text:
This article possibly contains original research. (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
A synthesizer or synthesiser (often abbreviated to synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals that may be converted to sound. Synthesizers may imitate traditional musical instruments such as piano, flute, vocals, or natural sounds such as ocean waves; or generate novel electronic timbres, they are often played with a musical keyboard, but they can be controlled via a variety of other devices, including music sequencers, instrument controllers, fingerboards, guitar synthesizers, wind controllers, and electronic drums. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are often called sound modules, and are controlled via USB, MIDI or CV/gate using a controller device, often a MIDI keyboard or other controller.
Synthesizers use various methods to generate electronic signals (sounds). Among the most popular waveform synthesis techniques are subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, wavetable synthesis, frequency modulation synthesis, phase distortion synthesis, physical modeling synthesis and sample-based synthesis.
Synthesizers were first used in pop music in the 1960s. In the late 1970s, synths were used in progressive rock, pop and disco. In the 1980s, the invention of the relatively inexpensive Yamaha DX7 synth made digital synthesizers widely available. 1980s pop and dance music often made heavy use of synthesizers. Synthesizers are used in genres such as pop, hip hop, metal, rock, dance, and contemporary classical music.
- 1 History
- 1.1 Early electric instruments
- 1.2 Graphical sound
- 1.3 Subtractive synthesis and polyphonic synthesizer
- 1.4 Monophonic electronic keyboards
- 1.5 Other innovations
- 1.6 Electronic music studios as sound synthesizers
- 1.7 Origin of the term "sound synthesizer"
- 1.8 From modular synthesizer to popular music
- 1.9 Polyphonic keyboards and the digital revolution
- 1.10 Impact on popular music
- 2 Sound synthesis
- 3 Components
- 4 Patch
- 5 Module
- 6 Control interfaces
- 7 Typical roles
- 8 Controversy
- 9 See also
- 10 Notes
- 11 References
- 12 Bibliography
- 13 Further reading
- 14 External links
The beginnings of the synthesizer are difficult to trace, as it is difficult to draw a distinction between synthesizers and some early electric or electronic musical instruments.[1][2]
Early electric instruments[edit]
One of the earliest electric musical instruments, the Musical Telegraph, was invented in 1876 by American electrical engineer Elisha Gray, he accidentally discovered the sound generation from a self-vibrating electromechanical circuit, and invented a basic single-note oscillator. This instrument used steel reeds with oscillations created by electromagnets transmitted over a telegraph line. Gray also built a simple loudspeaker device into later models, consisting of a vibrating diaphragm in a magnetic field, to make the oscillator audible;[3][4] this instrument was a remote electromechanical musical instrument that used telegraphy and electric buzzers that generated fixed timbre sound. Though it lacked an arbitrary sound-synthesis function, some have erroneously called it the first synthesizer.[1][2]
In 1897 Thaddeus Cahill was granted his first patent for an electronic musical instrument, which by 1901 he had developed into the Telharmonium capable of additive synthesis.[5] Cahill's business was unsuccessful for various reasons, but similar and more compact instruments were subsequently developed, such as electronic and tonewheel organs including the Hammond organ, which was invented in 1935.[6]
In 1906, American engineer Lee de Forest invented the first amplifying vacuum tube, the Audion[7] whose amplification of weak audio signals contributed to advances in sound recording, radio and film,[8] and the invention of early electronic musical instruments including the theremin, the ondes martenot,[9] and the trautonium.[10] Most of these early instruments used heterodyne circuits to produce audio frequencies, and were limited in their synthesis capabilities; the ondes martenot and trautonium were continuously developed for several decades, finally developing qualities similar to later synthesizers.
Graphical sound[edit]
In the 1920s, Arseny Avraamov developed various systems of graphic sonic art,[11] and similar graphical sound and tonewheel systems were developed around the world.[12] In 1938, USSR engineer Yevgeny Murzin designed a compositional tool called ANS, one of the earliest real-time additive synthesizers using optoelectronics. Although his idea of reconstructing a sound from its visible image was apparently simple, the instrument was not realized until 20 years later, in 1958, as Murzin was, "an engineer who worked in areas unrelated to music".[13]
Subtractive synthesis and polyphonic synthesizer[edit]
In the 1930s and 1940s, the basic elements required for the modern analog subtractive synthesizers — electronic oscillators, audio filters, envelope controllers, and various effects units — had already appeared and were utilized in several electronic instruments.[citation needed]
The earliest polyphonic synthesizers were developed in Germany and the United States; the Warbo Formant Orgel developed by Harald Bode in Germany in 1937, was a four-voice key-assignment keyboard with two formant filters and a dynamic envelope controller.[14][15]
The Hammond Novachord released in 1939, was an electronic keyboard that used twelve sets of top-octave oscillators with octave dividers to generate sound, with vibrato, a resonator filter bank and a dynamic envelope controller. During the three years that Hammond manufactured this model, 1,069 units were shipped, but production was discontinued at the start of World War II.[16][17] Both instruments were the forerunners of the later electronic organs and polyphonic synthesizers.
Monophonic electronic keyboards[edit]
In the 1940s and 1950s, before the popularization of electronic organs and the introductions of combo organs, manufacturers developed various portable monophonic electronic instruments with small keyboards; these small instruments consisted of an electronic oscillator, vibrato effect, and passive filters. Most were designed for conventional ensembles, rather than as experimental instruments for electronic music studios, but contributed to the evolution of modern synthesizers; these instruments include the Solovox, Multimonica, Ondioline, and Clavioline.[citation needed]
Other innovations[edit]
In the late 1940s, Canadian inventor and composer, Hugh Le Caine invented the Electronic Sackbut, a voltage-controlled electronic musical instrument that provided the earliest real-time control of three aspects of sound (amplitude, pitch, and timbre)—corresponding to today's touch-sensitive keyboard, pitch and modulation controllers; the controllers were initially implemented as a multidimensional pressure keyboard in 1945, then changed to a group of dedicated controllers operated by left hand in 1948.[18]
In Japan, as early as 1935, Yamaha released the Magna organ,[19] a multi-timbral keyboard instrument based on electrically blown free reeds with pickups,[20] it may have been similar to another electrostatic reed organ, the Orgatron, developed by Frederick Albert Hoschke in 1934 and then manufactured by Everett and Wurlitzer until 1961.
In 1949, Japanese composer Minao Shibata discussed the concept of "a musical instrument with very high performance" that can "synthesize any kind of sound waves" and is "...operated very easily," predicting that with such an instrument, "...the music scene will be changed drastically."[neutrality is disputed][21][22]
Electronic music studios as sound synthesizers[edit]
After World War II, electronic music including electroacoustic music and musique concrète was created by contemporary composers, and numerous electronic music studios were established around the world, for example Studio for Electronic Music (WDR), and Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano; these studios were typically filled with electronic equipment including oscillators, filters, tape recorders, audio consoles etc., and the whole studio functioned as a sound synthesizer.
Origin of the term "sound synthesizer"[edit]
Thaddeus Cahill's 1897 patent for his electromechanical instrument, the Telharmonium, uses the verb synthesize 25 times, for example in the phrase "synthesizing composite electrical vibrations out of the ground-tone vibrations and the overtone vibrations" (a description of additive synthesis).[23] Thom Holmes regards Cahill as the coiner of the term in this field.[24]
In 1951–1952, RCA produced a machine called the Electronic Music Synthesizer; however, it was more accurately a composition machine, because it did not produce sounds in real time.[25] RCA then developed the first programmable sound synthesizer, the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, installing it at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in 1957.[26] Prominent composers including Vladimir Ussachevsky, Otto Luening, Milton Babbitt, Halim El-Dabh, Bülent Arel, Charles Wuorinen, and Mario Davidovsky used the RCA Synthesizer extensively in various compositions.[27]
From modular synthesizer to popular music[edit]
In 1959–1960, Harald Bode developed a modular synthesizer and sound processor,[28][29] and in 1961, he wrote a paper exploring the concept of self-contained portable modular synthesizer using newly emerging transistor technology,[30] he also served as AES session chairman on music and electronic for the fall conventions in 1962 and 1964.[31] His ideas were adopted by Donald Buchla and Robert Moog in the United States, and Paolo Ketoff et al. in Italy[32][33][34] at about the same time.[35] Moog is known as the first synthesizer designer to popularize the voltage control technique in analog electronic musical instruments.[35]
A working group at Roman Electronic Music Center, composer Gino Marinuzzi, Jr., designer Giuliano Strini, MSEE, and sound engineer and technician Paolo Ketoff in Italy; their vacuum-tube modular "FonoSynth" slightly predated (1957–58) Moog and Buchla's work. Later the group created a solid-state version, the "Synket". Both devices remained prototypes (except a model made for John Eaton who wrote a "Concert Piece for Synket and Orchestra"), owned and used only by Marinuzzi, notably in the original soundtrack of Mario Bava's sci-fi film "Terrore nello spazio" (a.k.a. Planet of the Vampires, 1965), and a RAI-TV mini-series, "Jeckyll".[32][33][34]
Robert Moog built his first prototype between 1963 and 1964, and was then commissioned by the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theater of NY;[36][37] while Donald Buchla was commissioned by Morton Subotnick.[38][39] In the late 1960s to 1970s, the development of miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self-contained, portable instruments, as proposed by Harald Bode in 1961. By the early 1980s, companies were selling compact, modestly priced synthesizers to the public. This, along with the development of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), made it easier to integrate and synchronize synthesizers and other electronic instruments for use in musical composition. In the 1990s, synthesizer emulations began to appear in computer software, known as software synthesizers. From 1996 onward, Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plug-ins – and a host of other kinds of competing plug-in software, all designed to run on personal computers – began emulating classic hardware synthesizers, becoming increasingly successful at doing so during the following decades.
