Seize the Unknown
Buchla’s 266e is exactly what its name suggests: a source of uncertainty. Being a “source,” however, may be better interpreted as a “generator of unpredictability” whose functions and possibilities don’t require them to be at the origin of your sonic chain. Each of the module’s sections has a unique responsibility, including noise generation, random voltage generation/ storage, and voltage-controlled modulation parameters for probability distribution. Use the Source of Uncertainty to add any caliber of untethered voltage to your soundscape with this modern machine that begs to be engaged.
Untamed and unpredictable
Overall, the 266e has three flavors of noise: white noise, musically flat noise, and integrated white noise. These outputs vary with their spectral responses to sound, balancing toward the high-end (3 dB/octave), flat (equal energy/octave), and low-end (-3 dB/octave). Fluctuating Random Voltages consist of continuously variable bandwidth changes across a range of 0.5Hz to 50Hz, which can be voltage-controlled to affect the probable rate of change across these values. Quantized Random Voltages use a single set of parameters to modulate two inputs, based on their own pulse information. CV inputs dictate the states between two and 24, whose distribution can be both spatially and temporally varied. Stored Random Voltages — like the previous sections — modulate two different inputs along a single set of parameters, which can be voltage controlled: skew, degree, and chaos. Skew reshapes the probability distribution of the average voltage; degree determines the scope or range of randomness within the output signal; and chaos renders the outer limit of the shape of the probability distribution space, moving from a low-variation to the highest having equal levels of deviation for all possibilities. At Sweetwater, we’ve concluded that this is something best experienced for yourself!
Buchla: the crossroads of sonic excellence and game-changing technology
The name Buchla is synonymous with some of the most compelling, convention-breaking technology to emerge in the musical spheres of the mid-20th-century’s electronic awakening. A pioneer of electronic music and instrument design, Don Buchla founded his namesake company in the 1960s, following the success of a modular electronic music system that was commissioned by composers on a Rockefeller Foundation grant. For the next 50 years, Don lived on the bleeding edge of electronic music synthesis. He incorporated uncommon coding languages, touch- and pressure-sensitive surfaces, and spatial location modulation, eventually innovating for the likes of Oberheim, CBS, Zeta Music, E-Mu Systems, and Moog. Meanwhile, he also dedicated himself to make good on MIDI’s promise of the 1980s to be more than just a piano keyboard controller. By the 2000s, Don introduced his magnum opus with the 200e, a love letter to a half century of unparalleled innovation in modular and analog synthesis. Today, Buchla U.S.A. works diligently to uphold Don’s rich legacy and provide his classic designs alongside new iterations of products that are “designed to introduce the unique world of Buchla synthesis to a whole new generation of electronic music makers.”
Buchla 226e Source of Uncertainty Module Features:
- Voltage control of nearly all parameters allows for hyper-modular integration
- Varied models of randomness provide opportunities to shape and fine-tune without sacrificing the core qualities of unpredictability
- Pot and knob information can be stored for preset recall*
*Note: Storing and recalling presets requires use of the “remote enable” function, which is only available with the inclusion of a 225e or 206e in your Buchla system. Please contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer with any questions or concerns.
