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The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

gamechangeraudio.com

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Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#31

Post by kazinator »

fuzzfactor wrote: post #3

>HOW IT WORKS >This is one of the Synth's eight motor oscillators. It can produce four distinct waveforms - the optical disc creates sine, saw and square waves through reading wave reflections via infra-red sensors while the electromagnetic pickups at each motor's base produce the inductive "M" waveform. The picture shows a small motor driving a physical "strobe" disk printed with 3 different patterns, which are read…

> Although the Hammond motor ran at constant speed synchronized to the power line frequency.

However, there must be a way to turn that on and off, to create the characteristic pitch bending effects.

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#32

Post by kazinator »

WalterBright wrote: post #6
DonnyV wrote: post #4

So what can a mechanical oscillator do that a digital one can't?

Digital effects pedals have trouble emulating the nonlinear behavior of vacuum tubes, so I imagined the same issue would come up with mechanical implementations. I've never heard a digital trumpet that sounded much like a real trumpet. Digital implementations also often suffer from being too perfect.

> I've never heard a digital trumpet that sounded much like a real trumpet.

How do you know that every trumpet you've ever heard that sounded real wasn't synthesized?

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#34

Post by eternityforest »

javajosh wrote: post #14

As much as I love the analog sound of early electric guitars and keyboards, I'm okay with simulations. After all, at the end of the day any possible sound is the output of a one dimensional function that takes the time and returns a value. You call this function 40k times a second (at most), wiggle a voltage in proportion to the return value, feed the output stream into a digital-to analog-converter of some sort, and…

I like them as alternate history retro computing art pieces. They look cool and do in fact make actual music.

I just don't like them enough that I'd ever want to actually own one...

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#35

Post by pstuart »

_spduchamp wrote: post #23

I think my electromechanical synth is way more interesting. It's a coat rack with 2 strings with stereo pickup, and played using a rotary magnetic bow, which is an Open Sound Controlled drone motor with a 3D printed wheel with an arrangement of magnets. Only the spinning magnetic field of the bow touches the strings. It is played by subtly controlling the velocity of the wheel. I call it an electroduochord. Here's a…

I got vibes of Eno's Apollo from the first youtube you shared. Bravo.

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#36

Post by Tanoc »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #29
Tanoc wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ehhh, some guitar hoarders just like the different variations. Some actually understand the differences between guitars and have different ones for different sounds. Most studios have at least five different electric guitars not to show off, but because they need them in order to create different soundscapes. The way you can tell who a shiny hoarder is, is that they go for the extremely expensive stuff when a real pl…

There is a type of guitar collector who is actually a hoarder though and doesn't play. Sometimes derogatorily called "Blues Lawyers" after the stereotype of a lawyer who has all the money in the world to buy guitars, but no time to play them because of their profession. Same thing goes in synth communities. Personally I like these people because they keep my local music shop in business.

Hah, I supposed I'd like 'em too. There's more guitars than people to buy them, and the people who buy for wall hangers usually ended up selling them for a third of their original price after a few years, giving new players access to quality equipment.

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#37

Post by WalterBright »

kazinator wrote: post #32
WalterBright wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Digital effects pedals have trouble emulating the nonlinear behavior of vacuum tubes, so I imagined the same issue would come up with mechanical implementations. I've never heard a digital trumpet that sounded much like a real trumpet. Digital implementations also often suffer from being too perfect.

> I've never heard a digital trumpet that sounded much like a real trumpet. How do you know that every trumpet you've ever heard that sounded real wasn't synthesized?

I used to play a trumpet for years. I had no talent for it, which is why I gave it up. But I know what they sound like.

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#39

Post by v1ne »

WalterBright wrote: post #12
dreamcompiler wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You won't hear a trumpet suitably emulated by motors either. But that wasn't the question. Any motor-based oscillator can be accurately emulated by a digital oscillator, so the answer to the original question is "nothing." But yeah, neither is good enough to emulate a trumpet played by a human.

Motors always have imperfections, resonances, feedback from the room its in, etc. I don't know if they'd have enough for it to be audible.

Indeed, motors are physical devices with their own imperfections. But … these are brushless motors, tightly controlled with a feedback loop. They, as they also say in their videos, very quickly follow input changes. I wonder how much weird effects you might hear on those.

Re: The first electro-mechanical desktop synthesizer

#40

Post by tlb »

I think it'd be cooler if the motors turned slower, slow enough to see, and had more lines on the disk to get the same sound pitch. Optical encoders for motor position sensing often have 1000 lines, so they could spin around 1 rev/second. Add a spiral pattern in the center to make rotation obvious.
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