MoogFest 2018: Sub-Harmonicon Classroom Drone Session

Published on May 23, 2018 JAkoGreyshire

"This is my first patch with the MoogFest 2018 Sub-Harmonicon.
I just used a bit of background noise reduction to take away the noise of the large classroom we were in... Many thanks to the people at Moog music, everyone that helps make the MoogFest possible and a Mega-Ultra-Gigantic Thanks to Steve Dunnington for all his hard work. Thanks bro!

The Moog Sub-harmonicon is a combination of two electronic instruments.

A quote from the Moog Music email: "A brand-new electronic instrument inspired by the Trautonium, the Rythmicon, and the Schillinger System"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythmicon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trautonium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schillinger_System

This synth is deep... It can do lots of different things.. Fast, slow, simple, and complex..."

Smirnov Demonstrates Theremin's Rhythmicon

Published on Dec 24, 2014 androidvision

"Andrei Smirnov demonstrates Leon Theremin's Rhythmicon (Ритмикон) - electronic musical instrument originally developed and produced by Leon Theremin in 1931. This particular machine was made in 1965. Shot 24 december 2014 at 'Pioneers of Sound' exhibition held at Vinzavod in Moscow."

See this post for some additional info on the Rhythmicon and another video.

New DIY Moog Synth Coming to Moogfest will be the Sub-Harmonicon

Details on this years' Moogfest synth in via Moog Music:

"Build the Sub-Harmonicon at Moogfest 2018

WANT TO BUILD AN UNRELEASED SYNTHESIZER WITH MOOG ENGINEERS?

Get the most out of Moogfest with the Engineer Pass, a special ticket that provides VIP access to the festival and the unique opportunity to work alongside Moog Music Engineers during a two-day synth-building workshop. This behind-the-scenes experience gives you the opportunity to engage Moog engineers while gaining insight into the art of electronic design.

This year’s workshop will build the Sub-Harmonicon, a brand-new electronic instrument inspired by the Trautonium, the Rhythmicon, and the Schillinger System. It is a semi-modular harmonic kaleidoscope that divides into itself until everything that is up becomes down.

With the Engineer VIP Pass, you’re delving into synthesis at the foundational level—and you come away with your own limited-edition, unreleased Moog synthesizer, hand-built by you.

Not only does it grant you exclusive access to a premium workshop, it opens all doors to other Moogfest 2018 activities.

This means:
• VIP Access to all events and exclusive areas.
• Complimentary food and beverage in select areas.
• Prioritized access to workshop registration.
• Access to a dedicated Festival Concierge who organizes your Engineer class schedule and is available for any questions you have may have.
• A custom embroidered patch patch representing the 2018 Engineer Workshop class.

The 2018 Engineer Pass is extremely limited in number and will only be available while supplies last."

You can pick up the 2018 Engineer Pass here.

The 1932 Rhythmicon - World's First Rhtyhm Machine

Uploaded on May 8, 2009

"Demonstration of the third version of Rhythmicom built by Leon Theremin at Moscow State Conservatory in early 1960-s. The first Rhythmicon was developed by Leon Theremin for Henry Cowell in 1932. It was the first rhythm machine ever built."

Spotted this one on BoingBoing. Via the Red Bull Acedemy where you'll find the full post:

"The Rhythmicon was never mass-produced. Only three models were ever made. One of them has been lost to the sands of time – depending on whom you ask, it was either tossed in the trash by a janitor at Columbia University or disposed of by staff at Stanford’s psychology department. Another model was last seen in storage at the Smithsonian Institution.

As for the third Rhythmicon – a Russian model built out of junk parts by Theremin in the mid-’60s – it’s currently in safe keeping at the Theremin Center of the Moscow Conservatory.
It’s a very nice noise machine.


Andrey Smirnov, an artist, curator and instrument collector, got his hands on this smaller, DIY version of the Rhythmicon and refurbished it in 2004. Speaking by Skype from his home in Moscow, he says the machine is still in working order, though it usually requires a tune-up before you turn it on. But like most Rhythmicon experts, he believes this contraption is more valuable for its novel mechanics than for its potential as an actual musical instrument.

'You can’t start the rhythm from the first measure. It’s always on,” he says, noting that it’d be highly impractical to perform with live. “It’s a very nice noise machine.'

The Rhythmicon is universally regarded as the world’s first drum machine, but technically it’s not a “drum” machine. As opposed to other early devices, like the Chamberlin Rhythmate (introduced in 1957) or the Wurlitzer Sideman (1959), it doesn’t play beats according to typical time signatures. Instead it offers up a series of complex rhythmic pulses, each playing at a different pitch and each corresponding to different ratios from the harmonic series."