From Digital Bits to Analog Waves:  Breadboarding an 8-bit Synth

Using only digital logic and handful of wires and resistors, we will breadboard a circuit that creates complex analog sounds.  Theoretically speaking, we will wire an R2R (resistor to resistor) ladder to smooth the output of a Walsh function generator, experimenting with the auditory effects that result from altering those connections.  Practically speaking, we are going to breadboard a circuit and poke it with wires to hear what happens.  This is a make-and-take workshop.  No computer, no soldering, no electronics experience required.  Please bring your own earbuds to listen to the output.  All other materials will be provided and you can keep what you make.

Ciani Versus Buchla:  An Audacious Experiment in Sound Design

“[W]e played tennis frequently.  He was a very good tennis player, and we shared that passion.”  Suzanne Ciani talking about Don Buchla (Electronic Musician, May 2017).  What would that have sounded like?  Using Audacity, we will create an imaginary auditory narrative of a game of tennis played by two of the greats of synthesized sound.  We will model the sound of Ciani’s serve, Buchla’s return, a racquet hitting a ball, the bounce of a ball back and forth on the court, and the roar of a crowd.  No experience with Audacity or sound design (or tennis) is required, but participants must bring a laptop (MAC or PC) of their own.  Please download Audacity before the workshop.

Suzanne Ciani with a Fan

Elsewhere at Moogfest 

Herb Deutsch Playing the First Moog Modular Prototype

Team Buchla Tells It Like It Was

Tlacael Esparza Explains Sensory Percussion as Midori Takada Leans In

Ben Gebhardt of Moog Explains a Circuit

AI Design Workshop

KRS-One Teaches Everything You Didn’t Learn in School

Bob Moog

And then, back into a world too much with us, late and soon…

Resist

Persist

Thanks to Lorna-Rose, James, Megan, and everyone who came together to share a few magic days of electronic sound.

— WEI 2018