The synthesizer had a considerable effect on 20th-century music.[40] Micky Dolenz of The Monkees bought one of the first Moog synthesizers; the band was the first to release an album featuring a Moog with Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. in 1967,[41] which became a Billboard number-one album. A few months later the title track of the Doors' 1967 album Strange Days featured a Moog played by Paul Beaver. Wendy Carlos's Switched-On Bach (1968), recorded using Moog synthesizers, also influenced numerous musicians of that era and is one of the most popular recordings of classical music ever made,[42] alongside the records (particularly Snowflakes are Dancing in 1974) of Isao Tomita, who in the early 1970s utilized synthesizers to create new artificial sounds (rather than simply mimicking real instruments[43]) and made significant advances in analog synthesizer programming.[44]
The sound of the Moog reached the mass market with Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends in 1968 and The Beatles' Abbey Road the following year; hundreds of other popular recordings subsequently used synthesizers, most famously the portable Minimoog. Electronic music albums by Beaver and Krause, Tonto's Expanding Head Band, The United States of America, and White Noise reached a sizable[clarification needed] cult audience and progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes were soon using the new portable synthesizers extensively. Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock also played a major role in popularising synthesizers in soul & jazz music.[45][46] Other early users included Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Keith Emerson, Tony Banks of Genesis, Todd Rundgren, Pete Townshend, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's Vincent Crane. In Europe, the first no. 1 single to feature a Moog prominently was Chicory Tip's 1972 hit "Son of My Father".[47]
In 1974, Roland Corporation released the EP-30, the first touch-sensitive electronic keyboard.[48]
Polyphonic keyboards and the digital revolution[edit]
In 1973, Yamaha developed the Yamaha GX-1, an early polyphonic synthesizer.[49] Other polyphonic synthesizers followed, mainly manufactured in Japan and the United States from the mid-1970s to the early-1980s, and included Roland Corporation's RS-101 and RS-202 (1975 and 1976) string synthesizers,[50][51] the Yamaha CS-80 (1976), Oberheim's Polyphonic and OB-X (1975 and 1979), Sequential Circuits' Prophet-5 (1978), and Roland's Jupiter-4 and Jupiter-8 (1978 and 1981); the success of the Prophet-5, a polyphonic and microprocessor-controlled keyboard synthesizer, aided the shift of synthesizers away from large modular units and towards smaller keyboard instruments.[52] This helped accelerate the integration of synthesizers into popular music, a shift that had been lent powerful momentum by the Minimoog and later the ARP Odyssey.[53] Earlier polyphonic electronic instruments of the 1970s, rooted in string synthesizers before advancing to multi-synthesizers incorporating monosynths and more, gradually fell out of favour in the wake of these newer, note-assigned polyphonic keyboard synthesizers.[54]
In 1973,[55] Yamaha licensed the algorithms for the first digital synthesis algorithm, frequency modulation synthesis (FM synthesis), from John Chowning, who had experimented with it since 1971.[56] Yamaha's engineers began adapting Chowning's algorithm for use in a commercial digital synthesizer, adding improvements such as the "key scaling" method to avoid the introduction of distortion that normally occurred in analog systems during frequency modulation.[57] In the 1970s, Yamaha were granted a number of patents, evolving Chowning's early work on FM synthesis technology.[58] Yamaha built the first prototype digital synthesizer in 1974.[55] Yamaha eventually commercialized FM synthesis technology with the Yamaha GS-1, the first FM digital synthesizer, released in 1980;[59] the first commercial digital synthesizer released a year earlier, the Casio VL-1,[60] released in 1979.[61]
By the end of the 1970s, digital synthesizers and samplers had arrived on markets around the world.[note 1] Compared with analog synthesizer sounds, the digital sounds produced by these new instruments tended to have a number of different characteristics: clear attack and sound outlines, carrying sounds, rich overtones with inharmonic contents, and complex motion of sound textures, amongst others. While these new instruments were expensive, these characteristics meant musicians were quick to adopt them, especially in the United Kingdom[62] and the United States; this encouraged a trend towards producing music using digital sounds,[note 2] and laid the foundations for the development of the inexpensive digital instruments popular in the next decade. Relatively successful instruments, with each selling more than several hundred units per series, included the NED Synclavier (1977), Fairlight CMI (1979), E-mu Emulator (1981), and PPG Wave (1981).[note 1][62][63][64][65]
In 1983, Yamaha's DX7 digital synthesizer[55] swept through popular music, leading to the adoption and development of digital synthesizers in many varying forms during the 1980s, and the rapid decline of analog synthesizer technology. In 1987, Roland's D-50 synthesizer was released, which combined the already existing sample-based synthesis[note 3] and the onboard digital effects,[66] while Korg's even more popular M1 (1988) now also heralded the era of the workstation synthesizer, based on ROM sample sounds for composing and sequencing whole songs, rather than solely traditional sound synthesis.[67]
Throughout the 1990s, the popularity of electronic dance music employing analog sounds, the appearance of digital analog modelling synthesizers to recreate these sounds, and the development of the Eurorack modular synthesiser system, initially introduced with the Doepfer A-100 and since adopted by other manufacturers, all contributed to the resurgence of interest in analog technology; the turn of the century also saw improvements in technology that led to the popularity of digital software synthesizers.[68] In the 2010s, new analog synthesizers, both in keyboard instrument and modular form, are released alongside current digital hardware instruments.[69] In 2016, Korg announced the Korg Minilogue, the first mass-produced polyphonic analogue synth in decades.
Impact on popular music[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2014)
According to Fact, "The synthesizer is as important, and as ubiquitous, in modern music today as the human voice."[70] It is one of the most important instruments in the music industry.[71]
In the 1970s, electronic music composers such as Jean Michel Jarre,[72] Vangelis[73] and Isao Tomita,[44][43][74] released successful synthesizer-led instrumental albums. Over time, this helped influence the emergence of synthpop, a subgenre of new wave, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s; the work of German krautrock bands such as Kraftwerk[75] and Tangerine Dream, British acts such as John Foxx, Gary Numan and David Bowie, African-American acts such as George Clinton and Zapp, and Japanese electronic acts such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kitaro, were influential in the development of the genre.[71] Gary Numan's 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" made heavy use of synthesizers.[76][77] OMD's "Enola Gay" (1980) used distinctive electronic percussion and a synthesized melody. Soft Cell used a synthesized melody on their 1981 hit "Tainted Love".[71] Nick Rhodes, keyboardist of Duran Duran, used various synthesizers including the Roland Jupiter-4 and Jupiter-8.[78] Chart hits include Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981),[71] The Human League's "Don't You Want Me"[79] and works by Ultravox.[71]
Sound synthesis[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Additive synthesis builds sounds by adding together waveforms into a composite sound. Instrument sounds are simulated by matching their natural harmonic overtone structure. Early analog examples of additive synthesizers are the Teleharmonium, Hammond organ, and Synclavier.
Subtractive synthesis is based on filtering harmonically rich waveforms, it is implemented in early monophonic keyboard synthesizers such as the MINI Moog Moog synthesizer. Signal routing, or patching was usually very limited and followed a normalized path, as described here. Subtractive synthesizers approximate instrumental sounds by an oscillator (producing sawtooth waves, square waves, etc.) followed by a filter, followed by an amplifier which is being controlled by an ADSR. The combination of simple modulation routings (such as pulse width modulation and oscillator sync), along with the lowpass filter, is responsible for the "classic synthesizer" sound commonly associated with "analog synthesis".
FM synthesis (frequency modulation synthesis) is a process that usually involves the use of at least two signal generators (sine-wave oscillators, commonly referred to as "operators" in FM-only synthesizers) to create and modify a voice. Often, this is done through the analog or digital generation of a signal that modulates the tonal and amplitude characteristics of a base carrier signal. FM synthesis was pioneered by John Chowning,[80] who patented the idea and sold it to Yamaha. Unlike the exponential relationship between voltage-in-to-frequency-out and multiple waveforms in classical 1-volt-per-octave synthesizer oscillators, Chowning-style FM synthesis uses a linear voltage-in-to-frequency-out relationship and sine-wave oscillators; the resulting complex waveform may have many component frequencies, and there is no requirement that they all bear a harmonic relationship. Sophisticated FM synths such as the Yamaha DX7 series can have 6 operators per voice; some synths with FM can also often use filters and variable amplifier types to alter the signal's characteristics into a sonic voice that either roughly imitates acoustic instruments or creates sounds that are unique. FM synthesis is especially valuable for metallic or clangorous noises such as bells, cymbals, or other percussion.
Phase distortion synthesis is a method implemented on Casio CZ synthesizers, it replaces the traditional analog waveform with a choice of several digital waveforms which are more complex than the standard square, sine, and sawtooth waves. This waveform is routed to a digital filter and digital amplifier, each modulated by an eight-stage envelope; the sound can then be further modified with ring modulation or noise modulation.[81]
Physical modelling synthesis is the synthesis of sound by using a set of equations and algorithms to simulate each sonic characteristic of an instrument, starting with the harmonics that make up the tone itself, then adding the sound of the resonator, the instrument body, etc., until the sound realistically approximates the desired instrument. When an initial set of parameters is run through the physical simulation, the simulated sound is generated. Although physical modeling was not a new concept in acoustics and synthesis, it was not until the development of the Karplus-Strong algorithm and the increase in DSP power in the late 1980s that commercial implementations became feasible; the quality and speed of physical modeling on computers improves with higher processing power.
Linear arithmetic synthesis is a form of synthesis that utilizes PCM samples for the attack of a waveform, and subtractive synthesis for the rest of the envelope; this type of synthesis bridges the gap between the older subtractive synthesis and the newer sample-based synthesis at a time where PCM samples would take up a substantial amount of the memory allotted. The first synthesizer to debut with this form of synthesis was the Roland D-50 in 1987.
Sample-based synthesis involves digitally recording a short snippet of sound from a real instrument or other source and then playing it back at different speeds to produce different pitches. A sample can be played as a one shot, used often for percussion or short duration sounds, or it can be looped, which allows the tone to sustain or repeat as long as the note is held. Samplers usually include a filter, envelope generators, and other controls for further manipulation of the sound. Virtual samplers that store the samples on a hard drive make it possible for the sounds of an entire orchestra, including multiple articulations of each instrument, to be accessed from a sample library.. See also Wavetable synthesis, Vector synthesis.
Analysis/resynthesis is a form of synthesis that uses a series of bandpass filters or Fourier transforms to analyze the harmonic content of a sound. The results are then used to resynthesize the sound using a band of oscillators; the vocoder, linear predictive coding, and some forms of speech synthesis are based on analysis/resynthesis.
Imitative synthesis[edit]
Sound synthesis can be used to mimic acoustic sound sources. Generally, a sound that does not change over time includes a fundamental partial or harmonic, and any number of partials. Synthesis may attempt to mimic the amplitude and pitch of the partials in an acoustic sound source.
When natural sounds are analyzed in the frequency domain (as on a spectrum analyzer), the spectra of their sounds exhibits amplitude spikes at each of the fundamental tone's harmonics corresponding to resonant properties of the instruments (spectral peaks that are also referred to as formants); some harmonics may have higher amplitudes than others. The specific set of harmonic-vs-amplitude pairs is known as a sound's harmonic content. A synthesized sound requires accurate reproduction of the original sound in both the frequency domain and the time domain. A sound does not necessarily have the same harmonic content throughout the duration of the sound. Typically, high-frequency harmonics die out more quickly than the lower harmonics.
