Synthesizer website dedicated to everything synth, eurorack, modular, electronic music, and more.
The 2006 Buchla Music Easel II that never was.
Today is Don Buchla's birthday. He was born on April 17, 1937, which would have made him 85. He passed away five years ago on September 14, 2016. via @shastacults "I was planning to save this until i got some more info from the parties directly involved but the Behringer announcement yesterday [posted here] kinda inspired me to just drop this one... Years ago I sat down with Don to discuss ideas for a new 200e keyboard.. I mentioned that the system needed one, that it was his signature and completed the system... we discussed the merits of capacitance touch plates vs membrane before Don finally settled on membrane (I was pro capacitance). Before I got up I suggested a new Easel would really be the ideal way for people to experience his ideas without being sucked into the modular vortex. Later while recovering from illness Don began design of the next instrument, one which went though the paces only to be shelved and never seen again.. instead we got low quality reproductions of a 40 year old design (the BEMI Easel) that were rushed into production to beat the inevitable DIY clone which was not so secretly being developed. Let there be no mistake, Don was not happy about the 208e but slodged through it, making circuit and physical changes against the wishes of his new bosses who wanted an exact copy, something I don't think Don was capable of.. or just didn't want to do cause they told him to, both are possible.
here is the new Easel design which could have been.. Model 209e Matrix Potpourri Model 222e Multi Dimensional Kinesthetic Input Port the 209e responded to the lightning rings and was programmed via the 222e keys acting as virtual sliders , 24 stage MARF, Dual Envelopes, Mod and Princ Osc, Morphing Filter, Dual LPG, Random, Programmability... etc The LEDs animated and depicted offsets and modulation activity, something we got later on the 296e. #buchla"
