Buchla Easel Command & Moog Grandmother | Eastcoast vs. Westcoast Synthesis | Thomann

[@artonion420]

You know it’s a buchla when the most knowledgeable german on youtube casually goes “I don’t know what this shape is called, never seen it anywhere else before”

[@fratariensis]

It's called spike wave and i'm german, so...

[@whiteperill]

Looks like a square wave with pwm to the max?

[@neonblack211]

yeah or a pulse wave... its a triggger basically @@whiteperill

[@greencontact]

Buchla sound is just out of this world.

[@xorthontech]

I have the Arturia software version of the Buchla and this video helps explain quite a large amount of information that is very helpful. Thank you!

[@markbooth]

Ok come on, so who down voted this video? I mean seriously, why would you even bother the waste such thumb muscle exercise to do that? This is a great video and well produced.

[@chrissearle23]

I’m already saving up!

[@joseph.nicolaus]

it's always a mystery to me too :) ... maybe they are people who are often on KZbin but they don't know how to use Google yet and instead of "I'm not interested" they push "I don't like it" ... so they can be either old people or children ...

[@henrikfisch]

After this excellent explanation ... I would LOVE to see the whole performance of the "demo" song (someday?). :)

[@smitlag]

I do like some of the sounds of the Buchla, particularly the hollow resonating percussion sounds. But, honestly, if a totally random soundscape is what you want, you could do this on any well equipped modular. Just lose the constraints of a keyboard and ideas of diatonic tones. My problem with total randomness is that once in a while you want to recreate something. Our minds try to create some semblance of order. It doesn't need to be much. But, otherwise, you just get chaotic noise. It's much like just throwing random colors at a painting, hoping something cool will appear. Electronic music doesn't need to follow rules on tonality, but it does require a pseudo order to be considered music.

[@JaseLovesDub]

The penultimate jam just before you sign off is pure 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@DrayGames]

Man merkt sofort wenn ein Deutschsprachiger versucht Englisch zu sprechen D: Sänk you vor träwellink wiss deutsche bahn

[@dodepixels1887]

Very clear explanation!

[@robertsyrett1992]

I love west coast synthesis, but man that was some delightfully expressive Moog playing!

[@LocaliLLocano]

I agree. He went deep

[@jeremythornton433]

He taught me things that I never knew about my Moog Grandmother. Amazing little synth it is.

[@RadicalCaveman]

@@jeremythornton433 How did he know so much about your grandmother?

[@supadupahilton6848]

Check out Wendy Carlos - Switched on Bach. It's played on a massive Moog modular consisting mainly of 900 Series modules.

[@robertsyrett1992]

@@supadupahilton6848 I actually found a copy of that a month ago on LP! Sadly I don't have a record player yet.

[@garyturner5204]

Felix this is a wonderful video explaining some of the core differences between east coast and west coast synthesis! Thank you for creating this. As someone who was born in Massachusetts near where ARP synths were made, I grew up thinking that “synthesizers” were only Moog, ARP, and several others (Aries and many more), it was not until Ingot into college and took a course call Directed Studies in Synthesis at Clark University in Worcester MA that encountered some of the unique controllers made by Buchla. The studio did not have any Buchla synths at the time though. It would not be until I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area that I would get a real taste of west coast synthesis and synthesizers from Buchla and Serge, and then wind up getting some Pittsburgh Modular synths like their Microvolt 3900 and their Lifeforms Primary Oscillator that I realized women of the unique differences it the west coast synthesizer philosophy. To me, synthesis is synthesis, regardless of the brand of what you buy, but a musical instrument because you like the way it sounds and inspires you.Again, thank you so very much for this wonderful video!

[@RadicalCaveman]

"women of the unique differences" ?

[@larcomj]

@10:33 id call that shape an impulse train. Not sure if that accurate within the synth space but in DSP theory that waveform is called an impulse train. Its a sum of time shifted Dirac delta functions.

