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52-397: The SH-3A is a monophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Roland from 1975 to 1981. It is unique in that it is capable of both the usual subtractive synthesis and also the less common additive synthesis , offering mixable waveforms at different footages. Two LFOs and a unique sample-and-hold section provided capabilities not found in competing self-contained synthesizers of

104-635: 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

156-851: A number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables into 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

208-756: A second keyboard for timbre control, featuring a white-noise generator, envelope controller, formant filters and ring modulators for harmonics. The early Melochord was extensively used by Werner Meyer-Eppler in the early days of the electronic music studio at Bonn University . Meyer-Eppler mentioned the musical application of ring modulator in his book Elektrische Klangerzeugung , published in 1949. Meyer-Eppler's student Karlheinz Stockhausen used ring modulation in 1956 for some sounds in Gesang der Jünglinge and his realization score for Telemusik (1966 ) also calls for it. Indeed, several entire compositions by Stockhausen are based around it, such as Mixtur (1964), one of

260-427: A self-confessed non-musician, used a ring modulator as his main instrument during his time with the band (1969-1973). Vangelis used a ring modulator with his Yamaha CS-80 to improvise his 1978 avant-garde-experimental album Beaubourg . The music on the album is often atonal, with the ring modulator converting the synthesizer's sound into complex metallic timbres. It remains the most experimental released work by

312-416: A series of reducing-amplitude odd harmonics : and the carrier frequency f c {\displaystyle f_{c}} is at least twice the maximum frequency of the modulating signal x ( t ) {\displaystyle x(t)} , then the resulting output is a series of duplicates of x ( t ) {\displaystyle x(t)} at increasing regions of

364-433: 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

416-460: 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

468-442: A wider range of uses, such as voice inversion , radio transceivers , and electronic music . While the original Cowan patent describes a circuit with a ring of four diodes, later implementations used FETs as the switching elements. The ring modulator includes an input stage, a ring of four diodes excited by a carrier signal, and an output stage. The input and output stages typically include transformers with center-taps towards

520-407: Is disabled unless the carrier oscillator is set to produce a triangle wave, but the modulating oscillator can be set to generate any of its available waveforms. However, no matter what waveform you set the modulating oscillator to, the ring modulation will always have the effect of modulating a triangle wave with a square wave. On an ARP Odyssey synthesizer (and a few others from that era as well)

572-400: Is similar to a bridge rectifier , except that instead of the diodes facing left or right, they face clockwise or counterclockwise. Ring modulation is quite similar to amplitude modulation , with the difference that in the latter the modulator is shifted to be positive before being multiplied with the carrier, while in the former the unshifted modulator is multiplied with the carrier. This has

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624-478: Is the same as convolution in the frequency domain . Ring modulators thus output the sum and difference of the frequencies present in each waveform. This process of ring modulation produces a signal rich in partials . As well, neither the carrier nor the incoming signal are prominent in the output, and ideally, not present at all. Two oscillators, whose frequencies were harmonically related and ring modulated against each other, produce sounds that still adhere to

676-483: The Bode Frequency Shifter, which produced a clearer sound by eliminating a side band. These devices were designed to be controlled by voltage, compatible with modular synthesizer architecture also advocated by him, and these modules were licensed to R.A. Moog for their Moog modular synthesizers started in 1963–1964. In 1963, Don Buchla included an optional ring modulator in his first modular synthesizer,

728-552: The EMS VCS 3 . The SH-3A does use a transistor ladder-filter and as a result can generate Moog -like sounds. This article relating to electronic musical instruments is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Analog synthesizer The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium , were built with a variety of vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After

780-795: 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 , 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

832-479: 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

884-547: 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 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 ,

936-499: The Model 100 . Also Tom Oberheim built a ring modulator unit for his musician friend in the late 1960s, and it became an origin of Oberheim Electronics Music Modulator and Maestro Ring Modulator , one of the earliest ring modulator effect products for guitarists. The EMS VCS3 , Synthi A , ARP 2600 , Odyssey , Rhodes Chroma and Yamaha CS-80 synthesizers also featured built-in ring modulators. John McLaughlin employs

988-565: 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

1040-628: The frequency of the two input waveforms. If the signals are processed digitally, the frequency-domain convolution becomes circular convolution . If the signals are wideband , this will cause aliasing distortion, so it is common to oversample the operation or low-pass filter the signals prior to ring modulation. The SID chip found in the Commodore 64 allows for triangle waves to be ring modulated. Oscillator 1 gets modulated by oscillator 3's frequency, oscillator 2 by oscillator 1's frequency, and oscillator 3 by oscillator 2's frequency. Ring modulation

