BUCHLA EASEL V Review
Arturia’s Buchla Easel V is a recreation and slight reimagining of the classic Buchla Easel synthesizer. Buchla was a classic synth designer on par with Moog, creating what was dubbed the “west coast” version of synthesizers to Moog’s “east coast” style. This “west coast” style does things a little differently, using lowpass gates, instead of filters, usually some sort of wave shaping , and just an all around different style of controls and sounds.
The main synth engine here is based directly off the hardware it is inspired from, I can not speak on how accurate of an emulation it is, but to my ears it has a very warm vintage sound. The main patching is honestly very confusing, it takes me quite awhile each time I use this synth to figure out how everything works. A lot of things are even upside down, for example: attack and decay times are long on the bottom, and short up top.
There’s a few pulsing and sequencing controls on the front panel, including an arp, a clock pulser, and even a five step voltage sequencer. I find it interesting that there’s a five step sequencer by default, you can set it to four or three if you’d like, but defaulting to five just reminds you how odd this synth wants to be. If you’re looking for more traditional sounds, this is not the synth to use, it’s perfect for those vintage sci-fi alien laboratory bleeps and bloops.
The advanced tab is where things really get interesting, Arturia continue in the spirit of Buchla by adding a few unique quirks. Here you’ll find two extra effects slots that allow you to apply any of the ten included effects. I do wish these older Arturia synths could be updated with some of the new effects that are included in the newer products. Next you’ll find two tabs for left and right hand, the left hand is an MSEG with four destinations, simulating how you might play with a control with one hand while playing the keybed with the other, hence the “right hand” tab is for sequencing the keybed.
Finally the “gravity” tab is probably one of the most experimental things I’ve seen from Arturia ever, it is an XY controller, with a bouncing ball, this ball’s X and Y positions can be mapped to a variety of controls. You can set up walls, portals, gravity and anti gravity objects to direct the ball around, even randomize the starting direction and speed of motion. It’s quite a dynamic and interesting control system for modulating parameters.
This strange set of controls and features creates a somewhat disorienting sound design environment, you almost cherish finding sweet spots as you start to unravel the puzzle and mystery behind the controls. It creates a mad scientist atmosphere and almost forces you into uncomfortable and new directions. Buchla Easel V is not in any way a synth you should use for bread and butter instrument design, it’s a creative tool perfect for bridging new sonic ideas. I really apreciate these west coast style synths, I have a few Reaktor Buchla instruments, and I’ve played with one for Reason as well, I’d like to cover them all eventually.
If you plan on purchasing BUCHLA EASEL V from Plugin Boutique, please consider supporting me by using my affiliate links
BUCHLA EASEL V: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/4-Synth/3959-Buchla-Easel-V?a_aid=61c378ab215d5