via this auction
"[from an interview with John Simonton, PAiA Electronics, Inc.]
"While it started out as purely an electronic instrument to make wind sounds, the Gnome turned into one of the smallest, most portable analog synthesizers ever manufactured." [It was also battery powered.]
'The Gnome started out as an instrument that wasn't going to do anything more than make the sound of wind - not like a flute, but real wind. Ssssshhhhew. That kind of wind, which could be played with a little vinyl controller strip that was part of it. The Gnome was one of those things that just grew. After the instrument that did the wind sound was done, it became pretty apparent that you could stick other components in there and essentially come up with a small synthesizer, a thing that captured the central ideas of voltage-controlled synthesis at the time - Oscillators, filters, transient generators, and so on - but stripped down to the essentials or the core. It was an attempt to get rid of that keyboard that was always by far the single most expensive part of anything we made, by order of magnitude or more.'"
I have one. I actually built it from a kit. I have a keyboard but it is buried in the basement and I can't see it without moving everything. The keyboard only has one octave, I think. It is self contained with a speaker as part of the case that covers the keys for transporting. It's battery powered, as well. It even has a phase shift pad for a wawa effect.
ReplyDeleteI am taking the Gnome to the monthly synthesizer group meeting tonight because I am pretty sure most of the people who are members were not even born when I built it. http://www.spiritpgh.com/events/2016/9/7/pittsburgh-modulars-monthly-synth-playground
There definitely was no internet back then. I am surprised to see all of the information for it.