The Quilcom SIM-RHYTHMICON: It's not a drum machine.
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 10:22 am
Hello!
I indulged my fascination for this relic of electronic music history and wanted to have a go on one. So naturally I had to make my own virtual one.
Unfortunately only 3 were ever made. The first one was scrapped and the second one resides in the Smithsonian and doesn’t’ work. The first 2 were finished instruments in a nice cabinet .The third one was a lash-up that Theremin made for his own entertainment and can be seen working in a few YouTube videos.
The Rhythmicon is often referred to as the very first drum machine, but in my view that’s misleading. It created polyrhythms with each measure division having its own harmonically related pitched pulse (like a grain in modern terms I guess). Its sound was nothing like a drum kit!
I’ve seen many links to an online version you could actually play, but it’s been taken down due its reliance on Java for the web browser. So this seems to be the only way you can get to play one. Lucky you eh?
If you have any interest in this I’ve added my own research notes to the User Guide. I would say this is more of an interesting toy than a useful producer’s tool!
Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t0t5t5ryi4756 ... 0.zip?dl=0
Video:
https://youtu.be/UA6Pe2Xl99A
I indulged my fascination for this relic of electronic music history and wanted to have a go on one. So naturally I had to make my own virtual one.
Unfortunately only 3 were ever made. The first one was scrapped and the second one resides in the Smithsonian and doesn’t’ work. The first 2 were finished instruments in a nice cabinet .The third one was a lash-up that Theremin made for his own entertainment and can be seen working in a few YouTube videos.
The Rhythmicon is often referred to as the very first drum machine, but in my view that’s misleading. It created polyrhythms with each measure division having its own harmonically related pitched pulse (like a grain in modern terms I guess). Its sound was nothing like a drum kit!
I’ve seen many links to an online version you could actually play, but it’s been taken down due its reliance on Java for the web browser. So this seems to be the only way you can get to play one. Lucky you eh?
If you have any interest in this I’ve added my own research notes to the User Guide. I would say this is more of an interesting toy than a useful producer’s tool!
Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t0t5t5ryi4756 ... 0.zip?dl=0
Video:
https://youtu.be/UA6Pe2Xl99A