Originally conceived by Don Buchla in the early 1970s as a portable "electronic music easel" for artists on the go, this retro edition revives that visionary spirit in a sleek aluminum briefcase packed with over 50 years of refined West Coast synthesis.
At its heart lies the 208C Easel Command with a complex oscillator featuring variable waveforms and the iconic wavefolder, paired with a modulation oscillator, noise generator, dual lowpass gates for organic tone and amplitude shaping, and a mixer feeding into genuine spring reverb. The LEM 218 v3 controller brings a capacitive-touch piano-style keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch, velocity sensitivity, and pulse outputs, plus a touch strip for pitch bend or mod wheel duties, preset voltage knobs, and pads for extra pulses. Modulation flows freely via banana patch points, a 5-step sequencer, envelope generator, pulser, quad random voltages, and more, with duophonic playability, arpeggiator, portamento, and modern connectivity like USB-C, TRS MIDI I/O, 1/4-inch main out, and a headphone jack. Measuring 21 5/8 x 17 3/8 x 6 3/4 inches closed, it's road-ready with retro Rogan knobs and a colorful slider interface that invites intuitive experimentation.
Since its 2024 debut, players have celebrated its authentic Buchla timbre and expressive touch interface, hailing it as the definitive way to experience the Music Easel's mythical sound in a compact, updated form—though some note the premium price reflects its handmade precision.
