Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Modular synth. Do you have one?


RABid

Recommended Posts



  • Replies 33
  • Created
  • Last Reply

The closest thing I have is a Korg MS-20, so no.

 

My friend has a Roland 100 which sounds great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mate stubb

 

that is awesome...love the cabinet too, but just as awesome is the great bit of model making that is obviously being presented as an award..

 

what do the figures represent and how do they relate as an award to the modular.

 

sorry as a model maker I find the models as fascinating as the synth...and the synth blows my mind.

 

cheers Aussie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The guy on the left was my dear friend and fellow synth enthusiast Larry Hendry. Larry and Moe...

 

The models of the two stooges were sent to us from a fellow MOTM synth head, to thank us for our support for the MOTM format DIY community.

 

Here's a pic of Larry's synth before it grew into its final set of cabinets:

 

http://matrixsynth.com/blog/media/larry.jpg

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cool moe

 

now that is an incredible modular and the final cabinetry [i am asumming the first photo] is a very good design...impressive an looks urgonomic..

 

are yes I can see its the stooges now, being a far shot it was hard to see faces...

 

if you still have that award its gotta be a talking piece...if the presenter of the award actually made the figuines [ie sculptured them] please pass on my admiration.If they are a kit then they still are a great award much better than a simple trophy..

 

sorry for the off topic

 

cheers for the history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! Yes the cabinet was very easy to use, I could reach all 4 rows easily due to the curve-back design on top.

 

I stole the idea from the incredible Moog modular put together by former Moog employee Roger Luther.

 

http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/luthermoog1.jpg

 

 

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, that is lustworthy, and the one synth bass sound they posted an audio clip of, at their website, is deep and luscious and also very moog modular-like:

 

http://www.macbethstudiosystems.com/

 

Sorry, it's one of those websites that doesn't update its URL, and I'm not going to hunt down how to work around that right now (someone here posted a hint a few weeks ago).

 

The one you have looks more ARP-like. ARP has always been my favourite synth company (I feel guilty saying that with Bob Moog in his grave, as it seems disrespectful somehow, especially as I met Bob a few times and he was a great person).

 

I had Moog Modular V for awhile but it didn't cut it for me. Never had a hardware modular or semi-modular, but ARP 2600 is my favourite (though it's semi-modular). I have the Way Out Ware software version, and a few other soft synths that qualify as semi-modular.

 

I had the Nord Modular for awhile, but found the GUI editor frustrating beyond belief, as well as flakey and crash-prone. This was the first generation one, and after I deleted my OS 9 boot drive, it was time to sell my little red beast. It was capable of some great sounds, had breadth, and was deep. Had it had a more direct interface or a better editor, I would have kept it. Up until a year or so ago, I still considered Nord Modular G2, which apparently has now been canceled.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had Moog Modular V for awhile but it didn't cut it for me.

 

I had the Nord Modular for awhile, but found the GUI editor frustrating beyond belief, as well as flakey and crash-prone.

 

I still considered Nord Modular G2, which apparently has now been canceled.

 

Everyone interested in modulars should consider the Modular II and III by Sonic Core running on a Scope Classic or Profesional card (PCI) as well w/ the new Xite-1 (PCIe).

Also interesting the additional Flexor modules offered by Adern.

http://www.adern.com/home/modules.php?name=flexor&file=preview&id=3

 

A.C.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe Aussiekeys knows the answer to this one...When David Bowie toured Australia in the late 1970s, he had a keyboard player substitute for Roger Powell that played in the band for a few of the shows. As I recall, he played a huge, Roland modular synth that was very cool looking. What was that keyboard players name and where is he today? Also, what's the history of those old Roland mod units? Anyone?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Mate,

 

Is that "patch bay" on the lower left hand corner a patch bay? A set of multiples? Or are you running patch points out of frequently used modules ... in any case, pretty handy. Beautiful instrument. :love:

 

I had the Nord Modular for awhile, but found the GUI editor frustrating beyond belief, as well as flakey and crash-prone. This was the first generation one, and after I deleted my OS 9 boot drive, it was time to sell my little red beast. It was capable of some great sounds, had breadth, and was deep. Had it had a more direct interface or a better editor, I would have kept it.

