modular synth w/ payment plan?

So I've been bouncing around a plan to build a modular and I've found a couple of interesting folks...

I'm kind of digging on this idea here...

also, I think these guys make good stuff.

Thank you diehard enthusiasts for the labor of love to keep modular analog synthesis alive. Personally I would rather build a new system that has stable oscillators rather than trying to resurrect an ARP et al. Recapping an old synth is a pain and unless you can afford to buy a vintage modular in good condition, I think this is the way to go. I also like being able to add modules as funds become available (duh).

Thoughts?

there was a thread about this yesterday, but it was more a droolfest than anything :)

first off, you gotta decide what kind of format you want to use for your modular. do you want to go with 5U height & 1/4" jacks? or do you want to go for the 3U height & 1/8" jacks??

the upside of the large formats is that the jacks are more robust (and probably more instantly usable in your setup), the knobs are bigger (more panel space) and the whole thing feels sturdier.

the upside of the small formats is that it saves space, and money. saving space may seem trivial, but if you got a nice system going i imaging you'll want to keep your system as compact as possible, so that you can add more modules :)

the (imo) best large format kits (you want do build it yourself right??) are made by MOTM (synthtech, although they'll stop selling kits next year), but their stuff is pretty pricey (take a look at their site) and not exactly easy to build. i dunno how skilled you are though. elby also has diy kits for their ASM2 modular (huge motherfucker) but you'll have to make your own panel (which IMO is lots of fun but also loads of $$$ and work). Oakley also made kits and will be back in business later this year.

PAIA & Blacet have small 3U kits... some great stuff there, PAIA's 'entry plan' is the P9700S kit, which costs 450$ and has 2x VCO, 2x VCF, 2x EG & VCA & more :)) that could be a nice starting point. Blacet has many exotic and weird modules, good stuff but expensive.

so much for the kits.. there are some guys doing all-in-one kits on and off but you never know when they are in business or not :))

you could also get a couple of loose PCB's from Ken Stone or someone else, and add your own components & panel. you can get some crazy designs online, just look around a bit (google, SDIY mailing list archives, etc).

if you really want a custom machine, you can etch your own PCB's and even make your own PCB designs, but then again, i dont know how skilled you are.

keep in mind that those companies sellings kits and such are usually ONE MAN companies, so treat them as such.. dont be impatient, be considerate, etc... they aren't doing it for profit..........

subscribe to the SDIY mailing list.

read this article: http://emusician.com/elecinstruments/emusi...og_renaissance/ (also covers non-diy modular stuff).

read up on synth tech and the working of synths, learn how to read schematics, learn how to handle soldering equipment & soon you'll come up with an idea of what you want to make, and why..

yeah, synthtech was the second link I mentioned in the first post. I like their build quality (sight unseen) but yes, they are pricey.

Synthesizers.com (silly name) seems to be capable of cutting corners in the correct places to hit a price point while not sacrificing quality. One way they do this is by mass manufacturing, resulting in cheaper BOM price lists.

I think one thing I am interested in is a ubiquitous architecture... I would like to be able to use modules by different manufacturers. Like...a VCO from company A and a ringmod from Company B. I like the 5U footprint and the 1/4" patching design...space and portability are not issues. Quality is an issue but only inside a price threshold.

I have stuffed a few PCBs in my day. That type of thing doesn't scare me. I do not have calibration equipment, though...honestly I would rather have a machine stuff it and a pro calibrate it.

good call on the PAIA, I'll check that out...

with the PAIA stuff...do they just send you PCBs, chassis and components and you assembly or does it come assembled?

I know a lot of their stuff requires user assembly...again my concern here is calibration.

Edit...nevermind:

http://www.unease.se/paiabuild.htm

  version2006 said:

with the PAIA stuff...do they just send you PCBs, chassis and components and you assembly or does it come assembled?

 

I know a lot of their stuff requires user assembly...again my concern here is calibration.

