What is a Modular Synthesizer?

perfectcircuit.com/signal/what-is-a-modular-synthesizer

29 ottobre 2021

Let's start with a simple, direct definition first. What is a modular synthesizer? A modular
synth is an electronic musical instrument comprised of several individual modules. The
player connects patch cables between these individual modules, creating a signal path that
allows the instrument to make sound. Because of the ease with which patch cables can be
re-arranged, a modular synth can produce a wide range of sounds and can be played in a
vast number of ways—and in fact, even a single modular synthesizer can sound and
behave entirely differently depending on how it is patched.

Today, the most common format of modular synthesizer is called Eurorack. Eurorack
modular synths have become so popular in part because of a shared set of production
standards (e.g. standardized dimensions and power supply specifications); these
universally agreed-upon specifications have made it possible for instrument designers to
develop a broad set of tools, and for musicians to pick and choose which modules are right
for their own music...even building synthesizers comprised of modules from multiple
manufacturers. This means that you can pick and choose modules that you personally find
inspiring—eventually creating a synthesizer that is entirely unique, purpose-built to work
for your own music.

Because the landscape of Eurorack synthesizers has grown to be so rich and varied, and
simply because of natural flexibility, modular synths are now an appealing and valuable
tool for sound designers, performers, tinkerers, and producers who are passionate about
building unique sounds. But modular synths weren't always quite like this—so in the
remainder of this article, we're going to take a look at where modular synths came from,
how they have developed over time, and what they mean for artists today.

Where Did Modular Synths Come From?

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When you try to imagine a synthesizer, what sort of image comes to mind? For many, a
synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument with a keyboard—and maybe some knobs,
switches, or sliders that allow you to change some aspects of the sound it makes.
However, this isn't how synthesizers always were; in fact, in many ways, modular
synthesizers were the precursors to this sort of instrument.

A photo of the WDR studio in Cologne—the workplace of Karlheinz Stockhausen and

others. Image via 120years.net
Electronic music studios became relatively common in the 1950s; these were often related
to schools, radio stations, or television broadcast. For the most part, these studios were
the workplaces of experimental musicians, who used a combination of reel-to-reel tape
recorders, radio broadcast equipment, electronic test equipment, and purpose-built
electronics to record and manipulate sound. Much of the work involved detailed creative
tape editing—reversing tape, playing it back at different speeds, even bouncing audio
between multiple tape machines for a variety of purposes. Though many musicians
became quite skillful at working in this way, the workflow wasn't for everyone: it wasn't
nearly as immediate as, say, playing a musical instrument, or putting pen to paper to
compose a new piece of music.

As such, composers and engineers began to imagine how the practice of electronic music
composition could be refined with new technologies. If they didn't need to rely on
repurposed broadcast and test equipment—if there were a device designed for the
purpose of composing electronic music—perhaps they could compose with greater
immediacy, and could better translate the sounds they imagined into finished pieces of
music. This general idea spawned a wide range of unique, one-off devices, from Harry
Olson & Herbert Belar's RCA Synthesizer to the countless inventions of Raymond Scott,

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Hugh Le Caine, Harald Bode, and others. However, a couple of particular developments
are now seen as a turning point at which the modern synthesizer really emerged—and
these developments are the early musical inventions of Robert Moog and Don Buchla.

In the mid-1960s, Bob Moog began a collaboration with musician Herb Deutsch in which
the two imagined and built an electronic instrument that combined the sonic approach of
a tape music studio with the real-time performability of a traditional instrument.
Similarly, on the West Coast of the United States, Don Buchla was collaborating with San
Francisco Tape Music Center composers Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender to create
their own idea of how to create an electronic music "easel," a device which would allow
composers to forego extensive use of the tape recorder in favor of creating more extensive
passages of music in real time. (See below: a brochure image of an early Buchla system.)

What is particularly notable here is that each of their approaches were actually quite
similar. Eventually, each designer created a device comprised of several individual
modules of standardized dimensions in a single chassis, all connected to a single power
supply. The modules were not unlike the types of devices found in a "classical" tape music
studio (oscillators, filters, and the like), and these modules were interconnected via a
series of patch cables—again, much like the individual devices in a tape music studio.
These were some of the first modular synthesizers. Eventually, each of these inventors
went to business selling custom modular synthesizers to schools, studios, bands, and
individual musicians, providing consultation along the way to ensure that the set of
modules in a customer's system was the best fit for their musical purposes.

