Buchla Music Easel - Module by Module | Tutorial

3:04 General layout
5:43 Output section
7:17 Mixer
8:42 Lowpass gates/signal routing
11:21 Preamp
12:35 Complex Oscillator
15:01 East Coast vs West Coast synthesis
16:36 Modulation Oscillator
21:13 Inverter
22:11 Pulser
26:34 Random voltage generator
27:29 Envelope
29:49 Sequencer
31:39 Touch Activated Voltage Source
32:15 Keyboard
33:37 Portamento
33:59 Arpeggiator
35:16 Preset Voltage Sources

They say the best way to learn something is to teach it. I found that it took quite a bit of focused time and effort to learn the amazing Buchla Music Easel. So I decided to really learn the small details of the instrument by doing something I had not found elsewhere on the net - a tutorial video that painstakingly goes through every knob, slider, and jack on the instrument.

Don Buchla prized a minimum of instruction on his instruments, because he wanted the user to learn through experimentation. I don't think that this video takes away from that aesthetic - but it is a useful reference, that will hopefully shorten your time learning the fundamentals, so you can start exploring the musical possibilities more quickly.

The Easel is a phenomenal instrument for electronic music improvisation and performance. In my opinion, there is no substitute for the official hardware version. The whole is truly more than the sum of the parts.

My thanks to Todd Barton, for getting me excited about the Easel through his large collection of videos on the topic. And to Blake Griffiths at Noisebug, where I bought my instrument. And, of course, to Don Buchla, for his incredible designs and pioneering work in the field of modular synthesizers.

https://buchla.com/
https://toddbarton.com/
https://www.noisebug.net/


Under the Big Tree is Nick Peck's YouTube channel, focused on music and sound design equipment and techniques, composition, production and performance of music, modular synthesizers and electronic music in general.

http://www.underthebigtree.com