[HN Gopher] Restored 478-key, 31-tone Moog synthesizer from 1968
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       Restored 478-key, 31-tone Moog synthesizer from 1968
        
       Author : rbanffy
       Score  : 45 points
       Date   : 2023-12-20 12:24 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | bloke_zero wrote:
       | I notice there isn't a lot of the actual performance? Banjo and
       | synthesiser is always a tough call.
        
         | chresko wrote:
         | IKR? I was like, cool, a little folk diddy and then this
         | monster synth will appear. Nope!
        
         | scns wrote:
         | One of my favourite Country recordings was done on a Moog
         | apparently
         | 
         | https://www.discogs.com/master/331353-Gil-Trythall-Switched-...
         | 
         | The other ones are atypical for Country (no cowboys in sight)
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGIUtLO_x8g&pp=ygUWbWluZCB5b...
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZfj2Ir3GgQ&pp=ygUea2FjZXkgb...
        
       | worik wrote:
       | I'm interested in the details of 31 divisions of the octave
        
         | mkl wrote:
         | Presumably it is an equal ratio like a piano keyboard, but with
         | the 31st root of 2 as the ratio between successive frequencies
         | instead of the 12th root of 2. Simple frequency ratios like 3/2
         | tend to sound good (this is commonly attributed to Pythagoras),
         | so tunings are chosen to include them or close approximations.
         | 
         | The relative frequencies for a piano octave are:
         | >>> (2.**(1/12))**np.linspace(0., 12., 13)       array([1.
         | , 1.05946309, 1.12246205, 1.18920712, 1.25992105,
         | 1.33483985, 1.41421356, 1.49830708, 1.58740105, 1.68179283,
         | 1.78179744, 1.88774863, 2.        ])
         | 
         | Notice how there is one very close to 1.5 = 3/2, one very close
         | to 1.3333... = 4/3, and one sort of close to 1.25 = 5/4. These
         | intervals are the 5th, 4th, and major 3rd, and sound good.
         | That's the main reason we use 12 semitones per octave.
         | 
         | Relative frequencies for 31 divisions are:                 >>>
         | (2.**(1/31))**np.linspace(0., 31., 32)       array([1.        ,
         | 1.02261144, 1.04573415, 1.0693797 , 1.09355991,
         | 1.11828687, 1.14357294, 1.16943077, 1.19587327, 1.22291369,
         | 1.25056552, 1.2788426 , 1.30775907, 1.33732938, 1.36756832,
         | 1.398491  , 1.43011289, 1.46244979, 1.49551788, 1.52933369,
         | 1.56391412, 1.59927646, 1.6354384 , 1.67241801, 1.71023378,
         | 1.74890462, 1.78844987, 1.82888929, 1.8702431 , 1.91253198,
         | 1.95577707, 2.        ])
         | 
         | There is still one very close to 1.5 = 3/2, one kind of close
         | to 1.3333... = 4/3, one close to 1.25 = 5/4, and additionally
         | one close to 1.2 = 6/5, one pretty close to 1.1666... = 7/6,
         | one close to 1.1428... = 8/7, and one close to 1.111... = 10/9.
         | More consonant intervals are possible with this keyboard than
         | with standard notes, but they will sound strange and
         | unfamiliar.
         | 
         | More info here:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31_equal_temperament and
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_temperament
        
         | subharmonicon wrote:
         | For a really deep dive into these sorts of tuning systems:
         | https://en.xen.wiki
         | 
         | For examples of people playing them, search for Lumatone on
         | YouTube, or "microtonal", or "xenharmonic".
        
         | 613style wrote:
         | Here's Mike Battaglia playing a cover of "House of the Rising
         | Sun" on a 31 EDO synth setup which I always loved:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlZv13YZzSM
        
       | yoyoJosh wrote:
       | I'm not sure about this title. You do not actually get to hear
       | anything beautiful or bizarre being played by this instrument.
        
         | twiss wrote:
         | The video embedded in the article contains some samples:
         | https://youtu.be/CoYL2LtMZFQ?t=31
        
           | mkl wrote:
           | Practically no actual playing though.
        
       | louthy wrote:
       | Unfortunately it can't reproduce the sound of the bassoon.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | My brother couldn't produce the sound of a bassoon with an
         | actual bassoon. Then again, I couldn't reproduce the sound of
         | an oboe with an actual oboe. We both went back to our
         | respective saxophones.
        
       | jamesdwilson wrote:
       | If you're looking to actually listen to this as a proper demo, be
       | prepared to be disappointed by the video in the article.
        
         | cwillu wrote:
         | "I think we need to put some banjo on here" --meg myers
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-22 23:00 UTC)