Ahhh, modular synthesis. In the beginning, that was the only way. Then keyboards. Then all manner of 1980s professional keyboards, each with their own unique filter sounds, so that you could hear that it was a Roland (or whatever).
Today, so many people I know or knew are complaining they need a new rack, or something, because the real estate is all used up.
Me? I never got into it even tho I was there at "the beginning." I had a Wurlitzer "piano" during those years. Also a Korg (?k4) synth which I never used because it needed a midi keyboard and amplified output to make it go.
My brother? He loves his modules, always looking for something new.
By "modular" I'm not referring to the comparatively recent and really expensive "eurorack" gear that's become so popular these days - that's an arm and a leg just to get started, plus, with software versions you can come really close to the same thing for pennies on the dollar, however, I DO like the new trend in having control voltage patch bays on small, almost wallet sized synths because unlike before when all you had was MIDI for communication, they can interact with each other in unique ways. One can take triggers from one and control the oscillators on another and then filter the results through a third and before you know it you've got one helluva unique sound world.
It's easy to create crazy complex sounds, but not so easy to make music with it.
Working with that stuff is like the Yin to my Tuna Day Yang.
I was lucky enough to get to work with a comparatively new at the time modular Moog system at UMKC when I first went to the conservatory, pretty much the same thing Wendy Carlos used, and it was a real pain in the ass - lots and lots of trial and error and then it was all overdubbed to 8 tracks and lord help you if you ever had to duplicate a sound. It gave me a real appreciation for how much work went into "Switched On Bach."
I've seen this (at my Brother's). He has it running continuously, playing a sequencer but its CV output controls odd things, filters, noise, wave shape, who knows. He keeps fiddling until the sound has a certain quality, and leaves it playing until next fiddling. It looks like a nest of wires.
Ahhh, modular synthesis. In the beginning, that was the only way. Then keyboards. Then all manner of 1980s professional keyboards, each with their own unique filter sounds, so that you could hear that it was a Roland (or whatever).
Today, so many people I know or knew are complaining they need a new rack, or something, because the real estate is all used up.
Me? I never got into it even tho I was there at "the beginning." I had a Wurlitzer "piano" during those years. Also a Korg (?k4) synth which I never used because it needed a midi keyboard and amplified output to make it go.
My brother? He loves his modules, always looking for something new.
By "modular" I'm not referring to the comparatively recent and really expensive "eurorack" gear that's become so popular these days - that's an arm and a leg just to get started, plus, with software versions you can come really close to the same thing for pennies on the dollar, however, I DO like the new trend in having control voltage patch bays on small, almost wallet sized synths because unlike before when all you had was MIDI for communication, they can interact with each other in unique ways. One can take triggers from one and control the oscillators on another and then filter the results through a third and before you know it you've got one helluva unique sound world.
It's easy to create crazy complex sounds, but not so easy to make music with it.
Working with that stuff is like the Yin to my Tuna Day Yang.
I was lucky enough to get to work with a comparatively new at the time modular Moog system at UMKC when I first went to the conservatory, pretty much the same thing Wendy Carlos used, and it was a real pain in the ass - lots and lots of trial and error and then it was all overdubbed to 8 tracks and lord help you if you ever had to duplicate a sound. It gave me a real appreciation for how much work went into "Switched On Bach."
I've seen this (at my Brother's). He has it running continuously, playing a sequencer but its CV output controls odd things, filters, noise, wave shape, who knows. He keeps fiddling until the sound has a certain quality, and leaves it playing until next fiddling. It looks like a nest of wires.