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Buchla 100

Available for use in Recording Studios

Not currently on exhibit

Artifact TypeSynthesizer

Manufacturer Buchla & Associates

Manufacturer LocationUSA, North America

Datec. 1968

The Berkeley-based engineer Donald Buchla designed this analog, modular synthesizer at the request of pioneering composers Morton Subotnick and Ramòn Sender—who were looking for a new electronic instrument that could be used in live performances. A pioneer in electronic music technology – Buchla had several notable innovations including the touch plate keyboard, in which each key was capable of individual tuning, and the use of complex waveform generation in his oscillators. Along with Robert Moog, Buchla is credited with the development of the first voltage-controlled synthesizer.

The top of the cabinet reads: ‘THE ELECTRIC MUSIC BOX series 200.’

Operation/FunctionThis particular artifact is an analog modular synthesizer system. This system contains 32 modules from both the Buchla 100 and 200 series, housed within a 50-panel 200 series wooden cabinet. Arranged from top to bottom, left to right, this system contains the following modules: Model 146 Sequential Voltage Source, which features sixteen groups of three control voltage outputs and sixteen timing pulse outputs; Model 130 Dual Envelope Detector, which produces a control voltage that is proportional to the amplitude of an incoming signal, essentially converting an audio signal into a control voltage; Model 190 Dual Reverberation Unit, which contains two independent spring reverberators; Model 172 Dual Signal Leveler (x3), which is essentially two, high-gain, constant-output amplifiers; Model 196 Phase Shifter, which takes an incoming audio signal and shifts its phase such that the two output signals are in a 90 degree phase relationship with one another; Model 111 Dual Ring Modulator (x2), a signal processing effect that takes two audio inputs and produces outputs that contain only the sums and differences of the input signal frequencies; Model 158 Dual Sine-Sawtooth Oscillator (x2), each of which contains two independent oscillators with frequencies ranging from 5 Hz to 20 kHz, also capable of frequency modulation; Model 106 Mixer (x5), which consists in two three-channel mixers with an output for each mixer as well as a combined output for all six signals; Model 107 Voltage Controlled Mixer (x2), which consists in two five-channel mixers with audio inputs as well as control inputs; Model 124 Patchboard, which contains 24 mini or 1/8” audio jacks, allowing the user to connect to auxiliary audio equipment; Model 140 Timing Pulse Generator, which is used to initiate timing pulses either for all pulses or for alternate pulses and contains control voltage inputs for determining the pulse length and period; 156 Dual Voltage Controlled Processor (x4), which mixes, compresses, and inverts control voltages; Model 112 Touch Controlled Voltage Source, a keyboard-style interface that contains sixteen touch-activated, pressure-sensitive metal plates, along with two rows of corresponding knobs for setting output voltage levels; and, Model 180 Dual Attack Generator (x5), which consists in two units that allow for envelope (attack, decay, and sustain) control of incoming voltages. Additionally, this system contains two modules from the Buchla 200 series: Model 204 Quad Panner and Model 226 Quadraphonic Interface. It employs two different jack styles: banana for control signals and mini, or 1/8”, for audio signals. Each module is 7 inches high and 4 ¼ inches (or some multiple thereof, such as 8 ½” or 17”, for modules that take up more than one panel space) wide. Up to 25 modules may share a single power supply. The Model 146 Sequential Voltage Source module was acquired and added at a later date from the rest of the system, and was accessioned as its own artifact (Object ID 351).Cultural SignificanceModular synthesis has left an indelible mark on the way in which current trends in synthesizer design are informed. In the 1960s, these instruments offered a way forward for composers and musicians who felt stifled by the rigour of early electronic music techniques, such as those practiced in Germany and France throughout the 1950s. They promised new timbres and uninhibited methods of control and ultimately set into motion the foundations of synthesis practices that would follow throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Although these bulky and cumbersome analog machines did not survive the technological and commercial advances of the late 1970s, the modular spirit was revived at the turn of the century and, today, this flexible design still proves to be a desirable and fruitful approach to music making. Typically, Robert Moog is more popularly associated with the introduction of the first synthesizers. However, in the mid 1960s, both Don Buchla and Robert Moog – who was, at the time, based in New York – independently developed the first voltage-controlled synthesizers, both employing a modular structure and offering similar functions. Although their instruments catered to different demographics, both designers were highly influential to the next generation of synthesizer manufacturers, though perhaps in varying ways. Buchla stood primarily as an inspiration to designers looking to implement ideas that were less conventional and more aesthetically minded. The emergence of Buchla’s first instrument at a time when the counterculture of the 1960s was near its apex, as well as his involvement in related concerts and events such as the infamous Altamont Free Concert in 1969, certainly helped establish the designer as something of a figurehead for the movement. Moreover, being situated in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has been historically recognized as