An analog synthesizer ( British English : analogue synthesiser ) is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
30-489: The clavioline is an electronic analog synthesizer . It was invented by French engineer Constant Martin in 1947 in Versailles . The instrument consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker unit. The keyboard usually covered three octaves, and had a number of switches to alter the tone of the sound produced, add vibrato (a defining feature of the instrument), and provide other effects. The Clavioline used
60-777: A patchbay that resembled the jackfields used by 1940s-era telephone operators. Synthesizer modules in early analog synthesizers included voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), voltage-controlled filters (VCFs), and voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs). The control voltage varied frequency in VCOs and VCFs, and attenuation (gain) in VCAs. Additionally, they used envelope generators , low-frequency oscillators , and ring modulators . Some synthesizers also had effects devices, such as reverb units, or tools such as sequencers or sound mixers . Because many of these modules took input sound signals and processed them, an analog synthesizer could be used both as
90-458: A vacuum tube oscillator to produce a buzzy waveform, almost a square wave, which could then be altered using high-pass and low-pass filtering , as well as the vibrato. The amplifier also aided in creating the instrument's signature tones, by deliberately providing a large amount of distortion. Several models of the Clavioline were produced by different companies. Among the more important were
120-547: A button, and can provide other benefits over patch bays, including routing a signal to any number of destinations simultaneously. However, switching equipment that can emulate the capabilities of a given patch bay is much more expensive. For example, an S-Video matrix routing switcher with the same capability (8×8) as a 16-point S-Video patch panel (8 patch cables connects 8 inputs and 8 outputs) may cost ten times more, though it would probably have more capabilities. Like patch panels, switching equipment for nearly any type of signal
150-410: A flashlight for the right jack. Using a patchbay also saves wear and tear on the input jacks of studio gear and instruments, because all of the connections are made with the patchbay. Patch panels are being used more prevalently in domestic installations, owing to the popularity of "Structured Wiring" installs. They are also found in home cinema installations more and more. It is conventional to have
180-635: A modular design, normalization made the instrument more portable and easier to use. This first pre-patched synthesizer, the Minimoog , became highly popular, with over 12,000 units sold. The Minimoog also influenced the design of nearly all subsequent synthesizers, with integrated keyboard, pitch wheel and modulation wheel, and a VCO -> VCF -> VCA signal flow. In the 1970s, miniaturized solid-state components let manufacturers produce self-contained, portable instruments, which musicians soon began to use in live performances. Electronic synthesizers quickly become
210-433: A sound-generating and sound-processing system. Famous modular synthesizer manufacturers included Moog Music , ARP Instruments, Inc. , Serge Modular Music Systems , and Electronic Music Studios . Moog established standards recognized worldwide for control interfacing on analog synthesizers, using an exponential 1-volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal. These control signals were routed using
240-460: A standard part of the popular-music repertoire. The first movie to use music made with a (Moog) synthesizer was the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969. After the release of the film, composers produced a large number of movie soundtracks that featured synthesizers. Notable makers of all-in-one analog synthesizers included Moog, ARP, Roland , Korg and Yamaha . Because of
270-529: A variety of thermionic-valve ( vacuum tube ) and electro-mechanical technologies. While some electric instruments were produced in bulk, such as Georges Jenny 's Ondioline , the Hammond organ , and the Trautonium , many of these would not be considered synthesizers by the standards of later instruments. However, some of these synthesizers achieved a high level of sophistication, such as the Trautonium of Oskar Sala ,
300-711: Is available, including analog and digital video and audio, as well as RF (cable TV), MIDI , telephone, networking and electrical. There are various types of switches for audio and video, from simple selector switches to sophisticated production switchers . However, emulating or exceeding the capabilities of audio or video patch panels requires specialized devices like crossbar switches . Switching equipment may be electronic, mechanical, or electro-mechanical . Some switcher hardware can be controlled via computer or other external devices. Some have automated or pre-programmed operational capabilities. There are also software switcher applications used to route signals and control data within
330-559: The Canary S-2 (1962), was based on the Clavioline. The Clavioline has been used on a number of recordings in popular music as well as in film. Along with the Mellotron , it was one of the keyboard instruments favoured by rock and pop musicians during the 1960s before the arrival of the Moog synthesizer . Analog synthesizer The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as
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#1732877354244360-568: The Electronium of Raymond Scott , and the ANS synthesizer of Evgeny Murzin . Another notable early instrument is the Hammond Novachord , first produced in 1938. Early analog synthesizers used technology from electronic analog computers and laboratory test equipment. They were generally "modular" synthesizers, consisting of a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables into
390-479: The Kawai K5 (waveforms constructed via additive synthesis). With the falling cost of microprocessors, this architecture became the standard architecture for high-end analog synthesizers. During the middle to late 1980s, digital synthesizers and samplers largely replaced analog synthesizers. By the early 1990s, however, musicians from the techno , rave and DJ scenes who wanted to produce electronic music but lacked
420-492: The Moog used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables , later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems. The earliest mention of a "synthetic harmoniser" using electricity appears to be in 1906, created by the Scottish physicist James Robert Milne FRSE (d.1961). The earliest synthesizers used
450-519: The Moog synthesizer transistor ladder filter, has spurred a return of DIY and kit synthesizer modules, as well as an increase in the number of commercial companies selling analog modules. Reverse engineering has also revealed the secrets of some synthesizer components, such as those from ARP Instruments, Inc. In addition, despite the widespread availability during the 2000s of relatively inexpensive digital synthesizers that offered complex synthesis algorithms and envelopes, some musicians are attracted to
