The Development Of Technology based Music Electronic Instruments

EARLY ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS

Electronic instruments have been with us for a long time: it is over a century since Thaddeus Cahill invented the telharmonium. In 1898 Cahill was granted a patent for the Art and Apparatus for Generating and Distributing Music Electrically This instrument, a massive bank of rotary generators and telephone receivers, was designed to transmit sound over telephone wires, and was played from a keyboard. This was before the invention of amplifiers and loudspeakers, which would have provided a more effective means for the sound to be heard. The telharmonium was exhibited in New York in 1906, but it weighed 200 tons, interfered with the normal telephone service, and was soon abandoned. In 1920 Leon Thrmin invented the aetherophone (later called the thrmin). It works on the basis of oscillating electric currents which are amplified and played through a loud-speaker. The thrmin has a radio antenna to control dynamics, and a rod projecting from the side to control the pitch. It is played by moving the hands around the antenna, producing an ethereal, almost vocal sound much used in film music to create eerie atmospheres. It has also been used on a number of pop music recordings, the most famous being Good vibrations by the Beach Boys. One of the first electronic keyboard instruments, the ondes martenot, was invented bythe French musician Maurice Martenot in 1928. Like the thrmin, it uses oscillated sounds, but has a range of five octaves and a variety of tone colours. One of its characteristics is its ability to swoop above and across other sounds, using a mechanical device which can slide the pitch continuously in sweeping glissandi. The pure amplified sound is similar to that of the thrmin. It was quickly taken up by classical composers and is still played in concerts today? The telharmonium, thrmin and ondes martenot are all monophonic instruments ~ they can only play one note at a time. In 1933 the first electronic keyboard instrument capable of playing more than one note at a time (polyphonic) went on the market. This was the Hammond organ. It uses revolving discs spinning in a magnetic field to produce simple electronic waveforms that can be used in combination to produce a variety of tone colours. It soon became very popular in cinemas, theatres and dance bands, and can be heard in many pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1963 the first mellotron was built. This instrument was an early sample player, using tape loops. It was based on a simple idea by which each key set a length of tape in motion, playing back whatever was recorded on the tape. It was a complicated instrument to master: the left-hand keyboard played different rhythms and accompaniments, while the right-hand keyboard played lead-lines or chords. The unique sounds of the mellotron meant that it rapidly became a huge success, and was used by many bands, including the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. Examples of its use in the 1960s include Brian Auger and ]ulie Driscolls This wheels on fire. The mellotron was central to the music of certain bands such as King Crimson and the Moody Blues. It can be likened to an early synthesizer, in that it was a keyboard instrument which re-created the sound of other instruments. But whereas a true synthesizer produces synthetic sounds by electronic means, the mellotron played recordings of authentic instrumental sounds.

