, while the other controlled frequency. The index finger rested on a movable circular pad. Pressing it changed the waveform and timbre of the sound. Touch-sensitive controls for other sound parameters. The other three fingers each had their own pressure pad that could modify the periodicity of the waveform.

Touch-Sensitive Organ (1952–57)

Le Caine recognized the advantage of a pressure-sensitive keyboard for an electronic organ, and invented a keyboard whose output volume varied in proportion to key pressure. This technology was made into a prototype, and patented. The patent was acquired by the Baldwin Organ Company in 1955. A mass-produced commercial model neve apperared. The touch-sensitive organ was used as an audio source for Le Caine’s tape compositions, such as Ninety-Nine Generators (1957).

“Multi-Track” or Special Purpose Tape Recorder (1955–67)

This was a tape recorder capable of recording and mixing multiple individual tracks. It did not record sound using multiple tape heads on a single reel of tape but synchronized playback on six individual tape reels. The resulting sound was mixed down into asingle track. Each of the six tapes was fitted with variable speed controller, a touch-sensitive, 36-key keyboard. Many composers were especially enthusiastic about this, because it provided control over speed transposition, unavailable using other technologies. Its effectiveness was demonstrated on Dripsody (1955), the sound of dripping water transposed to different speeds. The device was refined over the years, ending with a compact, solid-state version in 1967.

Oscillator Banks (1959–61) and Spectrogram (1959)

Le Caine built several versions of a device for controlling and experimenting with multiple audio oscillators. A touch-sensitive key triggered the individual oscillators, that could play sine, pulse and sawtooth waves. Versions were built with 12, 16, 24 and 108 oscillators. The oscillator bank could be programmed using an optical reader, the Spectrogram. It allowed graphical input of program instructions using a paper roll scanned by an array of 100 photocells.

Serial Sound Generator (1966–70)

Regarded as the forerunner of analogue sequencers, this device used hardwired switches to program a series of tones and effects. It was an analogue computer for programming musical sequences, giving the composer control over pitch, duration, timbre and sound repetition. It used a voltage-controlled oscillator as its sound source.

Sonde (1968)

The Sonde was designed to control multiple sine wave generators. The 200 signals were controlled by 200 slide controls. Transistor circuits reduced space requirements. Despite this, the Sonde was about 1 200 mm high and 600 mm wide

Polyphone Synthesizer (1970)

While the rest of the world was enthralled with Moog monophonic synths, Le Caine ventured into powerful polyphonic, analogue synthesizers. This voltage-controlled instrument was built for the McGill University Electronic Music Studio. Once again, the Polyphone had touch-sensitive keys and individual pitch and waveform controls for each key. There were 37 keys, each with their own dedicated oscillator.

Hugh Le Caine retired from the National Research Council, in 1974. During his career, he had produced 15 electronic instruments, and composed a number of electronic music studies. His retirement did not last long. His other interest, motorcycles driven at high speeds, claimed him as an accident victim in 1976. He died of injuries suffered, in 1977 in Ottawa, Ontario.

For additional information about Hugh Le Caine one can read Wikipedia, or visit the Le Caine website.

In the previous century, electronic musical instruments often contained inferior electronic components. I discovered this working in an electronic repair shop during the early 1970s. It was here I met a pair of (for lack of a better term) electric-organ enhancers who had come in to buy used components. Their business plan involved two related activities. Plan A: They would encourage churches to replace pipe organs with their custom built electric organs. If a church already had gone over to someone else’s electric-organ, they would resort to Plan B, and offer to fine-tune it. With either plan, they would typically begin with an off-the-shelf electric-organ console, and then replace electronic components (such as resistors) with ones that were closer to the needed values, using variable resistors if necessary.

Their work held very little appeal. It was tedious and time consuming, and not particularly well paid. Fast forward almost 50 years, and the question that needs answering is: Why struggle with hardware, when one can use software? If one starts with a reasonably powerful computer, software programs can be written to take advantage of the existing hardware. Of course, regardless of the approach there will be a need for some music related audio hardware, especially microphones, speakers (or at least headphones), an audio interface and – perhaps – a musical keyboard.

