Oberheim Electronics

One of the first commercially available polyphonic synthesizers, Oberheim's Two-voice TVS-1, Four-voice FVS-1 in 1975, and Eight-voice in 1977,which was the four voice frame with an external 4 SEM module, configurations were based on the SEM. The Two-voice synthesizer included a two channel voltage controlled sequencer, and the Four-voice and Eight-voice machines included a rudimentary Programmer, capable of recalling sound settings.
The video below is of Rush playing Tom Sawyer, if you skip to the last ten seconds or so you can see what I think is the early Oberheim Synth. 


If you like the sound of rush and this particular synth, here is a link 
https://obxd.wordpress.com/
to a VST plugin that replicates the sounds made. I don't know if it works or not, but it's totally worth a shot.

Buchla 700 Series

The Buchla 700 was released in 1987 as Buchla's first synthesizer with MIDI implemented. It sported a large LCD capable of showing what one was editing and the locations of various touch-sensitive controls. The keyboard and practically every other control surface on the synth was a touch-plate, thus continuing Buchla's history of advanced computer controlled analog circuitry. It outdid every other Buchla synth at the time that offered many options. Control over 190 different acoustic sounds variables. Twelve voices and four different digital oscillators per voice yielding 48 oscillators in total. Frequency modulation, waveshape interpolation, timbre modulation. Filters, modifiers, and amps. Six modifiers per voice, fifteen envelopes per voice, and the envelopes could have 96 break points all together. MIDAS VII, a music programming language, was included that gave users access to instrument, waveshape, tuning table, and score editors. Up to 40 different instrument definitions could be saved onto its 3.5 inch disk drive. A beast ahead of its time. Good luck trying to find one in working condition nowadays.

The Slim Phatty Synthesizer

The Slim Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by a company called Moog Music that was created in the year 2011. It is among the first synthesizers created and produced after the death of Robert Moog (the founder of Moog Music) in 2005.

The Slim Phatty is considered by a lot of people to be an entry-level synthesizer, and a stripped down version of another one of Moog’s synthesizers called the Little Phatty (which is a more modernized version of another one of their synthesizers called the Minimoog Voyager). It is very portable due to it being only 5.5 lbs. It is also the first Moog synthesizer (beside the Little Phatty) that is capable of USB connectivity. Some of the notable features that the Slim Phatty is able to make use of include MIDI controller integration via out, in, and "thru" channels, two robust oscillators, diverse tuning controls, and the patented “Moog Ladder” filters. There are also a large number of preset sounds included.

Moog Slim Phatty

The Moog Slim Phatty is an entry level synthesizer developed by Moog Music in 2011. Aside from its predecessor, the Little Phatty, the Slim Phatty is the first synthesizer in the Moog familythat is capable of a USB connection.  The Slim Phatty comes armed with two oscillators, tuning controls, "Moog Ladder" filters, patches and presets, and MIDI in, through, and out channels.  The Slim Phatty does not have a keyboard built in to it, so MIDI is required to replicate its sound.  Ultimately, Slim Phatty is a stripped down version of the Little Phatty, which had a keyboard and more options built in. The Slim is good for live or recording sessions, weighing only 5.5 lbs.

Sequential Circuits – Prophet 5

The Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" concert from 1983 featured the use of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer. In the song "Making Flippy Floppy" it plays a small backing role throughout the song, but can be heard distinctly during a synth bridge in the middle of the song, and a synth bridge towards the end of the song.

http://youtu.be/mM8wIi2aE48?t=1m39s

It was manufactured starting in 1978, and was one of the early synthesizers which allowed the user to store patch information in memory. It was also an early polyphonic synthesizer, and allowed up to 5 voices to be played at once.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_Circuits_Prophet-5

Arturia currently offers an emulator for the Prophet-5 (in combination with a few of the Prophet-5's predecessors).

http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/products/prophetv/details/prophet5.html

4.3 Notes

For next Tuesday blog about: 

any old synthesizer that you can, maybe find a emulator and play with it.
EX: MOOG, Slim Phatty, ARP2600, Sequential Circuits, Buchla, Oberheim, Yamaha, Rolado, Korg, IVS53

Class Lecture: 

Important types of modulation we have learned so far.
Ring(unique sounds), Frequency (bell, gong, brass) , Amplitude (tremolo), Granular

Phillip said: an emulator a piece of software that artificially creates the sound and sometimes look of an analog synth

potential quiz question: CV= Control Voltage

We talked about Delia and the tardis.
We also talked about Wendy Carlos, who is also Walter Carlos.

