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Synthesizer
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An electronic device that creates musical sounds by electronic means and produces them through loudspeakers. The oscillations themselves are produced. by electronic oscillators, usually on the heterodyne principle (i.e. producing an audio-frequency signal from the difference between two radio-frequency signals). The first devices of this kind were made in the 1920s using thermionic, valves (see ondes Martenot) but more recent synthesizers have been based on the much smaller transistor and microchip. By blending and mixing harmonics and controlling the "attack" and "decay" of sounds the operator can produce tone colours that simulate the sounds of conventional instruments or that are characteristic of nothing other than synthesizers. The synthesizer may also contain programs to control the rhythm and volume of the output as well as the harmony. Most modem synthesizers are controlled by a piano-type keyboard, like the Moog synthesizer (invented by Robert Moog). |
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