a national haven for innovation and less-than-conventional attitudes for several decades, allowed for Buchla’s instruments to enjoy a heightened reception that may not have been as prevalent elsewhere in the country.Technological SignificanceThe synthesizer is arguably one of, if not the most technologically significant contributions to the course of electronic music. Although earlier electronic instruments such as the Theremin, Clavivox, and Ondes Martenot offered new and unique ways of articulating sound, their sonic template was, for the most part, quite limited, capable of producing only a few distinct timbres. The modern synthesizer, on the other hand, was viewed as an integrated electronic orchestra, as it were, allowing the user to sculpt a wide and varied array of tones and gestures. What’s more, it allowed the user to modify their sounds in real time, seemingly without the sorts of physical limitations imposed on acoustic instruments. Of course, each instrument did come with its own characteristic tonal qualities and control limitations, however the wealth of opportunity inherent in the ability to manipulate and define nearly every parameter of sound structure solidified the synthesizer’s place as one of the most powerful musical innovations of the twentieth century. The concept of modular design was initially quite desirable to professional and studio musicians in that it allowed one to more or less completely customize their instrument and modify its functions as desired; for instance, if an extra oscillator was required, an extraneous module was simply removed and the additional oscillator module was inserted into the integrated cabinet. The modular nature of early synthesizers also meant that an array of patches, or defined sounds that could be altered in real time, were possible, offering the musician a high degree of flexibility and the opportunity to develop their own performance technique and signature tone. Analog modular synthesis was quite prevalent as a music-making practice in academic institutions and private studios throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1980s, both in Europe and throughout North America. Electronic instruments of this era were entirely transistor-based, with solid-state devices such as the transistor representing the next generation in technology following the vacuum tube, which was used extensively throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Solid-state technology was far smaller, lighter, more reliable, more durable, and less expensive than vacuum tube technology. This technology developed even further in around 1970 into the form of integrated circuits (ICs), which house the many discrete components of transistor-based circuits within a single silicon chip, as they are often called. Integrated circuits were significantly smaller and less expensive to manufacture than the circuits from which they derived. Although not all analog synthesizers designed in the very early 1970s employed integrated circuitry, their use was mostly standardized by the late 1970s with the inclusion of the first affordable eight-bit microprocessors, such as the Zilog Z80, that emerged mid-decade. As a result, integrated circuits adapted to incorporate more sophisticated digital components. Although modular-type systems are still in production today ¬– the Buchla 200e, for instance, is based on the modular design of the Buchla 200 analog system – the advent of affordable microprocessor chips in the mid 1970s and the rise of programmable polyphonic instruments in the late 1970s resulted in the relative obsolescence of the discrete transistor-based systems of the early 1970s. The earliest dedicated studios that arose in the 1950s and 1960s consisted of discrete components such as sine, sawtooth, and square wave generators, filters, noise generators, mixers, and units for reverberation and ring modulation. The music making practice of the time was cumbersome, requiring the composer to record audio components onto magnetic tape, which would then undergo a series of splicing and manipulations. The modular systems of the late 1960s and 1970s were differentiated from their “primitive” counterparts in that they could be made to interact with one another under the governance of voltage control. The concept of voltage control, which was implemented into early electronic instruments such as Hugh Le Caine’s Electronic Sackbut, is based on the principle by which the function of electrical components relates to voltage, or the flow of electrical current: in order for an oscillator to maintain a frequency, it requires a constant applied voltage; in order for the oscillator to increase in frequency, it requires a proportional increase in voltage. The most unique aspect of the concept of voltage control, which modular synthesizers took full advantage of, suggests that a voltage produced by one component or module can be used to control some function of another module via connection by patch cords or related means. For instance, envelopes and low frequency oscillators may be used specifically to affect the voltage of another module in some regular and repeatable way. These techniques enabled a very rich and highly interactive approach to the idiom of electronic music composition. The term ‘modular’ simply implies that various dedicated modules for sound production, manipulation, and amplification are integrated within a single cabinet, so as to operate as one system. Although the functions intended for specific modules were maintained, the design approaches of the major companies differed in some crucial ways: many Buchla instruments used a tunable pressure-sensitive touch-plate instead of a keyboard, while instruments such as the EMS Synthi AKS offered a combination keyboard-sequencer; unlike Moog, Buchla and Serge separated control