Instrument Design Files for the Bode Klangumwandlers at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
During the early and mid-1960s, Vladimir Ussachevsky commissioned Harald Bode to design and build Klangumwandlers (frequency shifters) and ring modulators for the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York. The two men developed a great relationship and correspondence regarding the instrument development. The following scans are from Harald’s files, and feature special Master and Slave Klangumwandler units, which were unique to Ussachevsky and the Music Center. They are a good example of Bode’s design files and demonstrate the exceptional quality and rigor with which he developed his instruments.
Figure 1. Block diagramme for Klangumwandler No. 2 (master and slave). Dated 27 February 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 2. Drawing for the general circuit layout of the Klangumwandler No. 2 Master unit. Undated. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 3. Interconnecting Wiring of Klangumwandler Master and Slave, and Tolerable distortion level measurements. Undated. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 4. Drawing of the front panel of the Klangumwandler No. 2 Master unit. Dated 27 February 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 5. Drawing for the general circuit layout of the Klangumwandler No. 2 Slave unit. Undated. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 6. Circuit and layout for the Dual Emitter Follower. Dated 22 May 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 7. Layout for the Dome Filter. Dated 6 March 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 8. Layout for the Double Ring Modulator. Dated 6 March 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Figure 9. Circuit and layout (two versions) for the High Input Impedance Diode Gate with Emitter Followers. Dated 8 April 1966. [Click image to enlarge]
Biography
Rebekkah Palov is an audio and video artist who lives and works in Hornell NY. Her start in electronic arts was as a bass player in rock bands. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee she studied experimental film with course work in electronic music and holds a MFA in Electronic Integrated Arts from NYSCC at Alfred. Her work has screened internationally at audio and video festivals in the US, Europe and China. Currently she is researcher and exhibition designer for the Harald Bode Archive, does web design and maintains her art practice.
eContact! 13.4 — Harald Bode Archive (July / juillet 2011). Montréal: Communauté électroacoustique canadienne / Canadian Electroacoustic Community.