[@Chunda8]

I don't want to be too presumptuous as a noob to synthesis, but as an executive summary, the West coast approach seems to be more focused on wave-folding as modulation and East seems to be more focused on sophisticated filtering. Most of my heroes lean East and learned on Moog systems, but West gets some truly gnarly, full-throated sounds out of the machine. I think of East Coast as like Geddy Lee from Rush and West Coast as Lemmy from Motorhead. And thanks Thomann for all the great synth content, I might be able to get into this within a reasonable budget.

[@sinepilot]

If I were one of you westcoasters, I'd cover Tesla Girls but change it to Buchla Boys instead. You're welcome. :-)

[@johnreview1]

please make a video about the 0coast, it would be amazing

[@CRLFNKL]

Time to start saving up for an easel then I suppose. Damn Great video tho! Thank you!

[@orphic-trench]

The Buchla Easel Command is like techno in a blink. Amazing.

[@chrizz2599]

The first Wave of the Waveshape is a Spike.

[@bauhnguefyische667]

Love Moogs, have 4. But this Buchla! Wow! It’s like a whole new world of sounds. I’m favoring it now, mostly cause it so wild. You get used to what a Moog can do, but my Buchla surprises in so many wonderful ways. It’s a treat!

[@BrandonJBilinski]

My Easel makes all my other synths seem like trinkets. Time to sell them to fund more Buchla!

[@chrissearle23]

To me, the Buchla sounds about a thousand times more interesting than the Moog

[@garyturner5204]

It is just a slightly different synthesis method. Both are compatible and fun to play with alone or in combination.

[@donato77]

I think in this case it's more than that. It's better tone IMO. @@garyturner5204

[@yigitcankahraman9106]

Well explanation about Buchla, great video mate! Much appreciated. Yo obviously love Buchla. It sounds amazing :)

[@Stopinvadingmyhardware]

Listening to the Easel after looking up the price. Yep, that’s about right.

[@bonesetter]

Oh Buchla.... Great demonstration.

[@AlekseiDroganov]

This dude doesn't eat his bread for nothing! Thank you! Cool performances! 👍✌️🙏

[@martinreuter1060]

The easel seems to run circles around the moog.

[@Midi-olo-gist6758]

Wow both systems are freaking awesome. You have to know your stuff to deal with the Buchla. Love them both wish I had heard of the Buchla's sooner. Really good grooves you created. Be cool!!

[@joevargo2777]

Seems like west coat leans more toward percussive sounds, while east coast is build for more melodic elements...of course there is great overlap between the two. Plus synth companies have been blurring the lines between east/west Great demo regardless

[@jawoody9745]

Don't forget that each of those percussive sounds can be endlessly tuned to notes of variable length and amplitudes to make some great musical compositions.

[@oiartsun]

No, West Coast technique will get you whatever you are looking for in melody, too. This video is just one presentation.

[@joevargo2777]

@@oiartsun well yea, they can both achieve similar things just the route to get there is different I suppose

[@nathanbryers]

Great video Thankyou! Actually I didn’t know that 👍🏼 I’m off to play with the NYSTHI modules in MiRack (VCV rack for iPad)

[@joseph.nicolaus]

Hi ... the random output is probably a Sample and hold, which responds to the main tempo and which collects random values from Noise signal. Can the quality of that Noise be determined? Or is it possible to specify other triggers for that Sample and hold besides the main tempo? Thanx

[@dieMilliarden]

Ich liebe deine Videos! Du erklärst immer sehr nachvollziehbar und anschaulich.. vielen Dank dafür.. :)

[@sinepilot]

OK so the Buchla _does_ have MIDI. I want to see it make the same fascinating sounds, but controlled by a more conventional sequencer. Edit: NM, found it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5CUm3msrdh0g9U

[@JKVisFX]

This leaves me wondering, if Buchla was all I had access to and wanted to do "conventional, Western" style music, how does one go about doing that? Or was that type of synthesizer just not designed for doing that?