Initially, Rosegarden had been considered as the underlying program for the soft synth. This was mainly because of its built-in scorewriter, that writes musical natation. Rosegarden was started in 1993 at the University of Bath. Rosegarden 2.1 (X11 Rosegarden) was released under the Gnu Public Licence (GPL) in 1997. Rosegarden 4 began in 2000 with Version 1.0 being released in 2005. The current release is Version 20.12 Altissimo, which was released 2020-12-09. The main challenge with Rosegarden is that it only works with Linux and related BDS operating systems (OS). This could restrict colaboration with people using Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OSs. In the end it was decided to use LMMS for the synth. Since scorewriting is not a feature found in LMMS, MuseScore was selected as a scorewriter. Both of these work on Linux, Windows and Mac OS.

LMMS originally stood for Linux MultiMedia Studio, and was used exclusively on Linux OSs. Now those initials don’t stand for anything, because the system has been ported to Windows as well as to MacOS. While there are many commercial and open-source software synthesizers available, LMMS is a perfectly adequate soft synth, for anything but the most advanced professional uses. As an open-source product, it is available at no cost.

LMMS is not perfect. It is gudenuf = good enough, for most amateurs. There are flaws, especially with respect to the windowing. However, these can be worked around. The main problem with any soft synth, including LMMS, is latency or lag time, which is often caused by sound being routed through a sound-server program, such as PulseAudio, an open-source program. This arises even if the audio interface to set to ALSA = Advanced Linux Sound Architecture. To correct this problem, LMMS needs to directly access the sound card. This can be done by writing and applying three lines of code.

A software synthesizer such as LMMS, will come with multiple editors, synthesizers and samplers.

• Song Editor – arranges instruments and samples.
• Beat+Bassline Editor – sequences rhythms.
• FX mixer – sends audio inputs through effects and to other mixer channels.
• Piano Roll – edit patterns and melodies
• Automation Editor –dynamic adjustment of knob/ widget settings

• BitInvader – wavetable-lookup synthesis
• FreeBoy – emulator of Game Boy audio processing unit (APU)
• Kicker – bass drum synthesizer
• LB302 – imitation of the Roland TB-303
• Mallets – tuned-percussion synthesizer
• Monstro – 3-oscillator synthesizer with modulation matrix
• Nescaline – NES-like synthesizer
• OpulenZ – 2-operator FM synthesizer
• Organic – organ-like synthesizer
• Sf2 Player – a Fluidsynth-based Soundfont player
• SID – emulates Commodore 64 chips
• TripleOscillator – 3-oscillator synthesizer with 5 modulation modes: MIX, SYNC, PM, FM, and AM
• Vibed – vibrating string modeller
• Watsyn – 4-oscillator wave-table synthesizer
• ZynAddSubFX

• AudioFileProcessor (AFP) – sampler with trimming/ looping capabilities

LMMS supports many audio plugin standards, as do most other major modern software synthesizers and sound editors. Here, three will be discussed. Virtual Studio Technology (VST) was developed by Steinberg Media Technologies in 1996. It is used extensively in the Windows universe. VST plugins work in LMMS most of the time. However, since VSTs are written to be Windows compatible, VSTs tend to work better on Windows LMMS installations. Linux LMMS installations require Wine to be installed before these plugins can be used.

Wine HQ explains, “Wine (originally an acronym for “Wine Is Not an Emulator”) is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, & BSD. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop.”

Audio Units (AU) is an equivalent system used with Apple’s macOS and iOS. LV2 stands for LADSPA Version 2. It is open-source software, used with Linux as well as other systems.

While Linux Audio Developer’s Simple Plugin API (LADSPA) still exists and is operative, it is probably best to refer to it in the past tense. Thus, it was an application programming interface (API) standard for handling audio filters and audio signal processing effects. It was open-source, licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). It was used in many free audio software projects and there were a wide range of LADSPA plugins available. It was written in the C programming language. Because of its simplicity many plugins were written using it, that were easily embedded into many other programs.

Disposable Soft Synth Interface (DSSI) was a virtual instrument (software synthesizer) plugin architecture for use by music sequencer applications. It was designed for applications running under Linux DSSI extended LADSPA to cover instrument plugins.

