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The Experimental Studio of SWR (Southwest Broadcasting) in Freiburg im Breisgau is a sound-studio and -laboratory for new music. It qualifies as one of the world-leading studios for electronic and live-electronic music. At the studio, compositions with electronics are developed in cooperation of composers, music computer scientists and sound directors. Besides the study of new musical techniques and the production of musical works, the studio also engages in designing and organizing performances.

Origin
In 1968, Heinrich Strobel, first administrator of the music department of Southwest Broadcasting founded the Heinrich-Strobel-Foundation, which later became the fundamental institution for the studio. The foundations goal was to support the response between componists, music and new technical developments.

In 1969, Strobel engaged Karlheinz Stockhausen to compose a work for two pianos and ring modulation for the "Donaueschinger Musiktage". This allowed the development of the Experimental Studio: For the realization of the named work called Mantra, Stockhausen was in need of ring modulators, filterbanks, compressors and other electronic devices, that were not necesarily part of the equipment of a broadcasting company. Therefore the "Experimentalstudio der Heinrich-Strobel-Stiftung des SWF e.V." (the former name of Experimental Studio) was established in 1971 and located in the "Landesstudio Günterstal" near Freiburg.

Further Development
The studio startet officially in september 1971. First artistic director was Hans Peter Haller, who before had developed the "Mantragerät", a sound converter for Stockhausens Mantra which could be controlled by a musician on stage. In cooperation with "Lavo", the innovative technical infrastructure was build up in multiple steps. First step was focused on sond converting in real time (live electronics), the second step was engaged in electronic expansion of sounds (ring modulation, delay, reverb, filtering, gate, vocoder) and in movement of sound (halaphon).

In 1980, Luigi Nono began his investigation of sound at the experimental studio. Until 1989 he composed almost his complete late works. In the same era the first digital devices were developed in a third step. The third generation of "Koppelfeld", a audio matrix with 48 up to 96 inputs and outputs to be connected with microphones, speakers or effects, marks the transition from analog to digital technology.

In 1989 André Richard assumed the artistic direction. In the following years, the digitalization of the studios equipment was further advanced. Simultaneously, it became more oriented towards musical informatics.

The studio was moved to Kartäuserstraße in Freiburg in 1992 and therefore exanded to a 700 m2 area. Since 2004, the Bavarian Broadcasting (BR) is involved in the studios funding. Detlef Heusinger, the current artistic director, acceded in 2006.

In 2008 the studio was renamed and is officially called "Experimentalstudio des SWR" since.

Important technical developement
This chapter only is focused on few important steps of development within the Experimental Studio. For detailed information on funcionality and technical principles of the named devices see: Hans Peter Haller: Das Experimentalstudio der Heinrich-Strobel-Stiftung des Südwestfunks Freiburg 1979-1989. Baden-Baden 1995/96.

The activity of the Experimental Studio was focused on live-electronics from the beginning. Therefore, the performance of works that were composed in the studio and the development of the necesarry live-electronic equipment was what mattered most. Even before establishment, engineers from SWF experimented with live-electronics. In 1953 Bruno Heck an Fred Bürk designed a frequency-modifier, with which sounds could be converted in real time. For the first time it was possibleto shift the pitch of sounds without delay.

Hans Peter Haller developed a ring modulator in 1956. Its funcionality based on Hecks and Bürcks frequency-modifier. The sound conversion that was possible with this device is based on addition and subtraction of the input signal and a sinetone in given frequency. This ring modulator was often used in works of musical avant-garde and in film music.

The mini sound converter called Modul 69B, which has been developed for Karlheinz Stockhausens Mantra by Hans Peter Haller and Peter Lawo in 1969, covered a microphone-preamplifier, a compressor, a filter, a ring modulator, a sine generator and a volume control. Controling this device, the musicians themselves could convert the sounds produced by a piano and thus involve the live-electronic in their interpretation. IN 1970 Cristóbal Haffter and Hans Peter Haller designed the Halophone, a device for controling the origin of sound in a given room. Subsequently, the movement of sound through a room became an important part of many compositions.

The technique of movement in a room was further developed by Haller and Lawo and was concluded in the Halaphone, a control station for the dispersion and movement of sound in rooms and there reproducion by speakers. The Halaphone can move sounds in diverse speed and direction, either point by point or steadily. In 1990 a filterbank was developed, that covers the complete audible spectrum and segments it in 48 whole-note stages.

In 1993 it was possible to disperse and move sound on 64 speakers in a room with the Matrix-Mixer which covered 64 inputs and 64 outputs.

Until today the studio stays engaged in the developent of live-electronics, trying to take part in designing new devices in cooperation of engineers, compositors and musicians.