1092-423: The "hands-on", practical controls of analog synths – potentiometer knobs, faders, and other features – offering a strong appeal. Ring modulator In electronics , ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing , in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple waveform ;

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1144-452: 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 the Moog used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables , later analog synthesizers such as

1196-513: The Fourier expansion of the carrier square wave. If the carrier frequency is less than twice the upper frequency of the signal then the resulting output signal contains spectral components from both the signal and the carrier that combine in the time domain. Because the output contains neither the individual modulator or carrier components, the ring modulator is said to be a double-balanced mixer, where both input signals are suppressed (not present in

1248-446: The artist, with reviewers calling it "difficult listening at best". Ring modulation is used in the piece Ofanim (1988/1997) by Luciano Berio , and in the first section is applied to a child's voice and a clarinet : "The transformation of the child voice into a clarinet was desired. For this purpose, a pitch detector computes the instantaneous frequency f 0 ( n ) {\displaystyle f_{0}(n)} of

1300-669: 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

1352-509: The carrier may or may not be desired in the output. Imperfections in the diodes and transformers introduce artifacts of the two input signals. In practical ring modulators, this leakage can be reduced by introducing opposing imbalances ( e.g. , variable resistors or capacitors). Ring modulation has also been extensively used in radio receivers , for example, to demodulate an FM stereo signal, and to heterodyne microwave signals in mobile telephone and wireless networking systems. In this case,

1404-769: The carrier signal by c ( t ) {\displaystyle c(t)} , the modulator signal by x ( t ) {\displaystyle x(t)} and the output signal by y ( t ) {\displaystyle y(t)} (where t {\displaystyle t} denotes time), ring modulation approximates multiplication : If c ( t ) {\displaystyle c(t)} and x ( t ) {\displaystyle x(t)} are sine waves with frequencies f c {\displaystyle f_{c}} and f x {\displaystyle f_{x}} , respectively, then y ( t ) {\displaystyle y(t)} will be

1456-471: The circuit is sometimes called a ring demodulator , one of many possible chopper circuits . A ring modulator can be used to generate a double-sideband suppressed-carrier (DSB-SC) wave used in radio transmission. One of the earliest musical instruments utilizing a ring modulator was the Melochord (1947) built by Harald Bode . It was a two-tone melody keyboard instrument with foot controllers and later added

1508-406: 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

1560-568: 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

1612-408: The diode ring. It is important to note that while the diode ring has some similarities to a bridge rectifier the diodes in a ring modulator all point in the same clockwise or counterclockwise direction. (See the schematic of a ring modulator in the upper right.) The carrier, which alternates between positive and negative current, at any given time makes one pair of diodes conduct, and reverse-biases

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1664-501: The effect that ring modulation of two sine waves having frequencies of 1,500 Hz and 400 Hz will produce as output signal the sum of a sine wave with frequency 1,900 Hz and one with frequency 1,100 Hz. These two output frequencies are known as sidebands . If one of the input signals has significant overtones (which is the case for square waves ), the output will sound quite different, since each harmonic will generate its own pair of sidebands that won't be harmonically-related. Denoting

1716-548: The first compositions for orchestra and live electronics; Mikrophonie II (1965), where the sounds of choral voices are modulated with a Hammond organ ; Mantra (1970), where the sounds from two pianos are routed through ring modulators; and Licht-Bilder (2002) from Sonntag aus Licht (2003), which ring-modulates flute and trumpet. Other Stockhausen pieces employing ring modulation include Kontakte (1960), Mikrophonie I (1964), Hymnen (1969), Prozession (1967), and Kurzwellen (1968). A ring-modulator

1768-424: The frequency spectrum. For example, let x ( t ) {\displaystyle x(t)} represent a sine wave at 100 Hz, and the carrier c ( t ) {\displaystyle c(t)} be an ideal square wave at 300 Hz. The output will then include sine waves at 100±300 Hz, 100±900 Hz, 100±1500 Hz, 100±2100 Hz, etc., at decreasing amplitudes according to

1820-418: The harmonic partials of the notes but contain a very different spectral makeup. When the oscillators' frequencies are not harmonically related, ring modulation creates inharmonics , often producing bell-like or otherwise metallic sounds. If the carrier signal is a square wave of frequency f c {\displaystyle f_{c}} , whose Fourier expansion contains the fundamental and