In most conventional synthesizers, for purposes of re-synthesis, recordings of real instruments are composed of several components representing the acoustic responses of different parts of the instrument, the sounds produced by the instrument during different parts of a performance, or the behavior of the instrument under different playing conditions (pitch, intensity of playing, fingering, etc.)
This section does not cite any sources. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Synthesizers generate sound through various analogue and digital techniques. Early synthesizers were analog hardware based but many modern synthesizers use a combination of DSP software and hardware or else are purely software-based (see softsynth). Digital synthesizers often emulate classic analog designs. Sound is controllable by the operator by means of circuits or virtual stages that may include:
- Electronic oscillators – create raw sounds with a timbre that depends upon the waveform generated. Voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) and digital oscillators may be used. Harmonic additive synthesis models sounds directly from pure sine waves, somewhat in the manner of an organ, while frequency modulation and phase distortion synthesis use one oscillator to modulate another. Subtractive synthesis depends upon filtering a harmonically rich oscillator waveform. Sample-based and granular synthesis use one or more digitally recorded sounds in place of an oscillator.
- Low frequency oscillator (LFO) – an oscillator of adjustable frequency that can be used to modulate the sound rhythmically, for example to create tremolo or vibrato or to control a filter's operating frequency. LFOs are used in most forms of synthesis.
- Voltage-controlled filter (VCF) – "shape" the sound generated by the oscillators in the frequency domain, often under the control of an envelope or LFO. These are essential to subtractive synthesis.
- ADSR envelopes – provide envelope modulation to "shape" the volume or harmonic content of the produced note in the time domain with the principal parameters being attack, decay, sustain and release. These are used in most forms of synthesis. ADSR control is provided by envelope generators.
- Voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) – After the signal generated by one (or a mix of more) VCOs has been modified by filters and LFOs, and its waveform has been shaped (contoured) by an ADSR envelope generator, it then passes on to one or more voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs). A VCA is a preamp that boosts (amplifies) the electronic signal before passing it on to an external or built-in power amplifier, as well as a means to control its amplitude (volume) using an attenuator; the gain of the VCA is affected by a control voltage (CV), coming from an envelope generator, an LFO, the keyboard or some other source.[82]
- Other sound processing effects units such as ring modulators and fuzz bass pedals may be encountered.
Electronic filters are particularly important in subtractive synthesis, being designed to pass some frequency regions through unattenuated while significantly attenuating ("subtracting") others; the low-pass filter is most frequently used, but band-pass filters, band-reject filters and high-pass filters are also sometimes available.
The filter may be controlled with a second ADSR envelope. An "envelope modulation" ("env mod") parameter on many synthesizers with filter envelopes determines how much the envelope affects the filter. If turned all the way down, the filter produces a flat sound with no envelope; when turned up the envelope becomes more noticeable, expanding the minimum and maximum range of the filter. The envelope applied on the filter helps the sound designer generating long notes or short notes by moving the parameters up and down such as decay, sustain and finally release. For instance by using a short decay with no sustain, the sound generated is commonly known as a stab. Sound designers may prefer shaping the sound with filter instead of volume.
Many synthesizers use an envelope generator to control how sounds change over time. An envelope may control elements such as amplitude (volume), a filter (frequencies), or pitch; the most common envelope is the ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) envelope:[83]
- Attack time is the time taken for initial run-up of level from nil to peak, beginning when the key is first pressed.
- Decay time is the time taken for the subsequent run down from the attack level to the designated sustain level.
- Sustain level is the level during the main sequence of the sound's duration, until the key is released.
- Release time is the time taken for the level to decay from the sustain level to zero after the key is released.
The "attack" and "decay" of a sound have a great effect on the instrument's sonic character.[84]
A low-frequency oscillator (LFO) generates an electronic signal, usually below 20 Hz. LFO signals create a periodic control signal or sweep, often used in vibrato, tremolo and other effects. In certain genres of electronic music, the LFO signal can control the cutoff frequency of a VCF to make a rhythmic wah-wah sound, or the signature dubstep wobble bass.
An arpeggiator (arp) is a feature available on several synthesizers that automatically steps through a sequence of notes based on an input chord, thus creating an arpeggio. The notes can often be transmitted to a MIDI sequencer for recording and further editing. An arpeggiator may have controls for speed, range, and order in which the notes play; upwards, downwards, or in a random order. More advanced arpeggiators allow the user to step through a pre-programmed complex sequence of notes, or play several arpeggios at once; some allow a pattern sustained after releasing keys: in this way, a sequence of arpeggio patterns may be built up over time by pressing several keys one after the other. Arpeggiators are also commonly found in software sequencers; some arpeggiators/sequencers expand features into a full phrase sequencer, which allows the user to trigger complex, multi-track blocks of sequenced data from a keyboard or input device, typically synchronized with the tempo of the master clock.
Arpeggiators seem to have grown from the accompaniment system used in electronic organs in the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s,[85] they were also commonly fitted to keyboard instruments through the late 1970s and early 1980s. Notable examples are the RMI Harmonic Synthesizer (1974),[86] Roland Jupiter-8, Oberheim OB-8, Roland SH-101, Sequential Circuits Six-Trak and Korg Polysix. A famous example can be heard on Duran Duran's song "Rio", in which the arpeggiator on a Roland Jupiter-4 plays a C minor chord in random mode, they fell out of favor by the latter part of the 1980s and early 1990s and were absent from the most popular synthesizers of the period but a resurgence of interest in analog synthesizers during the 1990s, and the use of rapid-fire arpeggios in several popular dance hits, brought with it a resurgence.
A synthesizer patch (some manufacturers chose the term program) is a sound setting. Modular synthesizers used cables ("patch cords") to connect the different sound modules together. Since these machines had no memory to save settings, musicians wrote down the locations of the patch cables and knob positions on a "patch sheet" (which usually showed a diagram of the synthesizer). Ever since, an overall sound setting for any type of synthesizer has been referred to as a patch.
In mid–late 1970s, patch memory (allowing storage and loading of 'patches' or 'programs') began to appear in synths like the Oberheim Four-voice (1975/1976)[87] and Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 (1977/1978). After MIDI was introduced in 1983, more and more synthesizers could import or export patches via MIDI SYSEX commands; when a synthesizer patch is uploaded to a personal computer that has patch editing software installed, the user can alter the parameters of the patch and download it back to the synthesizer. Because there is no standard patch language, it is rare that a patch generated on one synthesizer can be used on a different model. However, sometimes manufacturers design a family of synthesizers to be compatible.
A synth module is a standalone unit which synthesizes sounds using electronic or digital circuits. A synth module does not typically have a built-in MIDI controller such as a musical keyboard; as such, to play the sounds from a sound module using MIDI, a MIDI controller such as a MIDI-compatible keyboard or other device has to be used. Some synth modules are the sound synthesis components from an integrated synthesizer keyboard, packaged into a rackmountable unit.
Control interfaces[edit]
Modern synthesizers often look like small pianos, though with many additional knob and button controls; these are integrated controllers, where the sound synthesis electronics are integrated into the same package as the controller. However, many early synthesizers were modular and keyboardless, while most modern synthesizers may be controlled via MIDI, allowing other means of playing such as:
- Fingerboards (ribbon controllers) and touchpads
- Wind controllers
- Guitar-style interfaces
- Drum pads
- Music sequencers
- Non-contact interfaces akin to theremins
- Tangible interfaces like a Reactable, AudioCubes
- Various auxiliary input device including: wheels for pitch bend and modulation, footpedals for expression and sustain, breath controllers, beam controllers, etc.
Fingerboard controller[edit]
A ribbon controller or other violin-like user interface may be used to control synthesizer parameters. The idea dates to Léon Theremin's 1922 first concept[88] and his 1932 Fingerboard Theremin and Keyboard Theremin,[89][90] Maurice Martenot's 1928 Ondes Martenot (sliding a metal ring),[91] Friedrich Trautwein's 1929 Trautonium (finger pressure), and was also later utilized by Robert Moog;[92][93][94] the ribbon controller has no moving parts. Instead, a finger pressed down and moved along it creates an electrical contact at some point along a pair of thin, flexible longitudinal strips whose electric potential varies from one end to the other. Older fingerboards used a long wire pressed to a resistive plate. A ribbon controller is similar to a touchpad, but a ribbon controller only registers linear motion. Although it may be used to operate any parameter that is affected by control voltages, a ribbon controller is most commonly associated with pitch bending.
Fingerboard-controlled instruments include the Trautonium (1929), Hellertion (1929) and Heliophon (1936),[95][96][97] Electro-Theremin (Tannerin, late 1950s), Persephone (2004), and the Swarmatron (2004). A ribbon controller is used as an additional controller in the Yamaha CS-80 and CS-60, the Korg Prophecy and Korg Trinity series, the Kurzweil synthesizers, Moog synthesizers, and others.
Rock musician Keith Emerson used it with the Moog modular synthesizer from 1970 onward. In the late 1980s, keyboards in the synth lab at Berklee College of Music were equipped with membrane thin ribbon style controllers that output MIDI; such ribbon controllers can serve as a main MIDI controller instead of a keyboard, as with the Continuum instrument.
Wind controllers[edit]
Wind controllers (and wind synthesizers) are convenient for woodwind and brass players, being designed to imitate those instruments; these are usually either analog or MIDI controllers, and sometimes include their own built-in sound modules (synthesizers). In addition to the follow of key arrangements and fingering, the controllers have breath-operated pressure transducers, and may have gate extractors, velocity sensors, and bite sensors. Saxophone-style controllers have included the Lyricon, and products by Yamaha, Akai, and Casio; the mouthpieces range from alto clarinet to alto saxophone sizes. The Eigenharp, a controller similar in style to a bassoon, was released by Eigenlabs in 2009. Melodica and recorder-style controllers have included the Martinetta (1975)[98] and Variophon (1980),[99] and Josef Zawinul's custom Korg Pepe.[100] A harmonica-style interface was the Millionizer 2000 (c. 1983).[101]
Trumpet-style controllers have included products by Steiner/Crumar/Akai, Yamaha, and Morrison. Breath controllers can also be used to control conventional synthesizers, e.g. the Crumar Steiner Masters Touch,[102] Yamaha Breath Controller and compatible products.[103] Several controllers also provide breath-like articulation capabilities.[clarification needed]
Accordion controllers use pressure transducers on bellows for articulation.
