Please Note: This item only includes the Program Manager Card (Not Synthesizer).
The Program Manager Card is the stage and studios best friend for the Music Easel!
The Program Manager Card is a preset sound control and storage system for the Buchla Easel Command 208C and upcoming Buchla Music Easel. It comes in a compact package, reminiscent of the original bare circuit boards used to make presets for the original 1973 Music Easel. It implements a USB-C connection, with memory for 48 presets, three-button presets selection and recall system, and works with software for macOS and Windows. This is, of course, a vastly improved system over the original bare circuit board program managers, which required soldering of specific resistor values to achieve repeatable results!
The Program Manager Card works in conversation with the software. Sound designers and musicians can program their Easel and Easel Command synthesizers from the computer and save the presets to the Card. The application also serves as an endless sink for infinite presets and preset banks, and a hub for importing and exporting presets and banks to share with others. With computer precision, its possible to tune the parameters in ways that simply cant happen by hand on the front panel controls. Additionally, each virtual banana jack in the app can be scaled, even to inverted values - for example, the timbre CV control cable can be scaled to -1, directing timbre to go down instead of up.
For the Easel Command and upcoming 2023 Music Easel, the Program Manager can be embedded into the case, using the optional embed kit. Fitting the Program Manger into the Easel can give it a clean look and lower profile for transport. For those who installed the 208C into their 200e case, it could make the Program Manager much more useful, as it could provide a more usable angle. These kits are available at nominal cost though select dealers and at buchla.com.
The Buchla Music Easel Program Manager Card
Store your best sonic memories on the Program Manager Card! The PMC takes full advantage of the program interface, storing up to 48 Easel presets and interfacing with your computer with a class-compliant MIDI connection. The Buchla Program Manager App for Mac and Windows gives you the power to manage banks, create programs, and import and export your presets for sharing.
Evolution of an idea
The program interfaces edge card connector was originally designed to let artists create presets by wiring resistors to a circuit board to fix the positions of the sliders and banana connections. Each preset was its own card. Simply swapping cards in the program interface completely changed the sound. This was valuable, if not outright necessary, to musicians who needed to easily recreate patches for performance and create repertoire. The 2013 iProgram Card created a vital link between computer and Easel. Now, in 2022, Buchla USA has refreshed and simplified the design, giving it more memory, embed-ability, and making it easier to use.
Virtual Solder Station
While you can still solder up some sounds for all generations of the Easel, the new Program Manager Card provides microcontroller precision and computer convenience. Serving as the digital bridge between your computers USB port and the 28 pins of the Program Interface, the PMC gives you instant recall and easy access to 48 unique programs that control almost every parameter and patchpoint on the Easels front panel. Repeatability and repertoire are made instantly available.
Computer Precision
Using the Buchla Program Manager Application in Mac or Windows to design presets gives you even more programming options than the Easels front panel controls. The unique Depth controls for the patch cords put a virtual knob on every cable, allowing gradual and even inverted connection for every patch point. The fine resolution provided by high resolution controls means you can dial in extremely precise values for parameters, in a way not easily achieved by hand. The application serves as an endless extension to the Program Manager, with nearly unlimited space for presets and banks.
Sharing is Fun
Import and Export features make it easy to backup or share your presets and complete banks with other Easel musicians in a simple, small file. Since the Program Manager ultimately relies on MIDI sysex data, its possible to incorporate this data into software of your own making for remote control of the Easel and stored programs.
Adventure Awaits
WIth the optional embed kit, you can install the Program Manager card directly into your easel, replacing the Program Interface connector with the screen and buttons. Embedding the card makes it easier to control and travel with.
What about the iProgram Card?
The Program Manager Card is an updated version of the iProgram Card. You can use the new software with your iProgram Card over a USB connection.
- Compatibility
- The Program Manager Card is compatible out-of-the-box with the Easel Command 208C and upcoming Music Easel. It can be used with the 2013-2017 Music Easels with a DIY modification to the cards connectors or to the Easel itself.
Download some presetsThe Card comes programmed with a selection of presets.
We also have complete banks from some of our favorite Buchla artists:
More coming soon!iProgram Card CustomersIf you have an iProgram Card, theres some things youll need to know.
- The iOS app will be going off the iOS App store by the end of the year 2022 and is no longer supported.
- If you update the firmware to the current version, you can continue to use your iProgram Card with USB and the Mac or Windows software detailed above.
- Program files on the iOS app are not readable by the new desktop software. The original presets are included with the new Program Manager Card defaults.