[@sinepilot]

Around the 23:00 mark he insists it can be done. I believe him, but I'd still really like to see it. When I got into synthesis I wanted to perhaps try some Buchla gear, I do love the sounds that are possible, but what ultimately turned me off and pushed me to the Moog side is the unconventional sequencing of this so-called 'westcoast' design. I enjoy generative music, but it's definitely not the only music I want to make, and I worry the Buchlas are too limiting if you want to branch out. Does the Easel have MIDI for example? I'm guessing No. Edit: Oops I guessed wrong. It does have MIDI. So now I really want to see it hooked up to something more conventional! lol

[@BrandonJBilinski]

@@sinepilot It has MIDI control over both oscillators. You can play quantized or do weird in-between notes with it. Sync to a drum machine, etc. Not just weird bleep bloops! I find that's the advantage it has over Moog, I've gotten some thick bass stuff out of my 208C but I'd struggle to come up with some of the more weird stuff I do with the Buchla on anything else. Everything else is too normal!

[@sinepilot]

@@BrandonJBilinski Ha, good to know, thanks :)

[@js-hl5hv]

It really can be done. East coast/Moog/Subtractive basically uses a complex wave and cuts back frequencies. So a note starts with a lot of filtering, giving an almost pure sine wave, and opens the filter so that you end up with the original, complex wave. If you use a square wave, and an appropriate envelope, you end up with something that sounds like a clarinet. In west coast/Buchla/additive, you start off with the simple wave (sine/triangle) and add to it. One easy way is use a wave folder. So when you start the note, you get the simple wave, then as the sound progresses, turn up the wave folder till you have the harmonic content you want. With the appropriate envelope, you end up with something that sounds like a clarinet. So both instruments end up sounding alike - one has a complex wave that is filtererd, gradually increasing the harmonic content, the other starts with a simple wave which increases the harmonic content by adding wavefolding. End result - the same :) A simple example, but it demonstrates that you can in fact get similar results, just the thinking is opposite. Like the light and dark side of the force, subtractive is easier, quicker, more seductive than additive. Is it more powerful? No.

[@THEREALDATALORD]

10:30 that shape is pulse width modulation PWM

[@bahutu802]

Interesting! So in case I wouldn't want to go full modular, but neither can (want to) buy a Buchla / Easel Command for 3000 bucks: Are there semi-modular synths on a _budget_ which would qualify as Westcoast? Btw: Recently I had an interesting read ('Analog Days' by Pinch/Trocco) where they explained that Buchla's opinion was that hard-wiring a (piano) keyboard on a synth would be kind of a step backwards, like: Why would you even need a keyboard, if you can control pitch etc. via knobs and faders (voltage)? That's why he invented sequencers and controllers which 'overcome' the keyboard / 12 tone music approach. Meanwhile, from a very early stage on, Bob Moog got some of his initial inspiration / input from professional musicians and thus quickly integrated an old organ keyboard into the first prototypes (at first with doorbell switches from the electronics store across the street, put under the keys to trigger the gate / amp envelope). I think it's a funny anecdote and tells a lot about why East/Westcoast are so particularly different with regards to their module layout, workflow etc.

[@aihamkadiri4992]

that got depressing real quick 17:55 lol

[@stefanhansen5882]

This was super interesting! Would it be possible to build something similar to the Buchla Easel Command with Eurorack modules today? Thanks!

[@silasgarrett2431]

I could not watch this to the end. That high pitch is highly audible, and excruciatingly loud.

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

I adjusted the relative volume to make more sense at 19:20 min. Didn't notice it while recording because I monitored at relatively low volume before I noticed the imbalance.

[@rstlne3000]

@@ThomannSynthesizers I think he's referring to the 16kHz noise the appears during the demos, starting at 0:45

[@kometakamara]

Thanks Felix, great breakdown, Kill’n It!

[@LukeLendrum]

Great video. Please don't make me gas for Buchla though it's so expensive. My 0-Coast will have to suffice.

[@haslo_]

The Volca Modular is essentially a budget Buchla.