Other controllers include theremin, lightbeam controllers, touch buttons (touche d'intensité) on the ondes Martenot, and various types of foot pedals. Envelope following systems, the most sophisticated being the vocoder, are controlled by the power or amplitude of input audio signal. A musician uses the talk box to manipulate sound using the vocal tract, though it is rarely categorized as a synthesizer.
MIDI control[edit]
Synthesizers became easier to integrate and synchronize with other electronic instruments and controllers with the introduction of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) in 1983.[104] First proposed in 1981 by engineer Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits, the MIDI standard was developed by a consortium now known as the MIDI Manufacturers Association.[105] MIDI is an opto-isolated serial interface and communication protocol,[105] it provides for the transmission from one device or instrument to another of real-time performance data. This data includes note events, commands for the selection of instrument presets (i.e. sounds, or programs or patches, previously stored in the instrument's memory), the control of performance-related parameters such as volume, effects levels and the like, as well as synchronization, transport control and other types of data. MIDI interfaces are now almost ubiquitous on music equipment and are commonly available on personal computers (PCs).[105]
The General MIDI (GM) software standard was devised in 1991 to serve as a consistent way of describing a set of over 200 sounds (including percussion) available to a PC for playback of musical scores.[106] For the first time, a given MIDI preset consistently produced a specific instrumental sound on any GM-compatible device; the Standard MIDI File (SMF) format (extension
.mid) combined MIDI events with delta times – a form of time-stamping – and became a popular standard for exchanging music scores between computers. In the case of SMF playback using integrated synthesizers (as in computers and cell phones), the hardware component of the MIDI interface design is often unneeded.
Open Sound Control (OSC) is another music data specification designed for online networking. In contrast with MIDI, OSC allows thousands of synthesizers or computers to share music performance data over the Internet in realtime.
Recent trends in synthesizer design, particularly the resurgence of modular systems in eurorack, have allowed for a hybrid of MIDI control and control voltage i/o to be found together in many models. (Examples being the Moog Model D reissue, which was enhanced from its original design to offer both MIDI i/o and CV i/o). In these models of MIDI/CV hybrids, it is often possible to send and receive control voltages to control parameters of equipment at the identical time MIDI messages are being sent and received.
Additional examples of MIDI/CV hybrids include models like the Arturia Minibrute, which is able to receive MIDI messages from an external controller and automatically convert the MIDI signal into gate and pitch notes, which it can then send out as control voltage.
Typical roles[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Synth lead[edit]
In popular music, a synth lead is generally used for playing the main melody of a song, but it is also often used for creating rhythmic or bass effects. Although most commonly heard in electronic dance music, synth leads have been used extensively in hip-hop music since the 1980s and some types of rock songs since the 1970s. Many post-1980s pop music songs use a synth lead to provide a musical hook to sustain the listener's interest throughout a song.
Synth pad[edit]
A synth pad is a sustained chord or tone generated by a synthesizer, often employed for background harmony and atmosphere in much the same fashion that a string section is often used in orchestral music and film scores. Typically, a synth pad is performed using whole notes, which are often tied over bar lines. A synth pad sometimes holds the same note while a lead voice sings or plays an entire musical phrase or section. Often, the sounds used for synth pads have a vaguely organ, string, or vocal timbre. During the late 1970s and 1980s, specialized string synthesizers were made that specialized in creating string sounds using the limited technology of the time. Much popular music in the 1980s employed synth pads, this being the time of polyphonic synthesizers, as did the then-new styles of smooth jazz and new-age music. One of many well-known songs from the era to incorporate a synth pad is "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys, who were noted users of the technique.
The main feature of a synth pad is very long attack and decay time with extended sustains. In some instances pulse-width modulation (PWM) using a square wave oscillator can be added to create a "vibrating" sound.
Synth bass[edit]
The bass synthesizer (or "bass synth") is used to create sounds in the bass range, from simulations of the electric bass or double bass to distorted, buzz-saw-like artificial bass sounds, by generating and combining signals of different frequencies. Bass synth patches may incorporate a range of sounds and tones, including wavetable-style, analog, and FM-style bass sounds, delay effects, distortion effects, envelope filters. A modern digital synthesizer uses a frequency synthesizer microprocessor component to generate signals of different frequencies. While most bass synths are controlled by electronic keyboards or pedalboards, some performers use an electric bass with MIDI pickups to trigger a bass synthesizer.
In the 1970s miniaturized solid-state components allowed self-contained, portable instruments such as the Moog Taurus, a 13-note pedal keyboard played by the feet; the Moog Taurus was used in live performances by a range of pop, rock, and blues-rock bands. An early use of bass synthesizer was in 1972, on a solo album by John Entwistle (the bassist for The Who), entitled Whistle Rymes. Genesis bass player Mike Rutherford used a Dewtron "Mister Bassman" for the recording of their album Nursery Cryme in August 1971. Stevie Wonder introduced synth bass to a pop audience in the early 1970s, notably on "Superstition" (1972) and "Boogie On Reggae Woman" (1974). In 1977 Parliament's funk single "Flash Light" used the bass synthesizer. Lou Reed, widely considered a pioneer of electric guitar textures, played bass synthesizer on the song "Families", from his 1979 album The Bells.
Following the availability of programmable music sequencers such as the Synclavier and Roland MC-8 Microcomposer in the late 1970s, bass synths began incorporating sequencers in the early 1980s; the first bass synthesizer with a sequencer was the Firstman SQ-01.[108][109] It was originally released in 1980 by Hillwood/Firstman, a Japanese synthesizer company founded in 1972 by Kazuo Morioka (who later worked for Akai in the early 1980s), and was then released by Multivox for North America in 1981.[110][111][51]
A particularly influential bass synthesizer was the Roland TB-303.[112] Released in late 1981, it featured a built-in sequencer and later became strongly associated with acid house music.[113] Bass synthesizers began being used to create highly syncopated rhythms and complex, rapid basslines. Bass synth patches incorporate a range of sounds and tones, including wavetable-style, analog, and FM-style bass sounds, delay effects, distortion effects, envelope filters. In popular music, these techniques gained wide popularity with the emergence of acid house music, after Phuture's use of the TB-303 for the single "Acid Tracks" in 1987,[112] though such techniques were predated by Charanjit Singh's use of the TB-303 in 1982.[113]
In the 2000s, several equipment manufacturers such as Boss and Akai produced bass synthesizer effect pedals for electric bass guitar players, which simulate the sound of an analog or digital bass synth. With these devices, a bass guitar is used to generate synth bass sounds; the BOSS SYB-3 was one of the early bass synthesizer pedals. The SYB-3 reproduces sounds of analog synthesizers with Digital Signal Processing saw, square, and pulse synth waves and user-adjustable filter cutoff; the Akai bass synth pedal contains a four-oscillator synthesizer with user selectable parameters (attack, decay, envelope depth, dynamics, cutoff, resonance). Bass synthesizer software allows performers to use MIDI to integrate the bass sounds with other synthesizers or drum machines. Bass synthesizers often provide samples from vintage 1970s and 1980s bass synths; some bass synths are built into an organ style pedalboard or button board.
Since their invention, there has been concern over synthesizers putting session musicians out of a job, since they can recreate the sounds of many instruments; some musicians (especially keyboardists) viewed the synth as they would any musical instrument. Other musicians viewed the synth as a threat to traditional session musicians, and the British Musicians' Union attempted to ban it in 1982; the ban never became official policy.[114] Broadway plays are also now using synthesizers to reduce the number of live musicians required.[115]
See also[edit]
- Lists
- Various synthesizers
- Related instruments & technologies
- Clavioline (Musitron)
- Electronic keyboard
- Musical instrument
- Music workstation
- Sampler
- Speech synthesis
- Components & technologies
- Music genres
- Notable works
- ^ a b List of commercially successful early digital synthesizers and digital samplers introduced during the late-1970s and early-1980s, each sold over several hundred of units per series:
- NED Synclavier (1977–1992) by New England Digital, based on the research of Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer since 1973.
Note: Several sources point out that FM synthesis of Synclavier was licensed from Yamaha, who was an exclusively licensed from the original inventor, John Chowning.
- Fairlight CMI (1979–1988, over 300 units) in Sydney, based on the early developments of Qasar M8 by Tony Furse in Canberra since 1972.
- Yamaha GS-1, GS-2 (1980, around 100 units) and CE20, CE25 (1982) in Hamamatsu, based on research into frequency modulation synthesis by John Chowning between 1967–1973, and early developments of TRX-100 and Programmable Algorithm Music Synthesizer (PAMS) by Yamaha between 1973–1979.(Yamaha 2014)
- E-mu Emulator (1981-2000s) in California, roughly based on a notion of table-lookup oscillator seen on the MUSIC language in 1960s
- PPG Wave (1981–1987, around 1,000 units) in Hamburg, based on wavetable synthesis previously implemented on PPG Wavecomputer 360, 340 and 380 circa 1978.
In addition, the long history of additive synthesis is notable for providing fundamental research that underlies the technology used in various forms of digital synthesis, but is not listed above due to the lack of commercially successful products. Additive synthesis has influenced most products in list above, and even the Yamaha Vocaloid released in 2003 (Excitation plus Resonance (EpR), which is based on Spectral modeling synthesis (SMS)).
- NED Synclavier (1977–1992) by New England Digital, based on the research of Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer since 1973.
- ^ For the details of the new trend of music influenced by early digital instruments, see Fairlight§Artists who used the Fairlight CMI, Synclavier§Notable users and E-mu Emulator§Notable users.
- ^ Sample-based synthesis was previously introduced by the E-mu Emulator II in 1984, Ensoniq Mirage in 1985, Ensoniq ESQ-1 and Korg DSS-1 in 1986, etc.
- ^ a b "The Palatin Project-The life and work of Elisha Gray". Palatin Project.
- ^ a b Brown, Jeremy K. (2010). Stevie Wonder: Musician. Infobase Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-4381-3422-2.
- ^ "Elisha Gray and "The Musical Telegraph"(1876)", 120 Years of Electronic Music, 2005
- ^ Chadabe, Joel (February 1, 2001), The Electronic Century Part I: Beginnings, Electronic Musician, pp. 74–90
- ^ Chadabe, Joel (1997). Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music. New Jersey, United States: Prentice Hall. pp. 3–4. ISBN 0-13-303231-0.
- ^ Chadabe, Joel (1997). Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music. New Jersey, United States: Prentice Hall. p. 13. ISBN 0-13-303231-0.
