buchla – Simon Hutchinson

Building a West-Coast Synthesizer in Reatkor Primary

by Simon 10 November 2026No Comments

Learn how to create a “West-Coast” synthesis patch in Reaktor 6 Primary using Buchla-inspired sequencing, FM synthesis, low-pass gates (LPGs), and delay.

I’m pretty ambivalent about the terms “West-Coast” and “East-Coast” when it comes to synthesis, because, in the 21st-century, they’re pretty reductive, and don’t really reflect the current state of what folks are doing.

That said, it’s still fun to think about these retro models of creating sound, and seeing what we can find as we try to emulate them. In this video I walk through my Reaktor patch, showing the clock, sequencers, FM synthesis, LPG, and delay that come together to give me some 60s/70s silver-apples-of-the-moon-like vibes.

More intermediate Reaktor tutorials here:

Easy Low-Pass Gate in PureData

by Simon 26 June 2026No Comments

Building a simple low‑pass gate (LPG) in Pure Data Vanilla, combining filtering and an envelope for that “West-Coast”, organic, percussive sound.

In this no-talking, patch-from-scratch video, I create a basic LPG patch, showing how to combine a low‑pass filter with an envelope to emulate the behavior of classic analog LPGs used in modular synthesizers like the Buchla.

Low‑pass filters, unlike VCAs commonly used in “East-Coast” synthesis, change both the timbre and amplitude of a signal at the same time. Emulating this idea in our digital synths can be a cool way to create natural‑sounding plucks and percussive tones.

Making a “Krell Music” Patch in Pure Data (Generative Sci-Fi Music)

by Simon 14 June 2021One Comment

Putting together a music (muzak?) generator in Pd inspired by Todd Barton’s self-generating patch on the Buchla Synthesizer.

In my regular journeys across the internet, I came across the concept of a “Krell Music” patch–a self-generating patch created by Todd Barton, inspired by Bebe and Louis Barron’s soundtrack to the 1956 film “Forbidden Planet.” The Barrons’ soundtrack to the film is amazing, and a bit beyond what I can get into here (see links below). Barton’s Buchla patch tries to capture some of the dynamic timbres of that score.

My oversimplification of the idea is this: a note has an amplitude envelope–attack and release–and when that amplitude envelope ends it triggers the next envelope. At the same time, that trigger selects a new (likely different) attack and decay time, as well as a new pitch and timbre for the next note. So we create a continuous series of musical tones, each distinct from the one before it.