[@delfiobacco7156]

man you cannot say that the signal is going INTO the envelope, you are confusing the newbies. the signal goes into the amplifier , which is controlled by the envelope. its already hard for youngsters nowadays with all this options, please be precise in your expositions.

[@nicmcv6925]

Do you teach? I wanna learn. Great video!

[@embodie_breaks7089]

The Buchla is pretty interesting. Thanks for showing it off.

[@garyturner5204]

While a few people here have commented, unkindly and disrespectfully about how you pronounced a few words, I am guessing they are not aware of how we each speak similar languages a little differently. I refer to such things as cultural difference which are tied to where we each grew up. I love your accent. Is it German? I had no problem understanding everything you said. Unlike most all of Europe where people study multiple languages in school growing up, such as Spanish, French, German and so many more, folks in the United States only typically study American English. While not a bad thing to only study one language your whole life, I have traveled to Europe, but have grown up in the US. I am sure that if you had an accent like you grew up in New York City, other folks would make similar comments about the accent or how you pronounced other words. Language is language, and as we learn more, we learn to respect others more and find and share our comments ground. Thank you so very much for this wonderful video! Now, I wonder if you have considered creating a similar video comparing and explaining the differences between, say, a Pittsburgh Modular Microvolt 3900 or similar and a comparably priced east coast style synth like a Roland System-1m. I suggest these two specifically because I have them both, are I a similar price range, and both provide standard EuroRack connections for creating new patches and sounds on just the one instrument, yet both can connect to EuroRack synths and modules along with so very many others synths. You could use an Arturia KeyStep for as the controller for both synths.

[@RadicalCaveman]

But in Germany, "East Coast" is the Baltic Sea and "West Coast" is the North Sea!

[@AlexandreSoma]

I loved the video. But, as a begginer at Buchla, the video doesn't make it clear. I'd be amazing to have a really basic Buchla video to really no get lost on it. I have the Arturia version and still get really lost... :(

[@garyturner5204]

Watch videos by Buchla and Pittsburgh Modular synths exclusively for a bit - just learning about how west coast synths are designed and work. Do NOT try to equate the two - east coast versus west coast. Learn how to get sounds you like on a west coast synth, then after you get one, you can start thinking about how to interface the different synths. I have the Pittsburgh Modular Microvolt 3900. I love the wavefolding and the overall sound of the Microvolt. It provides a different sound or tone, yet blends and mixes well with all kinds of other synths like Moog and other more typical east coast synths.

[@pedroberoes49]

Bro you deciding to keep the modulation oscillator so high on that second buchla patch is so stupid, it ruins the whole sound.

[@harrychan202]

That waveform might be a needle pulse wave, I recognized it from Logic Pro’s test oscillator. The harmonics of that wave is pretty interesting :)

[@M0nsieurX]

Sorry but you hardly at all explored the moog sounds! You are too easily weaseled!

[@GrootsieTheDog]

The dif between east coast and west coast - one goes chewp cherp wow wow and one goes bleep bleep twerp twerp.

[@iantanner7579]

And I thought the main difference was the price. - Seriously though, if Buchla was a little cheaper I feel many more would be fluent in its synthesis concepts. Cool video though, the fella really has the know how for pulling out good tones.

[@VictorSteiner]

Eurorack modules for west coast cost the same as east coast so if you don‘t need original Buchla it‘s possible.

[@VictorSteiner]

But if Behringer ever does a 1:1 copy of the Music Easle I‘ll have to throw some ethics overboard.

[@Getthenderson]

The Volca Modular is a very affordable take on the buchla (matches the colours even), but the next step up is the Make Noise O-Coast and the O-Ctrl.

[@corrosiveabuser]

@@Getthenderson Oh yeah, I love my 0-Coast, - will get the 0-ctrl at some point, probably need a Doepfer A-156 to go with it though, just for overall usability, - my sense of pitch is non-existent. ; )

[@corrosiveabuser]

@@VictorSteiner same here

[@zorancalic65]

Adding noise to sound to be more organic, and warm, is your opinion...