and audio signals; certain early Moog systems featured a ribbon controller, which sat above the keyboard; frequency control on Moog oscillators was not as variable as on single-sweep Buchla oscillators, and resembled the system of ranking used on pipe organs; Buchla 100 series oscillators were not capable of producing frequencies below 5 Hz, while Moog low-frequency oscillators were able to reach below 1 Hz; unlike the patch cords used by Moog and Buchla, most EMS instruments instead used matrix-boards that enabled “circular” signal routing. The modular systems of the 1960s and 1970s were more compact than earlier synthesizers such as the RCA Mark II of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, however their overwhelming size and hefty price tag often meant that they were accessible, for the most part, only to professionals, with a number of systems having initially been installed in recording studios and educational institutions. In response to this, most of the major companies of the era also released smaller, more portable systems (both modular and non-modular) throughout the 1970s that were also suitable for live performance, such as the Minimoog, ARP 2600 and Odyssey, EMS VCS3 and Synthi, and the Buchla Music Easel and 101. Although most of these instruments borrowed elements from their modular ancestors, they were not in themselves modular by nature, but rather featured set configurations that were usually internally affixed. With the advent of integrated circuits, synthesizers increasingly began to adopt the smaller, more compact aesthetic exhibited in these performance-oriented instruments, especially that of the revered Minimoog. The once popular modular approach gave way to more streamlined designs that, while still offering users the ability to control numerous aspects of the instrument’s tone and gesture, limited the way in which the instrument could be operated. Although the modular synthesizer was highly regarded for its flexibility, it was also criticized for being largely unintuitive and cumbersome; the smaller, integrated digital-analog hybrids of the late 1970s, such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, though still not relatively inexpensive, responded more readily to the technological demands of an increasingly burgeoning consumer market. The synthesizers of the microprocessor era were, to varying extents, programmable, meaning that various parameters could be stored within the instrument’s internal memory. The analog modular instruments of the 1960s and early 1970s lacked this ability, and required the user to make note of specific patch settings in order to recreate them later. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, synthesizers continued to develop following the compact, user-friendly model established in the mid 1970s. Interestingly, modular design resurfaced in the late twentieth century with the introduction of the Rack system. The Rack system – the most popular of which is referred to as Eurorack – encompasses a generalized design approach that is standardized in module size and power distribution, allowing any module that’s produced under its specifications to be operable with any other. This was certainly not the case with the earliest modular instruments, as each employed different patching methods, power distribution, and panel size; Buchla panels were shorter in height than those produced by Moog and ARP, and Moog was the only manufacturer to rely solely on the use of quarter-inch patch cables with Buchla employing both banana and mini cables, EMS employing pins, and ARP employing sliders. As such, it was difficult, if not impossible, to combine modules belonging to different manufacturers within the same system. There are a multitude of Rack system manufacturers currently in business, including New York’s Make Noise and Vancouver’s Intellijel, and thanks to a decrease in production costs and an increase in the stability of electronic components, this industry is still thriving into the twenty-first century. The flexibility of these systems allows users to purchase modules from any manufacturer and mount them into the same cabinet with any other Rack system module. The apparent renewed desires for the flexibility and physicality of the modular approach illustrate a very potent example of just one of the ways in which earlier technologies have overshadowed contemporary synthesizer design. Modular design has even resurfaced in the realm of computer music, with programming environments such as max/MSP borrowing from the concept of patching. The Buchla 100 was, along with the earliest Moog modular systems, the first voltage-controlled synthesizer to emerge in the commercial market. Both instruments revolutionized the course of electronic music – albeit in very different way – and offered future manufacturers a way forward in design approach and implementation. Although the Moog modulars were by far the more commercially successful units, early Buchla modular systems were lauded for their uniqueness, which appealed particularly to those composers in the emerging west coast experimental and counterculture scene of the late 1960s, as well as to sound designers and film composers looking for a more novel experience. Notable modules that were offered in the 100 Series include the Model 117 Dual Proximity Detector, which employs Theremin-style antennae, the Model 123 and 146 Sequential Voltage Sources, which could control up to three different parameters, such as pitch, amplitude, and duration, at once, and, the various effects modules, such as the Model 148 Harmonic Generator, the Model 185 Frequency Shifter, and the Model 196 Phase Shifter. Perhaps, though, the most revolutionary modules Buchla offered were the Models 112 and 114 Touch Controlled Voltage Source, typically referred to as touch