Swarmatron

Last updated

The Swarmatron is an analogue synthesizer developed by Dewanatron, consisting of cousins Brian and Leon Dewan. [1] [2] Hand-made by the Dewans, it has eight oscillators controlled by a single ribbon controller. The oscillators are linked through a 'swarm' control, giving it a distinctive sound [3] that flows in and out of unison, comparable to the noise a swarm of bees produces. [1]

Contents

Dewanatron sell their Swarmatron through Big City Music of Los Angeles. As of March 2016, only 83 had been produced. [4]

About

The distinctive feature of the Swarmatron is its use of eight individual oscillators controlled monophonically, switchable between sine and sawtooth waves. These oscillators produce an equidistant chord, where their spacing is under the player's immediate control. [5] The oscillators may be switched on and off individually by a row of switches.

A fingerboard synthesizer like the Trautonium or Tannerin, a finger is placed or slid from side to side along a ribbon controller to control the pitch. This allows for easy glissandi, which can be used to achieve smooth rises and falls in the pitch of the instrument. Careful finger placement may be used to play discrete notes similar to the operation of an unfretted or bowed string instrument such as a violin. Due to its adjustable nature, ribbon controller is unlabeled, although some players compensate for this by marking note positions. [6]

An additional ribbon controller is used to control the spacing of the oscillators when in 'Swarm' mode. A large central knob on a rotary control may also be used to control the 'swarm'. [6] Using adjustment of the range control, a non-equidistant swarmed chord is able to be produced. The oscillators may also be preset to common chord intervals of major thirds, minor thirds, and more.

The ribbon controllers can also adjust a low low-pass filter. Using the first ribbon allows for pitch tracking. [note 1] [5] An ADSR envelope control is also present. [5]

There are no facilities for MIDI. However, there are three analogue 0-10V control voltage inputs for pitch, filter cutoff and swarm. [5] With the use of a standard MIDI to CV converter, the instrument may be controlled from a sequencer or other MIDI controller.

Previous Dewanatron instruments such as the Melody Gins [7] and Dual Primate Console [8] have also used the same principle of multiple, interacting oscillators. The Swarmatron's retro styling of a dark wood case with hammer-finish green paint also resembles these previous instruments, all showing a distinctly retro influence. Front panels labels are deliberately minimal, with the controls being labelled with single letters rather than words. [5]

Notable uses

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross used a Swarmatron in their Academy Award winning soundtrack for the 2010 film The Social Network , with the DVD including a bonus feature of Reznor discussing the instrument. [2] Additionally, Reznor and Ross's band How to Destroy Angels used it on their eponymous first album. [6]

John Cale used the instrument on the track "Time Stands Still", from his 2023 studio album, Mercy .[ citation needed ]

Producer Dan Carey played the Swarmatron on Alfie Templeman's song "Beckham", a track from the latter's 2024 studio album, Radiosoul . [9]

Derived instruments

In 2014, music software company reFuse Software released "The Swarm" for free, a 32-bit 'drone synth' standalone application for MacOS and Windows, inspired by the Swarmatron and Reznor and Ross's soundtrack. [10] [11] It emulates the features of the Swarmatron as a MIDI instrument.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electro-Theremin</span> Electronic musical instrument

The Electro-Theremin is an electronic musical instrument developed by trombonist Paul Tanner and amateur inventor Bob Whitsell in the late 1950s to produce a sound to mimic that of the theremin. The instrument features a tone and portamento similar to that of the theremin, but with a different control mechanism. It consisted of a sine wave generator with a knob that controlled the pitch, placed inside a wooden box. The pitch knob was attached to a slider on the outside of the box with some string. The player would move the slider, thus turning the knob to the desired frequency, with the help of markings drawn on the box. This contrasts with the theremin, which a performer plays without touching as two antennas sense the position and movement of the performer's hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic keyboard</span> Musical instrument

An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio workstations. In technical terms, an electronic keyboard is a rompler-based synthesizer with a low-wattage power amplifier and small loudspeakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novation Digital Music Systems</span> British musical equipment manufacturer

Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a British musical equipment manufacturer, founded in 1992 by Ian Jannaway and Mark Thompson as Novation Electronic Music Systems. Today the company specializes in MIDI controllers with and without keyboards, both analog and virtual analog performance synthesizers, grid-based performance controllers, and audio interfaces. At present, Novation products are primarily manufactured in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ableton Live</span> Digital audio workstation

Ableton Live, also known as Live or sometimes colloquially as "Ableton", is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by the German company Ableton.

Keytar is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held.

