[sdiy] Modular tube synth, Canadas pride!

[Peter Snow]

Karl,

Thanks for bringing that up, I could not agree more! I am always surprised that
his name is not mentioned more in connection with the earliest voltage
controlled synths.  He did most of his research while at the National Research
Council (NRC) here in Ottawa and some of the devices he built are still around
somewhere, although many of them ended up in Toronto.  

Many years ago they had the Electronic Sackbut on display at the National Museum
of Science & Technology in Ottawa - it was a dismal looking thing made out of
pieces of packing crates, some still with pieces of sacking attached (sacking,
Sackbut - coincidence?).  I don't know where it is now, presumably in the museum
vaults collecting dust.

My dear wife gave me the book The Sackbut Blues and the accompanying LP for my
birthday one year. The LP is amazing, the sounds he got out of not only the
Sackbut but his other instruments are incredible considering the time that they
were made.  "Dripsody" is a piece he recorded using the sound of a drop of water
recorded onto the various pieces of tape loops and played back at different
speeds via a keyboard to get the required pitches (can you say "Mellotron",
children?).  This was in 1955.  

The book is still available from Amazon @ CDN$20.97.

Look here at the Sience and Technology Museum website for online info and pics -
some other interesting electronic music stuff there also:

 http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/music.cfm

Cheers,

Peter



karl dalen wrote:
> 
> I have always thought Hugh Le Caine is a really cool dude!
> 
> http://www.hughlecaine.com/en/oscbank.html
> 
> KD