images via this auction
"In this auction you will receive both the Triadex muse and the accompanying amplifier. They are both "MIB’ as seen in the pictures. One of the boxes got a little wet as seen in the pictures. This in no way affected the contents of the box as the amplifier was wrapped in plastic. For some reason these "rare" Muses seem to show up here in the Boston area more frequently than anywhere else in the country. This may be due to their close proximity to MIT and Brookline, MA. where they were manufactured. Even though they were ahead of their time and somewhat of a technical marvel they ended up being somewhat of a commercial flop. This may explain why they never crept far beyond their backyard from which they were created. The cosmetic condition of the units are in excellent condition as seen in the pictures. The original instruction manual and tags are included with the Muse and not the amplifier.The specs are as follows:
Model - Muse
Serial no. 00729-113
AC 115-125v 60CPS 40w
ok50Hz
Amplifier model no. AS-1
Serial no. 00072-108
AC 115-125v 60CPS 40w
ok50Hz
We have included a 20 second movie [at end of post] in the listing (located just below the pics of the receiver) to give you a tease as to how this Muse works and sounds. The hand you see in the video in no way represents the Muses current owner and is merely a prop "hired hand" to assist in the demonstration. The Muse in the movie is the actual Muse that you will receive if you are the winner of this action. We do not have the patch cords that go from the Muse to the amplifier to test the operation of the amplifier. So the amplifier was not tested and is being sold along with the Muse in "as is" condition. This is truly a rare opportunity to own both the Muse and the amplifier. We have started the auction at what we believe, is a reasonable starting price. This would make a wonderful Christmas present for yourself or the "techno-geek" in your life. The Muse had an even rarer accessory, the "Light Show", which flashed colored lights in time to the music. In all of my travels I have only seen one of these. It was a very simple circuit and was constructed of, believe it or not, G.E. colored Christmas lights.
Manufacturer: Triadex Inc., Brookline, Massachusetts
Inventors: Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky
Original Price: $300
Date of Manufacture: 1971
The original Muse was designed by MIT graduates Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky in the late 1960's. Minsky was on the set of "2001 A Space Odyssey", and taught Stanley Kubrick about Artificial Intelligence as he created Hal. Some years later, Edward Fredkin created the Fredkin Prize, which awarded the creator or creators of the first computer to compete and win the World Chess Championship. The Muse is a music composer machine or digital synthesizer and melody composer,
involving early logic modules in a unique circuit that allows the possibility of 14 trillion musical note combinations The Muse is an algorithmic music generator: it uses digital logic circuits to produce a sequence of notes based on the settings of various parameters. The four small sliders in the lower-left control Volume, Tempo, Pitch, and Fine Pitch.
The switches to either side are used to start and stop the sequence, or to step through it note-by-note. Of the eight larger sliders on the right, four control the musical intervals used (labeled A, B, C, and D), and four control the theme (labeled W, X, Y, and Z). A rest can be substituted for the lowest note by flipping a toggle switch. The exact logic behind the composition engine is rather technical, and not exactly intuitive. The tempo clock can be slaved to that of another Muse, allowing for multi-part compositions. The Muse is the subject of U. S. Patent 3610801, and their patent abstract of this electronic music composer reads as follows: In the apparatus disclosed herein, a note generator is controlled by a long term, quasi-periodic function which is in turn generated by applying digital feedback in preselected combinations around a digital register. The register comprises means for holding a plurality of bits of digital information in a given order, e.g. a shift register or counter, the held information being changeable according to a predetermined pattern in response to input signals applied thereto. Digital feedback is provided by applying to the register at least one input signal which is obtained according to a preselectable or adjustable code from bits of information obtained from various points in the register itself. The apparatus thus, in effect, composes music as distinguished from merely synthesizing sound. It is not known exactly how many Muses were made, [cyberlegend has it that only 280 were made] but they are very rare, and were not available in stores."
It's as if nothing's rare anymore.
ReplyDeleteA personal note about the Muse - I spent my first two of college at SUNY Binghamton, which had an excellent Moog studio at the time. I was living at home, and my father and his brother had a local consumer electronics store called Hart Electronics, formerly a Lafayette store.
ReplyDeleteThey eventually became one of the premiere consumer audio stores in the area, and both were always interested in new things - I heard my first quad recordings at the store, for example. It was also at the store that I first saw and played with the Muse, which they had for sale there.
The Muse they had was the full-blown system with the amp and light-show box, and while the whole concept was quite cool, I have to say that after having spent time in the Moog studio at school, I always felt that the Muse sounds were just not very interesting. You can't really modify the tone in any significant way, much less the enveloping, and as you can hear from the video, the basic sound is pretty dull - it's just a single oscillator, really. It never varies in any kind of musically interesting way.
So, while I think the Muse concept was fascinating, I don't feel it was very successful as an instrument. Hart Electronics sold theirs eventually, but there was never enough interest in it to justify another sale.
As a friend once put it, why spend so much money on something that sounds like an electronic Christmas card?
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a complete waste of time.
ReplyDeleteheard that eddie jobson used that stuff
ReplyDeleteIt can pick good lotto numbers.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of an ice cream truck.
ReplyDeleteI just found this note about the Muse. Does the original poster remember what it sold for on eBay?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Bill - Owner of a Muse + Lightbox
I don't know. Click on the Triadex and Muse labels and check the comments in posts. I seem to remember prices in some, but I post so much I can't keep track. :) It's a collectors item and depending on condition it should go for a decent price considering.
ReplyDeleteLove the Muse, I own 4 and sync them. Of course I add reverb and other effects, then they can sound quite nice. I also own the speaker but I think I'll sell it. As for what I have seen of the light box on youtube, no thanks. Anyway, nice one Marvin!
ReplyDelete