Saw Hugh LeCaine's 1948 Prototype "Electronic Sackbut" at the Museum of Science and Technology over the weekend while visiting with some friends. It's now recognized as the first voltage-controlled synthesizer ever built.

That makes the Sackbut the grandpa of most of the synthesizers from the 1960's and 70's , some of which live in my studio.

The display included recordings taken from old 78 RPM records, and I was surprised at how expressive the instrument was. In one example, the Sackbut sounded exactly like a well played flute accompanying a piano!

That's pretty rad!