Back in stock: All genres

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Item refurbished, repaired and in perfect working order.***


Celebrating the 50th anniversary of this truly iconic synth, the 'modern' take on the classic Buchla Music Easel doesn't mess with a winning formula, paring the 208C sound source with 218e touch-sensitive keyboard.

Supplier's Notes:
The Buchla Music Easel was one of the first truly portable electronic music instruments. Fifty years ago, in 1973, only a few dozen were made. Unlike many iconic technologies, the influence was not grown through force of scale, but rather the force of the ideas. The Music Easel made available virtually every musical dimension: timbre, melody, rhythm, and time; how these dimensions intersected was no longer the court of acoustics and material, but signals and voltage. The 208 Stored Program Sound Source engendered "a new functional organization [with a] particularly rapid system of patching and program storage via plug-in cards."

Taking cues from the then-recent discipline of cybernetics, the 218 touch plate was for "real-time communication" to help realize the "potential vocabulary" of the Easel, rather than exploiting existing modes of musical virtuosity. The Stored Program Cards ensured rapid repeatability and repertoire on its own terms. The battery terminals made sure the music was as portable as any acoustic instrument. And the name let you know it was designed for art rather than science.

Buchla is ecstatic to revive the Music Easel for its third run in 50 years. Buchla first released the updated 208 Stored Program Sound Source, dubbed the Easel Command, with expanded MIDI and USB capability. Next came the update of the Easel Program Manager - a complete kit for storing and recalling sounds sources, even more rapidly than imagined in 1973. The new 218 Touch Activated Voltage Source provides the optimal input facility, as originally envisioned. It is now all together in a rugged case and the advanced EMBIO module that unifies all the audio and control inputs and outputs for integration with the rest of your musical world.

More than a retro novelty, the Music Easel still speaks to a future we strive for. A technology that invites conversation, not chats, and controls that engage expression, not work. There are many new worlds to explore in this instrument created at the crossroads of the jazz and computer ages. Designed as "an integrated assemblage of functions", rather than a collection of modules, the Music Easel's colour coding, comfortable access to controls, and solid patch connections allow for satisfying sessions of sonic discovery.

The Music Easel is available for pre-order starting June 16 at Buchla.com and your favourite Buchla Dealer. Delivery of the Music Easel (modern) is expected fall 2023.

Stored Program Sound Source Model 208C

The sound source of the Music Easel is the 208C, which includes a complex oscillator and a modulation oscillator (which can also serve as another voice), each with independent switchable waveforms, as well as a noise generator, allowing for rich and intricate sound design. The 208C also features a five-stage sequencer, envelope generator, pulser and modulation source - with switchable triggers - allowing for complex patterns and evolving textures. The dual low pass gate provides dynamic control over the tone and amplitude of the sound, as well as natural-sounding decay and sustain. The 208C has a number of modulation sources, including a random voltage generator, the envelope generator, modulation oscillator, and an envelope detector. These sources can be used to modulate various parameters via the extensive patchfield - creating movement, texture, and complexity. The 208C also includes a mixer section with spring reverb.

Touch Activated Voltage Source Model 218e (v3)

The first design appeared in the 1973 release of the Buchla Music Easel and named for the spacecraft that delivered astronauts to the moon. Providing the familiar piano key layout for this early mobile music machine, the additional controls and capabilities were an interface for exploring uncharted musical territory. With the new version 3, it's been elevated with a new foundation of stable, modern electronics with incredible sensitivity and accuracy - the lightest touch will produce triggers and control voltages. The adjustable sensor has the dynamic range and durability to handle your playing. The new texture not only improves the sensing, but provides a satisfying tactile experience. As always, pressure is an expressive output, adding an extra dimension to the control. MIDI outputs velocity and polyphony, as well as channel pressure, making the 218e a uniquely expressive controller. The 218e includes portamento and an arpeggiator, which can be driven by external inputs and are allowed to interact with the automated notes to make patterns more complex. Additional controls allow you to blend different patterns and randomness to easily change from the expected to the surprising. The classic preset voltage knobs offer several possible ways to shift your sounds into new territory. Not only can the knobs be used for quick access to voltages for your patch, they can control arpeggiation modes and octave shifting. Pads output pulses for additional control. The 218e also gives you a unique interface to playing your existing MIDI gear and soft synths. Each touch outputs note name, channel pressure, and velocity for every note, along with sustain controls from a pedal. Polyphonic MIDI mode lets you play chords. The touchstrip can act as a pitch bend control, or as a mod wheel for additional expressive control. Easily configured using the front panel controls, you can send notes and controls on any MIDI channel.

