String synthesizer

{{Short description|Type of synthesizer}} {{redirect|String machine|a machine used to put strings in rackets|Stringing machine}} [[File:SolinaStringEnsemble_03.JPG|thumb|The Solina String Ensemble, an early string synthesizer]] A '''string synthesizer''' or '''string machine''' is a synthesizer designed to make sounds similar to those of a string section. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs and general-purpose synthesizers in the 1970s and early 1980s, until advances in digital signal processing technology allowed the production of inexpensive general-purpose polyphonic synthesizers and samplers, which made the existence of a separate type of instrument unnecessary.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://reverb.com/uk/news/a-brief-history-of-string-synths|title=A Brief History of String Synths|last=Laughton|first=Jay|date=21 March 2016|website=reverb.com|publisher=|access-date=2016-09-27}}</ref>

The development of the string synthesizer was originally motivated by the need for a cheaper and more portable alternative to the Mellotron, which was itself a cheaper alternative to human string ensembles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Gordon |date=February 2007 |title=Ken Freeman and the birth of string synthesis |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/people/ken-freeman-birth-string-synthesis |access-date=2016-09-27 |website=Sound on Sound |publisher=}}</ref> 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 electronic organs, with the addition of specialized in-built vibrato and chorus effects to mimic the ensemble effect of multiple string instruments playing at once. Classic string synthesizers included the Freeman String Symphonizer, Eminent 310,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/eminent-310-string-synthesizer|title=Eminent 310 String Synthesizer|last=Reid|first=Gordon|date=May 2007|website=Sound On Sound|publisher=|access-date=2016-09-27}}</ref> Logan String Melody, Roland RS-101, Roland RS-202,<ref>{{cite book|title= Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying--From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis|first=Mark|last=Jenkins|publisher=CRC Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-136-12278-1|page=89}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050308154533/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jul02/articles/retrozone0702.asp A Tale of Two String Synths], ''Sound on Sound'', July 2002</ref> Korg Polyphonic Ensemble S, Crumar Orchestrator (Multiman-S), Elka Rhapsody, ARP String Ensemble,<ref name=":0" /> Moog Opus 3 and the Vox String Thing (a rebranded version of the budget Jen SM2007 String Machine) and the Roland VP-330.

== See also == * Mellotron, an analog tape-replay keyboard also used to imitate string ensembles ==External links== {{wikiquote}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Synthesizers Category:String synthesizers