AES UK Section Event – Good Vibrations: Past, Present and Future of Analogue Musical Oscillators
This is an online event.
Analogue electronic oscillators have been used to create music for centuries. From the early sounds generated by Carhill’s electro-mechanical Telharmonium, to Leon Theremin’s famous “sci-fi” instrument that bears his name, through to transistor circuits of Moog, Pearlman, Serge, and opamp oscillators from the likes of Franco, Michaels, and Oberheim. As integrated circuits became specialised we had dedicated musical oscillators giving rise to classic synths like the Sequential Prophet 5 and Oberheim Matrix. All these improved on earlier shortcomings, and pushed the art ahead at the time. But with the resurgence in analogue musical synthesis, where are we today? Some designers still use transistor/opamp circuits, an early IC manufacturer has resurfaced to re-release old designs, several companies produce clones of others work, and a new company with unique designs has emerged. Neil will walk along this technological path through the decades, and consider where the technology might go next. But one thing is for sure: analogue is definitely not dead!
Speakers: Neil Johnson, Chair, AES UK Section
Dr Neil Johnson is the founder of CESYG, a project developing novel electronic musical instruments for research and progressing the art. He is also a Senior Software Engineer at Roku Europe Ltd, developing multimedia consumer products from streaming sticks and sound bars to smart TVs. His areas of interest include low-level embedded systems hardware and software, and the design and development of electronic music synthesisers encompassing analogue, digital and MIDI technologies. Neil received his BEng and MSc degrees at the University of Surrey, and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. He is a Member of the IET, a Senior Member of the IEEE, a Member of the AES, and is a Chartered Electrical Engineer.
Time above listed in event local time.
Analogue electronic oscillators have been used to create music for centuries. From the early sounds generated by Carhill’s electro-mechanical Telharmonium, to Leon Theremin’s famous “sci-fi” instrument that bears his name, through to transistor circuits of Moog, Pearlman, Serge, and opamp oscillators from the likes of Franco, Michaels, and Oberheim. As integrated circuits became specialised we had dedicated musical oscillators giving rise to classic synths like the Sequential Prophet 5 and Oberheim Matrix. All these improved on earlier shortcomings, and pushed the art ahead at the time. But with the resurgence in analogue musical synthesis, where are we today? Some designers still use transistor/opamp circuits, an early IC manufacturer has resurfaced to re-release old designs, several companies produce clones of others work, and a new company with unique designs has emerged. Neil will walk along this technological path through the decades, and consider where the technology might go next. But one thing is for sure: analogue is definitely not dead!
Speakers: Neil Johnson, Chair, AES UK Section
Dr Neil Johnson is the founder of CESYG, a project developing novel electronic musical instruments for research and progressing the art. He is also a Senior Software Engineer at Roku Europe Ltd, developing multimedia consumer products from streaming sticks and sound bars to smart TVs. His areas of interest include low-level embedded systems hardware and software, and the design and development of electronic music synthesisers encompassing analogue, digital and MIDI technologies. Neil received his BEng and MSc degrees at the University of Surrey, and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. He is a Member of the IET, a Senior Member of the IEEE, a Member of the AES, and is a Chartered Electrical Engineer.
Time above listed in event local time.