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Re: [TCML] tcs as musical instruments...



On 3/31/12 2:16 AM, Finn Hammer wrote:
Jim, all

I almost choked on my porridge this morning as I read this mail of yours,
and my first thought was: "Where have you been these last 8 years?"

The idea of using a DRSSTC as a musical instrument was originally mine,
as you ought to know, and I presented it to Steve Conner at breakfast at
the Derby Teslathon back in 1994. He liked the idea, and modified a
Roland synth. so that it would act as a combined MIDI interpreter and TC
controller for all 6 channels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Jjsv2zr-c [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Jjsv2zr-c]
I went on to create 6 identical DRSSTC's and the rest is history.

Doh.. you're right...
I've been thinking more along the lines of spark gap coils (for a variety of reasons), mostly because of the perceived (on my part) difficulty with DRSSTC design, build, and operation. You have to admit, particularly 5-10 years ago, that DRSSTC was a long way from cookbook.



This was a time where both Daniel MCauley and Stephen Ward went public
with comments like "We don't think there will be any interest in the
harsh sound from a pulsed TC"

Meanwhile, the Bach video was recorded, with a cheap snapshot digital
camera, so although the microphones clipped, and the echo in the
industrial hall was total, the sound was awesome.
Here you have _real_ 6 note polyphony, 1995 style, never done before or,
for that matter, by anyone after:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOXygoQkXsQ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOXygoQkXsQ]




You brushed up on the lack of volume at low frequencies, here is Thumper
@68Hz. the key to volume lies in input voltage, a parameter it should not
be too hard to controll.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-FAdM_5E-s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-FAdM_5E-s]


But I wonder how much control range you really get? Maybe it's because the tendency is to run full out, all the time.

My experience with spark gap coils (different in many ways that SS) is that there's a pretty small range of power between "starting to break out and make noise" and "maximum system can handle". One reason I was thinking triggered gaps is that it removes one of the limiting things on the low end (a static or rotary gap that is short enough to fire at low powers tends to fire multiple times or not quench at all at high powers).

What one would like to do (perhaps) is adjust the bang energy in inverse proportion to the bang rate: so it's a constant power device.



Different voices are easy to produce, just sit down with the synth and
press the different instruments, some good some awfull, I particularly
like the stuff from 0:58 to 1:19 and forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrtu4uolTVc [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrtu4uolTVc]

Simple pulse trains can produce interesting sounds like this V-Twin
revving up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0scx1WD3sU [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0scx1WD3sU]

And the sound of a MIDI saxophone is also interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANiKSPtwTVc [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANiKSPtwTVc]

So you see, pulse trains, envelope curves controlling the ON-Time and
input voltage controll for macro volume changes, It's all been done, and
is just waiting for some young whizzkid to perfect.

Cheers, Finn Hammer still lurkin'

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