Archival Electronics

[Hugo Haesaert]

Hi All !

Two things are needed to produce anything at all :  the know how and 
the enabeling technologies .  Most Stradivarius violins sound better 
than most violins produced now .  The technology is well enough 
understood, but Strad must have known something we don't to get that 
high "hit-rate" .

All instruments in the classical vein could be produced in a well 
equipped workshop with the necessary knowledge .  And here the 
analogy gets hairy for our synths, as the basic building blocks, the 
enabling technology, could sometime die out (or already has) .  When 
there is a steady market for something, valves are a good example, 
then they will continue to be produced .  All parts of a Bugatti can 
still be made in a suitably equipped workshop .

With semiconductors the picture is less rosy, as mo-betta devices are 
produced, the old ones go down the drain, and the market is not 
always there to warrant continued production either .

As production facilities are closed, designs relying on these 
processes cannot be reproduced without extensive reworking of the 
originals .

The saying that a Minimoog will be the last surviving synth might 
well be true, as it relies on the simplest of building blocks .

As Japan has done with their "living heritage", where master- 
craftsmen transmit their art to future generations, a case could be 
made for the preservation of industrial processes required to keep 
the world's heritage intact .

But then, bean counters are only interested in the beans ...

All we, as individuals, can do, is stock up on parts, and hope them 
machines never break down :)  Keeping power/heat cycling low is a 
good idea anyway .

And when all else fails, scavenging will become the order of the day .

And we'll all be building tube synths ;-)


Cheers .


Keep 'em oscillating :)


Hugo
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