Buchla announces new desktop synth module · News ⟋ RAThe Ziggy is priced at under $1,000—rare for an instrument from the US manufacturer.
Up to now, most musicians could only dream of owning a Buchla.
The American manufacturer, founded in 1963 by synth pioneer Don Buchla, produces small runs of expensive, complex, experimental synths and sound modules, such as the Buchla Music Easel—much loved by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Surgeon and others.
This has changed—somewhat—with the announcement this week that Buchla will release a monophonic desktop synth module called Ziggy. At $999 or £915 it’s not cheap, but it’s far less expensive than anything else Buchla has ever made.
Ziggy is an additive synthesiser designed in the “West Coast” style. Tones are created using Buchla’s signature “Complex Oscillator,” which features a wave-folding circuit. A second analogue oscillator provides modulation, running from glacial low frequencies to audio rates for FM and AM sounds, and can also act as an audio source. Sound is shaped using a low-pass gate—a sort of combination of a VCA, a filter and an envelope with a variable shape. A Cycler circuit acts as a clock, envelope generator, LFO and random value generator. There’s also an uncertainty button to introduce more randomness.
The oscillators and parameters are all digitally controlled, which means you can save and recall presets—highly unusual for a Buchla instrument. Another novel feature: Ziggy does away with patch cords—modulation is routed using switches and dialled in with the encoder or associated sliders. There’s also an inbuilt digital FX engine offering delay, reverb and distortion, and chaotic modulators can be accessed from the menus to drive the sounds in unusual ways. Scales and alternate tunings are available and pitch sliders can be quantized to scales to make them melodically playable.
Ziggy has CV inputs for gate, pitch and modulation so it can be easily integrated into Eurorack setups. There are also both MIDI and USB connectors, along with an auxiliary audio input, a main stereo outputs and headphone port.
Reportedly three years in the making, Ziggy marks a major departure for Buchla, offering a range of classic West Coast features in a compact, standalone box that’s less expensive and far less complex than other instruments from the same firm.
Watch a video about Ziggy.