of Microprocessors

5
~icroprocessors
The development of microprocessors and the subsequent refinement of
semiconductor memories to go with them will undoubtedly become the most
important technological breakthrough ofthis half-century. Even now they are
finding their way into all kinds of products from microwave ovens to music
synthesizers. Eventually, it will become so cheap to apply computer
intelligence to products that it will be done almost automatically if even the
slightest need exists. However, such widespread application is still in the
future, although nobody really knows if that means 2 years or to.
Returning to the present, the significance of microprocessors in music
synthesis is that the cost of doing things with computers is now much less
than it was a few years ago. For the most part, computer music techniques,
both direct and synthesizer controlled, were hypothesized and developed
years ago by well-backed institutions. So although no really new techniques
are made possible by microprocessors, rhe existing ones can now, or soon be,
utilized by individuals at a reasonable cost. Also, the low cost of components
makes practical the implementation of some of the grander schemes that have
only been hypothesized in the past.
Sequencers, for example, have been very expensive (compared to other
modules in a voltage-controlled system) and highly specialized devices. Their
innards consisted of-dozens to a couple of hundred digital integrated circuits,
and their front panels had several dozen controls. Even with all of this, ir
took only a few minutes of use to discover just how limited those devices
were. Now a microprocessor in conjunction with a few integrated circuits can
perform all of the functions of even the most sophisticated sequencers and
still be grossly underutilized. Panel control action and quantity can be
designed more for the convenience of the user rather than for the simplification
of logic circuitry. The microprocessor is inherently reprogrammable for
altered or enhanced function, although sequencer manufacturers may not
always encourage this. In fact, microprocessors today are often designed into
a product (not just musically oriented ones) as a cost-saving or performanceimproving
measure and are not even mentioned in advertising literature or
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