The Development Of Technology based Music Electronic Instruments

THE ELECTRIC GUITAR

More than any other instrument, the electric guitar defines the tone and character of popular music. lt has inspired entirely new types of music. In the early twentieth century, the acoustic guitar was already an important instrument in blues and jazz, but by the 1920s guitarists in jazz bands found it increasingly difficult to be heard over the drums and powerful brass sections. In an attempt to overcome this, cone-shaped metal resonators were attached to the body of the guitar, but this had limited success; a better solution was required. In Los Angeles in the late 1920s George Beauchamp developed the principle of the guitar amplification, using horseshoe magnets and wound copper coil. Six pole pieces (metal grub screws) concentrated the magnetic field under each of the six strings of a steel guitar. The vibrationfrequency occurring in the string - equivalent to the pitch of the note being played - generated a corresponding electrical voltage in the coil. This method of picking up the vibration of the strings led to the electromagnetic device being referred to as a pickup. A Beauchamps first guitar to incorporate the pickup featured a round body with a long thin neck, and was aptly nicknamed the frying pan. It was the worlds first truly electric guitar, but it was played in the lap, not in the upright position we are accustomed to today. Beauchamp and his friend Adolf Rickenbacker set up what later became the Electro String Company to manufacture the frying pan. Hawaiian-style steel players enthusiastically endorsed it. The first person to produce an electric guitar designed to be played in a sitting or standing position (often referred to as Spanish style) was another American, Lloyd Loar. He was an acoustical engineer for the Gibson company, which at that time was mainly known for making mandolins. In 1933 Loar created a company called Vivitone, which manufactured an electric Spanish-style guitar. Loars company foundered, but Gibson took an interest in his ideas, and in 1936 produced the ES150, the worlds first successful Spanishstyle electric guitar. ES stood for Electro Spanish, and the 150 referred to its selling price of $150. The ES15O shortly produced its first virtuoso, jazz legend Charlie Christian. His name became so linked with the ES15O that even today this model is often referred to as the Charlie Christian. Despite the success of the hollow-bodied ES150, its main flaw was unwanted feedback. Feedback occurs when the amplified sound of the guitar coming out through the speakers is picked up again by the guitar pickups, resulting in a sonic loop and creating a howling, wailing sound. ln 1946 American guitarist Les Paul came up with the idea of making a solid-bodied guitar, which greatly reduced the feedback problem. He used a solid piece of pine, and gave the guitar its nickname: The Log. In the late 1940s, in Anaheim, California, an inventor called Leo Fender was also working on a solid-bodied electric guitar, and by 1951 the Fender Broadcaster was available. It was soon renamed Telecaster due to brand-name problems (Gretsch were already producing a drum kit named Broadcaster), and became the first solid~bodied Spanish-style electric guitar to be commercially produced. ]azz musicians did not favour the Telecasters bright, twangy sound, preferring the more mellow tones of Gibsons ES series. However, the Telecaster became popular with young country and blues players, and emerged as the worlds premier rock n roll guitar, remaining popular to this day. Fender produced two other revolutionary instruments - the Precision bass in 1951, and the Stratocaster guitar in 1954 (later played by ]imi Hendrix). Late~5Os and early60s designs such as the Fender ]azzmaster and Jaguar enjoyed a revival in the 19905 with bands including Nirvana and My Bloody Valentine. 2

The Development Of Technology based Music Electronic Instruments

Fenders Precision bass guitar was the first successful solution to the need for an amplified bass to compete with the volume of large drum-kits and amplified guitars. Modelled in part upon Fenders Telecaster shape, and tuned like a double bass, it was a pioneering instrument. By the end of the decade rock n roll bass players had begun to make the switch from double bass to bass guitar. Elvis Presleys bassist, Bill Black, played the electric version on jailhouse rock (1957), and soon the bass guitar (by Fender and then a rapid succession of other manufacturers) had become the standard bass instrument in pop. In the light of Fenders success, Gibsons president, Ted McCarty, reworked Les Pauls solid-bodied design. Gibson launched the Les Paul model in 1952, which featured the warm-sounding P90 pickup. Five years later the classic 1957 Les Paul was introduced, featuring a new type of pickup - the Humbucking pickup. The 1957 Les Paul had a less twangy tone and higher output than its Fender rivals, making it easier to produce the distorted rock guitar sound that has been popular since the1960s. This thicker tone, coupled with a long sustain, brought the Les Paul guitar unparalleled success. Over the years it has remained the quintessential rock guitar, notably associated with ]immy Page of Led Zeppelin. The high-quality electric guitars produced by Fender and Gibson during the 1950s and early 1960s are today viewed as collectors items, and command very high prices. The Gibson and Fender models have proved to be the lasting basis for a range of further developments in guitar design, which have come about in response to the demands of leading guitarists. By the 1980s a superstrat design was being sold by companies such as ]ackson/Charvel and Ibanez, mainly aimed at the showmanship and virtuosity of hard rock guitarists such as Steve Vai. These guitars increased the range of the instruments, expanding the neck to a full two-octave range, reducing the action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) to facilitate the speedof playing and tapping techniques, and adding a locking tremolo system that allowed wild pitch-bends while maintaining the tuning of the guitar. Other innovations include higher-output pickups, the addition of a seventh, lower string, and the unorthodox design of Parkers Fly guitar, with a Piezo trans-ducer and graphite construction. In 2002 the Variax modelling guitar was launched by Line 6. It offered the sounds of an entire guitar collection in a single instrument, attempting to reproduce the sounds of many guitars such as vintage Les Pauls and Stratocasters, as well as acoustic guitars and electric sitars. Despite the many technological advances since their introduction, Gibson and Fender designs remain immensely popular, and are still the instruments of choice for many guitarists.

