Eurorack Adventures

The SAGE Philosophy: A deaf artist can compose by mastering visual geometry, a blind artist can navigate by listening to the boundaries of the sonar. For Deaf and Hard of Hearing Artists: Sound Made Visual

I am thrilled to share that a deep-dive article I wrote regarding West Coast Synthesis and the "soul" of the Buchla Music Easel has been features on MatrixSynth.

In the vast and ever evolving world of sound synthesis, Frequency Modulation (FM) stands out as a powerful and distinct technique. It's responsible for some of the most iconic and unique sounds in music history, from the piercing bells of the Yamaha DX7 to the rich, complex textures found in modern electronic music. But what exactly is FM synthesis, how does it work, and why does it create such characteristic tones?

The Secret Sauce of Synthesizer Sounds At its core, a Voltage - Control Filter (VCF) is an electric circuit that shapes the timbre of a sound by selectively removing frequencies. Think of it as an audio equalizer on steroids. While EQs can boost or cut specific frequencies, a VCF is "voltage - controlled," meaning its settings - like the cut off frequency and resonance - can be changed automatically by control voltage (CV) from other parts of the synthesizer, such as an en

Today we will be talking about a new series of videos I decided to begin this year about the basics of synthesis. Where else shall we start but with our favorite part of a synthesizer, the oscillators! What I lovingly call the heart and soul of the synthesizer.

Today I'd like to take a moment to answer some questions I got shortly after making the video about my Buchla Easel Clone Modular synthesizer. Thus, here, are some of the more frequently asked questions bellow. Also, there's a video in the Just Chat which also talks along the same subject and questions as well. Enjoy!