 

Edit...nevermind:

 

http://www.unease.se/paiabuild.htm

calibrating something like a paia p9700s kit isn't that hard, you just need a scope, a multimeter & a bit of patience..

you won't find much more ounces of modular synth for that price, its a real bargain ;)

the thing is, the owner of paia is very slow in anwsering mails.. & shipping is pretty expensive if you live outside the US.

i'm thinking of getting the p9700s and a rack of blacet.. mostly audio processing modules, no more than the 2 osc's from the p9700s.. like this strange ring-mod:

http://blacet.com/KW.html

cv modulation signal generator, to modulate other modules with:

http://blacet.com/BZ.html

a raw filter:

http://blacet.com/FilF.html

..and maybe the frequency divider when it is back in stock:

http://blacet.com/FD.html

would be a pretty sick FX machine, especially in combination with my sherman filterbank animal, raw analogue goodness..

btw, if you buy assembled modules, they'll be hand-stuffed and hand-made too, this kinda thing is way to low-scale to give it into the hands of a machine (& not be losing ALOT of money while producing the modules) - sure, the guys who build it know their stuff, and probably have a lab full of NASA gear or some shit, but it ain't too hard, especially if you're already experienced with this kinda stuff..

thanks for the link to the blacet stuff. I've looked through there a while ago but I couldn't remember how to get back there. very reasonably priced...

so...

I'm trying to understand the form factors a bit. There's Euro-Rack, then there's Blacet's form factor...are the blacet modules the same as the MOTM modules? How about control voltages, should they be interchangeable between all these modules? a CV is a CV, yeah? If not, are there transformer modules to go between modules?

Maybe a link to a good article would help.

check out the article in my first post ;)

here it is again: http://emusician.com/elecinstruments/emusi...og_renaissance/

it's FRACRACK (paia,blacet,wiard,metalbox: 1/8", 3U), EURORACK (doepfer & cwejman & some random others like cyndustries) and MOTM-RACK (for lack of a better name: MOTM & s.com) basically.

cv scale compatiblity is very well documented too, browse the SDIY maillist archives & google - it comes down to this: most things are scaled equally although a transformer-kinda module may be useful in some cases...

sounds like mounting comes in a few different flavors and is easily workable but what really seems to be more of an issue are the power saddles.

thanks for the link. touche

The inexpensiveness of the PAiA kit is tempting, although having built a Fatman, I can honestly say I'd not look forward to doing all of THAT wiring. Dear god what a pain.

The quality and expandability of the Synth.com system is intriguing as well. Although the thought of staring at a wood box for a month. Then a wood box with a power rail in it for a month. Then a wood box with a power rail and a... etc is kindve maddening.

It also seems pretty silly when I stop and think that for the price of the Syn.com unit, I could buy a G1 Nord Modular that would do everything these would and quite alot more, for alot less money....

But then I think, I wouldn't be putting the cables in on my own!

Plus, how many fucking analog purists could I shit off by plugging a Syn.com modular unit into my Micro Modular! Crunch that meaty analog richness right down through a Clavia A/D converter! Booyah~!

HMm, decisions.

http://www.synthtech.com/motm120.html

This module sounds bloody awesome. As a noise fan/"musician" I'd like to get my greasy hands on it. The big modular is always going to be the dream of people who like nasty/unidentifiable sounds but it's a bit outside my range the the moment. I'm still aiming towards a lovely nord micro in a couple of months

for lot's of fun check out the PSIM-1

only 12 people own one cuz the dude that was building them bailed out (with like 60 paid back orders!)

http://www.synthmodules.com/psim-1.htm

YES

analog modular synthesis will help you in your compositional process because you have to plug modules together and the brain likes to plug things together. with time and practice you wont even notice you're patching things up, that's when you're a modular master.

id say follow your own advice and collect things one by one as i did and youl have a wall of modules before you know it. you could also try to find some old korg ms'ses but those are rather expensive and you will have a specific sound. its all about the sound, listen to some mp3s from the companies sites you'l know which ones youl like.

one thing: weed + modular synth = :nuke: