For those who have not seen it, this video is amazing. I wish I could spend a month in a room with a vial and this thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tQQEChMq1A&feature=related
Also, anyone heard of the Subharchord?
I have to say that apart from bass emphasis, I do not understand how subharmonics can really be useful in regard to synthesis. That article makes it sound like there is some magical aural outcome and valid aspect of synthesis.
(no offense to the Mixtur-Trautonium, of course!)
I haven’t heard the subharchord and can’t find any clips of it, but the mixtur-trautonium uses the same subharmonic synthesis I believe. The M-T is duophonic, one note per wire, but has sonorities that allow for harmonic structures that you hear in the inventor’s solo.
This is just what I gather from reading a couple articles, so I may be wrong. The M-T is the first trautonium I have heard that wasn’t pure chaos, and actually sounds very structured for such an antique beast. So while I agree it is difficult to understand how subharmonic synthesis is useful, it sounds beautiful.
From the Wikipedia article, it would seem that subharmonic synthesis is used to make tones in all ranges, as the M-T covers 3 octaves .
I knew there was something strange in the sounds that “the birds” made in the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name ! It was a Mixture-Traumatorium, or whatever its name is, producing them… 
Great for sound effects, but not so convincing as a (out of tune) musical instrument, IMHO.
Here’s a much more convincing performance by a much younger Oskar Sala, on the Mixtur-Trautonium (I got the name right this time 
) back in the 1940’s ! Quite a virtuoso at this strange contraption.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWd1J41KNXU&feature=endscreen&NR=1
I like Mixture-Traumatorium as a name for a device such as this anyway, alien. 
Wasn’t there a thread about string synthesizers? I think this is the ultimate one!
The first video had almost a perfect orchestra sound. Perfect strings then woodwinds. And don’t complain about it being out of tune…I thought “the drift” was character. lol.
The accuracy of the orchestra and violin like sounds is crazy for such an antique. To hear such sounds coming out of such an old and beastly device is pure magic to me. On an instrument like this, intonation doesn’t really matter. But my favorite part is the weird radar looking thing that sounds like s&h or a sequence that he manually changes the pitch/speed with. I am surprised by the reaction, I thouht you guys would dig it the most.
That thing is really cool. And FWIW, the radar like thing is a frequency generator…a piece of bench test equipment from a bygone era. All of a sudden, I want one! The ultimate string machine!
Also, anyone noticed the expressions pedals with added side-to-side control ? Not sure exactly what they do, but it sure looks interesting…
Alright, that’s it. We need a “Moogster Trautonium.”
So, Amos and company here is a list of great projects:
1- a new Moog polysynth (heheheh yes, oh yes. I don’t care if it involves a sort-of internal midification to split the voices a-la Prophet 08, I would just want it all in one unit instead of an endless stream of cables with the Phatty polychain. There just has to be a way to do it and it not cost 10 G’s). It may be expensive, but dreaming is free.
2- the Moogster Trautonium.
The first time I heard the Mixtur-Trautonium was on a series of podcasts recorded by a guy named Paul Sheekl (sp?) on the history of electronic music, which is available on iTunes. What a lovely machine this instrument is.
and the video referenced here by unfiltered37 is great. good job finding it.