LV2 is a successor to both LADSPA and DSSI, but permitting easy extensibility, allowing custom user interfaces, musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) messages, and custom extensions.

All of these APIs integrate software synthesizers and effects units into a computer. They use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware in software. Such an interface can work with almost any modern desktop or laptop computer, a dedicated digital audio workstation (DAW), and/or other dedicated equipment. Software programs can also emulate other types of hardware, including compressors, equalizers, expanders and maximizers. Many plugins emulate specific hardware models.Thus, such an API can be an affordable ways to make a spare room/ attic/ basement studio sound like a commercial operation.

It can be appropriate to distinguish between three different types of API. Software instruments generate sound in one of two ways. They either synthesize = construct or they sample = record. These APIs may produce their own distinctive sound, or imitate that of a specific hardware synthesizer.

Effects process audio rather than generating it. They act like hardware audio processors, including reverbs and phasers.

The quality of plugins can vary from outrageously poor to acceptable, depending on system resources qualities (Read: RAM, SSD capacity, processing capacity). Another challenge with samplers has to do with the quantity and quality of the samples.

There are thousands of plugins available. Some only take a few hours to produce and are free, but the quality is terrible. Some are made by huge companies and sound amazing, but are expensive. Many plugin developers try to recreate a sound that is as close as possible to that of an instrument, but the original instrument is probably always going to sound better than the plugin.

Electronic musicians/ composers may have a concept in their mind of the sound they are trying to produce. Often, it might be of an existing instrument, familiar from a particular situation. One example might be try to produce a rich, full-bodied church organ sound. While there are numerous such organs in existence, it may not be possible for that composer to access one, or a sufficiently talented organist. No one has access to every type of instrument, or every type of musician, so a plugin will have to do. The good news is that as computers evolve, plugin technology is able to take advantage of these evolutionary improvements, so that their quality improves with time.

Users will often say that a scorewriter engraves sheet music. This implies a higher order operation that creates, edits and prints a score. A scorewriter is to music notation what a word processor is to text, providing flexible editing, automatic layout and high-quality output.

One of the main values of a modern scorewriter is its ability to record notes played on a MIDI keyboard. Here it will also be used to play music back on the synth. Of course, it is possible to input data for a composition using a tablet, or touch-screen based computer. MIDI is most often a more appropriate solution for a softsynth. MIDI controllers produce MIDI effects that create MIDI messages that send MIDI data to the softsynth, or to other instruments and hardware, including speakers.

The Stockholm, Sweden consumer electronics manufacturer, Teenage Engineering AB = Aktiebolag = Share company, was founded in 2005. To understand millennial appeal for the OP-1, boomers and gen-x-ers should carefully examine the following photograph of a more mainstream, Eurorack synthesizer.

While there may be many words to describe it, the first that comes to mind is mess. While sound might emerge from this contraption, it will not do so with any elegance. Boomers seem to have spent so much of their lives protesting, that they have failed to realize that they have become the establishment they are rebelling against. Millennial dissent is inclusive, innovative and harmonious.

For someone who grew up with the functionalist designs of Dieter Rams (1932 – ), Teenage Engineering products are a déjà vu, all over again.

OP-1 (2011)

The OP-1 is referred to as a portable synthesizer, and is the company’s core product, one that has existed since 2011. The OP-1 is minimalist in design, yet famous, at least among synthesizer users. It looks like a toy, but delivers an exceptional sound. Users comment positively on the build-quality. There are high quality components. The display is crisp and bright. The colour-coded multi-function knobs feel precise. In general, its minimalism results in a compact, portable, durable and simple machine, with an understandable interface.

Users are positive to the sounds produced, both in terms of quality and variety. Jean Michel Jarre commented on the machine’s flexibility, but also said that musicians will be still using the OP-1 in 50 years.