Tutorial on 5.1

Create your own folder on the desktop to put your stuff in.
Open Adobe Audition: and create a copy of your stuff on the desktop, don't work from your zip drive.

File>New>multitrack session>browse your folder off the desktop, change template "surround stems for video master"

this should have already created the appropriate ques on the right
In the media browser find your files, then drag and drop them into the word area

VIEW> mixer
Inside the Mixer View, the most important thing is the track panner, to get to the track panner select the dark gray circle above the slider. You can use the green slice to change which speaker the sound comes from and at what volume.

audition>preferences> audio channel mapping
check that your channels are all in order
if you have any extra channels with no connecting tracks, remove them (change them to 'none')

while working if you want to loop since there isn't a loop function for individual tracks you have to use the slider (in the shape of ']' ) at the end of the track, to loop the track, and you can do this as long as you need to while testing.

While in the mixer changer your read>write while you are in write mode you can "automate" your track. Automating your track allows you to pan it across all the speakers. An example of this would be wind howling, or a plane flying by.
After you write your track you should be able to play it back and hear the difference.

Delia Derbyshire

Delia Derbyshire was an innovantive and inspirational electronic composer throughout the 60s and 70s.  A large part of her career was based in BBC,where she most famously composed the original Doctor Who theme.  Derbyshire used both real and "artificial" sounds in her works, creating compositions in the style of musique concrete, a term originally coined by French composer Pierre Schaeffer in the 1940s.  During her time at BBC's Radiophonic workshop, Derbyshire had minimal supplies to work with, and so used any object she thought might create n interesting musical texture.  Derbyshire used a broken piano to create the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing in Doctor Who.  Derbyshire's approach to sound and composition leave much to be learned, and are inspirational for any composer looking to create unique sounds and think outside of the box.

Delia Derbyshire: Mother of the TARDIS

Delia Derbyshire finally caught her break at BBC after her work on the Doctor Who theme became popular. She was very influential in electric music. The Doctor Who theme above was one of the first television show themes to ever be created entirely from electronic sound.

Delia Derbyshire Blog

Delia Derbyshire was a musician and a composer of electronic music who was born on May 5, 1937. She learned to play piano and violin when she was young, and she attended college at Girton in Cambridge. She obtained a degree in mathematics, which she believed had the power to change music. Once she began looking for employment, she encountered sexism everywhere she went. For example, one job she applied for was Decca Records, and they informed her of their refusal to hire women for work in their recording studios. After searching for a while, and getting hired and fired, she became a trainee studio manager at the BBC in the year 1960. She became involved with the organization’s Radiophonic Workshop and helped supply  their productions with incidental music and sound effects. It was there she recorded the famous Dr. Who theme with the help of tape loops, valve oscillators, and filters. She didn’t receive any credit for the piece at first, but after people found out she composed the song after it was released in overdubbed form as a single in 1973, she became very much in demand, and she worked for several programs that required her expertise in crafting music. She left Radiophonic Workshop in 1972 and started working at art galleries, museums, and bookshops. She also spent some time as a radio operator. However, she started making music two decades later. She died on July 3, 2001.

5.1 Final Requirements

You must have : reverb, EQ, filter, delay (plugins in Ableton)

• 5 wav, aiff
• 2 perfect loops
• 3 midi
• 3 cues with a tempo change
• your patch should also have external midi (comes from Ableton and talks to a device)

if you chose

• MAX then have (2) .amxd max for live
• PD then have (2) .pd patches -soundflower
• Csound then have (Max 4 Live) player (see Pat if you have selected this) 
• 2 orc 
• 2 sco
• Csound for Live = 2
• You need to have at least one beat 

When turning it in

EXPORT file as 

PersonalName UFID NameofPiece.wav

Put all of this into the folder, in this folder 

• ALS
• Audacity 
• Midi
• VST/AU
• WAV
• Process Statement of 250 

Extra Credit if you use key mapping or midi mapping

THURSDAY BRING IN 6 MONO FILES

Usine Holly Hock Piece

https://soundcloud.com/tjnmusik/techno-intensity