200e

The vcs3 is organic by nature, unstable and to a certain degree
unpredictable given the patch you set up is complex enough. The 200e is
different, in  many respects. Buchla modulars 200 and after differs from
other modulars in that you do a lot of the timbre design directly on the
oscillator. Audio rate FM at high frequencies on the 200e is not as good as
in analog synths to be honest. But there are so many other things that are
superior with the 200e that i don't mind so much. For getting animated,
"living" sounds the 266e Source of uncertainty comes handy, this is how you
do organic sounds in the 200e. It is a great module, i have one, and i am
planning to get a second one. The ARF is great, it can be used in so many
ways, last night i used it for sequencing sound movement in quadraphonic
space at a concert. 227e is another favourite of mine.
Last year i performed in a mine. I played very loud and one section of the
piece was kind of like a bass drone, 261e's with timbre shifts controlled by
a slow ARF sequence some stages with lag, some stepped. That was a f-ing
physical experience that proved it can do decent bass sounds :)  But no
illusions. The 200e invites to "'electronic' (chirpy, bleepy, machine-y,
high-frequency-y...)" kind of sounds rather than smooth basslines. It is a
musical instrument not a swiss army knife.
For a 12-panel system i'd suggest:

261e x 2, 281e, 292e, 227e, 266e, 225e
Maybe buy this set first and get used to it, then you'll know better what
you need to complete with. The rest depends on what kind of stuff you'd like
to do with it. Why no 291e initially? While it is a great module, filters
are not essential on the 200e IMO since the 261e offers so many sonic
possibilities that the filters in the 292e often is quite enough.

good luck!
Johan



2008/2/11, cellabbee <da108@telus.net>:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am feeling pretty compelled towards this Buchla box -- if I bite I
> think I can manage to obtain a mostly full 12-panel cabinet, and
> without doubt 2 of the panels will be occupied by the arbitrary
> function generator I hear such amazing things about.
>
> I've read most of the posted messages, which have been helpful, but
> have a general concern, which is:
>
> --- alot of the 200e sounds I hear in files and videos online are very
> 'electronic' (chirpy, bleepy, machine-y, high-frequency-y...) but I am
> inclined to make more 'natural' and 'organic' sounding noises. I had
> some experience with a VCS3 many years back and was able to get sounds
> of this latter type.
>
> So the question is -- does the 200e have this capacity? Maybe I just
> am asking folks to confirm, or not, that the 200e can produce pretty
> much any sound if one works at it and therefore I shouldn't worry.
>
> And if so --- any tips on modules that might be helpful in supporting
> my sound goals, and/or what modules might I not need so much? Or might
> it even be a matter of what happens to the sound once it leaves the
> 200e (EQ-ing, reverb, etc...) and to whatever degree that is the case,
> then what recommendations does anyone have for further processing?
>
> Sorry to throw all this out at once!
>
> thanks -- dimitrios
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


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