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Buchla | Touché

Description

The Buchla Touché was a massive synth for its time (circa 1978) with a great sound. The Touché was a hybrid, using analog circuitry in combination with a digital computer to handle the processes of programming. It had eight voices of polyphony with a thick 3-oscillators per voice for a total of 24 oscillators! It had a normal 61-note keyboard with split/layering capabilities unlike the quirky touch-plate keys found on other Buchla synths. This was a Buchla designed for performing musicians.

The computer used to program the Touché utilized a proprietary computer language called FOIL (Far Out Instrument Language). Data entry into the Touché was done via the front panel, but an external monitor must be connected to see what you are doing. The 24 oscillators of the Touché are also digital for a very stable and wide range of sonic possibilities. There were 32 Patches instantly available, and any two could be simultaneously played. Additional patches could be stored to a cassette tape. There was also a 3-way touch-sensitive controller for pitch bending, modulation, etc. It had very unique programming abilities as well as the ability to record your riffs or patterns, and play them back in a variety of ways in real-time. Unfortunately they are super rare (only four were made).

BrandBuchla
ModelTouché
DeviceSynth
TypeKeys
Engine TypeHybrid
EngineDCO
Voices (max)8
Oscillators3
Engine Detailed3 digital oscillators per voice
Filter (VCF)Y
Memory32 patches + external cassette storage
Keys61
Key typeKeys
VelocityNo
AftertouchNo
CV-gateCV/GATE
Extra infoOnly 4 made
Produced:1978 - 1978
Legend: Obvious Y: Yes, N: No, N/A: Not Applicable
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator DCO Digital Controlled Oscillator
LFO Low Frequency Oscillator Sub Sub Oscillator
VCF Voltage Controlled Filter VCA Voltage Controlled Amplifier
Velocity As with a piano, the harder you hit a key, the louder the sound, unlike most organs which always produce the same loudness no matter how hard you hit a key. Aftertouch Pressing a key after you activated it. Channel Aftertouch, no matter which key, it will send a Channel message. Poly Aftertouch, sends the pressure per key instead of the whole channel.
Values for OSC, LFO, Filter, Envelope are per voice unless stated otherwise.

Manuals, patches etc.

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