The Yamaha AN1x is a DSP-based analog modeling synthesizer, produced by Yamaha Corporation from 1997 to 1998, and was marketed as an "analog physical modelling control synthesizer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MIDI controller</span> Device that produces MIDI data

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 most often use a musical keyboard to send data about the pitch of notes to play, although a MIDI controller may trigger lighting and other effects. A wind controller has a sensor that converts breath pressure to volume information and lip pressure to control pitch. Controllers for percussion and stringed instruments exist, as well as specialized and experimental devices. Some MIDI controllers are used in association with specific digital audio workstation software. The original MIDI specification has been extended to include a greater range of control features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound module</span> Externally controlled electronic musical instrument

A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which the most common type is the musical keyboard. Another common way of controlling a sound module is through a sequencer, which is computer hardware or software designed to record and playback control information for sound-generating hardware. Connections between sound modules, controllers, and sequencers are generally made with MIDI, which is a standardized interface designed for this purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments</span> Synthesizer and MIDI controller manufacturer

Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments (BEMI) was a manufacturer of synthesizers and unique MIDI controllers. The origins of the company could be found in Buchla & Associates, created in 1963 by synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla of Berkeley, California. In 2012 the original company led by Don Buchla was acquired by a group of Australian investors trading as Audio Supermarket Pty. Ltd. The company was renamed Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments as part of the acquisition. In 2018 the assets of BEMI were acquired by a new entity, Buchla U.S.A., and the company continues under new ownership.

microKORG Synthesizer released in 2002

The microKORG is a MIDI-capable digital synthesizer/vocoder from Korg featuring DSP-based analog modelling. The synthesizer is built in such a way that it is essentially a Korg MS-2000 with a programmable step arpeggiator, a less advanced vocoder, lack of motion sequencing, lack of an XLR microphone input, and in a smaller case with fewer real-time control knobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland keytars</span> Keytars manufactured by the Roland Corporation

The Roland Corporation has manufactured several keytars.

The Korg Poly-61(PS-61) is an analog synthesizer manufactured by Korg between 1982 and 1986. It was the first affordable synthesizer to feature two oscillators per voice, and was Korg's first synthesizer to feature digitally-controlled analog oscillators (DCOs). The Poly-61 marked a significant departure in design philosophy from previous Korg synthesizers by replacing the traditional array of dedicated control knobs on the front panel with a digital interface that required users to select parameters individually for adjustment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korg MS2000</span> Synthesizer released in 2000

The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korg Wavestation</span> Synthesizer

The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which different PCM waveform data are played successively, resulting in continuously evolving sounds. The Wavestation's "Advanced Vector Synthesis" sound architecture resembled early vector synths such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet VS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberheim OB12</span> Synthesizer released in 2000

The Oberheim OB•12 is a Virtual Analog synthesizer, designed and realised by the Italian musical instrument manufacturer Viscount, in production between 2000 and 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar synthesizer</span> Electronic system to modify guitar sound

A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthesizer</span> Electronic musical instrument

A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Split-8</span> Polyphonic analogue synthesizer

The Split-8 is a polyphonic analogue keyboard synthesizer manufactured by Sequential Circuits. Built in Japan and going by the alternative name Pro-8 in some markets, this was one of the last synthesizers produced by the company and was assigned model number 608. It was released in 1985 at a list price of $1,199. This and some other Sequential Circuits synthesizers were built around the Curtis Electronics CEM 3394 "synth-on-a-chip" integrated circuit, and used a Z80 as their central microprocessor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akai AX80</span> Analogue synthesizer

The AX80 is a polyphonic analogue keyboard synthesizer manufactured by Akai Professional in 1984. It was Akai's first venture into the professional electronic musical instrument market. The AX80 used digitally controlled oscillators (DCO) and filter circuitry based on the Curtis Electronics CEM 3372 integrated circuit. It was marketed as part of a line of project studio equipment called the Akai Music Studio System, which included the S612 digital sampler the MR16 drum machine, the MS08 sequencer, and the MG1212 multitrack tape recorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodes Chroma</span> Analogue synthesizer

The ARP Chroma is a polyphonic, multitimbral, microprocessor controlled, subtractive synthesis analog synthesizer developed in 1979-1980 by ARP Instruments, Inc. just before the company's bankruptcy and collapse in 1981.

References

  1. ↑ In this mode, swarming is controlled by the central knob.
  1. 1 2 "About Dewanatron". Dewanatron.
  2. 1 2 Nick Paumgarten (2011). "Swarm". The New Yorker .
  3. ↑ "Swarmatron demonstration" (MP3). Dewanatron.
  4. ↑ "Dewanatron - Swarmatron". Big City Music.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Nagle (June 2011). "Dewanatron Swarmatron". Sound on Sound : 40–44.
  6. 1 2 3 "Mariqueen Maandig of How to Destroy Angels performing on a Swarmatron".
  7. ↑ "Melody Gins". Dewanatron.
  8. ↑ "The Dual Primate Console". Dewanatron.
  9. ↑ Kelly, Tyler Damara (22 May 2024). "Alfie Templeman unveils new single, "Beckham"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Free Mac Synthesizer, The Swarm, Inspired By Trent Reznor's Swarmatron Synth". Synthtopia. 4 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "The Swarm". reFuse Software.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.