The Clavivox was a keyboard sound synthesizer and sequencer invented by American composer Raymond Scott in 1952, and patented in 1956. (U.S. Patent 2,871,745)
Scott had earlier built a theremin as a toy for his daughter Carrie. In his first Clavivox prototype, he used a theremin module built by a young Bob Moog (who was more than 25 years younger than Scott). The unit allowed the use of portamento over a 3-octave range. Scott then added amplitude envelopes, vibrato and other effects to the Clavivox.
Later Clavivox models used light shining through photographic film onto photocells as a source of control voltage to control pitch and timbre.
"A lot of the sound-producing circuitry of the Clavivox resembled very closely the first analog synthesizer my company made in the mid-'60s," Moog explained years later. "Some of the sounds are not the same, but they're close."
See also
External links
- Photos of Raymond Scott's various CLAVIVOX designs
- Sound file: Raymond Scott demonstrates his CLAVIVOX
- Bob Moog's memories of Raymond Scott & the CLAVIVOX, in Moog's own words
- Circle Machines and Sequencers, article from Electronic Musician magazine, written by Jeff E. Winner & Irwin D. Chusid
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