DUAL SQUARE-WAVE GENERATOR MODEL 144
144 Panel artwork, Stearns Collection CBS 100 Series
Every Buchla enthusiast knows where this oscillator gained its popularity. This is the oscillator that is prominently featured on Morton Subotnick’s “Silver Apples of The Moon”.
Two oscillators with audio rate control over amplitude and frequency modulation. The result is a clean yet edgy sounding squarewave oscillator that never fails to disappoint.
According to the numbering system that Don had implemented, there are technically two versions of the 144. Possibly three, if a version of the 144 exists without a lettered suffix. The only one that has been spotted in the wild so far is the 144B. However, this could account for layout changes only, as some boards were just adjusted for better real estate usage (see 100 Numbering System for more info).
So far, we have only seen the CBS version, yet all existing photos of the San Francisco Tape Music Center modules we have seen so far all use the same pcb, labeled 144b.
Everyone’s a critic
144 REPLICATION
The 144 is a very dense board, and it was very difficult to wedge the trimmers in properly since we are changing them out for the newer and more available Piher trimmers. It was one of the earliest trace jobs that the project tackled. Compared to the original, we almost have a mirror image.
Left: CBS 144, tuned and tested 10/10/1969
Right: M.E.M.S. 144, tuned and tested 02/12/2019