 

Unfortunately Clavia never invested much in the Mac interface ... I think it radically affected how much acceptance the synths received.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/stooges_01.jpg

 

I've been looking at MOTM but I have never soldered anything in my life. Not anything that worked afterward. That one looks great. It is scary to think about how much you can invest in a modular. I notice that someone on Ebay is selling their MOTM piece at a time. By what they are asking the value must hold pretty well.

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y172/davebryce/M5.jpg

 

Ive considered something like that as a starting point. Looks like it has all the patch connections you would need to interface with other modules.

 

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/luthermoog1.jpg

 

that's just plain goregeous..... I bet the wife hated it! :P

 

I met Roger and his wife Kathy and I can assure you that she was supportive of it. Roger was working for Moog back then and it's a safe bet that he got those modules at employee prices.

 

I USED to own a PAiA 4700 modular. My first synthesizer, used to gig with it (!!), and the constant tinkering was the impetus to my engineering career.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a moderate sized system, about 25 standard rack spaces of MOTM and 2 frac-racks of Blacet. Nothing like the stooge beauty above! I love my modular, though. I hadn't soldered anything beyond patch cords when I started building the MOTM stuff, and it was big confidence boost when the kits I built actually worked. It sounds amazing, and it's an easy way to lose a lot of hours when patching.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use the Buchla 200e in conjunction with the Haken Continuum:

 

http://www.otownmedia.com/buchlahandshot.jpg

 

I have some audio and video clips here on my website, along with other info about the system:

 

Buchlaworks

 

and a bunch more performance clips on my YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/rlainhart

 

In particular, check out my version of Messiaen's "Oraison", which is the featured clip on that page, and read the info about the performance.

 

Basically, I got the 200e because I wanted a performance instrument that offered me the interactivity and spontaneity that Jordan Rudess was able to get with his MiniMoog in my Space Jams with him, while having the flexibility of a modular system and the ability to recall patches, which is unique to the 200e. That combined with the Continuum, gives me a system that has extraordinary expressivity and tonal possibilities.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Mate,

 

Is that "patch bay" on the lower left hand corner a patch bay? A set of multiples? Or are you running patch points out of frequently used modules ... in any case, pretty handy. Beautiful instrument. :love:

 

Are you talking about the patch bay looking thing on the Moog? That's Roger Luther's, not mine.

 

Anyway, that panel on the Moog is a very rare scale generator, which brings outputs for each key of the CV keyboard to this panel so that you can do custom tuned scales.

 

Edit: wrongo. The scale generator is that long row of pots running just above the keys - you can see the naturals/sharps arrangement of the knobs.

 

Not sure what the patch panel is, it's clearly custom. Luther's Moog had a lot of highly modified modules on it - EGs that loop, 921 VCOs each with their own controller module (normal practice was to run banks of 3), etc.

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Luther's Moog had a lot of highly modified modules on it - EGs that loop, 921 VCOs each with their own controller module (normal practice was to run banks of 3), etc.

 

Actually the 921s were stock, you can spot the 921A controller with each bank of three 921Bs.

 

His filters were custom though - he squeezed a 2U 904 into a 1U module.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, I tracked down the skinny on those VCOs.

-------------------------------------------

 

The 921B's were each modified with the addition of an LFO switch that allowed you to break the connection from the 921A while dropping the frequency a couple octaves and increasing the range of the front panel Range control. Also, the "CV In" jack was modified for exponential rather than linear response.

 

The Low and High-pass filter panels were redesigned to fit one panel-width each. The Filter Coupler was incorporated on the High-pass panel, reducing the width of a complete bank from 6, down to 2 units.

 

The 914 Filter Bank was modified with individual band outputs.

 

Each Envelope Generator had both V & S-Trig Inputs with LED indicator. Also, a Regen switch was added to each that routed the output to the V-Trig Input, allowing it to be used as an LFO, with the waveshape and frequency determined by the Attack and Decay times.

 

The scale programmer was modified to allow macro as well as micro-tonal scale tuning, and the panels were redesigned to run the length of the cabinet (bottom row). The Switchboard to the left of the keyboards was just a big mixer, an input for each key of the lower keyboard, and one output.

Moe

---

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...