Buchla Thunder is one of many in the family of
MIDI controller
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
s consisting of tactile
control surfaces, which are manipulated by hand.
Developed by electronic instrument designer Don Buchla in 1989, Thunder is a musical instrument controller with an array touch sensitive keys. Keys 1 to 9 respond to pressure and keys 10 to 25, with the feather graphic respond to both pressure AND location. Thunder's software — known as “STORM” — allows assignment of any key's touch, pressure and/or location to any MIDI controller number or note number on any MIDI channel. Keys can also be assigned to start and stop “Riffs" that might be programmed as part of the preset. (“Riffs" precede and are similar to “clips” in Ableton Live.)
Early versions had LEDs and photodiodes on a circuit board below a reflective drum membrane. It sensed the velocity of the taps as well as tracked X, Y, and pressure of each finger on the membrane. Later versions used capacitive technology to sense the deformation of the grounded graphic overlay.
There are 8 user presets. Other inputs include a footswitch, a footpedal, and a memory card slot for backup. Thunder has a sophisticated built-in user interface, employing an 80-character displaying menus that get selected from small hexagon touch keys below the display and data entry using the “Thunder” strip below that.
Thunder is a pure controller, with no internal
sound generator
A sound generator is a vibrating object which produces a sound. There are two main kinds of sound generators (thus, two main kinds of musical instruments).
A full cycle of a sound wave will be described in each example which consists of initia ...
of its own. As designed, it could either use the MIDI protocol or Buchla's own more flexible WIMP (Wideband Instrument Musical Protocol). Perhaps because of its uninspiring name, WIMP was never adopted. The CPU is a TMS320.
Ahead of its time, there were fewer than 100 made.
See also
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Don Buchla
Donald Buchla (April 17, 1937 – September 14, 2016) was an American pioneer in the field of sound synthesis. Buchla popularized the "West Coast" style of synthesis. He was co-inventor of the voltage controlled modular synthesizer along with Robe ...
*
Lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
, a spatial MIDI controller
*
Marimba Lumina
Marimba Lumina is a MIDI controller developed by American engineer Don Buchla that lets a musician play music via a control surface based on the layout of a marimba. Joel Davel and Mark Goldstein were the co-developers of the design and implement ...
, a specialized MIDI control device
References
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* {{cite book
, last = Hopkin
, first = Bart
, year = 1996
, title = Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones: Experimental Musical Instruments
, url = https://archive.org/details/gravikordswhirli00hopk
, url-access = registration
External links
Official website
Thunder
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
Computing input devices