Buchla's instruments, such as the Music Easel used a method of timbre generation different from Moog synthesizers. Moog units use oscillators with basic function generator-type waveshapes and rely heavily on filtering with 24 dB resonant low-pass filters, while Buchlas are geared toward complex oscillators using frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, and dynamic waveshaping to produce other forms of timbre modulation. Many of Don Buchla's designs, including the Lopass Gates, contain vactrols - photoresistive opto-isolator employed as voltage-controlled potentiometers - which can be used for a more "natural", typical Buchla sound. In December 2017, Arturia released a software/plugin emulation of the Music Easel, called the "Buchla Easel V", as part of the V collection.