plates, which give the user a highly flexible alternative to the traditional, equal tempered keyboard of the twelve-pitch octave. Each of they “keys” on the touch plates is individually tunable via a single sweep potentiometer, meaning that theoretically any frequency within the oscillator’s 5 Hz to 20 kHz range could be retrieved. Of course, the touch plate could be tuned to behave as a chromatic keyboard, but the openness of its structure enabled the user to also experiment with alternate tuning systems, microtonal (i.e. greater than twelve tones) divisions of the octave, and non-traditional diatonic modes or scales. Moreover, most touch plates contained two rows of potentiometers, each of which could be individually tuned from the other, as well. As such, a single key on the touch plate could produce two different pitches, or frequencies. Although most early monophonic synthesizers were capable of this – achieved simply by detuning one of their multiple oscillators – they were limited in that the intervallic relationship established with the tuning was maintained with each subsequent key; the result was not truly polyphonic, but rather consisted in a series of parallel intervals. Buchla’s touch plates, however, in offering multiple independent rows, enabled the user not only to establish an intervallic relationship between two frequencies, but to also vary those intervals between subsequent notes as desired. Thus, in a way, these touch plates were arguably polyphonic. Despite the sophistication of this design, accuracy was difficult to obtain in the touch plates, partially due to the relatively small size of the potentiometers, but also because the oscillators of the 100 Series were largely unstable, prone to what were often significant amounts of drift. Virtually every piece of analog equipment from the era suffered some degree of instability, which was most noticeable in the oscillators. For his part, Buchla strove to find a balance between stability and affordability; he felt that a certain amount of instability was tolerable and in fact quite common, citing that, if a violin required tuning after only a short period of usage, then so too could an oscillator. Many dedicated users even find the instrument’s instabilities desirable in that it results in rich timbres that are almost acoustic in character. One obvious difference between Buchla’s approach to voltage-controlled synthesis and that employed by Moog was the way in which control and audio signals were handled: in Buchla systems, these two signal forms are separated, each corresponding to a different type of jack, while in Moog systems they are subsumed under the same type of jack. Moreover, instead of offering singular outputs for various basic waveforms, as in the Moog modular, Buchla instruments such as the 100 Series allow the user to generate more complex waveforms through waveshaping and the use of frequency and amplitude modulation. The 100 Series also incorporated the earliest analog sequencers, which could be used to control three different parameters simultaneously. Even the naming scheme Buchla gave to his 100 and 200 Series modules was unique: instead of an oscillator, Buchla & Associates offered a Complex Waveform Generator; instead of a low frequency oscillator or envelope generator, Buchla offered the Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator (MARF); instead of a noise generator, Buchla designed The Source of Uncertainty, which produces various noise colours as well as random, fluctuating voltages. The instrument’s front panels were intuitive, logical, and laid out in a straightforward manner while still giving the user the opportunity to move well beyond its basic functions. Most paramount to the design aesthetic adopted by Buchla & Associates was the ability to offer the user direct and immediate control of all musical parameters. Perhaps on account of his background in physiology, Buchla seemed to be particularly preoccupied in eliminating the distance between the user and the machine; of course, this is especially clear in the design of his controllers, including the touch plates of the early systems and the MIDI controllers of the 1990s. To the extent that Buchla instruments were revered by the experimental composers of the 1960s, they were also met with hesitance by the more commercially-minded musicians of the early 1970s, who opted for similar products manufactured by Moog and ARP, which were, by and large, more straightforward in their functions and certainly more stable. Although Buchla & Associates remained more or less on the fringe of the mainstream from the 1970s onward, their instruments were still regarded as among the most innovative, unique, and sophisticated. Buchla & Associates were also regarded as never having fully bowed to commercial pressures, instead continuing to expand their idiomatic design aesthetic throughout the 1970s and 1980s despite a lack of popular usage. As a designer, Buchla was also unique in that he approached his instruments both as an engineer and as a musician. Just as Alan R. Pearlman, a former test engineer with NASA, used his background to produce components that were extremely stable, Buchla made certain decisions for the user in his designs that could be seen as helpful from a performance standpoint. For instance, most singular functions on his modules each contain two identical outputs, allowing the same signal to be directed to two different locations. In addition to being credited as one of the inventors of the voltage-controlled synthesizer, along with Robert Moog, Donald Buchla is recognized as one of the most innovative synthesizer designers.Users/PerformersAmong the most notable users of early Buchla & Associates systems such as the 100 and 200 Series are Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, and Suzanne