The key innovation here wasn't necessarily about modularity, though. Instead, the
revolutionary concept behind these instruments was about control voltage. Control
voltage allows the use of independent modules to affect one another's behavior—
somewhat like an analog precursor to MIDI, or automation in a DAW. While some
modules in a modular synthesizer are dedicated to producing sound or processing sound,
others are designed specifically to produce different types of control voltages, from
repetitive cyclical voltages to user-definable sequences of voltages to triggerable one-shot
voltage shapes. This is what made modular synthesizers such a big deal: they made it
such that changes in sound could be easily programmed and altered on the fly, whereas

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similar sound manipulation in the context of tape music would mean multiple edits,
bouncing audio between multiple tape decks, and a lot of time lost to these technical
processes. With the modular synth, you no longer needed to splice together multiple
pieces of tape to make a specific sequence of pitches, for instance: instead, you could
simply plug your sequencer's control voltage output to your oscillator's control voltage
input et voila! You can move on to your next musical idea.

An expanded Model 12—a small Moog system from the early 1970s
So while much of the appeal of early modular synthesizers did have to do with their
unique sonic possibilities, one of the most immediately impactful aspects of their design
was simply their immediacy. By allowing artists to rapidly realize new sounds and musical
ideas, their creative process could flow more continuously and spontaneously. It was the
first time that musicians were able to have this sort of immediate back-and-forth, iterative
process with a machine, where they could sit back and listen to how their musical ideas
were unfolding, and then tweak as needed until they got it right. This sort of creative
feedback, in which the composer is also simply an observer, is perhaps one of the most
significant impacts technology has had on the creation of music altogether.

It's worth noting here that the early history of electronic music is rich, varied, and
constantly evolving. We're talking here about events that unfolded within the last century.
As such, the way that we historically contextualize all of these events is continually
shifting and changing directions—as it should! Though we're endlessly grateful for their
work, it's unfair to imply that Don Buchla and Bob Moog are solely responsible for the
creation of the synthesizer. If you're curious to know more about this murky, knotted

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history, I'd like to suggest you check out our article Who Really Invented the
Synthesizer?, in which we take a closer look at the instrument's development and the
climate from which it emerged.

What Happened to Modular Synthesizers?

Despite their immense sonic potential, modular synthesizers didn't become widely
popular instruments when first introduced. They were expensive, physically unwieldy,
and complex to operate—so for most musicians, these devices remained inaccessible.

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However, given their slow creep out of the world of academia and into mainstream pop
music, the demand for synthesizer sounds was growing. As such, many major studios
employed session musicians like Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause—who would often come
into the studio and provide synth sounds for other artists' records (and for a wide range of
films). This was all well and good for a while, but as time went on, even in these contexts
the synthesizer shifted from being a box of sonic mystery to being an instrument that
produced familiar, if not still relatively novel sounds. Once a handful of early records
started using the modular synth, it became common for bands or record producers to
demand "the sound from that The Who record," etc. And of course, Wendy Carlos's album

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Switched-On Bach was profoundly influential, introducing a huge audience to the sound
and musical capabilities of the synthesizer. As such, in pop culture, the idea of how a
synthesizer sounded actually crystalized fairly quickly, and the endless horizons the
instrument offered were no longer its primary attraction.

By the early 1970s, every synthesizer designer (by then, including ARP, EMS, and others)
faced a related dilemma: the number of people and institutions willing to spend the
money for a custom modular system was dwindling. In order to stay afloat, they needed to
broaden their market—and they all eventually did so by attempting to design instruments
that were more affordable and easier for musicians to understand. Each designer
approached this conundrum in a unique way; for instance, the semi-modular ARP 2600
and EMS's VCS3 offer markedly different approaches to a "simplified" synthesizer design.
However, perhaps one of the most notable such attempt was the Minimoog (1970).

The Minimoog's original design was spearheaded by Moog employee Bill Hemsath, who
cobbled together a self-contained instrument from junk/discarded parts at the Moog
factory. He originally did this for his own personal enjoyment, and introduced his small,
quirky instrument to Bob Moog himself, who reportedly thought it was fun, but didn't see
a market for it. Through a series of twists and turns (along with a relatively
unstructured/open-ended work environment), Moog's engineers eventually turned
Hemsath's idea into a production-ready instrument—one that, for the most part,
discarded the concept of modularity. While early "portable" instruments from other
makers still maintained a modular workflow (as with EMS VCS3's pin matrix, ARP 2600's
semi-modular patch points, and the Buchla Music Easel's shorting bar patch bay), the
Minimoog did away with this entirely, instead using an entirely pre-wired signal path.

