🎼 Synthetic Tone

The ‘Synthetic Tone’ was an electro-mechanical instrument similar but much smaller to the Choralcelo designed by the Brookline, Massachusetts electrical engineer Sewall Cabot (Cabot, Quincy Sewall b: 4 SEP 1901 in New York d: MAR 1957 in New York). The instrument created complex tones by resonating metal bars with a tone- wheel generated electromagnetic charge.

synthetic-tone

[Patent documents of Cabot’s Synthetic Tone] Instrument

“One object of my present invention is to provide an improved musical instrument of relatively small cost and small dimensions in comparison to those of a pipe-organ, but capable of attaining all the musically useful results of which a pipe-organ is capable. Another object is to provide an instrument that will produce desirable tonal effects not heretofore obtainable from a pipe-organ.”

[Sewal Cabot Patent documents]

A Synthetic Tone-Mixer

A device designed to demonstrate the phenomenon of “tone-mixing”. By means of this apparatus a vibrato may be synthetically produced with the number of pulses per second, extent of frequency fluctuation, and intensity relationship under control.

The manner in which each of these variables influences the perceived tone can thus be determined. It is also possible to reproduce a vibrato whose rate, extent, and intensity relationship are identical with those of artistic singing. One factor at a time can then be varied and the relative importance of the several elements in the artistic tone determined. The device is also very convenient for demonstrating in the classroom the principle of sonance.

Next topic: Electrophon

Sources

Wikipedia / 120years.net / Scholarworks.uni.edu

About the Author

“Guido F. Matis (a.k.a. widosub), a seasoned producer-composer authority with an unquenchable compassion towards the musical expression, and many years of experience in the fields of event organizing, movie post-production, and recording with professional musicians. His devotion to movie sounds shows in his art - widosub’s music is filled with landscapes of emotions, dramatic twists and melancholic moods. He’s one of the hosts of Tilos Rádió’s MustBeat show, in which he’s is focusing on drum’n’bass and chillout music. He’s also one half of the duo Empty Universe.”