BUCHLA and Associates Piano Bar 1600

via this listing

Additional pics and details added to the demo video posted yesterday here.

BUCHLA and Associates - rare original Piano Bar

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video upload by Con Brio Synthesizers

"This is my old Buchla Piano Bar - a very rare instrument interface from Don Buchla. Originally conceived and designed by Don - this is one of very few ever made (This one is serial #105 - they started at #100 - so likely the 5th made of 10 or so?)

I have only seen one other of these - it's in the Cantos Museum (NMC in Calgary Canada) but that one is a different model altogether. No others appear on the web at all currently.

The Buchla system works very well - it's placed (no mounting or drilling) across any 88-key piano keyboard. Optical sensors over each key convert these to note on/off of MIDI. The box generates programmable General Midi sound sets, and also has output of MIDI signals for recording or triggering external modules.

I have both the Moog and Buchla Piano Bars - they are quite comparable. The Moog is far more common, with a few hundred sold, but both are rare. Too bad - as it's an excellent design and works so well. Having the acoustic piano sound (and superb feel of any wooden piano keys) plus the richness of the layered sampled sounds - really is a blast to play this. Pedals sensors are down below, so sustain is also triggered.

It has full dynamic control, a very sensitive response. I reprogrammed most of the generic preset sounds into better sets of things - any General Midi manual will show you how this can be done. Splits and layers, effects, retuning, octaves, varied Midi channel outputs - all the basics are possible here."

You can find additional posts featuring the Buchla Piano Bar here.

via this listing

"This is a very rare item, one of only two I can find currently in existence.

The Buchla Piano Bar was an ingenious invention by legendary synthesizer designer Don Buchla. It is placed across the keys of a standard acoustic piano, the height is adjusted at each end, and the stretch can be adjusted to fit slightly different size keyboards. Beneath you have a portable sensor to go under the pedals, this and the keyboard sensor connected to the back of the main box.

The main box is a converter to change the piano motion into midi notes, covering all 88 keys with full Dynamics. Inside the box is also a General MIDI device, a sound synthesizer chip with hundreds of preset sound options. These can be stacked, split, layered, retuned, and affected in different ways. These can be saved as presets which I have done for many sounds in here. (The original sounds were terrible general presets like Marimba etc.)

Bob Moog was given a license to change this design and sell his own version in 2004. It's a very similar device with the same types of sounds, but those are more common as they made 100 or more.

As you can see in the video it works very well, simply adjust the keyboard sensor as low as possible, and it just works. You can feed a sequence or a computer with the midi notes coming out, recording a midi performance along with the acoustic sound of your piano. Most people find an acoustic piano has a superb feel, so it also makes just a great controller for other midi devices.

I have changed one knob out on the front panel for a larger knob, as seen in the video, but I will include the smaller original knob as well. I received two original carrying cases, but no paperwork with the unit.

These are quite rare and valuable, please email me and discuss if you want to ship with insurance as an additional cost."

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David Van Koevering Has Passed Away

Update: this post will be pinned on top for the day. You can find newer posts below.

Brian Kehew wrote in to let us know synth legend David Van Koevering passed away yesterday at the age of 77. Per Brian, "So many people in the industry knew him; such a long and varied life!" Indeed. The following is the obituary sent to him from Van Koevering's family.

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MOOG Piano Bar (Kingdom Edition 2005) sales film with David VanKoevering

Published on Jan 24, 2018 OFR

"The MOOG Piano Bar was an adaptation of a design from creator Don Buchla, who produced very few of his design before selling it to Moog for re-packaging and widespread release. The product did not sell well initially, but the Kingdom Edition was geared toward the church market and did fairly well in comparison. Here is legendary Moog salesman, Dave VanKoevering, in a promotional film made for the Kingdom distribution network."

Buchla Lightning MIDI controller with 2 wands

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via this auction

"The very rare MIDI controller was designed and hand built by synethizer pioneer Don Buchla in 1991. The BUCHLA LIGHTNING is a unique MIDI controller that senses the position and movement of handheld wands and transforms this information to MIDI signals for expressive control of electronic musical instruments. The full set of pictures can be found here

Don Buchla stopped making synthesizers between 1990 and 2000 and started making amazing and unique MIDI controllers. These included the Lightning, the Thunder control surface, the Piano Bar, and the Marimba Lumina. This model here, the first Lightning, was the start of this journey.

First produced in 1991, I bought this unit (serial # 1037) from the original owner in 1993 with the original infra-red rings. I then bought a pair of brand new, upgraded "wands" from Don Buchla in 1998. (The rings no longer work and are not included in the sale.) Don Buchla himself gave this unit a tune-up (replacing batteries, etc) in 2003. I have used it carefully and sparingly. I just tested it today and it works like a charm. This package includes the Lightning itself, two (left/right) "wands," the original manual, and the power supply. Oh, also the original box it came in, with Buchla's return address on it (a PO box).

Please note that this is the original LIGHTNING, not the Lightning II or III, and is strictly a midi controller. This unit does NOT make any sound on it's own but can control any midi instrument or software synth via midi. It can work with any MIDI hardware instrument, any computer (with a MIDI to USB cable) and even an iOS devise (with the right connectors).

The bulk of LIGHTNING's electronics is housed in a metal cabinet designed to be mounted on a standard mike stand in front of a performer. Based on principles of optical triangulation, LIGHTNING gathers its information by tracking tiny infrared transmitters that are built into baton-like wands. Unencumbered by wires, these wands provide complete freedom of movement within a performance space.

Basically, LIGHTNING senses the horizontal and vertical position of each hand, for a total of four independent coordinates. From this information, LIGHTNING’s digital signal processor computes instantaneous velocity and acceleration, and performs detailed analysis of gesture. An easily mastered, musically oriented interface language allows the user to define relationships between various gestures and potential musical responses.

Frankly, it's not often you find a piece of electronic music gear that works great AND will increase in value. I am offering free shipping to the 48 contiguous states."

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Moog - Buchla Piano Bar

This is awesome. I don't want to spoil it for you, so just be sure to watch him play it. : ) Via frederic.