- ^ Okamura, Sōgo (1994). History of Electron Tubes. IOS Press. pp. 17–22. ISBN 9051991452.
- ^ Chadabe, Joel (1997). Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music. New Jersey, United States: Prentice Hall. p. 30. ISBN 0-13-303231-0.
- ^ McNamee, David (12 October 2009). "Hey, what's that sound: Ondes martenot". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (19 August 2001). "Jeanne Loriod, Who Transformed Electronic Wails Into Heartfelt Music, Dies at 73". New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ Edmunds, Neil (2004), Soviet Music and Society Under Lenin and Stalin, London: Routledge Curzon
- ^ Holzer, Derek (February 2010), Tonewheels – a brief history of optical synthesis, Umatic.nl
- ^
Kreichi, Stanislav (10 November 1997), The ANS Synthesizer: Composing on a Photoelectronic Instrument, Theremin Center,
Despite the apparent simplicity of his idea of reconstructing a sound from its visible image, the technical realization of the ANS as a musical instrument did not occur until 20 years later...Murzin was an engineer who worked in areas unrelated to music, and the development of the ANS synthesizer was a hobby and he had many problems realizing on a practical level.
- ^ Rhea, Thomas L., "Harald Bode's Four-Voice Assignment Keyboard (1937)", eContact! (reprint ed.), Canadian Electroacoustic Community, 13 (4) (July 2011), originally published as Rhea, Tom (December 1979), "Electronic Perspectives", Contemporary Keyboard, 5 (12): 89
- ^ "The 'Warbo Formant Orgel' (1937), The 'Melodium' (1938), The 'Melochord' (1947–9), and 'Bode Sound Co' (1963–)", 120 years of Electronic Music, retrieved 2018-09-20
- ^ Cirocco, Phil (2006). "The Novachord Restoration Project". Cirocco Modular Synthesizers.
- ^ Steve Howell; Dan Wilson. "Novachord". Hollow Sun. (see also 'History' page)
- ^ Gayle Young (1999). "Electronic Sackbut (1945–1973)". HughLeCaine.com.
- ^ 一時代を画する新楽器完成 浜松の青年技師山下氏 [An epoch new musical instrument was developed by a young engineer Mr. Yamashita in Hamamatsu]. Hochi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1935-06-08.
- ^
新電氣樂器 マグナオルガンの御紹介 [New Electric Musical Instrument — Introduction of Magna Organ] (in Japanese). Hamamatsu: 日本樂器製造株式會社 (Yamaha). October 1935.
特許第一〇八六六四号, 同 第一一〇〇六八号, 同 第一一一二一六号
- ^ Fujii, Koichi (2004). "Chronology of early electroacoustic music in Japan: What types of source materials are available?". Organised Sound. Cambridge University Press. 9 (1): 63–77 [64–6]. doi:10.1017/S1355771804000093.
- ^ Holmes 2008, p. 106, Early Electronic Music in Japan
- ^ US US580035A Thaddeus Cahill: "Art and Apparatus for Generating and Distributing Music Electrically."
- ^ Holmes, Thom (2016). "Early History: Predecessors and Pioneers (1874 to 1960)". Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture (5th ed.). Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-138-79273-9. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
- ^ Davies, Hugh (2001). "Synthesizer [Synthesiser]". In Stanley Sadie; John Tyrrell (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (second ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-0-19-517067-2.
- ^ Holmes 2008, p. 145–146, Early Synthesizers and Experimenters
- ^ "The RCA Synthesizer & Its Synthesists". Contemporary Keyboard. GPI Publications. 6 (10): 64. October 1980. Retrieved 2011-06-05.[full citation needed]
- ^ Harald Bode (The Wurlitzer Company). "Sound Synthesizer Creates New Musical Effects" (PDF). Electronics (December 1, 1961).
- ^ Harald Bode (Bode Sound Co.) (September 1984). "History of Electronic Sound Modification" (PDF). Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES). 32 (10): 730–739. (Note: Draft typescript is available at the tail of PDF version, along with HTML version at the Wayback Machine (archived June 9, 2011) without draft.)
- ^ Bode, Harald (1961), "European Electronic Music Instrument Design", Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, ix (1961): 267
- ^ "In Memoriam" (PDF). Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (JAES). 35 (9): 741. September 1987. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- ^ a b Vail 2000, p. 71, The Euro-Synth Industry – Italy. "First things first: In 1964, Paul Ketoff constructed the Synket in Rome. This was around the time that Bob Moog and Don Buchla independently began shipping their modular synthesizer wares."
- ^ a b Pizzaleo, Luigi (2012), "Durata e articolazione del progetto-Synket" (excerpt from PhD dissertation), LuigiPizzaleo.it (in Italian)
- ^ a b Pizzaleo, Luigi (2014-07-30), Il liutaio elettronico. Paolo Ketoff e l'invenzione del Synket, Immota harmonia (in Italian), 20, Aracne, ISBN 9788854873636
- ^ a b Holmes 2008, p. 208. "Moog became the first synthesizer designer to popularize the technique of voltage control in analog electronic musical instruments. Donald Buchla in the United States and Paul Ketoff in Italy had been developing commercial synthesizers using the same principle at about the same time, but their equipment never reached the level of public acceptance of Moog's products and only a handful were sold."
- ^
"This Week in Synths: The Stearns Collection Moog, Mike Oldfield's OB-Xa, MOOG IIIp". Create Digital Music. 2007-03-23.
Moog synthesizer, Stearns 2035 Archived 2010-06-21 at the Wayback Machine is known as 1st commercial Moog synthesizer commissioned by the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theater of New York in October 1964. Now it resides as part of the Stearns Collection at the University of Michigan
- "Stearns Collection". School of Music, Theatre & Dance, University of Michigan.
- ^ Catchlove, Lucina (August 2002), "Robert Moog", Remix, Oklahoma City[verification needed]
- ^
Gluck, Robert J. (February 2012), "Nurturing Young Composers: Morton Subotnick's Late-1960s Studio in New York City", Computer Music Journal, 36 (1): 65–80, doi:10.1162/COMJ_a_00106,
Buchla's Electronic Music Box was designed in response to Subotnick's and (San Francisco) Tape Music Center colleague Ramon Sender's (b. 1934) desire for a compositional instrument that generated electronic sounds, and sequences of sounds, without the use of magnetic tape.
- ^
Gluck, Bob (October 16, 2013), "Morton Subotnick's Sidewinder", New Music USA,
When Subotnick (with Ramon Sender) commissioned Donald Buchla to design what became the Buchla Box, his goal was an artist-friendly compositional tool that didn't depend upon recorded sound. ... The process of its development by Don Buchla, initially a spinning light wheel to create waveforms and then a modular system with integrated circuits, is described in the Spring 2012 issue of Computer Music Journal. ... The Buchla prototype was ready for the 1964–1965 season, but was little used prior to Subotnick's departure for New York in 1966, his theater piece Play 4 (1966) was the only work for the Buchla that Subotnick completed in San Francisco.
- ^ Eisengrein, Doug (September 1, 2005), Renewed Vision, Remix Magazine, archived from the original on May 3, 2008, retrieved 2008-04-16
- ^ Lefcowitz, Eric (1989), The Monkees Tale, Last Gasp, p. 48, ISBN 0-86719-378-6
- ^ Catchlove, Lucinda (April 1, 2002), Wendy Carlos (electronic musician), Remix Magazine
- ^ a b Tomita at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ a b Mark Jenkins (2007), Analog synthesizers: from the legacy of Moog to software synthesis, Elsevier, pp. 133–4, ISBN 0-240-52072-6, retrieved 2011-05-27
- ^ Stevie Wonder, American profile, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ "Herbie Hancock profile", Sound on Sound (July 2002), archived from the original on 2014-11-09, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ Chicory Tip, archived from the original (official website) on 2011-12-08
- ^ FutureMusic, issues 131–134, 2003, page 55
- ^ Yamaha GX-1, Vintage Synth Explorer
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (2009). Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying—From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis. CRC Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-136-12278-1.
- ^ a b A TALE OF TWO STRING SYNTHS, Sound on Sound, July 2002
- ^ "The Prophet 5 and 10", gordonreid.co.uk, archived from the original on 2002-08-08, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ "The Synthesizers that shaped modern music", thevinylfactory.com, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ Russ, Martin (May 2004), Sound Synthesis and Sampling, Taylor and Francis, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ a b c "[Chapter 2] FM Tone Generators and the Dawn of Home Music Production". Yamaha Synth 40th Anniversary – History. Yamaha Corporation. 2014.
- ^ Holmes, Thom (2008). "Early Computer Music". Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 257. ISBN 0-415-95781-8. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ Holmes, Thom (2008). "Early Computer Music". Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 257–8. ISBN 0-415-95781-8. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ "U.S. Patent 4,018,121".
- ^ Curtis Roads (1996). The computer music tutorial. MIT Press. p. 226. ISBN 0-262-68082-3. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ Igoudin, Alex; Acoustics, Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and; Music, Stanford University Dept of (14 April 1997). "Impact of MIDI on electroacoustic art music". CCRMA, Dept. of Music, Stanford University – via Google Books.
- ^ Mark Vail, The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument, page 277, Oxford University Press
- ^ a b
Leete, Norm. "Fairlight Computer". Sound On Sound (April 1999).
The huge cost of the Fairlight CMI did not put the rich and famous off. Peter Vogel brought an early CMI to the UK in person, and one of the first people to get one was Peter Gabriel. Once UK distributor Syco Systems had been set up, the client list started to grow. ... as the total number of CMIs and Series II / IIxs comes to about 300 (of which only about 50 made it to the UK).(Note: CMI III seems not in count)
- ^
Vogel, Peter (c. 2011). "History (and future)". Peter Vogel Instruments.
over 300 "Fairlights" were sold world-wide.
- ^
Reid, Gordon. "Yamaha GS1 & DX1 – Part 1: The Birth, Rise and Further Rise of FM Synthesis (Retro)". Sound On Sound (August 2001). Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
the GS1 retailed for £12,000 ... Yamaha sold only around 100 or so GS1s and, in all likelihood, few more GS2s.
- ^
Reid, Gordon. "SOUNDS OF THE '80S – Part 2: The Yamaha DX1 & Its Successors (Retro)". Sound On Sound (September 2001). Archived from the original on 2011-09-17.