Ciani. Morton Subotnick (born 14 April 1933 in Los Angeles, California) is one of the earliest pioneers of electronic music and is a strong advocate for supporting new and immersive technologies. His 1967 record, Silver Apples of the Moon, recorded on one of the first Buchla 100 systems, was the first wholly electronic record to be released by a major label, and is one of only 300 works entered into the National Registry of Recorded Works at the Library of Congress. Subtonick continued recording with early Buchla systems and, between 1967 and 1975, released four more albums making exclusive use of the instrument: The Wild Bull, Touch, Sidewinder, and Four Butterflies. In the early 1960s, Subtonick and composer Ramòn Sender were pivotal in developing what was then known as the San Francisco Tape Music Center, and, in 1963 they were the first to theorize what would later become the Buchla 100 Series Electronic Music System, or Buchla Music Box. With a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Subotnick and Sender approached Bay Area engineer Donald Buchla about devising a machine for exploring new electronic musical practices. In 1967, the San Francisco Tape Music Center became subsumed by Mills College to become the Mills College Tape Music Center and, later, the Center for Contemporary Music, taking the first prototype 100 Series Buchla designed along in the transition. Sender, along with composer Pauline Oliveros, became the first directors of the Mills College Tape Music Center, however Subotnick relocated first to New York then to Los Angeles to help plan the creation of a new school for the arts. This school, which later became the renowned California Institute of the Arts, or Cal Arts, saw Subotnick as its first Associate Dean. In 1970, Subotnick also took up residence at the newly formed Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, working closely with amateur composers and budding synthesists such as Éliane Radigue, Laurie Spiegel, and Rhys Chatham. In 1974, Subotnick became head of the composition department at Cal Arts, developing the school’s interactive multi-media curriculum. In addition to his electronic works, Subotnick has also composed numerous works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, dance, theatre, and multi-media productions. Pauline Oliveros (born 30 May 1932 in Houston, Texas) is one of the most influential American composers of post-war experimental music. In addition to being a co-director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, Oliveros served as one of the first co-directors, along with Ramòn Sender, of the Mills College Tape Music Center. Oliveros has remained an educator since, dividing her time over the decades between the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Mills College, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of California, San Diego. As a trained accordionist, Oliveros occasionally incorporates the instrument into her electroacoustic works, manipulating its tones in astounding and oftentimes surprising ways. She earned her BFA in composition from San Francisco State College, studying alongside young experimental composers Stuart Dempster and Loren Rush. Oliveros also undertook graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley in the late 1950s alongside famed minimalist pioneers Terry Riley and La Monte Young. In 1981, she relocated to upstate New York, where she continues to reside. Perhaps her most significant contribution to our appreciation of sonic perception came in 1988, when she theorized what would become known as “Deep Listening”, an aesthetic influenced by a response to both natural and man-made structures that are particularly resonant, such as cisterns, caves, and cathedrals. Notable works produced with the Buchla 100 of the San Francisco Tape Music Center include Alien Bog (1967), and Beautiful Soop (1966). Italian-American composer Suzanne Ciani (born 4 June 1946) is unique among her contemporaries in that she is one of only a handful of musicians to achieve widespread commercial success with her work in electronic music. Although not a user of the Buchla 100 systems, Ciani worked extensively with a 200 Series modular system, paving the way for a future generation of sound designers. Ciani was trained in music at Wellesley College before receiving her Master of Music degree from the University of California at Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Ciani came across Donald Buchla and was enraptured by his instruments, sparking her interest in electronic music. She worked for Buchla & Associates as an apprentice throughout the early 1970s, devoting her time to mastering the newly developed 200 Series modular system. In 1974, Ciani relocated to New York where she founded her own production company, Ciani/Musica, Inc., with which she undertook sound design projects for television and related advertising using her own 200 Series system. Her work made a huge impact on the scene, and in particular her trademark vocal processing technique, which came to be known as the “voice box”. Ciani/Musica became a leader in the field of commercial sound design throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, producing award-winning scoring for a number of Fortune 500 clients including Coca-Cola, Merrill Lynch, AT&T, and General Electric. In 1982, she released her first solo record, Seven Waves, which solidified her as a presence in the New Age scene, as well. Shortly thereafter, Ciani relocated back to California, settling in Bolinas, just north of San Francisco, and founded her own record label, Seventh Wave, in 1995. Her more contemporary compositions span work in jazz, orchestra, electronic, and solo piano formats, with recognitions including five Grammy Award nominations.

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