The Buchla Modular Synthesizer Created by engineer Don Buchla with the help of Ramon Sender and composer Morton Subotnick, it was the first portable sound synthesizing device. It is composed of several "modular" boxes that modify a generated tone. Each box served a specific function: oscillation, filtering, delay, sample & hold, etc. This would have an effect on the pitch and frequency of the sound. The idea was to allow musicians and composers to create sounds suited to their own specifications. Custom music from scratch! Before, one had to utilize the musique concrete method of tape loops. Although it was a fresh and exciting idea and an excellent way to get new sounds, it was very time-consuming and arduous. The Buchla allowed musicians to bend and manipulate sound all in one device. This would lead to the many forms of electronic music we have today.
The Buchla Modular Synthesizer was commissioned specifically by Subotnick for use on his first major electronic work Silver Apples Of The Moon. He gave Don Buchla ideas and specifications for the boxes and what they should do. Along with Robert Moog's Moog synthesizer, it would go on the revolutionize the way music and sound is made.
links:
The Buchla @ Synthmuseum.com (http://www.synthmuseum.com/buchla/buc10001.html)
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