Made for
For PortaTron producers who want the distinctive harmonic character of West Coast Buchla synthesis without owning the instrument — 75+ loops from Sarah Belle Reid’s custom Buchla system, covering timbral territory that conventional synthesizers simply don’t reach.
One-time purchase · Instant download
Listen before you buy
Bass Loop - Racing — 100 BPM, Am
Drone Loop - Distant — 100 BPM, Key D
Perc Loop - Noise Swells — 100 BPM
Sequence Loop - Plucky — 100 BPM, Key C
Sequence Loop - Driving — 110 BPM, Key C
Texture Loop - Sinking — 110 BPM
Drone Loop - Horizon — 80 BPM, Key B
Perc Loop - Sonar Military — 80 BPM
Perc Loop - Rumble — 90 BPM
Texture Loop - Crackling — 90 BPM
The artist
SARAH BELLE REID
SARAH BELLE REID IS A PERFORMER-COMPOSER AND SCHOLAR (DMA, CALARTS) WHOSE WORK EXPLORES THE INTERSECTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL PERFORMANCE AND EXPERIMENTAL ELECTRONICS. KNOWN FOR HER INNOVATIVE USE OF MODULAR SYNTHESIS AND HER CO-DESIGNED ELECTRONIC SENSOR TRUMPET INTERFACE, MIGSI, REID CREATES SONIC ADVENTURES THAT RANGE FROM "SILK-FALLING-THROUGH-SPACE" TO JARRING INDUSTRIAL FRICTION.
The collection
FreqZ and TweakZ is a PortaTron cassette pack built entirely from a custom Buchla synthesizer system — the 259e Twisted Waveform Generator, Buchla Easel Command, 258r Dual Oscillator, 212r Dodeca module, and a range of Buchla voltage processing and touch-control modules. The Buchla architecture produces a specific quality of sound that West Coast synthesis is known for: complex waveforms, non-standard timbres, and a harmonic character that sits distinctively in a mix. The 75+ loops are organized across 20 cassettes by type: Bass, Drones, Percussion, Sequences, and Textures. The categorization reflects genuine functional differences — Bass patches have low-end weight and movement, Sequences have rhythmic forward motion, Textures are built for atmospheric layering. The BPM range spans 80–120, covering both slow cinematic tempos and more propulsive electronic production speeds. This is source material for producers and composers who want Buchla's distinctive harmonic character without owning a system — the robotic chirps, metallic throbs, and complex frequency relationships that West Coast synthesis produces and that conventional synthesizers don't replicate. 75+ loops. 20 cassettes. 550+ MB. Formatted for Robotic Bean's Portatron. Also available as WAV.
What's Included
75+ Buchla synthesizer loops — 20 PortaTron Cassettes
Sound categories: Bass, Drones, Percussion, Sequences, and Textures
Recorded from a custom Buchla system — 259e, Easel Command, 258r, and more
550+ MB — BPM range 80–120
Tech specs
FAQs
The system includes the Buchla 259e Twisted Waveform Generator, Buchla Easel Command, 258r Dual Oscillator, 212r Dodeca module, 257r Dual Voltage Processor, and 216r Touch Controlled Voltage Source, among others.
Buchla uses a West Coast synthesis approach — complex waveform generation, frequency modulation, and non-standard timbres rather than the subtractive filtering of East Coast synthesis. The result is a harmonic character that sits differently in a mix than conventional synthesizer sounds.
The library covers a range of 80–120 BPM across the Sequences and rhythmic categories. Drones and Textures are not tempo-locked.
Yes — FreqZ and TweakZ is available in both PortaTron Cassette format and standard stereo WAV.