With around 200,000 units sold, the DXs and TXs dominated the mid-'80s music scene in a way that no other keyboards or modules had done before, ...(Note: possibly this top sales record has been overwritten by Korg M1 (250,000 units), according to the Sound On Sound, February 2002)
- ^ Wiffen, Paul, "History Of Onboard Synth Effects, Part 1", Sound On Sound (March 1999), retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ Vail, Mark, "Korg M1", Sound On Sound (February 2002)
- ^ Holmes, Paul (22 May 2012), Electronic and Experimental Music, Routlege, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ The revival of analog electronics in a digital world, newelectronics, August 2013, retrieved 2014-01-09
- ^ "The 14 most important synths in electronic music history – and the musicians who use them". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ a b c d e Borthwick 2004, p. 120
- ^ "Jean Michel Jarre | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Vangelis". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Snowflakes Are Dancing". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ "Kraftwerk". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ George-Warren, Holly (2001), The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Fireside, pp. 707–734, ISBN 0-7432-0120-5
- ^ Robbins, Ira A (1991), The Trouser Press Record Guide, Maxwell Macmillan International, p. 473, ISBN 0-02-036361-3
- ^ Black, Johnny (2003), "The Greatest Songs Ever! Hungry Like the Wolf", Blender Magazine (January/February 2003), archived from the original on October 13, 2007, retrieved 2008-04-16
- ^ Borthwick 2004, p. 130
- ^ John M. Chowning (September 1973), The Synthesis of Complex Audio Spectra by Means of Frequency Modulation (PDF)
- ^ "CZ-101 Manual" (PDF). Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Reid, Gordon (2000). "Synth Secrets, Part 9: An Introduction to VCAs". Sound on Sound (January 2000). Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2010-05-25.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- ^ Vail, Mark (2014). The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument. OUP USA. ISBN 9780195394894.
- ^ Charles Dodge, Thomas A. Jerse (1997). Computer Music. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 82.
- ^ US patent 3,358,070, Alan C. Young (Hammond Co.), "Electronic Organ Arpeggio Effect Device", issued 1967-12-12
- ^ "RMI Harmonic Synthesizer". Jarrography – The ultimate Jean Michel Jarre discography.
- ^ "Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer Programmer (ad)". Contemporary Keyboard Magazine (ad) (September/October 1976): 19.
- ^ Thom Holmes, Thomas B. Holmes (2002), Electronic and experimental music: pioneers in technology and composition, Routledge, p. 59, ISBN 978-0-415-93644-6
- ^
"Radio Squeals Turned to Music for Entire Orchestra", Popular Science (June 1932): 51
— the article reported Léon Theremin's new electronic instruments used on his electric orchestra's first public recital at Carnegie Hall, New York City, including Fingerboard Theremin, Keyboard Theremin with fingerboard controller, and Terpsitone (a performance instrument in the style of platform on which a dancer could play a music by the movement of body).
- ^
Glinsky, Albert (2000), Theremin: ether music and espionage, University of Illinois Press, p. 145, ISBN 978-0-252-02582-2,
In addition to its 61 keys (five octaves), it had a "fingerboard channel" offering an alternate interface for string players.
- ^ Brend, Mark (2005). Strange sounds: offbeat instruments and sonic experiments in pop. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 22. ISBN 0-87930-855-9.
- ^ "Moogtonium (1966–1968)". Moog Foundation. — Max Brand's version of Mixture Trautonium, built by Robert Moog during 1966–1968.
- ^ Synthesizer technique. Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. 1984. p. 47. ISBN 0-88188-290-9.
- ^ Pinch, Trevor; Frank Trocco (2004). Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. Harvard University Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-674-01617-3.
- ^ "The "Hellertion"(1929) & the "Heliophon"(1936)", 120 Years of Electronic Music
- ^ Peter Lertes (1933), Elektrische Musik:ein gemeinverständliche Darstellung ihrer Grundlagen, des heutigen Standes der Technik und ihre Zukunftsmöglickkeiten, (Dresden & Leipzig, 1933)
- ^ J. Marx (1947). "Heliophon, ein neues Musikinstrument". Ömz. ii (1947): 314.
- ^ Christoph Reuter, Martinetta and Variophon, Variophon.de
- ^ Christoph Reuter, Variophon and Martinetta Enthusiasts Page, Variophon.de
- ^ Joseph Pepe Zawinul, Melodicas.com, archived from the original on 2011-12-20 (also another photograph is shown on gallery page)
- ^ Millioniser 2000 Promo Video Rock Erickson London, England 1983, MatrixSynth.com, July 21, 2009
- ^ Crumar Steiner Masters Touch CV Breath Controller, MatrixSynth.com, January 21, 2008
- ^ Yamaha DX100 with BC-1 Breath Controller, MatrixSynth.com, December 16, 2007
- ^ The Complete MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification, MIDI Manufacturers Association Inc., retrieved 2008-04-10
- ^ a b c Rothtein, Joseph (1995), MIDI: A Comprehensive Introduction, A-R Editions, pp. 1–11, ISBN 0-89579-309-1, retrieved 2008-05-30
- ^ Webster, Peter Richard; Williams, David Brian (2005), Experiencing Music Technology: Software, Data, and Hardware, Thomson Schirmer, p. 221, ISBN 0-534-17672-0
- ^ Royalty Free Music : Funk – incompetech (mp3). Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).
- ^ "Firstman SQ-01 Sequence Synthesizer from Multivox" (advertisement). Contemporary Keyboard. Vol. 7 no. June 1981 – November 1981. p. 23.
- ^
"Multivox Firstman SQ-01 Sequencer". Keyboard Report. Contemporary Keyboard. Vol. 7 no. October 1981. pp. 82, 88. ("Keyboard Report, Oct. '81", according to the "Vol.9, 1983". Cite magazine requires
- ^
"Firstman International". SYNRISE (in German). Archived from the original on 2003-04-20.
FIRSTMAN existiert seit 1972 und hat seinen Ursprung in Japan. Dort ist dieFirma unter dem Markennamen HILLWOOD bekannt. HILLWOOD baute dann auch 1973 den quasi ersten Synthesizer von FIRSTMAN. Die Firma MULTIVOX liess ihre Instrumente von 1976 bis 1980 bei HILLWOOD bauen.","SQ-10 / mon syn kmi ? (1980) / Monophoner Synthesizer mit wahrscheinlich eingebautem Sequenzer. Die Tastatur umfasst 37 Tasten. Die Klangerzeugung beruht auf zwei VCOs.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (2009). Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying--From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis. CRC Press. pp. 107–108.
- ^ a b Vine, Richard (15 June 2011). "Tadao Kikumoto invents the Roland TB-303". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ^ a b Aitken, Stuart (10 May 2011). "Charanjit Singh on how he invented acid house ... by mistake". The Guardian.
- ^ "1981–1990 – The Musicians' Union: A History (1893–2013)". www.muhistory.com.
- ^ Green, Jesse (25 March 2007). "Notion – Digital Orchestras". The New York Times.
- Borthwick, Stuart (2004), Popular Music Genres: An Introduction, Edinburgh University Press, p. 120, ISBN 0-7486-1745-0
- Holmes, Thom (2008), Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture (3rd ed.), Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-415-95781-8, retrieved 2011-06-04
- Vail, Mark (2000), Vintage Synthesizers: Groundbreaking Instruments and Pioneering Designers of Electronic Music Synthesizers, Backbeat Books, pp. 68–342, ISBN 0-87930-603-3
Further reading[edit]
- Gorges, Peter (2005). Programming Synthesizers. Germany, Bremen: Wizoobooks. ISBN 978-3-934903-48-7.
- Schmitz, Reinhard (2005). Analog Synthesis. Germany, Bremen: Wizoobooks. ISBN 978-3-934903-01-2.
- Shapiro, Peter (2000). Modulations: A History of Electronic Music: Throbbing Words on Sound. ISBN 1-891024-06-X.
- Kuit, Roland (2014). SoundLab I: The Electronic Studio. Publisher's number: 13664. The Netherlands, The Hague: Donemus.
- Kuit, Roland (2014). SoundLab II: Architectures for Philosophers. Publisher's number: 13665. The Netherlands, The Hague: Donemus.
- Kuit, Roland (2014). Laboratory of Patching: Illustrated Compendium of Modular Synthesis. Publisher's number: 13662. The Netherlands, The Hague: Donemus.
- Kuit, Roland (2014). To be On, to be OFF, that's the SWITCH. Publisher's number: 13666. The Netherlands, The Hague: Donemus.
- Kuit, Roland (2014). Modular strategies in shaping reflections and space. Publisher's number: 13663. The Netherlands, The Hague: Donemus.
External links[edit]
|Look up synthesizer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Synthesizers.


text:
Necklace – Complete Freedom – Gold Plated Chain
Current necklace is a piece from Water on Sand jewelry collection.
Ceramic necklace is framed with a 60 cm long gold plated brass chain, produced in Italy. It could be warn not only as a complete piece, but also separately, with only lower part of the necklace on the chain. Size of the necklace is approximately 16 cm x 9 cm (each part).
Each piece is handcrafted individually and is unrepeatable in the exact shape and color it has. Therefore, each piece will show slight variation. You could see some of the possible color variations on the last image.
In order to create it, we put clay through a 3-week process of refinement, which included shaping, drying, rough firing, multiple glazing, second firing and polishing. Made to order in Berlin.
89.00 €
incl. 19% VAT plus Shipping Costs
Water on Sand is a line of ceramic necklaces, which reflect the sensation of sea waves covering the sandy shore. It´s aiming to record and express the moment of interaction between the nature and yourself, which culminates in inner awareness of peace and self-acceptance.
The natural motion and power of the deep ocean water feels appropriated by human body and sole in the safety of stepping feet into mild shore waves. This moment of relief from rushing and loaded everyday life is fleeting. Water on Sand visualizes this moment and expresses it into something tangible, which aims to make it last. It aims to give our inner universes a point of reference, a kind of amulet, which would remind us to feel the sensation of sea floating over the sand whenever we lose connection to our inner calmness and contact to our inner self.
Each necklace is unrepeatable in the exact shape and color it has. Just like each wave creates a unique pattern on the sand, just like each moment of our interaction with the ocean is individual and unrepeatable. The crafting process reflects the complexity of this moment. In order to create it, we put clay through a 3-week process of refinement, which includes shaping, drying, rough firing, multiple glazing, second firing and polishing. The glaze application is furthermore unique as it consists of two stages. First – deeping the necklace into the "sand glaze". And second – splashing the "sea blue" over it with a brush.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
French Rugby
Mermoz doubt for Japan test
ESPNscrum Staff
September 1, 2011
Mermoz has been restricted to just nine caps due to injury © Getty Images
Centre Maxime Mermoz is set to miss France's opening game of the 2011 World Cup with a knee injury.
