(1948)

Invented by Hugh Le Caine (1914-1977) Le Caine built the Electronic Sackbut between 1945 and 1948. It is now recognized to have been the first voltage-controlled synthesizer. In 1945, when the first Sackbut was built inside a desk, Le Caine visualized an instrument in which the operator would control three aspects of sound through operations on the keyboard in three co-ordinates of space: vertical pressure was to correspond to volume; lateral pressure to pitch change; and pressure away from the performer to timbre.The control devices were force sensitive. They would alter the sound in response to changes in pressure, something the operator could feel without carefully watching the controls. The timbre controls, however, were soon considerably expanded and could no longer be operated by a single device. Two innovative techniques stand out in the design of the Sackbut: the use of adjustable wave forms as timbres and the development of voltage control. It is in this regard that the Sackbut is recognized to be the forerunner of the synthesizers of the 1970’s.