Electric Music Box Input/Output (EMBIO)

Maintaining the spirit, sound, and process from the original, the new Music Easel adds a variety of new features. Buchla's latest renditions of the Stored Program Sound Source and Touch Activated Voltage Source are tied together with the Electric Music Box Input/Output (EMBIO) module. This of course provides MIDI out (mini jack and USB) and CV out from the 218, MIDI in to the 208, and the audio out from the 208C. Additional creative control comes from the Audio Mixer, for integration with other Buchla modules and systems, and the CV conditioners and controls. The slew control can turn your sequencer into a wavy modulator, or soften up a square LFO. The attenuator and crossfader gives you the opportunity to find new levels and combinations of voltages from existing ones. The pulse converter offers new rhythms to trigger. And a simple LFO provides another valuable modulator when you just can't quite let yourself flip that Mod Osc switch from "high" to "low."

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Box damaged, product in perfect working order***


Second-gen version of the excellent Opsix features major updates including 64-voice polyphony and an improved interface. Same powerful six-operator FM synth engine.

Supplier's Notes:
A Full-Spectrum Sound Experience

Opsix mk II is a digital synth like no other. Based on the sound engine of the original Opsix, the number of simultaneous voices and voicings has been expanded to an astounding 64 voices. The result is superior performance and precise control.

The Opsix Operator Mixer simplified FM synthesis for the first time, making it not just comprehensible but also controllable. With the addition of extra synthesis capabilities and programming, it offered a more efficient workflow and an even richer sound.

And, it is fully compatible with the sounds and samples from both the original opsix and the opsix Native software, including numerous high-quality libraries.

Evolved to an astounding 64 voices

The Opsix mk II has 64 voices, twice as many as the original 32 voices, allowing users to enjoy tone editing without having to worry about the number of simultaneous voices. In addition, the operator-mixer section, the most distinctive feature of this product, has been accented with a new image colour, green.

Get Illuminated with the Operator Mixer

At the heart of every sound is Opsix mk II's Operator Mixer - a simple set of six faders and knobs that invite exploration. Each part lights up red to indicate carriers or blue for modulators. Manipulating them opens up new sound-shaping possibilities to breathe fresh life into your musical ideas. This straightforward, hands-on workflow is part of what makes Opsix mk II so unique, just like the sounds it offers.

Direct Hands-On Control

Whether you're tweaking a preset or building a patch from the ground up, the six data entry knobs on the right give you quick access to the parameters you need and seamlessly sync with the large OLED display, giving you a clear, focused direction to your workflow. Coupled with the mixer, it makes creating fresh sounds super easy and, most importantly, fun!

Select from a full range of analogue-style filters, from the radical Korg MS-20 low-pass/high-pass filter to the powerful yet smooth KORG Polysix low-pass filter that gives your sound a vintage feel. There are also two or four-pole low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and band-reject filters with resonance.

There's even a built-in spectrum analyser and oscilloscope that gives you visual feedback via the screen on the music you're making.

Six in One Synthesis

The core of Opsix mk II is nothing short of exponential. Since waveforms can be arranged and modulated in nearly infinite ways, Opsix mk II can easily do the sonic work that is similar to numerous types of synthesis:

Subtractive

Removing parts of the sound to get the sound you want; the most widely-used synthesis. Opsix mk II uses up to six envelopes and multi-modelled filters to achieve many cutting-edge and classical analogue synthesis tones.

Semi-Modular

Rerouting signal paths to change the sound. A spin through the Algorithm section will dramatically reshape the sound by changing how the signal routing between the operators work together, and no patch cables are needed. Analog-style controls and plenty of stackable waveforms take you from digital to analogue-sounding in no time. Enjoy deep basses, crisp leads, thick pad sounds, fuzzy brass tones, and so much more.

Analogue (Modeling)

Analogue-style controls and plenty of stackable waveforms take you from digital to analogue-sounding in no time. Enjoy deep basses, crisp leads, thick pad sounds, fuzzy brass tones, and so much more.

Waveshaping

Adding intentional distortion to the waveforms to achieve aggressive overtones that are either harmonic or inharmonic. This will help you achieve gritty, bitey tones dripping with character.

Additive

Stacking waveforms and blending their harmonics is key to an expansive range of harmonious, dissonant, and tension-driven sounds. With six operators available, the complete FM experience is possible, including the ability to go back in time for classic sounds you have heard throughout recording history.

Classic FM

Last but certainly not least, Opsix's highly flexible and powerful architecture starts with true six-Operator FM. As a result, it easily delivers signature sounds you have surely heard on thousands of hits from the '80s on through today, and with far more polyphony than other standalone FM synths available today.

With all of these ways to realize and explore sounds, Opsix mk II is uniquely suited as a "future-modern-classic" synth!

Altered Reality

What started as a legacy synthesis has evolved into something completely different. Opsix mk II is FM-based, but the similarities to the classic synthesis end there. The Altered FM architecture delivers sounds across a vast spectrum, far wider than any single synthesis has been able to cover before, thanks to new sound components; new waveforms, filters, shaping, effects, LFOs, envelopes, modulations, and more, all translating to its broad assortment of sounds.