1872-515: 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

1924-408: The modulation products are largely confined to sum and difference frequency of inputs (unless the circuit is overdriven), rather than the much more complicated products of the rectifier circuit. Any DC component of the carrier will degrade the suppression of the carrier and thus in radio applications the carrier is typically transformer- or capacitor-coupled; in low frequency (e.g., audio) applications

1976-472: The other pair. The conducting pair carries the signal from the left transformer secondary to the primary of the transformer at the right. If the left carrier terminal is positive, the top and bottom diodes conduct. If that terminal is negative, then the side diodes conduct, but create a polarity inversion between the transformers. This action is much like that of a DPDT ( double pole, double throw ) switch wired for reversing connections. A particular elegance of

2028-412: The other signal is typically more complicated and is called the input or the modulator signal. A ring modulator is an electronic device for ring modulation. A ring modulator may be used in music synthesizers and as an effects unit . The name derives from the fact that the analog circuit of diodes originally used to implement this technique takes the shape of a ring: a diode ring . The circuit

2080-459: The output)—the output is composed entirely of the sum of the products of the frequency components of the two inputs. The ring modulator was invented by Frank A. Cowan in 1934 and patented in 1935 as an improvement on the invention of Clyde R. Keith at Bell Labs . The original application was in the field of analog telephony for frequency-division multiplexing for carrying multiple voice signals over telephone cables. It has since been applied to

2132-565: The ring modulator heavily in the 1974 Mahavishnu Orchestra album Visions of the Emerald Beyond , especially on the track "On the Way Home to Earth". On Miles Davis ' 1975 live album Agharta , guitarist Pete Cosey ran the sounds he played through a ring modulator. Deep Purple 's Jon Lord fed the signal from his Hammond through a Gibson Ring Modulator unit live on stage, which he described in 1989. Founding member of Hawkwind , Dik Mik,

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2184-437: The ring modulator is an XOR function (formed from four NAND gates ) fed from the square wave outputs of the two oscillators. For the limited case of square or pulse wave signals, this is identical to true ring modulation. Analog multiplier ICs (such as those made by Analog Devices) would work as ring modulators, of course with regard to such matters as their operating limits and scale factors. Use of multiplier ICs means that

2236-484: The ring modulator is that it is bidirectional: the signal flow can be reversed allowing the same circuit with the same carrier to be used either as a modulator or demodulator , for example in low-cost radio transceivers. Some modern ring modulators are implemented using digital signal processing techniques by simply multiplying the time domain signals, producing a nearly-perfect signal output. Intermodulation products can be generated by carefully selecting and changing

2288-401: The ring modulator was for combining multiple analog telephone voice channels into a single wideband signal to be carried on a single cable using frequency-division multiplexing . A ring modulator in combination with carrier wave and filter was used to assign channels to different frequencies. Early attempts at securing analog telephone channels used ring modulators to modify the spectrum of

2340-436: 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

2392-500: 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

2444-443: 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

2496-414: The sum of two ( phase-shifted ) sine waves, one of frequency f c + f x {\displaystyle f_{c}+f_{x}} and the other of frequency f c − f x {\displaystyle f_{c}-f_{x}} . This is a consequence of the trigonometric identity : Alternatively, one can use the fact that multiplication in the time domain

2548-571: The time. The SH-3A was Roland's first non-preset based synth. The predecessor, the Roland SH-1000 , could also do this but didn't offer as much control as on the SH-3A. The rhythmic pulsing in the Blondie song " Heart of Glass " is an example of its sound. Contrary to common belief, the initial version "SH-3" did not infringe on the transistor ladder-filter patent of Robert Moog . It used a diode filter like

2600-399: The voice. Then the child voice passes through a ring modulator, where the frequency of the carrier f c {\displaystyle f_{c}} is set to f 0 ( n ) / 2 {\displaystyle f_{0}(n)/2} . In this case odd harmonics prevail which is similar to the sound of a clarinet in the low register." An early application of

2652-460: 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

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2704-703: Was the major component used in Louis and Bebe Barron 's music for the film Forbidden Planet (1956). One of the best-known applications of the ring modulator may be its use by Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to produce the distinctive voice of the Daleks in the television series Doctor Who , starting in 1963. One of the first products dedicated for music was the Bode Ring Modulator developed in 1961 by Harald Bode . Also in 1964 he developed

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