Untitled

In the early days of our journey through music production, we became aware of Analog Synthesis. Analog Synthesis is sound production through purely electronic means with no digital encoding, algorithms or bit rates. Raw voltage is harnessed and processed with analog circuits to form various waveshapes, control voltages, shaping devices (i.e. filters, effects processors) and amplifiers. Now this is in 1996, and by no means was Analog Synthesis a new thing at that point. But, with it being new to us, we searched the fledgling Internet for as much information as possible about it. Local libraries had books remaining from the "Analog Era" of the late 60's and 70's which mostly referenced the early work of Robert (Bob) Moog, Dave "Sequential Circuits" Smith and Don Buchla among others who pioneered the techniques which eventually led to the digital production world which overwhelms us today. It was Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits who invented MIDI, so all electronic roots grow down deep to these men. Before these gentlemen got started in their inventions, synthesis was mostly done with simple oscillators being manually swept by hand or devices like the Theremin invented by Leon Theremin. For examples of this sound, simply watch any old Sci-Fi movie from the 50's for the trademark sine wave sweeps and blips processed by large studio reverb processors and more portable tape echos. What Bob Moog really did was take the existing concepts of analog synthesis and created a "world of control". In this world you could now play notes up and down the traditional western scale on the keyboard, have automatic sweeps of the waveshapes, and he created the Voltage Controlled Ladder Filter which has since been copied and now digitally emulated time and time again. This was only the beginning.

Modern Analog Synthesis started with "Modular Synthesizers" which to the common man look like the old fashioned telephone switching stations from the early 1900's. Can you say "Operator, how may I help you…?" These beasts are a complex hodge-podge of different modules, each with its own function or purpose. The beauty of a modular synth, compared to today's digital synthesizers, is that you could freely plug "module to module" to make sounds and not have to live under the confines of "pre-patched" synthesizers. A pre-patched synthesizer is one in which the signal path has been laid out by the designer of the machine and the only changes and adjustments you can make are ones there are controls for; usually digital MIDI control or analog knobs, sliders and signal routing through the machine. Don't misunderstand the point I am trying to make though, pre-patched synthesizers are what allowed electronic synthesis to become more affordable, popular and spread into the homes of musicians.

The first synths we bought for out studio were pre-patched; among them the Roland JUNO-106, Roland SH-101, Roland MC-202 and Korg Poly-Six. Each of these synths is known for it's basic sound range. By this I mean the SH-101 made great bass, leads and blips while only allowing one key at a time (monophonic patches), while the Korg Poly-Six is more known for its pads and chords which are only possible through polyphonic keyboard control (The ability to hold down multiple keys at once). To further explain this, the Korg Poly-Six had to have inside, a full synthesizer voice for each key it would allow you to hold down. So imagine, that means six full set ups similar to the monophonic Roland SH-101 inside one machine. The cost associated with this increasing complexity and demand from the synthesizer ultimately led to the development of digital circuits, microprocessor control, and cheaper methods of manufacturing equipment to increase the profit margin for the mostly small businesses which designed and manufactured synthesizers. Hence, the death of analog ensued in the early to mid 80's.

History and opinions aside, synthesizers became a very "in demand" item for our studio. Some have come and gone, but a few will always remain in our sparse arsenal of sounds production tools. The whole story above is just a brief synopsis of the inspiration which ultimately led me (Thomas White) to become a synthesizer fanatic. In my early research on the Internet, I ran across a picture of Hans Zimmer standing in front of the largest synthesizer I had ever seen or hoped to see. This sparked a fire in me. I wanted to go "back to the roots" of synthesis. My dear friend, Cuban Pete was also very enthralled by the whole idea of it and he took the first step in buying a "do it yourself" synthesizer kit from Paia Electronics in Oklahoma. This is the Paia Fatman which is the blue rack synth pictured in the column to the left. John Simonton, founder of Paia also had a part of the early development of synthesizers and you will find a link to his website (still going strong) on the links page of this site.