GUITAR AMPLIFICATION & EFFECTS

As soon as electric guitars were invented, they required amplification. The role of the amp is to take the guitars signal and make it audible by boosting it enough to drive a speaker. The evolution of guitar amplification is essentially the response of manufacturers to the guitarists desire for more volume and power. Fenders early amps (known as Woodies, due to their wooden construction) became popular in the late 1940s. The most famous Fender amp was The Twin which used two 12-inch speakers. Most amplifiers at this time combined an amplifier and speaker in one box. The most famous incarnation of the Twin was the Blackface Twin (so named because of its black control panel), first introduced in 1963 and popular ever since for its warm sound. Fender also produced the Bassman amp in 1952 to partner its new electric bass, the Precision. The Bassman was to become highly influential in the design of future amps for guitar (as opposed to bass). In London in the early 1960s Iim Marshall was running a musical instrument shop. After making his own PA system and bass amplifiersf he decided to embark on the design and manufacture of guitar amps. Many guitarists liked the Fender amps but wanted a more powerful and exciting sound. Marshall looked at the amps of the time for inspiration, especially the Fender Bassman. His first 50-watt model incorporated four 12-inch speakers in a cabinet, immediately creating a much bigger sound. Further, the valves used by Marshall distorted much more quickly and easily than those in the Fender amps. In 1965 Pete Townshend of the Who asked Marshall to build a more powerful amp. Marshall obliged with a 100-watt head. This amplifier proved very popular and was used by, among others, ]imi Hendrix. Since