There is nothing wrong with an OP-1, if one doesn’t look at its price, which is approaching NOK 15 000 (US$ 1 300). That is almost enough to buy a real synthesizer, or several Eurorack modules. There have been attempts to produce OP-1 clones before, such as the Otto.

oplab (2012)

Oplab is a musical interface for electronic instruments, that allows them to interconnect with music software. It has evolved over time. Teenage Engineering first referred to it as a Musical Experimental Board. Later, it was described as a Connectivity Module for OP-Z. The Rumble module is a haptic subwoofer allowing people to feel music. it also has a silent metronome mode, designed for live performance.

OD-11 (2014 – with Stig Carlsson Foundation)

Conventionally speakers are engineered using an echo-free (anechoic) chamber to provide a flat frequency response curve. Unfortunately, people don’t live in anechoic rooms. Stig Carlsson (1925 – 1997) developed what he referred to as OrthoAcoustic speakers that were optimized for use in a regular residence. He marketed these using OA + a number. Over the years, he changed his approach to determining how an OrthoAcoustic speaker should sound.

OD-11 wireless, stereo speakers claim to follow the principles established by Stig Carlsson. They are upgraded clones that provide what as warm/ relaxed sounds. The audio quality is generally found to be good, but targeting at fashionistas. Thus, they are available in red, black, blue, yellow, walnut and white.

OrthoPlay is the software remote control for OD-11 available as a app for iOS and Android, and as a web application for any platform. For those wanting a more physical relationship, there is the OrthoRemote, a wireless remote control that allows one to adjust the volume, skip tracks and pause from any room, at up to 20 meters away. It has a magnetic back so sticks to any magnetic metal surface, like a fridge.

Pocket Operators (with Cheap Monday)

Cheap Monday was a Swedish clothing brand created by Lars Karlsson, Örjan Andersson and Adam Friberg in 2004. Its main product, jeans, were tight fitting, and associated with indie and emocore music styles. At first, they were sold only in the Weekday store chain, before being distributed to other retailers throughout Europe and the USA. The brand was owned by Fabric Scandiavia, who sold it to Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) who made it part of their Weekday Brands subsidiary. Later, the Cheap Monday brand was used on numerous other clothing products. In late 2018, H&M scrapped the brand.

10-series (2015)

Since 2015, Teenage Engineering has produced the Pocket Operator (PO-10) synthesizer series. The PO-12 rhythm is a drum machine; the PO-14 sub is a bass synthesizer; the PO-16 factory is a lead synthesizer. Each model incorporates a 16-step sequencer. In terms of sound characteristics, they are similar to vintage synthesizers.

20-series (2016)

In 2016, PO-20 series synthesizers were introduced with additional effects. The PO-20 arcade synthesizes and sequences sounds associated with pinball and other entertainment games found in arcades; the PO-24 office is a machine for sounds found in an office environment; the PO-28 robot produces fictional robotic sounds.

30-series (2018)

Then, in 2017, the PO-30 added a drum synthesizer, a sampler, and a voice synthesizer. These have a microphone to record audio samples. The PO-32 Tonic is a drum and percussion synthesizer and sequencer; the PO-33 K.O! is a micro sampler with 40 seconds sample memory; the PO-35 Speak is a voice synthesizer and sequencer.

Impossible i-1 (2016 – for Impossible Project)

Impossible Project was the original name of a Dutch photography company founded in 2008, that manufactures instant film for its original cameras, including the Impossible i-1, that was designed by Teenage Engineering, as well as for select Polaroid Corporation instant cameras. In 2017, Polaroid Corporation’s brand and intellectual property were acquired by Impossible Project’s largest shareholder and the company was renamed Polaroid Originals. In March 2020, it rebranded again, changing its name to simply Polaroid.

The Impossible i-1 was the first new camera system in over 20 years that used the original Polaroid photo format. The camera is equipped with a ring flash, for portrait photography. There is an optional i-1 app to connect the i-1 camera to a phone. Photography is essentially an analog/ manual experience. The camera uses Impossible i-type and 600 type instant film.

Raven products (2017 – with Baidu)

The Raven H

Raven is a startup that Baidu acquired in 2017. The Raven H is functionally similar to other smart speakers, but looks nothing like an Amazon Echo or Google Home. While, it uses the Baidu DuerOS intelligent voice-controlled personal assistant platform, product design is from Teenage Engineering. It consists of a stack of eight metal squares, the top one of which is removable. There is an LED touch screen controller that can be detached from its position at the base of the stack to use as a voice-based remote that connects with Baidu/ Raven’s other home devices.