480-453: The Trautonium , were built with a variety of vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built using operational amplifier (op-amp) integrated circuits , and used potentiometers (pots, or variable resistors ) to adjust the sound parameters. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filters and high-pass filters to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as
510-683: The "hands-on", practical controls of analog synths – potentiometer knobs, faders, and other features – offering a strong appeal. Patchbay A patch panel is a device or unit featuring a number of jacks , usually of the same or similar type, for the use of connecting and routing circuits for monitoring, interconnecting, and testing circuits in a convenient, flexible manner. Patch panels are commonly used in computer networking , recording studios , and radio and television . The term patch came from early use in telephony and radio studios , where extra equipment kept on standby could be temporarily substituted for failed devices. This reconnection
540-840: The Standard, Reverb, and Concert models by Selmer in France and Gibson in the United States in the 1950s. The six-octave model employing octave transposition was developed by Harald Bode and manufactured under license by Jörgensen Electronic in Germany. In England, the Jennings Organ Company 's first successful product was the Univox, an early self-powered electronic keyboard inspired by the Selmer Clavioline. In Japan, Ace Tone 's first prototype,
570-599: The bottom jack; inserting a patch cord into the top jack will take a feed off that jack while retaining the internal link between the two jacks; inserting a patch cord into the bottom jack will break the internal link and replace the signal feed from the top jack with the signal carried on the patch cord. With top half-normal wiring, the same happens but vice versa. If a patch bay is wired to full-normal, then it includes break contacts in both rows of jacks. Dedicated switching equipment can be an alternative to patch bays in some applications. Switches can make routing as easy as pushing
600-669: The budget for large digital systems created a market for the then cheap second hand analog equipment. This increased demand for analog synthesizers towards the mid-1990s, as larger numbers of musicians gradually rediscovered the analog qualities. As a result, sounds associated with analog synths became popular again. Over time, this increased demand for used units (such as the 1980 Roland TR-808 drum machine and Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer). Late 1970s-era drum machines used tuned resonance voice circuits for pitched drum sounds and shaped white noise for others. The TR-808 improves on these designs, by using detuned square wave oscillators (for
630-408: The changes can be made at the patchbay. Additionally, patchbays make it easier to troubleshoot problems such as ground loops ; even small home studios and amateur project studios often use patchbays, because it groups all of the input jacks into one location. This means that devices mounted in racks or keyboard instruments can be connected without having to hunt around behind the rack or instrument with
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#1732877354244660-406: The complexity of generating even a single note using analog synthesis, most synthesizers remained monophonic . Polyphonic analog synthesizers featured limited polyphony, typically supporting four voices. Oberheim was a notable manufacturer of analog polyphonic synthesizers. The Polymoog was an attempt to create a truly polyphonic analog synthesizer, with sound generation circuitry for every key on
690-568: The cow bell and cymbal sounds) and analogue reverberation (for the handclap sound). The demand for the analog synth sound led to development of a variety of analog modeling synthesizers —which emulate analog VCOs and VCFs using samples, software, or specialized digital circuitry, and the construction of new analog keyboard synths such as the Alesis Andromeda , Prophet '08 , and Moog's Little Phatty , as well as semi-modular and modular units. The lapse of patents in recent years, such as for
720-515: The keyboard. However, its architecture resembled an electronic organ more than a traditional analog synthesizer, and the Polymoog was not widely imitated. In 1978, the first microprocessor -controlled analog synthesizers were created by Sequential Circuits . These used microprocessors for system control and control voltage generation, including envelope trigger generation, but the main sound generating path remained analog. The MIDI interface standard
750-436: The same building blocks, but integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems. The most popular of these was the Minimoog . In 1970, Moog designed an innovative synthesizer with a built-in keyboard and without modular design—the analog circuits were retained, but made interconnectable with switches in a simplified arrangement called "normalization". Though less flexible than
780-500: The same types of connectors and cables that were used for routing the synthesized sound signals. A specialized form of analog synthesizer is the analog vocoder , based on equipment developed for speech synthesis. Vocoders are often used to make a sound that resembles a musical instrument talking or singing. Patch cords could be damaged by use (creating hard-to-find intermittent faults) and made complex patches difficult and time-consuming to recreate. Thus, later analog synthesizers used
810-443: The sounds of monophonic and polyphonic analog synths. While some musicians embrace analog synthesizers as preferable, others counter that analog and digital synthesis simply represent different sonic generation processes that both reproduce characteristics the other misses. Another factor considered to have increased use of analog synths since the 1990s is weariness with the complex screen-based navigation systems of digital synths, with
840-404: The top row of jacks wired at the rear to outputs and bottom row of jacks wired to inputs. Patch bays may be half-normal (usually bottom) or full-normal, "normal" indicating that the top and bottom jacks are connected internally. When a patch bay has bottom half-normal wiring, then with no patch cord inserted into either jack, the top jack is internally linked to the bottom jack via break contacts on
870-460: Was developed for these systems. This generation of synthesizers often featured six or eight voice polyphony. Also during this period, a number of analog/digital hybrid synthesizers were introduced, which replaced certain sound-producing functions with digital equivalents, for example the digital oscillators in synthesizers like the Korg DW-8000 (which played back PCM samples of various waveforms) and
900-660: Was done via patch cords and patch panels, like the jack fields of cord-type telephone switchboards . Patch panels are also referred to as patch bays , patch fields , jack panels or jack fields . In recording studios , television and radio broadcast studios, and concert sound reinforcement systems, patchbays are widely used to facilitate the connection of different devices, such as microphones, electric or electronic instruments, effects (e.g. compression, reverb, etc.), recording gear, amplifiers , or broadcasting equipment. Patchbays make it easier to connect different devices in different orders for different projects, because all of
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