Buchla 100

[gavincurtis]

Ahhhh.....  nothing more comforting than knobs and sliders :)

[radiokid2]

Love this stuff...it was such a HANDS ON experience....also,a little grass didn't hurt either..!

[gryflett]

I was on the Buchla 100 from the very beginning at 321 then at Mills. I liked the 100 because it was crude and made much more interesting earthy sounds, which the 200 couldn't do.

gryflett

[Oxix52]

Thank you very much for posting this.  It is wonderful to see an old rare piece of gear like this being used. Without these videos, I would probably never get to see something like this.

[feedthebear51]

I have seen a lot of these analog synthesizers on youtube. But guys, why no one post a video with a real music song composed by these excelent devices?

[Synthfool]

I can't speak for others, but I'm a tech, not a composer.

These videos are simply for those that might never see or hear one,

Thank you for your comment.

I agree with you very much.

[OChemLabs]

@Synthfool Buchla 200e is Deadmau5's main analog synth

[0octave]

@feedthebear51 hear deadmau5's tracks!

[OChemLabs]

@feedthebear51 Buchla 200e is Deadmau5's main analog synth

[MrCamelneck]

@feedthebear51

Unlike Moog and ARP synths, which were more popular amongst conventional musicians, Buchla synths were/are used for creating weird noises. This includes noises and sound effects like you hear in the soundtrack of a film or a TV show. Most of the early Buchla synths didn't even have keyboards (or at least conventional keyboards). More often than not, they were triggered by sequencers and/or other modules.

[MrCamelneck]

@Synthfool

If you ever need your Buchla serviced, I've heard of this guy that live in Southern California called Kevin Lightner who suppose to be a real whiz at servicing and restoring Buchlas, Moogs, ARPs, etc. :)

[MrCamelneck]

Nice equipment and interesting sounds.

You should call this piece "Sounds of a Strangled Seal"! :)

[erdavis7]

The Buchla 100 has to be the coolest-looking modular I've ever seen. The only other that comes close is the Modcan B series. (Just in terms of how it looks)

[sleestack808]

how much would this system cost?

[Synthfool]

This particular system, including purchase and all service cost about $34,000.

Crating, shipping and all that was extra.

Silly, I know.

But that's supply and demand.

There's very few of these in the world and they're still less than some vintage guitars. ;-)

[sleestack808]

jesoos, thats amazing.

[sleestack808]

what modular do you think sounds as close to the buchla 100?

[Synthfool]

You'll probably laugh, but with the older Buchlas being so crude and all, the closest tone-wise I've found is the old Paia modular stuff.

They're not made or designed nearly as well as the Buchlas, but do share some of the same tonal qualities.

Don is a brilliant engineer and it was the 200 line that, for me anyways, showed off some of that brilliance first. The 100 line is just too crude for me.

Still a lot of fun though and some amazing sounds possible.

[sleestack808]

thanks. I'll check them out. I just really love this sound in Morton Subotnick's wild bull part B at 4:00 minutes in. Its this opening and closing of an oscillator and some type of filter. Its stunningly cool

[Synthfool]

Thank you.

This cabinet does have dual reverbs.

Two very long, dual spring tanks that can be used independently or together.

Silver Apples was around 1967 I think.

Same era as this 100 model.

But I don't know exactly what Subotnick used.

The 2nd cabinet of this system was just completed, so if I can find or make enough patchcords, I'll make another video with both cabinets interfaced together.

[golafs]

great. nice sounds!

just 2 questions, did the buchla100 have build in spring reverb (like the arp2600). it sounds like that you are turning down reverb at ca 2.55.

and, do you know what type of buchla m. subotnick was using in his silver apples work?

[Thalassa77]

Another great synth!!!! I've posted this video on switchedonsynthesizer.blogspot . com . I can't wait to see what will be on the next video :)

[shagghie]

That has to be one bad ass sequencer to work with. Reminds me of the SAM-16 a little bit, midi aside of course. Very free architecture by the looks of it!

[whiteeagle1973made]

(Bad English in the previous post that's why I removed it)

Thanks for uploading this clip!

Very historical:D

Has any 'production year' indication inside?

[Synthfool]

No, but in the other cabinet I noticed a 1969 date and this cabinet appears older.

Maybe 1967/68, but only a guess.

Thanks for checking it out. :)

[Voltor07]

I figured it was something in that classification. ^_^

[Voltor07]

Wow...yeah, good pots are expensive, but totally worth it. Clarostats, I assume? Thanks for the reply!

[Synthfool]

Sort of... :)

Clarostat is now a product of Bourns.

I used Bourns pots, but they're not Clarostats.

[Voltor07]

Wow! That's an amazing beast! No wonder they're so expensive. Probably incredibly difficult to repair, let alone restore. What kind of transistors are in there? My guess is germaniums. Very expensive, if you can find 'em.

[Synthfool]

Most of the transistors are silicon, but they're still old and difficult to find.

One thing I did do was replace all 48 pots in the sequencer and that was very expensive both in parts and labor.

These pots cost about $10 ea, but it would be sacrilege to put cheap parts in a Buchla.