Teenage Engineering is also working on the Raven R, which is a planned robotic smart speaker with six moveable joints, used to perform simple function and express emotions on an LED display.

OP-Z (2018)

The strength of the OP-Z lies in its sequencer. Some may regard it as 3/4 of an OP-1, at half the price. In 2020-12 Teenage Engineering updated the OP-Z app to include many new video functions, especially an update for the Photomatic engine (allowing one to sequence video clips and GIF animations in the photo/video player) and better MIDI compatibility.

Pocket Operator Modules (2019)

These are self-build kits that needs to be bent, snapped and screwed together. These are expensive for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) products.

The POM-400 analog synthesizer came with 3 oscillators, noise, random generator, 2 envelopes, 2 Voltage-Controlled Amplifiers (VCAs), Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO), filter, mixer, speaker, power supply and a 1-16 step sequencer. The kit featured a yellow powder coated aluminum chassis, 16 modules, 15 patch cables, a screwdriver and an illustrated build guide.

The POM-170 analog monophonic synthesizer with 1 oscillator, built-in programmable sequencer. The kit has a red powder coated aluminum chassis, keyboard, filter, envelope, LFO, VCA, speaker, power supply, 8 patch cables, a screwdriver and an illustrated build guide.

The POM-16 is a stand alone keyboard with individual tuneable keys and a programmable step sequencer.  This unit is designed to send control voltage/ gate (CV/ gate), midi, and Pocket Operator syncronization (PO sync) signals to control a POM-400 or other synthesizer. These control signals do not make sounds. The kit has a maroon powder ocated aluminum chassis. Reviewers have reacted negatively to the keyboard especially. A specialist tool is required to change batteries.

This video shows a PO Modular 400 in operation.

Frekvens (2019 – for IKEA)

Frekvens is a series of limited edition products sold through IKEA that combine light and sound. Perhaps the best way to appreciate these is to watch a video.

Playdate (2019 – with Panic Inc.)

Panic Inc. was founded in 1997, and has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Many of its products are exclusively for Apple Mac/ iOS machines, but some are available for Windows and Android. A few even work under Linux.

Playdate is a bright yellow hand-held gaming console/ system with a black and white (400 x 240 pixel 1-bit) screen, a four-way directional pad, two game buttons and a crank, a rotating analogue controller.

Panic stated the Playdate name referred to bundled games being delivered on a schedule of 12 per season, and they were interested in including games by under-represented developers and game makers, as well as stating that in season one, there was at least one game by a woman, as well as games by “queer/trans/enby” developers. It is an open system that allows sideloading of games that are not part of a season, without the need for jailbreaking. Games are created using a Software Development Kit (SDK) that includes a simulator and debugger and which is compatible with both the C and Lua programming languages.

As the timeline for release of Playdate extends into 2021, Teenage Engineering was forced to issue a disclaimer stating “that we were only involved in the crank design of this product …” According to Panic, Teenage Engineering was also involveed in the design of other parts of the physical machine. This certainly looks the case.

It is now over fifty years since I first heard a recording of a synthesizer, and became intrigued (but not enthralled) by this rather artificial music production machine, as were many other young people. As is frequently the case, the older generation was more sceptical. Wendy (then Walter) Carlos (1939 – ) performed on and programmed the synthesizer, Benjamin Folkman (? – ) performed on supplementary keyboards, while Rachel Elkind (1939 – ) produced. The album was Switched-on Bach (1968), and referred to ten works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) in the public domain.

These pieces were played on a modular Moog synthesizer. The recording process was labour intensive, and necessitated a close cooperation with Robert Moog (1934 – 2005), designer of the instrument. A custom 8-track recording machine was built by Carlos from components. The synthesizer was monophonic, meaning only one note could be played at a time. This meant that each track had to be added individually. Each note had to be released before the next note could start. In addition the synthesizer frequently needed to be tuned, because of tonal drift. The album took approximately five months and about one thousand hours to produce. By 1974 over a million copies of it had been sold.

