Scott had earlier built a
theremin as a toy for his daughter Carrie, and began developing the Clavivox, or "keyboard theremin," in 1952. In 1956, he purchased an
R.A. Moog Model 305 theremin from a young
Bob Moog and incorporated its sound generator as part of a
prototype Clavivox. Scott's instrument allowed the use of
portamento over a 3-
octave range, which made it possible for the player to control the synthesizer via a keyboard, but with additional glide, giving it a "human" quality. Additionally, Scott's design added
amplitude envelopes,
vibrato and other effects. Scott applied for a patent in December 1956 and was granted on Feb. 3, 1959. "A lot of the sound-producing circuitry of the Clavivox resembled very closely the first
analog synthesizer my company made in the mid-'60s," Moog explained years later. "Some of the sounds are not the same, but they're close." Later Clavivox models used light shining through
photographic film onto
photocells as a source of
control voltage to control
pitch and
timbre. == See also ==