[@EmilioNorrmann]

I have no idea what the Buchla is doing

[@Tiger313NL]

Wish I could afford such toys, but alas... :)

[@papapoum]

on the buchla command, is it possible to transpose the sequence on the fly, or do you need to plug a keyboard ? great video !

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

You have various options. You can detune the oscillator manually. You can attach the buchla touch keyboard which allows for transposition of the sequence. You can send in Midi and transpose that (i do it with the octatrack) You can use something like an arturia keystep. Also there is more experimental stuff like the Makenoise O-Ctrl or Sensel with Buchla thunder overlay

[@zoomzoom3950]

Nice comparison, thanks!

[@artisan002]

Dammit. Now I want a Buchla again!

[@martinreuter1060]

Muss man den ganzen Arm benutzen, um einen Potiknopf zu drehen? Oder ist das gerade En Vogue?

[@kyrregjerstad]

Great video and explanation! One small note though: It's subTractive, not subStractive synthesis :P

[@sinepilot]

16:00 to 16:13 had me laughing so hard. That's exactly what makes me nervous about using these "west coast" synths in a live performance...one little patch and it all goes sideways really fast lol

[@aawagga6841]

buchla is honestly pretty useless for anything that isn’t just ambient crescendo wank or generative bleep bloop shit. they’re cool and i’d like to have one and all but for the *3000 fucking dollars* this thing costs you could just buy some euro rack stuff that does way more than this thing ever could

[@sinepilot]

@@aawagga6841 I'm literally LOLing right now. I made that comment six months ago and now that I've got a lot more experience, I don't think I could have said it as eloquently as you! 'ambient crescendo wank' and 'generative bleep bloop shit' are priceless!! I personally would find a nicer way to say it but I can't fault your efficiency at making your point! LMAO

[@aawagga6841]

@@sinepilot just channeling the frustration i feel seeing buchla charge so much for what are essentially glorified random voltage generators; don’t even get me started on the skylab

[@sinepilot]

@@aawagga6841 yes for that amount it should be easier to make something I can tap my foot to lol

[@kierenmoore3236]

Not really into the rhythmic bleep-blooping that W/C lends itself to … more into deliberate melodies, harmonies, etc. W/C v E/C makes me think of the hip-hop ‘wars’ … but in the Synth space, it would be more like Battle of the Nerds, lol

[@CuSiSound]

Okay, I got from this, if you want to sound like everyone else buy Moog. If you want to leave the planet for a while buy Buchla. Personally, I build my own and orbit a different sphere.

[@moritz_schoenermann]

What about more "auto/self" suficient" synths like this from other brands? :) Westcoast = Instant SoundTrack Gratification!

[@garyturner5204]

I love the wavefolding on this and a few other models from Pittsburgh Modular.

[@PaulGuy1954]

Great video, thank you. The Buchla at first glance seems like you could get bored with it easily. But I have played with synthesizers since the early 70’s and I believe you would discover so many beautiful soundscapes, so deep, so complex, that it would both surprise and frustrate you. Surprise because you would never have imagined it was possible, and frustrate because you’d never find it again. There’s some kind of natural beauty about that. I’d love to try my hand at one.

[@dzod]

how do you sync that thing up to the rest of your gear?

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

It has a regular midi input at the back, so no hassle in that regard. Also it accepts various cc messages and eurorack compatible 12v per octave CV.

[@PISrex]

muy bien explicado, uso ambos metodos de síntesis de sonido, con buchla 200 y 200e y Moog model 15

[@pedroqueridomusic]

7:36 - 8:25 that was great!

[@pongtrometer]

Great overview with demystifying clarity of this organic box sonic liquid paints.

[@mauricioheller9379]

The spring is actually a physical/acoustical

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

Yes, both the easel and the grandmother have an analog spring.

[@ericktapiaacosta]

Thank tour! Bucla ❤

[@temporoboto]

💙

[@pk9mmpara]

WARUM NICHT IN DEUTSCH KANN DAS MIR MAL EINER ERKLÄREN

[@Rhythmicons]

Beautiful piece at the end!