Why anyone would want to buy an off-the-shelf synthesizer is beyond my comprehension. Synths are ideal DIY projects. Despite this, there are several approaches that can be taken to build one.

YouTube contains a number of sites dedicated to music and electronics. The one I have found most useful is Notes & Volts. Its three basic Arduino videos provide insights that go beyond the introductory tutorials provided by Jeremy Blum: Arduino on a Breadboard; Arduino as ISP; Arduino on a Proto-Board. It also has 9 videos about MIDI for the Arduino. All of these provide insights that extend far beyond the Arduino. There are also several music related projects, including an Arduino Granular Synth and a Teensy Synth. More information about the Teensy Synth is available at Arduino Slovakia. Teensy is a development board made in Sherwood, Oregon. The latest version, 4.0 uses an ARM Cortex-M7 processor at 600 MHz. However, the Notes & Volts synth specifies version 3.2 using a much less powerful ARM Cortex-M4 processor at 72 MHz.

Another approach is to find a kit, buy it and build it, slavishly following provided instructions. Elektor is probably the best place to look. It is a bi-monthly electronics magazine first published in Dutch in 1960, and in English since 1975, renamed ElektorLabs magazine in 2019. It offers a wide range of electronic projects, background articles and targets engineers as well as enthusiasts. Synthesizers are just one area of many, where PCBs, kits and modules are available. Microcontroller based projects have downloadable source code and (sometimes) executable files available free of charge from their website, along with PCB and other artwork.

People who regard assembly of an IKEA flatpack, as DIY, will be pleased to hear that Eurorack is the flatpack standard for modular synths. The format was originally specified in 1996 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. There are two basic technical specifications that have to be met:

• Mechanical: A100 Construction Details
• Electrical: A100 Technical Details

The starting point for constructing a Eurorack is usually a case and power supply. DIY cheaters, will be able to buy these either separately, or together. The electrical specifications require the use of a red stripe to mark the -12V supply on each module’s power cable, and include keyed connectors which physically prevent modules from being plugged in incorrectly. 3.5 mm monojacks are used to connect

Purists will then populate their rack with modules containing sources and processors.

Sources – characterized by an output, but no signal input; it may have control inputs:

• VCO – Voltage-controlled oscillator, a continuous voltage source, with an output signal that may be a simple or dynamically modified waveform.
• Noise source – A random voltage output typically providing white, pink and/ or low frequency noise.
• LFO – A low-frequency oscillator, optionally voltage-controlled. Typically used as a control voltage for another module.
• EG – An envelope generator is a transient voltage source, typically configured as ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) to control the amplitude of a VCA.
• Sequencer, aka Analog Step Sequencer, may act as a source or a processor.

Processors – characterized by a signal input and an output; it may have control inputs:

• VCF – Voltage-controlled filter, attenuates = lessens frequencies below (high-pass), above (low-pass) or both below and above (band-pass) or between (band-reject = notch) certain frequency. Typically with variable resonance, sometimes voltage-controlled.
• VCA – Voltage-controlled amplifier, typically a unity-gain amplifier which varies the amplitude of a signal in response to an applied control voltage, with a linear or exponential response curve.
• LPG – Low pass gate using a resistive opto-isolator to respond to the control voltage.
• RM – Ring modulator where two audio inputs create sum and difference frequencie but suppress original signals.
• Mixer – A module that adds voltages.
• Slew limiter – Sub-audio lowpass filter.
• S&H – Sample and hold, typically used as a control-voltage processor.
• Sequencer- (see above).

To populate their rack appropriately, the ModularGrid database can be used to find suitable modules. As this is being written in 2019-10, there are 8 525 Eurorack modules to choose from, that have populated 224 551 racks in the Eurorack universe.

The advantage of a modular synth is that it can be whatever one wants it to be. The user is the designer. It is relatively easy to customize. It also allows the user to start off small, and to expand gradually. This has a second advantage. It takes time to learn how to use gear. One can start off by reading the manual, but then one has to experiment. Patching = connecting with 3.5 mm monojack cables, is part of this process. If a module turns out to be of limited use, it can be sold – or even traded.