tegerio
patreon
Battle of the coasts
🕑 Added 2019-05-04 16:14:51 +0000 UTCIn synthesizer lingo, "East Coast" refers to the Moog method of subtractive synthesis which starts with one or two (sometimes 3) simple oscillators, mixes them together to obtain more complex waveforms, and then applies a filter to "subtract" harmonics and change the tonal quality. Amplitude is controlled by a VCA (voltage controlled attenuator), and the VCA is usually modulated by an Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release envelope.
"West Coast" refers to a slightly different synthesis architecture based on the work of California weirdo synth designers Buchla and Serge. It starts with 2 oscillators, one of which modulates the frequency of the other, combined with wavefolding (a type of controlled distortion) to give an extensive palette of timbres at the very beginning of the signal path. Filter and VCA are combined into a single Low Pass Gate, and the envelope is replaced by a pair of simple Attack-Release slope generators that can modulate each other.
Comments
Budget may have been a factor (Moog synths have always been expensive) but I think the biggest part of it was the wish to design a "better" or "more elegant" system .. or one that could make distinctly different sounds from the Moog. In the 90s Don Buchla developed a bunch of ergonomic instruments with weird control schemes .. I don't think any of them were commercially successful, despite the fact that they were supposed to be very easy to play. People are used to keyboards and it's hard to get them to change.
benin81812
Were the West Coast guy’s looking for ways to create rich voices on the cheap? I know the digital synth folks in the 80’s were looking for all sorts of tricks; digital circuits weren’t powerful enough for anything other than pure tones otherwise.
Simone Spinozzi
It was interesting indeed... Mostly because i don;t follow this kind of music, so listening to you recreate something was indeed very instructive. Thanks. 🤔👍💖