Mermoz sustained the injury against Ireland on August 13 and has been unable to train properly since and now looks likely to miss out on selection for the clash with Japan on September 10.
The Perpignan back has been training separately from the rest of the French team upon arrival in New Zealand. Mermoz has struggled the injuries in the past, notably during the 2011 Six Nations when a shoulder injury limited his participation.
And French boss Marc Lievremont conceded that they are likely to go into the opening fixture without the nine-cap Perpignan centre. "It would be complicated to line him up for the first match," said Lievremont. "He could probably play if absolutely necessary but he hasn't trained for three weeks. He'll try to start again at the start of next week but we've got enough players in his position to not take any risks."
There was better news for Lievremont however with the news that Raphael Lakafia, Damien Traille, Imanol Harinordoquy and Romain Millo-Chluski have recovered from their respective injuries and were able to train with the rest of the squad.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Communication error please reload the page.


text:
Long 42x zoom lens. Sharp images. Snappy performance. 1080p video capture. Integrated GPS.
High-speed burst limited to 5 shots. No hot shoe or mic input.
Bottom Line
Bigger than a compact, but smaller than a D-SLR, the 42x Nikon Coolpix P510 packs a high-quality lens that delivers sharp images. Integrated GPS, 1080p video capture, and plenty of other features help it nab our Editors' Choice for the best full-size superzoom camera.
The Nikon Coolpix P510 ($429.95 direct) is the successor to the company's popular 36x P500 ($399.95, 4 stars). The P510 ups the zoom factor to 42x, although it does so by sacrificing some coverage on the wide-angle side of things. The camera adds a built-in GPS and ups the resolution to 16 megapixels, but is otherwise similar to the P500 . If you're in the market for a camera with a really long zoom lens, the P510 is the best of the bunch, so it's our Editors' Choice for full-size superzoom cameras.
Similar Products
Design and Features
Looking a bit like a miniature SLR, the P510 comes complete with a handgrip and an eye-level viewfinder. Of course, you won't be able to remove its lens—but the integrated design is one of the factors that makes such a long zoom factor possible. The camera measures 3.3 by 4.8 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.2 pounds, making it a smidge smaller and lighter than the 35x Canon PowerShot SX40 HS ($429.99, 4 stars), which measures 3.6 by 4.8 by 4.2 inches and weighs 1.3 pounds. If a full-size superzoom is too much camera for you to carry, take a look at the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS ($349.99, 4 stars)—it's got a 20x (25-500mm equivalent) lens and can fit snugly in most pockets.
A number like 42x is quite impressive on its own when talking about zoom, and even more so when you realize that it starts out at a relatively wide-angle 24mm (35mm equivalent) focal length. It goes all the way up to 1000mm, which is the longest telephoto reach in its class. This is much longer than the 810mm that the camera's predecessor manages on the long end of its zoom—but the P500 features a 22.5mm field of view on the wide side of things. The difference may only be 1.5mm, as the difference between the two is a step backwards, give or take, but for situations where you're up against a wall, a step backwards isn't possible. To be fair, none of the current crop of superzoom cameras manage a field of view that's wider than 24mm—it's just unfortunate to see the camera lose a bit of versatility on one end in order to gain a longer telephoto reach.
There are enough physical controls on the P510's body to satisfy demanding shooters, and fully automatic operation is also possible for the set it and forget it crowd. The top of the camera houses the mode dial, Function button, zoom rocker, and shutter release—there's also a second zoom rocker located on the lens itself. The bulk of the control buttons are on the rear of the camera—these include Exposure Compensation, Flash Control, Macro Mode, the Self Timer, and a Record button for video. Like most cameras in its class, the Nikon uses an electronic power zoom to extend and retract the lens. Fujifilm does produce a few models, including the FinePix HS30EXR ($499.95, 3.5 stars) that support manual zooming. A camera with a manual zoom may be more comfortable for SLR users who are used to adjusting the focal length of zoom lenses by hand.
You can frame images via the camera's rear 3-inch LCD, which is quite sharp at 921k dots, or the eye-level electronic viewfinder. The LCD is hinged so it can be viewed from above or below, but it doesn't swivel out from the camera like the display on the Canon SX40 HS . The P510's EVF is fairly small and not that sharp, which makes it okay to verify image framing, but not much else. The Fuji HS30EXR has a larger, sharper EVF that is more enjoyable to use, and even makes it possible to focus the camera manually with some precision.


text:
Most were built during the Second Renaissance in response to the O2 Depletion Event
Sages and naturalists frown at the common name given to these strange creatures by the small folk, but sometimes the silliest nicknames for creatures, places and people persevere in the minds of many. "Purifiers", "Pond Jellies", "Breath-Stealers", "Lung-Ticklers" and "River Butterflies" are much less commonly heard appellations for these life forms. Wet Faeries are basically (and simply) a species of fist-sized, fresh-water jellyfish. Several traits steer them toward the peculiar category however. Firstly, Wet Faeries are nearly invisible in the water, much like their marine cousins but even more so. One can swim in a river swarming with these critters and not even notice their presence. Secondly, they possess the unique ability to clean and purify whatever body of water they inhabit. They do this via some sort of biological filtration process, sucking in all toxins present in the water, and releasing it back in its purest form. Needless to say, they are both a blessing and a curse to whichever folk dwell beside the rivers and lakes Wet Faeries inhabit. On one hand, no purer water can be found anywhere than a Wet Faerie lake or pond, and yet, in "pure" water "life" tends in fact to die out, lacking the needed nutrients to prosper. Thirdly, their "sting" is (unfortunately) virulently poisonous to all mammalians. Wet Faeries are loathe to sting anyone or anything, using their barbed fronds as a last line of defense, but if stung, most swimmers will suffer respiratory arrest, and die within minutes, usually drowning before they can make it back to shore.
Alchemists, druids, and less savory characters have studied these creatures over the years, and have predictably found all the ways Wet Faeries could be exploited. Morbidly humorous, some bards find it, that the Poisoners and Assassins Guilds as well as the Healer's Union, all prize these creatures. The assassins use the extracted venom in obvious fashion, while the priests and healers use the still-living jelly-fish to sterilize other poison potions and to cure those already poisoned on death's door.
It is known that a certain Earl Von Trumble keeps his vast castle moat stocked with Wet Faeries, the waters so clear that every bone of every one of his past enemies can be clearly seen on the bottom, twenty two feet below.


text:
- Go to the Browser and enter;
- Scroll down the page until you find a button marked Download and click it.
- Choose your language and then click Next
- Scroll to the end of the terms and conditions and click the option button marked
(o) I Accept and then click Next.
- The application will then start to download.
It should take about one minute.
- At the successful install dialog, click Ok
For some reason, the install drops you back in the browser.
Click the blackberry button and choose close.
You'll find the icon in the downloads folder, though you might want to move it to home.


text:
Weeklybeats 2018 was a 52 week long music project in which artists composed and publicly released 1 song a week for the entire year.
Enjoy this archive of over 3,700 music compositions by over 260 artists.
Sign up or Login to give feedback or chat up on the forums.
WeeklyBeats.com / Music / Computer Practice's music / Call the Police there's a Quasar
This one got a littllllllllllle weird!
This submission is licensed by author under Copyright All rights reserved
You need to login to leave a comment. Login Sign-up


text:
How to Find Us
Travel Directions to the Voinovich School - located in Buildings 19, 21 and 22 on the Ridges at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
- When entering Athens from U.S. Routes 33 or 50, take the exit for 682/Ohio University. (Note: If coming from Columbus on U.S. 33, do not take the 682/The Plains Exit, wait until you see the 682/Ohio University Exit).
- At the bottom of the exit ramp, go straight through the roundabout, crossing Richland Avenue. (The football stadium and basketball arena will be on your right across the river.)
- Take the first left onto Ridge Road and go up the hill to the Ridges.
- There is a yield sign at the top of the hill.
- Building 22 of the Voinovich School is straight ahead.
- To reach Voinovich School Buildings 19 and 21, turn left.
- The main building of the Ridges complex is on your right, home of the Kennedy Museum of Art.
- Building 19 of the Voinovich School is towards the end of the main building in the new addition.
- Building 21 of the Voinovich School is the only building on the left and is across the drive from Building 20.
- For all buildings, please see building reception regarding parking permits.
- If you require additional information, please call the Voinovich School at (740) 593-9381.


text:
A quarter after 8 Friday morning...
"We got the first call that an aircraft was missing a windshield," said Easterwood Airport Director John Happ.
A few minutes later...
"We get another call shortly after he landed that we had an A&M flying club aircraft which was a Cessna 150 that was missing its landing gear," said Happ.
Two planes traveling 8 miles south east of Easterwood Airport collided in mid-air. The Cessna 150 belongs to a Texas A&M Flying Club, which is not affiliated with the university. It was occupied by an instructor pilot and student pilot. Although it's too early to tell, the Federal Aviation Administration says the club plane's right front tire smashed through the windshield of a single engine plane reportedly flown by a person coming to visit relatives. The visiting pilot was unscathed and managed to land his plane safely on the Easterwood tarmac.
"I imagine the Sirrus-22, without a windshield, would be cool this morning with the wind velocity that would have been coming through the air craft," said Happ.
Meanwhile the A&M Club plane was forced to land with a missing wheel.
"He landed it initially landed it on the left main gear, then he eventually set the nose gear down and as the airplane slowed he let the right side down," Happ said.
The student pilot told us off camera although it was a shocking experience, and she credits her instructor's experience for the safe landing.
"I would call it a miracle that considering the damage on both aircraft we didn't have any injuries. That's just a credit to both pilots and their ability," added Happ.
Two planes made emergency landings at Easterwood Airport Friday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration tells News 3 a Texas A&M Flying Club plane, a two seat Cessna 152, collided in mid-air with another small plane, a four seat Sirrus-22. This happened 8 miles southeast of College Station.
That is contrary to initial reports from airport officials, who told News 3 that a wheel came off the A&M Flying Club plane in mid-flight and fell into the other plane's windshield.
One plane landed with damage to its cockpit windshield. Then, another plane made an emergency landing without one of three wheels.
The A&M Flying Club plane reportedly had a student pilot and an instructor in the cockpit. The instructor took over the controls to land the plane. The other had just a pilot on board from Austin who was on his way to the area to visit relatives.
