modular synthesis

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:07 pm

Salomo wrote:don't know if this is already posted here somewhere, if so pardon me. http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/%7Eclark/nordm ... k_toc.html thought i'd share this, it contains much useful info on modular synthesis (though aimed at nord it's useful elsewhere too).

oblio, i'd just ignore people mocking this sh!t seriously, it's just provocation begging for response. everyone has the right to choose his way of ventilating creativity.

yeah it's worth looking at [some] books. even though modular synthesis has been around longer than any form of traditional synths there is almost no writen documentation anywhere.

I liked this... it's the 'operating directive' (lol) for the Buchla music Easel written by modular legend Allen Strange. I wanna print it out into analogue form to look at it properly though. (The title references a John Lilly book... awesome!)

http://www.synthfool.com/docs/Buchla/PaMtEO.pdf

Yeah I know it's meaningless provocation but when it's directly aimed at you, and you've tried really hard to contribute to something you believe in, it's hard not to take it personally, ya know? Anyways I'm not really bothered by it.... haterz gonna be hating, right?

(also 'ventilating creativity' is a great expression)

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 4:26 am

ok well i'm going to write once more about this.

You can believe what i say or don't. I have nothing to gain or lose either way.

Modular scene is happening.

h . a . p . p . e . n . i . n . g .

like, going off. sick. excellent. whatever word you wanna use.

There is a wave cresting right now that will only come along once every few decades. Maybe only once a lifetime. Like Moog / Buchla in the 60s. Roland in the 80s.

The music that can be made with modular is a new type of techno. A new combination of soul and machines (the modules have the soul). This is not 80s Detroit. Or 00s minimal. The expressions that can be done with these machines is different.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:26 am

modular is like, every roland machine broken up into tiny sections... like lego pieces... and you can choose whichever parts you want to put together. and then it all works together like your personal 909030201 custom made synth, that you can reconifigure live. and with the possiblities of making audio expanded 100 times. Throw in a load of genius/legendary/insane/humble manufacturers making all the different lego parts, using new designs that have never been heard before, or not easily available.

i threw my computer in the bin . piece of sh!t. (tho i took it back out again to waste time on the internet)

goomba · Post by **goomba** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:57 am

i want to get into modular synthesis where's a good place to start?

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:45 am

goomba wrote:i want to get into modular synthesis where's a good place to start?

probably reading this whole thread a few times i reckon, because a few of us started at the same time and posted in this thread as we were building our systems.

the eurorack section of http://www.muffwiggler.com is a great resource but you need to have a bit of basic synth knowledge before you go there, and it can be a bit nerdy, and there's not so many people making our kind of music there, but for raw info its great.

i'd do at least 3 months research, and have at least £1000 to £1500 in the bank before you start

goomba · Post by **goomba** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:57 am

Thanks mate.. Excellent thread! i have just gone through it and feel very inspired to take the plunge into the modular world. Planning to go through the thread again to get my head around things and take some notes. I am thinking of getting a 9 u case and have a basic idea of a few modules i would like to start off with. But I'm not going to rush into that just yet until i do some decent research . I will be back with many questions, please bare with me if my questions are noobish i have a basic knowledge of synthesis but it is nowhere near as extensive as yours.

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:50 am

goomba wrote:Thanks mate.. Excellent thread! i have just gone through it and feel very inspired to take the plunge into the modular world. Planning to go through the thread again to get my head around things and take some notes. I am thinking of getting a 9 u case and have a basic idea of a few modules i would like to start off with. But I'm not going to rush into that just yet until i do some decent research . I will be back with many questions, please bare with me if my questions are noobish i have a basic knowledge of synthesis but it is nowhere near as extensive as yours.

9U is a great starting point, i think the best advice is to start slow.

the first few modules you buy are important as they will shape where you go from there, myself and oblio went for a few quite esoteric modules to start with, and i dont regret that at all. if i'd gone for a basic VCO, LFO, ADSR, VCF set-up to start with, i might have got bored quickly, as its not giving you much you cant already do with your existing synths/software.

with the more quirky modules, you begin to realise the power of modular synthesis, and how different it can be to everything you thought you knew about making music.

the key for me is 'plenty CV ins'
if you're on a limited budget, the tendency is to go for simple (cheaper) modules, which quite often have limited modulation/control possibilities.
the more CV inputs your module has, the more it can be used for many tasks and be part of a postive feedback system.

buy your modules a few at a time. see what you think is missing or what you could do with, then buy the next batch. i can gurantee you will want to sell some of the first modules you bought, and replace them with what you really need.
the good news is that the used market is alive and kicking, there's always loads of people who want your modules and loads of people selling, and the prices dont devalue too much.

and dont ignore utility modules. switched multiples / offset genrators etc.

but save money on ordinary multiples, by using TipTop stacking cables instead.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 6:25 pm

Glad that someone else sees the power in these machines. Completely changed the way I think about making music. Beyond inspriational.

It's tricky cos you;ve got to make some decisions in advance, and then sometimes you chnage your mind about things. But it's all part of the learning process, and you can easily sell stuff that didn't work out. Definitely good to do as much research as possible beforehand.

The price of a module can be misleading. Sometimes you can get much more "value for money" out of something a touch priceier, but that you use all the time in some way.

Don't be put off too much by the complexity of some things. Everything is basically really simple and user friendly. Some modules take a while longer than others to grasp, but they click pretty quickly.

Also, double/triple/quadruple check your power leads when you connect them to the busboards!!!