Developer Iftah Gabbai has released Synthesizers 1896 – 2024: A Dataset and Exploratory Insights, a dataset of hardware synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines that’s available as an open source repo on Github.
Here’s what Gabbai has to say about it:
“It aims to uncover trends and patterns in electronic music instrument design and evolution over the years. The dataset excludes modular systems such as Eurorack, Buchla modules, FracRack, and 4U formats, focusing instead on standalone devices.
The data has been compiled through a mix of automated and manual processes, combined with extensive research. It is intended to be a resource for researchers, musicians, and enthusiasts interested in exploring trends, patterns, and the history of synthesizers. The dataset is a work in progress and will be updated regularly with new releases and additional features.”
Gabbai shares some interesting insights from this data set in his video intro, embedded above. For example, he analyzes trends in polyphony and multitimbral support, noting how these peaked around the year 2000, reflecting industry trends and the recent resurgence of interest in analog synth designs.
Check out the video, and share your thoughts on it in the comments. And if you’d like to dig into this data yourself, Synthesizers 1896 – 2024: A Dataset and Exploratory Insights is available as a free, open source project on Github.
Impressive work. Indeed an expert.
A+ work! This is an excellent resource, deserving of repeat readings. Its even more timely, since print magazines like Computer Music have folded recently. You should always focus on the Why of playing music, but its still great fun to dig into the How. I have far too much gear, though, don’t you? I thought so! 😛
Too much gear? Not a thing!
Great work and I really enjoyed the analysis.
Wish the dataset itself had more dimensions to muck with but I suspect that’d be down to me/us to crowd source the work of building it out.
This is one of the most interesting and useful presentations I have seen in a while. It also confirms some of my observations across time and surprises me in other areas. It is very comprehensive, excellent work. One observation perhaps overlooked is the fact that a lack of polyphony in modern synths is not only related to the advancement of EDM. It has another causative factor. That is the fact that most musicians today are either untrained or can barely play. Therefore, the desire for 8-16 voice 61 key keyboards has waned as these instruments are unnecessary to people who are not players, drag and drop chords, and work almost entirely in the box. Joseph A. O’Donnell