Synclavier

The Synclavier system is a sound creation and production system, which was from 1975 to 1991 by the company New England Digital ( NED ) was built. It was developed at Dartmouth College. Initially, only a pure digital synthesizer based on FM synthesis, it was soon extended to include sampling and hard disk recording functions. In the 1980s it was used by many musicians worldwide.

History

1979-1984

The Synclavier was the mid-1970s by Jon Appleton, a specialist in electronic music at Dartmouth College, as musical advisor and by the founders of New England Digital, Sydney Alonso ( hardware) and Cameron Jones (software ) developed. First, the Synclavier was 8-bit digital synthesizer based on the FM and additive synthesis.

In 1978, the Synclavier appeared (also Synclavier I called ). This system manufactured by New England Digital time " Nedco " was the first commercially distributed digital FM synthesizer. Only a few were built.

Shortly afterwards, in 1979, Synclavier II The system was a computer with a powerful, developed by NED itself CPU ( "B - Processor " ), which you could add different options depending on the application. The Synclavier II was therefore not distributed as a musical instrument, but also and primarily as a computer. It has been used in research, aerospace, industrial and military purposes. "Keyboard option ": The keyboard of the Synclavier II, called " ORK " ( for " Original Keyboard" ), offered a comprehensive 61-key standard " Pratt - Reed " plastic keyboard without velocity. "FM Synthesizer Option": The sound generation consisted of the well-known 8-bit FM / additive synthesizer cards that could expand in blocks of 4 to 32 votes now. At the Synclavier II was a VT100 terminal ( "Terminal Option" ), printer ( "Music Printing Option" ), floppy disk drives and an early implementation of the SCSI interface hard drives are connected in size from 5-50 MB ( " Winchester option " ). The real-time software module ( "RTP" for real-time program), which enabled musical applications contained a sequencer with 32 tracks (later 200 tracks). Both the Syntesizer as well as the Sequencerfunktionen could be operated without screen directly from the " ORK " Keyboard of the Synclavier II from. The "Sample - to-disk" option (1982 ) allowed sampling. By playing the samples directly from the hard drive, it was possible shots, although unanimity, but in the then very high resolution of 16Bit/50 kHz ( ie better than CD quality ) on the ORK keyboard, the sequencer of the Synclavier or by external reproduce triggered signals or to make playable. The maximum length of the reproduced samples was limited only by the disk capacity. These functions presented at that time is the limit of what is technically feasible and justified the high price of the systems.

1984-1989

In 1984, a new keyboard for the Synclavier was introduced, the "Velocity / Pressure Keyboard" short "V / PK ". The keyboard was now with velocity and pressure sensitive pads polyphonic they comprised 76 handmade wooden buttons. The keyboard has been taken over by Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 synthesizer in which it originally was used. In 1985 NED gave an expansion for the Synclavier on the market, the real 32 -voice stereo sampling at 100 kHz at 16 bit enabled ( " poly - sampling option "). The 32 voices of the sampler were ( on the analog level) dynamically ( for each sound independently ) to up to 32 symmetrical single routable outputs. The Synclavier was now sold in packages that are so named for the size of the racks provided (eg " PSMT " (poly - sampling medium - Tower ) ). For storage you could fall back on 4 to 32 MB of RAM (later to 1.2 GB), tape drives (tape streamer ) and a WORM drive with 2 GB.

One added ( " Direct-to- disc " option), the 16-track hard disk recording, a complete digital music production system was called " Tapeless Studio ". The price for such a system ranged up to $ 400,000.

1989-1992

1989 launched from New England Digital, the digital music production systems, Synclavier 3200, Synclavier 6400 and Synclavier 9600, the recording system "Direct- to-disk " and the specific for the post- production application, "Post -Pro SD".

1993 to today

Falling prices, ever more powerful PC hardware and cheaper Sampler led to financial problems for NED and meant the end of 1992 the end for the company. The maintenance and development of the hardware and software of the existing Synclavier systems was first carried on by the " Synclavier Owners Consortium ", followed by the company Demas.

Specifications

  • Polyphony: 4 to 128 voices, stereo FM in 8- blocks or stereo sampling in 4- blocks
  • Sampler: 16 bit, 100 kHz sampling rate variable in 1kHz increments
  • Sound production: sampling, FM synthesis, additive synthesis and re-synthesis
  • Sample time: variable according to the RAM and hard disk capacity
  • Recording: 16 tracks at 100 kHz, Direct -to-Disk
  • Keyboard: 76 weighted, velocity sensitive keys with wood polyphonic aftertouch and scanning optical sensors
  • Memory: RAM ( max. 1.2 GB with 128 votes), WORM, tape drive, optical drive, Jaz drive, external hard disk space
  • Control: MIDI, CV, VITC, SMPTE, trigger

Musicians who use the Synclavier or used

Frequency modulation synthesis Polyphony and monophony in instruments Keyboard expression Vertical Interval TimeCode SMPTE-Timecode Daniel Miller (music producer) Foreigner (band) Genesis (Band) Tony Banks (musician) Trio (Band)
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