And so... Enter, the Paia Fatman. Cuban Pete got one and built it and I was soon to follow. This is a very minimal but quite capable synthesizer under MIDI control that you can build in about 12 hours or so. It will give you a nice introduction to the analog world. Now... It was at this point, I discovered the true greatness of the Internet, for before my synth-fever, I had minimal to almost no experience on the World Wide Web. Really, I guess you could say two addictions started about the same time although one or the other has faded at times, only to be reborn with a fury (current fury = this website). The Internet provided Cuban Pete and I many "mods" or modifications we could add to the Paia Fatman if we dared. Well, long story short, we certainly did dare and both of our Fatmans offer many features not available on the stock model. Once the Fatman was built and tinkered with to death, we wanted to find other circuits to play with. We both built out some very basic circuits like guitar effects and small synthesizer modules. But then, I discovered a path that at the time I had no idea I would still be on today.

Thank god for Paul Schreiber. Paul Schreiber is the founder of a company in Texas named Synthesis Technology. When I discovered Synthesis Technology, only a "few" people were in the business of modular analog synthesizers. Dieter Doepfer in Germany was one, Grant Richter of Wiard was another and one cannot forget John Blacet who had a really devastating module called the Dark Star Chaos still in production from the late 70's (sadly, now out of production). All of these guys had various modules, but they were "not quite" what I was looking for in my quest to emulate Hans Zimmer in the old photo I dug up from the web. I could have saved, and searched for a classic Moog Modular, but I had no patience for such activities nor the desire to calibrate such an old machine every so often. Paul Scheiber had just the ticket I was waiting for. Obviously, I am biased in my opinions here and furthermore, a loyal customer of Synthesis Technology to this day. It was Paul's modules which really started the serious journey into synthesis which I enjoy to this day. I urge you to look at his website (www.synthtech.com) for more information if any of the information on this page seems even remotely interesting. If you are still reading to this point, check it out…

Paul has championed the creation and development of the MOTM Synthesizer (which stands for "Mother of All Modulars"). This modular is unique, at least to me, in that all of the modules strive to be different in at least one way or another. First of all, each module is available as a kit or pre-built for those without the time. I prefer kits, but with time short these days I am starting to think pre-built is looking better and better. The components used are the finest available and where this really makes a difference is in the knobs (or potentiometers for us synth geeks). They have the longest life span of any on the market ; this means when I'm old, I can still tinker around with the synth I built. Many of the modules are entirely original designs based on classic modalities (i.e VCO, VCF, VCA). Others are new, and there are quite a few in development which will be the first of their kind anywhere. Paul was inspired early on by the legendary Keith Emmerson of Emmerson, Lake and Palmer, who was famous for his large Moog Modular and pyrotechnically-charged "ribbon controller" which he would set off on-stage during concerts. I have even seen some pictures of Paul rocking out with the same poses Keith was known for behind the keyboard. It is this dedication and inspiration which led him to create the MOTM Synthesizer.

Although I have a MOTM Modular, I also have many other modules from the new-resurgence of synthesizer manufacturers of the modern era. These include almost all of the companies in the "synth diy links" on this website. Most of the pioneers are still going strong and keeping it analog. Bob Moog is back with his new Moog Voyager, John Blacet has a full line of synthesizer modules now, Dave Smith has introduced the Evolver Family of synthesizers which combine the best of analog and digital together, Don Buchla is also back on the map with an amazing (although quite pricey at $20,000) synthesizer. Almost all of the modules I ended up building from any of these various companies are "modified" to the MOTM format of panel and knobs spacing. To me it is the most logical layout for knobs, controls and patch cable jacks. Other will of course differ on this, but not a problem, we are all so very individual in the opinionated world of D.I.Y. analog synthesis.

One of the most fun facets of this analog community is the amazing variety of user websites out there. Many complete with pictures of their own modules, modifications they have made, and even custom built designs all sprung from the same fever which drives me to talk so damn much about this stuff. Check out the links page for connections with them too; I will add more as I further develop the website. I hope to add some pictures of my custom modified modules, some of which I developed based on existing circuits and other which are only cosmetically enhanced to match the MOTM standard. Take a minute to go back to the roots, look at what these folks have done and how things have got to be where they are today. The digital era is a whole other chapter for another time, let alone the new and diverse world of soft-synths and virtual effects processors (which, humorously, often seek to simulate the sound of the days of old which I have briefly described on this page (rant). I hope you learned something and maybe even got inspired to check out this whole underworld of gear. I certainly love experimentation, creation and development of my own synthesizer and wish you the best of luck in whatever path you choose!

Sincerely,

Thomas White (yes, i know, I'm a junkie...)