Buchla 100/200 Series Synthsizer Modules
This is a collection of documents related to the Buchla 100 and 200 series of modules, provided in support of the synth and DIY communities. The base documentation is the module list and descriptions originally published by Don Buchla, accessible via the links in the left nav. To each of the module descriptions, I am adding links to images, schematics, build notes, PCB/kit suppliers, and any other supplemental information I can find. If you have suggestions or links you’d like to see added, please contact me.
Of course, I offer a few PCBs based on Buchla designs myself.
Links:
Here are links to various information collections and DIY suppliers that have helped make Buchla DIY possible.
- Magnus Danielson’s crucial collection of Buchla schematics: https://rubidium.dyndns.org/~magnus/synths/companies/buchla/
- Buchla schematics on Kevin Lightner’s Synthfool site http://www.synthfool.com/docs/Buchla/
- Peake’s Ebolatone blog, documenting some of his research & builds: http://ebolatone.blogspot.com/
- Mark Verobs’ “Chronicles of one man's experience building, repairing, cloning and adding to the buchla electric music box” http://buchlatech.blogspot.com/
- Also from Mark Verbos, who did some of the earliest work on early Buchla circuits (258, 292, 291, SOU)... originally shared on his simple-answer.com site but no longer there, may be partially archived via the WayBack Machine
- Master tech Dave Brown’s Buchla build reports https://modularsynthesis.com/roman/buchla.htm
- Buchla technician and historian Rick Smith's "The Buchla Archive" https://electricmusicbox.com/ – he was there, and now he's working on a Buchla book which should be tasty.
- An early version of the Buchla Electronic Music System - User manual is available online from the Pauline Oliveros archive at UCSD. The manual include hand-drawn schematics for the earliest versions of the 100 series, as well as Oliveros's own teaching notes.
- The M.E.M.S. Project is an ongoing research project focused on Buchla designs via reverse engineering and recreations of vintage originals. Although they have chosen not to share many technical details or schematics at this time, they provide many interesting insights into to historical development.
- Electric Music Store, source for PCBs/panels for 200 series clones, originally designed by Roman Filippov https://electricmusicstore.com/ (includes build docs for those PCBs: https://electricmusicstore.com/blogs/build)
- For folks building their own systems, engraved and/or silk-screened panels for a few modules are available from Juilan at thebeast; he as expressed a willingness to do more.
