Serge Sax controller
2006-08-11 by S V G
Steve,
Yes, the sax controller actually existed, Serge was working on it with a fellow collaborator
(I forget his name, long hair freak). There was only one, and it existed in a rough prototype
form. Though I was around it quite a bit, I never remember hearing any sounds issuing forth. I
don't think I ever saw it hooked up to any modules. I was made of black molded fiberglass and was
about the shape of a soprano sax.
I don't remember the Sonica or the n0voice controller, though the pressure sensitive pad was
in a short run production for a while. I remember Emmit Chapman coming by with his Stick in the
late 70's to check it out. He was using it like a wah wah pedal. The response wasn't working to
his satisfaction. Serge took a ball point pen apart, slipped the cartridge in between the outer
layers and the response was much to Emmit's liking.
I do remember seeing ads for the pressure controller in Synapse, even discussing various
manufacturing methods with Serge. It never was producing beyond a very limited run. It was
basically a PC board with + and - lines etched on it then covered with a gooky gunk type substance
(I believe that's the technical term). Two wires were soldered to both traces and these led to
banana plugs. If I remember correctly, one was attached to a +5 volt source, the other to
whatever you wanted to control with 0 to +5. There might have even been a 1" module to handle
this connection.
Then there was the 'Rainmaker' which was a little one stringed instrument, smaller than a
ukelele and had a rounded pear shaped back like a mandolin. The wire string was pressed against
contacts and gave a monophonic scale based on where your finger was touching the string against
the fret. This was battery powered, had a VCO and a VCA inside, and even a tone control. It was
poised to take the world by storm and then just fell through the cracks.
Stories? I'm full of them.
Stephen
Serge announced a Sax controller back in the late 1970s.
Does anyone on the list know anything about them. They
were mentioned in Synapse magazine, but I've never seen
one in a catalog or heard of anyone owning one.
I wonder if ever really existed, but I know there were
other obscure Serge designs from around this time (Sonica,
pressure pedal, and later the n0voice controller) which
exist but never get mentioned.
I'd be very interested in any info at all on them or
even confirmation that the Sax controller ever existed.
Anyone?
Steve
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Yes, the sax controller actually existed, Serge was working on it with a fellow collaborator
(I forget his name, long hair freak). There was only one, and it existed in a rough prototype
form. Though I was around it quite a bit, I never remember hearing any sounds issuing forth. I
don't think I ever saw it hooked up to any modules. I was made of black molded fiberglass and was
about the shape of a soprano sax.
I don't remember the Sonica or the n0voice controller, though the pressure sensitive pad was
in a short run production for a while. I remember Emmit Chapman coming by with his Stick in the
late 70's to check it out. He was using it like a wah wah pedal. The response wasn't working to
his satisfaction. Serge took a ball point pen apart, slipped the cartridge in between the outer
layers and the response was much to Emmit's liking.
I do remember seeing ads for the pressure controller in Synapse, even discussing various
manufacturing methods with Serge. It never was producing beyond a very limited run. It was
basically a PC board with + and - lines etched on it then covered with a gooky gunk type substance
(I believe that's the technical term). Two wires were soldered to both traces and these led to
banana plugs. If I remember correctly, one was attached to a +5 volt source, the other to
whatever you wanted to control with 0 to +5. There might have even been a 1" module to handle
this connection.
Then there was the 'Rainmaker' which was a little one stringed instrument, smaller than a
ukelele and had a rounded pear shaped back like a mandolin. The wire string was pressed against
contacts and gave a monophonic scale based on where your finger was touching the string against
the fret. This was battery powered, had a VCO and a VCA inside, and even a tone control. It was
poised to take the world by storm and then just fell through the cracks.
Stories? I'm full of them.
Stephen
Serge announced a Sax controller back in the late 1970s.
Does anyone on the list know anything about them. They
were mentioned in Synapse magazine, but I've never seen
one in a catalog or heard of anyone owning one.
I wonder if ever really existed, but I know there were
other obscure Serge designs from around this time (Sonica,
pressure pedal, and later the n0voice controller) which
exist but never get mentioned.
I'd be very interested in any info at all on them or
even confirmation that the Sax controller ever existed.
Anyone?
Steve
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com