Synthesizers Gone Wrong

Never before have I touched a synthesizer. I maybe be in a class called 'Electronic & Recording Music,' but all production has been done entirely on the computer. Today we have tools such as Logic and Cubase that allow users to use digital keyboard to make note patterns and modify then using thousands of types of synth plugins. They logic of these programs though weren't created just for digital creation; they are essentially synthesizers that have had their hardware stripped. Below is a look at some of the most influential synthesizers to date.

ROLAND TB-303

The Roland TB-303 was originally designed to be a replacement to having a bassist and to create rough demos, but soon musicians realized that the sounds produced by the machine were nothing like a live player. Do-it-yourself DJs used the 303 to create the genre acid house.

ROLAND TR-808

Again, this synth was discarded by the non-experimental musicians. It sounded like a machine when they wanted real drums, in which case the LinnDrum win out. However, early hip-hop artists found the device and began to use it as in live performances. The timing on the machine slipped from what it was reading, creating a distinct rhythm that was characteristic of its sound. Each machine can also create a unique sound; by opening up the enclosure, adjusting factor-set knobs inside produce different tunes.

TECHNICS SL-1200

This turntable might have been designed to play back records, but artists went to work on it, turning it into a music generating machine that alters the sound waves that it transmits. DJs discovered that they could hold and slide the record without causing the arm to stop, and, that by adjusting the internal knob, could speed up the playback.

NORD LEAD 1 KEYBOARD &

AMEX SYSTEM 9098 EQUALIZER

This keyboard was designed to produce sounds that emulate those of the original analog synthesizers, but techno artist Derrick Mays found out that it doesn't work with actual analog recording equipment. After creating sounds with this, he used the equalizer to increase the amplitude of some selected signals enough that they fell out of phase and created entirely new sounds.

AKAI S950 SAMPLER

Used to create the track "Cosmic Love," the Akai S950 sampler can allow for samples to meld into one another instead of being string together, side by side. Another way to use the sampler is to create fluctuations in the song by changing octaves using the value transpose knob. 

Basically all of these machines have contributed to electronic music because artists have used them in ways they were not supposed to; they experimented until they made appealing sounds that didn't match any other instruments. Now, granted, you can still use synths for production, and plug them right into these programs, but they can function on their own. Originally, it was more reverse; the computer was the amplifier for the synthesizer. However, the genre of electronic music has grown so much that the evolution of music programs was necessary.

Original article: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/blackbox_pr.html