on Hollow Sun
"Back in the 1930s, there was a man called Laurens Hammond, an electronics engineer, inventor and innovator.
At the age of 14, he had designed an automatic transmission mechanism for motor cars (which was rejected by Renault!) and later would invent, in 1922, a 3D movie playback system as well as a clock motor.
However, he is best known for the patent he took out in 1934 for a tonewheel organ which was to become, of course, the B3 and C3 and various other models.
In 1939, however, Hammond released something altogether different - the world's first polyphonic synthesiser.
Yes - you read that correctly ... a fully polyphonic synthesiser ... in 1939!!"
We could start a whole flame war by stating categorically that the Novachord was not a synthesizer but merely an organ - but I shall refrain
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll counter your apophasis.
ReplyDeleteThe Novachord was NOT an organ.
How many organs do you know of that have selectable envelopes? Seven of them.
Several of which are percussive and do not sustain, no matter how long your finger stays on the key.
Also, timbre was manipulated subtractively by filter array, unlike the additive methods more generally found on both pipe and electronic organs.
These are traits found on synthesizers. These are not traits found on organs.
I meant the Novachord had seven different envelopes, not that there are seven organs with selectable envelopes.
ReplyDeleteThere are NO organs with selectable envelopes.
Let me give this a shot -
ReplyDeleteGiven that this was a commercial instrument in the public eye and not a secret one-off type of device that could elude technological historians, not a single academic book I know of credits it as a synthesizer. Those that mention correctly acknowledge it as an electronic keyboard instrument. Saying it's not a like organ does not = it's a synthesizer. "Forerunner" or "elaborate", certainly, but not the whole ball of wax.
Selectable envelopes are indeed unusual for an organ type instrument though you do have quite a number of vintage organs with each tab having it's own different envelope and of numerous organs even the Hammond B3 have a percussive sound available somewhere that does not sustain. Perhaps though you have a point on a specific feature of a given tone color being given different envelope options. On the other hand is that a substantial enough criteria to say that we now have a synthesizer rather than an electronic instrument.
It's my understanding that Olson and Beller coined the term "Synthesizer" for the RCA Synthesizer (Mark I) then the term was redefined by Moog who chose to reuse the term "synthesizer" and Buchla who devised a unit concurrently in the mid 60s. Both were for all intents freely variable in it's extensive parameters, configurable and routable. They both extensively used control voltages, something that had not been done to that extent before.
The complexity comes into play as the definition further expanded. For instance you had devices called string synthesizers which were organ technology modified with some synth features and you had preset synthesizers with intentionally limited feature sets removing many user options replacing them with tabbed presets. And then you had digital synthesis techniques creating sounds without control voltages using quite different building blocks. Given these evolvements and widening of the definition one starts thinking to apply the term synthesizer retroactively to a lot of precursors to Moog and Buchla because x had y feature or it simply sounds like a synth to someone. The fact of the matter is there are quite a few synth precursors with some impressive feature sets though weren't game changers to the degree the Moog was. Are they impressive in any number of features and sounds? Sure.
I've grown so tired of this argument - whether we want to call it a proto-synth or an organ, there is no getting around it was a very early ground breaking electronic instrument and is capable of generating some very special and unique sounds indeed.
ReplyDeleteRobert Moog openly admitted that he based, in part, his Poly Moog on the Novachord so it's not even if Moog himself didn't view the instrument with technical interest.
Now can we change the subject!!
David Luce designed the Polymoog
ReplyDelete"David Luce designed the Polymoog" Yup... not going to argue with that! He was one of a number of engineers instrumental to Moog's success.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to have a playable Novachord sample library that I can afford to buy is going to be awesome. This is the Holy Grail of strange gear and you will never find one in original working condition as these guys did. The odds are impossible.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Hollow Sun for bringing this instrument back to life in the virtual realm.
there are 2 working novachords in calgary... well there will be when we finish rebuilding this 2nd one.. otherwise there are 5 or 6 here in various stages of repair in total.
ReplyDeleteRick,
ReplyDeleteWhen you get through rebuilding them will they be in original working condition?