Emergency crews at the airport responded. Both planes landed without incident and no injuries have been reported.
The A&M Flying Club is a non-profit and not affiliated with Texas A&M.
Lynn Lunsford with the FAA told News 3 that neither plane was talking to the air traffic control tower at the time of the collision. The FAA is conducting a full investigation.
Stay with News 3 as we get more information.


text:
NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday approved a $762 million payment from Amgen Inc, the final step to resolve nearly a dozen criminal and civil cases stemming from the sale of its once-blockbuster anemia drug Aranesp and several others.
Prosecutors previously said in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday the company had agreed to pay $612 million in a civil settlement, a $14 million criminal forfeiture payment, and a $136 million criminal fine. It is the single largest criminal and civil fraud settlement involving a biotechnology company in U.S. history, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn.
Amgen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one misdemeanor criminal count that it promoted Aranesp for higher, less frequent doses than approved in the drug's label by federal regulators. The company was also accused of marketing the drug to treat anemia caused by cancer, for which it was not approved, rather than to combat anemia as a side effect of chemotherapy treatments.
Amgen recorded a $780 million charge in the third quarter of 2011 to resolve civil and criminal litigation. In a recent regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Amgen said it had set aside $806 million related to the proposed settlement of charges arising out of the federal civil and criminal investigations.
U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson accepted the company's plea on Wednesday and approved its plea agreement with the government. The agreement includes a call for Amgen to abide by a five-year corporate integrity agreement, which imposes new compliance, transparency and accountability measures on the company's top executives and directors.
The agreement resolves a more than five-year investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, as well as a related investigation by federal prosecutors in Washington state, according to court papers.
"Instead of working to extend and enhance human lives, Amgen illegally pursued corporate profits while jeopardizing the safety of vulnerable consumers suffering from disease," acting U.S. attorney Marshall Miller of the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.
Details of the $612 million civil portion of the settlement were also unsealed Wednesday, encompassing a wider scope of allegations than the criminal case. The civil settlement resolves 10 whistleblower lawsuits from Brooklyn, Massachusetts and Washington federal courts, prosecutors said.
The civil settlement covers allegations that Amgen market Aranesp and two other drugs, Enbrel and Neulasta, for uses and doses that had not been approved. The company was also accused of offering illegal kickbacks to try to persuade health-care providers to prescribe their drugs, and engaged in false price reporting practices, federal prosecutors said.
Other Amgen drugs named in the civil suits include Epogen, Neupogen and Sensipar, according to court papers.
"The government raised important concerns in the criminal prosecution," Amgen chief compliance officer Cynthia Patton said in a statement. "Amgen acknowledges that mistakes were made, and we did not live up to our standards."
Amgen shares were down 53 cents to $88.76 in midafternoon trading. (Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Neil Stempleman)


text:
Government by stopgap, via Robert Costa:
Multiple GOP senators tell me House Republicans will likely pass a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government into early October. "It'd be a short-term, clean CR," as one describes the legislation. "It'd fund the government for one week or so and keep us talking," says another senator. "I think that's where they're moving right now."
Remember, under the current Senate schedule, Boehner won't have anything from the Senate to work with until Sunday night at the earliest. Cruz is reportedly under intense pressure from Senate Republicans not to object if McConnell tries to yield back some debate time going forward in the name of letting the House act sooner. But even if that happens, there's still not enough time left for Reid and Boehner to strike a deal on O-Care. So they're going to punt for a week while they keep talking. Which makes me wonder: If House conservatives agree to some lesser deal on O-Care — say, Vitter's plan to force Congress and staff to buy insurance on the exchanges without federal subsidies — would Cruz and Lee accept that or will they continue to (futilely) oppose anything short of defunding? I'm assuming they will, if only in the interest of mending fences at that point, but who knows? If Cruz is the new "president of conservative America," as I saw written somewhere today, then maybe he needs to vote no on a deal all the way down.
Roll Call is reporting that Boehner et al. are also weighing a one-year delay to ObamaCare's individual mandate as a fallback option once the "defund" bill is dead. Politico reported that this morning too. Senate Democrats won't go for that, though, or at least not without a lot of pressure, which makes me think maybe Boehner will pursue a longer stopgap CR of two or three weeks to buy time to apply pressure before the next shutdown deadline rolls around. If you want to sell the public on the eminently reasonable idea that it's unfair for business to get a break from ObamaCare's crapola regulations for a year but not individual taxpayers, it'd be nice to have more than a few days to do it.
Exit question: Jim Geraghty wonders if Cruz's goal all along wasn't defunding O-Care, which was impossible given the make-up of the Senate, but rather "cementing the public's perception that Obamacare is entirely a Democrat-run production, and that fixing the problems it creates will require the election of the Republican opposition." Is the public going to come away with that impression, though, after multiple Republicans vote against Cruz on Reid's clean CR this weekend? Former party nominee John McCain is delivering rebuttals to Cruz on the Senate floor, for cripes sake. If "Republicans are the answer" is the message Cruz wants to push, having a big internal Republican war between RINOs and true conservatives is a bad way to do it. I think his message is that tea partiers, specifically, are the answer — but if enough tea partiers end up demoralized by the failure of the defunding effort that they stay home next year to protest sending the RINOs back to the House, you could end up with Democrats doing better than they otherwise might have. Ironic.
Update: Remember that NBC story about Rand Paul privately arguing against the Cruz "defund" strategy? Here's an interesting clip via MFP of Paul not squarely denying that when asked about it by Glenn Beck. The takeaway here isn't that there's some sort of rift between Cruz and Paul; there's no reason to believe that given Paul's support for Cruz last night. The takeaway is that even Paul seems skittish about the political fallout for the GOP from a shutdown.


text:
Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes
Read Full Article : Awesome Country Wedding Cakes
Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes uploaded by admin at January 21, 2014 in category Best Wedding Cake. The great Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes image in this page is one of the best photos that related to the main topics Awesome Country Wedding Cakes.
If you are searching for some new cake design ideas, so this is the right place to find pictures you're looking for. This Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes is the good choice for your new Best Wedding Cake. Please don't miss the main story of Awesome Country Wedding Cakes if you think this is your ideas. We hope these pictures can inspiring you and match for the ideas that you're looking for.
To download this pictures about Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes, simply right click on the image above and select "Save Image As". Before you save this Best Wedding Cake photos, make sure you read the article or see all of our photo gallery related to this image. You can download this Best Wedding Cake photos fullsize at 600x409 resolution.
If you're interested to Chocolate White Country Wedding Cakes, you might also like to browse our gallery about Best Wedding Cake or view the gallery below about Awesome Country Wedding Cakes.


text:
These are all the News & Announcements posted in December, 2013.
Friday, 20
Holiday Hours
The library will observe the following schedule during the holidays:
Regular hours will be kept on all other days. Happy holidays!
Posted By Logan Library at 8:54 AM / Category:Library Closed
Tuesday, 17
Winter Reading Program for Adults
The Logan Library is now offering reading programs for adults that continue year-round! Our winter program encourages you to Read Together! Come into the library today and discover great books to carry you and your loved ones through the colder months. Sign up at the information desk and you could win prizes just for reading!
Click here for more information.
Posted By Logan Library at 10:25 AM / Category:Events
Thursday, 12
Staff Reading Picks
Book: Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Recommended by: Natalie, Technical Assistant
A fun read that offers an explanation for why snowmen look different the day after you make them: they play at night! Each page is beautifully illustrated, and has a look-and-find aspect. Can you find the dinosaur on every page?
Book: The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus by Tim Slover
Recommended by: Debbie, Associate Librarian
This is a fun, imaginative version of how Santa became Santa, starting with the orphan, Klaus, who was taken in by a guild of craftsmen in 1343. After the Black Death had swept through the land, he made toys for all the surviving children in his village and delivered them, with the priest's blessing, on Christmas Eve to put some joy back into their lives. Those children told the children from other villages, and Klaus, not wanting to disappoint any of them, found himself with more deliveries to make than he could do in one night. Enter his (soon to be) wife, Anna, and her reindeer, Dasher. (The magic and the flying come in later.)
Want more reading suggestions? View previous staff picks.
Posted By Logan Library at 11:56 AM / Category:Staff Picks
The Latest News!
Oct 16, 2018
» Community Book Discussion Oct 10, 2018
» The Dead Awaken Oct 5, 2018
» Library Closed Columbus Day


text:
Sign in with your username / email and password
Having problems logging in? Contact us for help
Forgot your password? Set a new password!
Create your free Rankers.co.nz account
Create your permanent and unique public username. No spaces permitted.
A username is a name that uniquely identifies you on the Rankers website. Your username, when paired with your password will provide you with access to your account on rankers.co.nz.
Your username may only contain letters and numbers and the underscore character _ . Spaces are not permitted.
Good passwords
are important! Enter your password carefully.
Your email will not be publicly displayed.
An email address provides authenticity for your account and allows Rankers to contact you. You'll need a valid email address in order to write reviews. You can unsubscribe from any emails in your account settings.
Your email address will not be shared with any third-parties.
Will be publicly displayed alongside your reviews.


text:
- 40
- 44
- 48
- 52
- 56
- 60
1. Secure Shopping Guarantee:
Shopping USA is 100% secure, 100% of the time.
All your information is encrypted and secure. Learn More
2. Privacy Policy: We promise never to share your information.
From 100 points to 98 points, suffer meal beat; from 55 points to 61 points,
get a kiss. This seemingly absurd story, but often occurs in our side, many
people view, the former regressing the beating is right and proper, the latter
is a matter of course, the kiss was taken for granted.
We often say, to a ruler in the end. In real life, it should be said that the ruler is the most fair, but in different people's hands, to measure different people, there will be different results. We are accustomed to the mother in the kitchen busy, three meals a day is always on time to eat delicious food, but when one day, we go home to face the dry stove cold stove, but the first thought is no food to eat, And even open blame, completely ignored her tired sick, barely, and even the effort to burn the water did not; and our father occasionally the next time the kitchen, cook a bowl of noodles, but Can make a person feel extremely contentment. Inertia, so that our ruler becomes flexible, but can not measure the far-reaching love.
Each unit is good and bad, there are dry to see, there are trouble, there are always some bald mixed in the monk among the good. Strange is dry in the dry, to see has been to see, and the more mistakes done more, get more criticism, and those spectators, and occasionally steal machine tricky look like, will be fame and fortune. And even those who make trouble, become clever some, will let the leadership and a seat all happy and contented. Inert, so that our ruler with a prejudice, it can no longer gather the power of everyone.