A string synthesizer or string machine is a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

designed to make sounds similar to those of a

string section The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has si ...

s and general-purpose synthesizers in the 1970s and early 1980s, until advances in

digital signal processing Digital signal processing (DSP) is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. The digital signals processed in this manner are a ...

technology allowed the production of inexpensive general-purpose polyphonic synthesizers and samplers, which made the existence of a separate type of instrument unnecessary. The development of the string synthesizer was originally motivated by the need for a cheaper and more portable alternative to the

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, which was itself a cheaper alternative to human string ensembles. The availability of string synthesizers was influential in adding string orchestration to popular music that would not otherwise be able to afford the use of a human string ensemble, and their characteristic sound, which was almost, but not quite, like that of a real string ensemble, was one of the distinguishing sounds of the era. To keep costs down, string synthesizers typically used a frequency divider architecture similar to that of

s, with the addition of specialized in-built

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

and

chorus effect Chorus is an audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as in the case of a choir or string orch ...

s to mimic the ensemble effect of multiple string instruments playing at once. Classic string synthesizers included the

Freeman String Symphonizer The Freeman String Symphonizer was a 5-octave synthesizer of the 1970s. (The first prototype being shown prior to 1970, but the most well known shown in 1970, the second according to the Sound on Sound article) It was finally manufactured by the Ch ...

, Eminent 310,

Logan String Melody The Logan String Melody designed by Ing. Giuliano Costantini for Logan was a portable keyboard produced in two versions from 1973 to 1982. Manufactured in Italy, it was sold under both the Logan brand name and re-badged as both a Hohner and Vox (m ...

, Roland RS-101,

Roland RS-202 The Roland RS-202 was a polyphonic string synthesizer, introduced by Roland in 1976. It was the successor to the Roland RS-101, released in 1975. The synthesizer operated using sawtooth wave oscillators, which used a frequency divider in a si ...

,A Tale of Two String Synths
''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is a monthly music technology magazine. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals. Due to its technical focus, it is predominantly ...

'', July 2002

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electr ...

Polyphonic Ensemble S, Crumar Orchestrator (Multiman-S),

Elka Rhapsody The Elka Rhapsody is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral synthesizer with either a 49-key or 61-key keyboard, depending on the model. It was particularly popular with Berlin School electronic musicians during the 1970s. Revisions Elka Rhap ...

ARP String Ensemble The Solina String Ensemble, also marketed as the ARP String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral string synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Eminent BV (known for their ''Solina'' brand). It was distributed in the United ...

Moog Opus 3 The Opus 3 is an analog 49-key synthesizer, and designed by Herbert A. Deutsch from Hofstra University. He also wrote the manual for the synthesizer. It was released in 1980 by Moog. The sounds are in three categories, strings, brass and organ ...

and the Vox String Thing (a rebranded version of the budget Jen SM2007 String Machine) and the

Roland VP-330 The Roland VP-330 is a paraphonic ten-band vocoder and string machine manufactured by Roland Corporation from 1979 to 1980. While there are several string machines and vocoders, a single device combining the two is rare, despite the advantag ...

External links

References

Synthesizers {{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub

See also

External links

References