Powerful Effects Processing

Opsix mk II provides three blocks of 30 types of high-definition effects that you can use together to enhance your sounds even further. There's everything from a great mix of usable standard effects like chorus, phaser, delay, and compressor to some world-class shimmering reverbs that will elevate your sound to the next level.

Specifications

Keyboard: 37 keys (velocity and release-velocity sensitive)
Sound generating system: Altered FM sound generator
Maximum Polyphony: 64 voices (varies depending on the setting)
Structure: 6 operators, 1 filter, 3 EGs, 3 LFOs, 3 effects, step sequencer, arpeggiator
Algorithm: 40 presets + user algorithm (unique to each program)
Operator: 6 modes (FM, Ring Mod., Filter, Filter FM, Wave Folder, Effect)
Oscillator waveform: 23 waveforms (Sine, Sine 12bit, Sine 8bit, Triangle, Saw, Saw HD, Square, Square HD, Additive Saw3, Additive Sqr3, Additive Tri3, Additive 12345, Additive 1+2, Additive 1+3, Additive 1+4, Additive 1+5, Additive 1+6, Additive 1+7, Additive 1+8, Noise S/H, Noise White, Noise Pink, Noise Blue)
Filter: 11 types (LPF 12, LPF 24, LPF MS-20, LPF POLY6, HPF 12, HPF 24, HPF MS-20, BPF 6, BPF 12, BRF 6, BRF 12)
EG: ADSR
LFO: 23 waveforms (Triangle, Saw Down, Saw Up, Square, Sine, Sample&Hold, Guitar, Exp. Triangle, Exp. Saw Down, Exp. Saw Up, Step4 Triangle, Step6 Triangle, Step4 Saw Down, Step6 Saw Down, StepRnd:Time, StepRnd:Lvl&Time, StepRnd:Level, Random:Time, Random:Lvl&Time, Triangle + , Saw Down + , Saw Up + , Square +)
V.Patch: 12 routings
Effect: 30 types (Chorus, Unison Ensemble, Phaser, Phaser (BPM) , Auto Pan, Auto Pan (BPM), Flanger, Flanger (BPM) , Rotary Speaker, Auto Wah, Exciter, Enhancer, LFO Filter, 3-Band EQ, Distortion, Guitar Amp, Decimator, Grain Shifter, Master Limiter, Compressor, Delay, Delay (BPM) , Autopan Dly, Autopan Dly (BPM), Tape Echo, Tape Echo (BPM) , Early Reflection, Reverb, Shimmer Reverb, Spring Reverb)
Sequencer: Step Sequencer (up to 16 steps, up to 6 notes per step), Motion Sequencer (up to 6 lanes)
Arpeggiator: 7 patterns (MANUAL, UP, DOWN, ALT1, ALT2, RANDOM, TRIGGER)
Number of programs: 500 (350 preset programs and 150 user programs as the factory-set default)
Favourite: 64 (16 Slots × 4 Banks)
Controllers: MODULATION wheel, PITCH wheel, RATIO OP 1-6 knobs, LEVEL OP 1-6 sliders, DATA ENTRY A-F knobs
Inputs/outputs: Headphone (6.3 mm stereo phone jack), OUTPUT L/MONO and R (impedance-balanced 6.3 mm TRS phone jacks), DAMPER (6.3 mm phone jack, half-damper not supported), MIDI IN and OUT connectors, USB B port
Power supply: AC adapter (DC12V)
Power consumption: 5 W
Dimensions (W × D × H): 565 × 338 × 90 mm / 22.24" × 13.31" × 3.54"
Weight: 2.9 kg / 6.93 lbs.
Included items: AC adapter
Accessories (sold separately): DS-1H damper pedal, PS-1 pedal switch, PS-3 pedal switch

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


As part of a new looking back on German art rocker Nico's esteemed career by the indie label Domino, Desertshore chronologically follows The Marble Index, and is her third album, following the prior project's establishing her as an avant-garde artist with one foot in the mainstream, in stark defiance of the the prejudiced poo-poohs that followed her first (baroque pop) album, Chelsea Girl. Desertshore is more of a reconciliation of her prior two projects, bringing back the initial western pop sensibility while now firmly basking in a newfound weirdness-and-she-knows-it. From the opening dark waves of 'Janitor Of Lunacy' to the piano-balladic injection of sadness that is 'Afraid', this is another avant-garde masterpiece by the musician, never justifiably passed over.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Before George Michael went solo, he was of course one half of the mega popular duo Wham! Their debut album 'Fantastic' vaulted them to instant stardom and boy band of the generation status. The album featured four top ten songs in the UK alone and set the stage for George to become the household name and performer we came to enjoy. The singles included are Wham 'Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)', 'Young Guns (Go for It)', 'Bad Boys' and 'Club Tropicana'. This reissue comes on red vinyl.