Ribbon controller

A ribbon controller is a tactile sensor used to control synthesizers. It generally consists of a resistive strip that acts as a potentiometer. Because of its continuous control, ribbon controllers are often used to produce glissando effects.

A musician using a ribbon controller to control an analog modular synthesizer

The neck of a Moog Liberation keytar, showing its ribbon controller

Early examples of the use of ribbon controllers in a musical instrument are in the Ondes Martenot and Trautonium. In some early instruments, the slider of the potentiometer was worn as a ring by the player. In later ribbon controllers, the ring was replaced by a conductive layer that covered the resistive element.

Ribbon controllers were found in early Moog synthesizers, but were omitted from most later synthesizers.[1] The Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer is well-known for its inclusion of a ribbon controller, used by Vangelis to create many of the characteristic sounds in the Blade Runner soundtrack.[2]

Although ribbon controllers are less common in later synthesizers, they were used in the Moog Liberation and Micromoog. Roland incorporated a ribbon controller in their JP-8000 synthesizer.

As of 2020, ribbon controllers are available as control voltage and MIDI peripherals. An example of a modern synthesizer that uses a ribbon controller is the Swarmatron.