(1937-2016) Pioneering synthesizer designer and manufacturer who developed one of the first modular synthesizers. Buchla attended the University of California-Berkeley in the late 1950s, where he began thinking about electronic musical instruments designed for live performance. In 1962, he was commissioned by the San Francisco Tape Music Center, a noted tape studio of the time, to create such an instrument. The result was the Series 100 modular synthesizer line, which went into commercial production in 1963 (give or take a year; sources vary). Buchla discovered the concept of voltage control at the same time as Bob Moog; as they were working on opposite coasts of the U.S., they did not become aware of each other's work until after both had completed and exhibited prototype instruments. Thu