Buchla replaced the piano keyboard with touch-sensitive voltage sources that output CV, pulse, and pressure

The Buchla 100 pointedly omits a traditional piano keyboard, offering instead touch-controlled voltage sources (Models 112, 114): capacitance-actuated keys that, on touch, emit a preset control voltage plus a trigger pulse. Model 112 outputs one of twelve preselected voltages at two outputs, a pulse when any key is touched, and a third output proportional to finger pressure. Model 114 gives ten independent keys, each with its own CV and pulse. The design encodes Buchla’s West-coast stance: a keyboard makes pitch the primary parameter, whereas a touch voltage source treats voltage as the raw material — equally able to drive amplitude, timbre, or duration — and the pressure output adds continuous gestural control.

Examples

Model 112: ‘Touch activated keys produce one of twelve preselected voltages at each of two outputs. A third output voltage is proportional to finger pressure, and a fourth output is a pulse.’ Model 114: ten independent touch keys.

Assessment

Contrast a Buchla touch voltage source with a piano keyboard: what does each emit, and what musical parameter does each foreground? Why is the pressure output significant?