Comments on: The Buchla 200e, Or How To Spend $40,000 On A Synthesizer

By: Gordon

Gordon — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:31:10 +0000

Ah, I geddit now. System #5 illustrated is actually the virtual musical toy version of the real thing, which is installed in a Russian spaceship and used for controlling jets, stabilisers, air-con etc.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:28:46 +0000

LOL

By: synthhead

synthhead — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:55:48 +0000

It's a good look, though.

By: MirlitronOne

MirlitronOne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:50:53 +0000

Is it just me, or does system #3 look a bit "Klingon spaceship bridge after a bit of re-decoration" to anyone else?

By: MirlitronOne

MirlitronOne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:42:41 +0000

There probably is a virtual version of system #1. It is displayed on 12 networked PC screens, eight show one module each, and the other four screens are blank for future expansion.

By: MirlitronOne

MirlitronOne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:39:44 +0000

Ugh – "phat" and "raw" are so 1980s. And let's face it, "phat" isn't even a real word.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:28:45 +0000

Oh..and they are MUCH more beautiful than classic Moog Modulars…

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:27:00 +0000

I don't think so…each on its own…Buchlas are not famous for phat and raw sounds like a Moog synthesizer.They are mostly famous for sound design and complex analog experimental sounds. They have some unique modules that work like nothing else out there.

By: Zow Niak

Zow Niak — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:16:46 +0000

Any Moog would eat two of those for breakfast.

By: Flancher

Flancher — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:10:10 +0000

So where's the virtual Buchla?

We've got virtual everything else….

By: MirlitronOne

MirlitronOne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:22:54 +0000

These synths are not for BUYING, they're for COVETING.

Meanwhile, the most important question goes unanswered: which one has the most LEDs?

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:20:18 +0000

Also, there are still billions of people around the Earth, who die from starvation, so, don't be sad that you don't have a $$$$$ synthesizer! You probably still have money to buy other great synths and of course, something to eat. (except cables)

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:15:09 +0000

I think there is a "supercar analogy" here..how many people can afford a Lamborghini (including services, etc) ? …well, only a few..

Equipment like a Buchla modular synth, has a bit of everything that you pay for it…you pay the name, you pay the style, you pay the handmade parts, you pay the innovation, you pay it because its unique..You don't pay only for the engine/circuits..

You should ask yourself…"Does it REALLY worth all that money"? For me, it doesn't. I can do much more things with PD, MaxMSP etc.. As for the sound…there will be some differences, BUT, they are almost unnoticeable differences compared to the major price difference!

A Buchla synth, is a collector's item, a wealthy musician's trophy, a semi – scientific tool for a really successful sound designer or a teacher.

The really disappointing thing, is that most videos i have seen with a Buchla modular on Youtube, really suck! Their owners doesn't (or doesn't know how to) use them creatively at all. We hear classic examples of modular synths but nothing groundbreaking…Buchlas are not made to fill the gap of an ancient Moog modular etc…they have a much more sophisticated / experimental use….

By: Sam Kearns

Sam Kearns — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:04:42 +0000

I have tried, and failed, to imagine a life where I could possibly justify that sort of money for a synth. $40,000 is more than my annual combined housedhold income (wife and 2 children) and I have a comfortable middle class life in a 1st world country!

Don't get me wrong, If Buchla has a market for this stuff then I salute whole heartedly for bearing the torch in the this corner of the synth world, but it's definitely not for me.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:39:23 +0000

Thirty-six grand is nothing compared to the glass-floored room jutting over the Mediterranean it'll be sitting in. And the girls bringing in trays of elegant snack food aren't cheap either. And their hi-heels clatter on the glass floor so much! But that's nothing compared to the sheer guilt that I'll be forever guilty of funding the whole enterprise – jet skis and all – from that wretched, silly, three-minute pop song. I know, I'll write an album about how rotten and distorting it is to be rich and famous. But first, three interviews and a photo shoot with Shakira.
Actually, I don't need the most expensive version. All I want is the one with the circle of buttons on it.