Following on from her in-depth exploration of the very first Buchla 100 system, Sarah Belle Reid has spent a week at the Stony Brook University Electronic Music Studio, working closely with their original Buchla 200 Series modular synthesizer — one of the few fully intact examples known to be in existence. As you might have guessed, the trip has resulted in another detailed video breakdown, with the composer and technologist aiming to shed some light on the rare, iconic instrument.
The video begins with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 200 Series and its role in the rapidly evolving landscape of 1970s electronic music. Sarah then offers a detailed walkthrough of the system, exploring each of its module with accompanying sound demonstrations and examples. The presentation concludes with some reflections on the Buchla 200’s design philosophy, offering insights into the types of musical interaction the instrument was built to encourage — and why it continues to resonate with musicians and designers today. Due to its rarity, very few musicians have had the opportunity to interact with an original 200 system firsthand.
The video was created in collaboration with the Buchla Archives, an organisation dedicated to the thorough and thoughtful documentation and preservation of Donald Buchla’s work.