[@Chunda8]

It may also boil down to how quantized you want to be. I think East is going to give you exploration within the 12 Western tones, West seems more comfortable going outside it for some auditory spiciness .Of course you could always run this West systems' output through a quantizer, but that might "neuter" it a bit vs. adjusting by ear.....I believe there is good tonal music still to be written.

[@АртемКлыков-ь6б]

🙏🏻🔥👍🏻🤘🏻

[@Novalarke]

Sigh. The fundamental difference, which Thomann here singularly evades discussing (for reasons I don't understand), between east coat and west coast is the immediately obvious dominance and integration of the keyboard in East Coast synthesis. That's it. As you noted, a sufficiently powerful and programmed Moog can do what the Buchla does. The Buchla operates from a framework that is fundamentally disinterested in the well tempered scale and the keyboard that imposes it. The Moog operates from a framework where the keyboard is an essential component and relies on its melodic (and later, harmonic) capacities. The classic difference between East and West coast can be seen in the difference between Wendy Carlos's "Switched On Bach" (Moog), and Morton Subotnick's "Silver Apples of the Moon" (Buchla). Wendy is hypervigilant about her music appearing online, so it is hard to find. But Silver Apples of the Moon can be heard hear: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXiUmYWEgdGMpsk nice programming of the synths though!

[@earthlifetime]

I love my synthesizer wish i could record 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@JonasSynth]

10:33 pulse wave

[@kierenmoore3236]

Nothing is truly random, but we take your meaning. 😎👍🏼

[@ZethKeeper]

Buchla makes some nice quintuplet rhythms.

[@pongthrob]

East coast ftw!

[@VEsound]

Brilliant video, too bad Thomann don't sell Buchla stuff.

[@jeanbonnefoy1377]

10:36 it's a pulse, mate😉🙄

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

No it‘s not a pulse wave. It’s a spike wave which is rarely found on synths other than the easel. Another example would be the Verbos Foundation Oscillator but this one explicitly references the Music Easel’s Spike wave as it‘s source of inspiration.

[@vinnieRice]

East Coast = Coffee and Conservatoire. West Coast = Blow and Beaches

[@P3tzos]

Super erklärt 👍

[@fo76]

excellent demo of Moog an Buchla style synths... great patches as well...

[@Rhythmicons]

I think the "East Coast vs West Coast" dichotomy is something invented by the guys at IDOW for explanatory purposes rather than it is an actual thing.

[@greencontact]

Buchla himself used the concept of west coast and east coast.

[@greencontact]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/npe8knSwd8mer68 at 3:25 west coast asthetics an east coast asthetics.

[@Rhythmicons]

@@greencontact Thanks for this. That is still a little too ambiguous though. I'm not convinced, but I'm going to rethink my position on it.

[@jekanyika]

What time signature is the sequencer on the Buchla?

[@vincentprimault4380]

I like using both coasts in the same prod.

[@frederic_viennot]

AWESOMENESSSSSS !!!!! thank you ;))

[@supadupahilton6848]

Killer breakdown! Thank You 🙂

[@martinreuter1060]

Dennoch eine feine Vorstellung des Buchla. Danke.

[@AndreiChivu47]

Man i love this jam, i would like to hear the full track

[@Jake-vq5kr]

Great video!

[@Limbic1000]

19:50 this sounds sooo good man!!

[@Lucas-nh2qs]

The sounds you played on the moog and also the two step kind of beat, with the rhodes in combination had really the floating points vibes. how were the drums made? i would be really interested on how to create drums like this with analogue gear. thank you in advance!

[@13MTB1995]

This is such a nice video!!! 👍

[@hierophantrecords]

Great video and sound designs!

[@bjornanderssonultra]

What a star you are!

[@clonn]

When is Behringer releasing the Buchla clone?

[@ThomannSynthesizers]

Apparently not yet. But their EMS VCS3 is in the making, which should be interesting.

[@snorrevonflake]

Would be much more interesting than some stuff they clone like the cat, cobol, monopoly