The Development Of Technology based Music Electronic Instruments

their introduction, Marshall amps have been associated with a powerful, distorted guitar sound and are much favoured by rock bands from Nirvana, Green Day to Metallica and Blur. Unlike the amplifier in a hi-fi system, which is designed to amplify the music as clearly and purely as possible, most guitar amplifiers are designed so that guitarists can control the level of distortion of their sound. Guitarists have been experimenting with distortion for many years. As far back as 1951 Sam Phillips is said to have stuffed wads of paper down the back of an amp to create the buzzy guitar sound on ]ackie Brenstons Rocket 88. Dave Davies, lead guitarist with the Kinks, created his distinctive sound by taking the output of one amplifier into the input of his Vox AC3O combo, thereby boosting the signal and overdriving the Vox. He also slashed the speaker cones with a razor blade to further distort his guitar. A good example of this sound can be heard in the 1964 Kinks hit You really got me. The late 1960s saw the psychedelic era and hippy culture. Pop musicians began to look for new sounds. Electronic instruments and effects provided the ideal swirling and ethereal soundtrack for the hippy movement, reflecting the hallucinogenic' effects of mind-bending drugs. During the 1960s distorted sound became increasingly popular, and distortion pedals known as fuzzboxes appeared in an attempt to gain even more distorted tones and to achieve distortion at a lower volume. In the late 1970s the addition of a master volume control on Marshall amps enabled lower volume distortion by having separate volumes for the input and output valves. Solid-state amplifiers Vacuum tubes (valves) were by far the dominant active electronic components in most instrument amplifier applications until the 1970s, when semiconductors (transistors) started taking over for performance and economic reasons, including heat and weight reduction, and improved reliability. High-end tube instrument amplifiers have survived as one of few exceptions, because of their distinctive sound quality. Typically, one or more dual triodes are used in the preamplifier section in order to provide sufficient voltage gain to offset losses by tone controls and to drive the power amplifier section. Most inexpensive guitar amplifiers currently produced are based on semiconductor (solid state) circuits, and some designs incorporate tubes in the preamp stage for their subjectively warmer overdrive sound. Tubes create warm overdrive sounds because instead of cutting the peaked signal off, they more or less pull the peaked audio information back (like natural compression) which creates a fuzzy overdrive sound. While this is a desirable attribute in many cases, the tube's characteristic will "color" all the sounds at any volume, unlike solid state. However, solid state in general have the quickest response time, perhaps even more so than modeling amps. Modelling amplifiers Modelling amplifiers simulate the sound of well-known guitar amps, cabinets, and effects, as well as simulating the way traditional speaker cabinets sound when mixed with different types of microphones. They may also be an original creation not meant to simulate any particular real world guitar amp at all, instead allowing the user to create their own unique sound. Such as the original creations of companies like AcmeBarGig, or Peavey. This is usually achieved through digital processing, although there are analogue modelling amps as well, such as the Tech 21 Trademark. Modelling technology offers several advantages over traditional amplification. A modelling amp typically is capable of a wide range of tones and effects, and offers cabinet simulation, so it can be recorded without a microphone. Most modelling amps digitize the input signal and use a DSP, a dedicated microprocessor, to process the signal with digital computation. Some modelling amps incorporate vacuum tubes, digital processing, and some form of power attenuation. The Stomp Box Guitar Effects Pedals After the distortion pedal or fuzzbox became available, guitarists searched for increasingly novel effects. The wah wah pedal continuously varies the tone of the guitar. It is often played rhythmically, and is famously used in Isaac Hayes theme music to the 70s film Shaft, and by ]imi Hendrix on Voodoo chile (slight return). During the 1940s Les Paul built his own echo effects units, and tape-based echo pedals (such as Watkins Copycat) were around from the 1960s, but echo effects became really popular in the 1980s with the advent of digital technology and consequently digital delay (a digital version of the echo pedal). U2s guitarist, the Edge, has often incorporated delay pedals as part of his style, e.g. in Pride (in the name of love). A flanger works by mixing the original sound with a very slightly delayed version, resulting in a whooshing, jet-like effect. Phasing is a similar effect, producing a gentler, sweeping sound. Effects such as these have been employed by

The Development Of Technology based Music Electronic Instruments

guitarists such as Robert Smith of the Cure (A forest, 1980) and David Gilmour with Pink Floyd (for example, on Run like hell on The Wall, 1980). Andy Summers of The Police famously used the chorus (another modulation effects processor) on many recordings; great examples include the opening guitar phrase in Walking On The Moon. In the early 1990s Digitech introduced the whammy pedal, which enabled the guitarist to bend the pitch of the instrument up or down two octaves, or alternatively to play a self-harmonizing line. A good example of this effect can be found in the guitar solo by Tom Morello in Killing in the name by Rage Against the Machine. The birth of MIDI in the 1980s eventually enabled guitarists to control synthesizers and other MIDI instruments via a guitar fitted with a MIDI pickup. The guitar synthesizer has been a limited success, the best-known examples being Rolands GR series.

OTHER INSTRUMENTS
The advent of MIDI brought about a host of innovations in other instruments as well, based upon existing acoustic models but now using the new technology. Various different types of MIDI controller became popular for a short time in the 80s, for instance the AKAI EWI (electronic wind instrument), used on albums by Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, saxophone virtuoso Michael Brecker and others. A more lasting impact has been made by the use of electronic drum pads, played like a regular drum kit but used to trigger whatever patches are required. Rolands V-Drums, launched in 1997, are a particularly sophisticated contemporary example, allowing a drummer to choose and manipulate the sounds of hundreds of different drum kits or recall the sound of classic drum machines. Sometimes pads are used in conjunction with acoustic drums to allow samples to be triggered in live performance. This is a long way from the early electronic drum kits, pioneered by Simmons in the early 19805, famous for their hexagonal pads and synthetic sound.