soundhack spectral shapers giveaway

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:45 am

Hi all,

I gave Craig a couple of my software bundles to give away, but somehow they got misplaced and didn't make it to the giveaway cart. So I'm going to ask a couple questions. The first person to answer either of the following questions will win a download copy of my bundle (that's two winners, one for each question)

Oh - and Larry sez you have to send me a scan of your badge as well - hope you haven't thrown them out yet!

And post your replies in this topic.

If you want to check out the bundle, go to this page:
http://www.soundhack.com/shapers.php

Now the questions -

1) What is this device and who is the man standing next to it?

2) The Buchla Touche keyboard had a built in composition language, what was it called, and what did its acronym stand for?

Thanks!!! Tom

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:32 am

2. FOIL-- far out instrument language

Seamonster · Post by **Seamonster** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:41 am

Sending answer to #2 in a PM, as I am badgeless! (Are we not all Sneetches on the beaches?)

Hoagie Hill
seamonstersounds [dot] com

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 12:00 pm

congrats ubertar! pm me your name and email, and i'll send you unlock codes

sorry hoagie... too late

question one is still unanswered - 2 clues, the picture is from 1932, and the box used photo cells and hetrodyning to make sound.

philbo · Post by **philbo** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 1:29 pm

1) Maybe an early primitive version of the theremin?

jamesfei · Post by **jamesfei** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:16 pm

Hi Tom, great seeing you at TapeOp Con. I feel like I'm cheating: Rhythmicon!

jamesfei · Post by **jamesfei** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:20 pm

Forgot the who: pretty sure that's Cowell.

James

Seamonster · Post by **Seamonster** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:11 pm

Hmm, I thought my PM was 1st for question #2, but I guess I got too chatty with it.

So here's my best guess for #1. Copied from a cool website on proto synths:
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years

The Variophone (1932)
"Developed in the Soviet Union in 1932 by Yevgeny Alexandrovitch Sholpo, the Variophone used an optical synthesis method where sound waves are drawn onto transparent 35mm film generating sounds controlled by photo-electric cells."

BTW, the photo is definitely not Henry Cowell.

Cheers,
Hoagie Hill

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:42 pm

jamesfei wrote:Hi Tom, great seeing you at TapeOp Con. I feel like I'm cheating: Rhythmicon!

Thanks James - It is a Rhythmicon - one of Lev Terman's many creations, this one specifically for Henry Cowell. More info here:

http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/rhythmicon/

or here:

http://theremin.ru/archive/rhythmicon0.htm

Is that your Rhythmicon in the pic? Does is work? Samples?

Send me your email address and I'll get you hooked up with the plugins.

Seamonster · Post by **Seamonster** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:22 pm

Will the real Henry Cowell please stand up? Three photos of him on this page:
http://home.swipnet.se/sonoloco6/Mode/cowell.html

But then again, here's that same pic of the Rhythmicon (on the site I noted above -- doh!), indicating that it is Cowell.
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machi ... index.html

Is this really the same guy, or just another case of internet-propagated hooey? I'm so confused. -- Hoagie

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:45 pm

hoagie wrote:Will the real Henry Cowell please stand up? Three photos of him on this page:
http://home.swipnet.se/sonoloco6/Mode/cowell.html

But then again, here's that same pic of the Rhythmicon (on the site I noted above -- doh!), indicating that it is Cowell.
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machi ... index.html

Is this really the same guy, or just another case of internet-propagated hooey? I'm so confused. -- Hoagie

The third picture on the swedish site is the writer's pic, the first two are Cowell.

I'll double-check with one of our musicologists here (UCSD), but I have seen that Rhythmicon picture several places with Cowell identified in the caption.

jamesfei · Post by **jamesfei** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:17 pm

Hi Tom. That's Terman's Rhythmicon. I got to work with it during a residency at the Terman Center (Moscow Conservatory), about two years ago. As far as I know, it's the only working model (at least of the one's Terman built) that survived. It only uses one photocell--each key triggers a light directed through a prism, which is reflected by a 15-mirror assembly towards a single point. The rhythms and pitch are created by gating the light beam with two discs punched with 15 concentric patterns of integer ratios, one rotating at a high speed (pitch), one slow (rhythm). The mechanical nature of the device ensures preciese harmonic and rhtymic ratios. Here's the mirror assembly:

The lever on the side changes the "tempo" by slowing down one disc with a felt damper (the pitch remains constant). There are some more pictures of the Rhythmicon and other (now destroyed) Termen inventions on my website, as well as a mp3.

Actually, that picture is probably Schillinger rather than Cowell.

James

soundhack wrote: Thanks James - It is a Rhythmicon - one of Lev Terman's many creations, this one specifically for Henry Cowell. More info here:

http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/rhythmicon/

or here:

http://theremin.ru/archive/rhythmicon0.htm

Is that your Rhythmicon in the pic? Does is work? Samples?

Send me your email address and I'll get you hooked up with the plugins.

Message Board

soundhack spectral shapers giveaway

soundhack spectral shapers giveaway

Re: soundhack spectral shapers giveaway

Theremin

Re: Theremin

Re: Theremin

Who is online