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In classic modular synthesizers, the instrument cannot make sound until the player has
defined their signal flow with patch cables (also known as "building a patch"). As such, the
user needs to have a strong grasp of synthesis and electronic music to even make a sound,
let alone make music. But through the combination of the right number of sonic resources
and the right panel controls, the Minimoog made it possible to achieve a significant subset
of classic "Moog" sounds without the need for patch cables. By deciding on a fixed signal
flow and allowing minor changes to the signal path using a series of knobs and switches,
the Minimoog effectively swept the most complex aspects of modular synthesis under the
proverbial rug—musicians could simply press a key, turn some knobs, and immediately
make sound. Of course, it couldn't do everything that you could do with a full modular
synth...but it could make the vast majority of the types of synthesizer sounds musicians
were starting to hear on the radio, and it was considerably more affordable than its
modular brethren. To make a long story short, the Minimoog became a hit.

EMS's VCS3—a much-loved early attempt at building a small, self-contained synthesizer

Because early modular synthesizers were modeled after experimental electronic music
studios (and because they sought to explore the new possibilities that electronics could
offer), many early synthesizers featured playing methods unrelated to traditional music.
While some early instruments did feature a black and white keyboard, yet others instead
relied on different means of control. Buchla's early 100 Series instruments, for instance,
employed sequencers, random voltage generators, and arrays of touch plates as a means
of control; and while EMS did offer a keyboard controller for the VCS3, many players
instead relied on the instrument's built-in joystick as a primary playing interface. But in
many ways, the Minimoog turned the tide: more and more portable synthesizers began to
emerge that relied on a fixed signal path and a built-in black and white keyboard. Instead

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of focusing on the flexibility of modular instruments, many designers instead made
instruments that emulated this workflow—until eventually, the significant majority of new
synthesizers were self-contained keyboard instruments. By the 1980s, for many, modular
synthesizers already seemed like an outdated novelty...and by the 1990s they were all but
extinct, with only a couple of niche manufacturers continuing to build analog modular
instruments (for an interesting account of some of these, check out our article about the
Synton Fènix).

So...Why Do We Care About Modular Synths, Then?

In the 1980s and 1990s, analog synthesizers nearly disappeared from the marketplace
altogether. With the advent of affordable digital technology, many makers turned their
focus to creating polyphonic digital keyboard synths, complete with patch memory,
presets, and so forth. Of course, the core concepts of modular systems remained—after all,
self-contained synths naturally evolved from modular synths—but many synthesizers
became increasingly preset-based, became difficult to edit, and offered considerably less
in terms of hands-on control.

Dieter

Doepfer (right) alongside composer Hans Zimmer at NAMM 2001

Modular enthusiasts never disappeared, though. Many musicians had "cut their teeth" on
modular systems in academic environments or recording studios, and were anxious to
return to the old ways of patch cables, knobs, and switches. By the mid/late-1990s,
German instrument designer Dieter Doepfer had introduced his modern solution: the
Doepfer A-100 System. The A-100 system didn't exactly follow the conventions of older
systems—instead, Doepfer decided on his own set of standards for module dimensions,
power supply requirements, patch cable type, etc. Doepfer did offer a quite complete
complement of modules for a huge range of musical purposes—but perhaps his most
important contribution to the world of synthesis was that the technical specifications for
the A-100 system were so clear: once the systems began to catch on, other manufacturers
(Livewire, Plan B, etc.) emerged, producing A-100-compatible modules whose
functionality wasn't represented in Doepfer's own lineup.

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From there, industrious young engineer-musicians began to develop modules to expand
their own personal systems, gradually developing into full-fledged companies (The
Harvestman/Industrial Music Electronics, Make Noise, Intellijel, etc.). It was here that
the modern landscape of modular synthesis truly began to take hold: suddenly, the A-100
system was an open-ended format with an astonishing number of unique designers, each
with their own sonic aesthetic and visual design.

And that's where we are today. Now generically referred to as "Eurorack," the A-100
ecosystem is by far the most popular and most sonically varied modular format to date. In
fact, the open-endedness of Doepfer's format is one of the key elements that defines what
modular synthesis means to us today. Remember: originally modular synthesizers were
only user-configurable to an extent. If you could afford to buy a modular synth in the
1960s or 1970s, you only had a couple of manufacturers to choose from—and you would
buy into their instrument exclusively. With rare one-off exceptions, there weren't third-
party developers designing modules for Buchla, ARP, or Moog systems...and as such, once
you had your system, you were essentially limited to what it contained—and furthermore,
you were limited to the sonic possibilities offered by its designer's own aesthetic
sensibilities.

But that isn't how things are today. These days, we usually think about modular synths
differently: they're much more open-ended than they have been at any point in the past.
Now that we have a rough idea of the history of these peculiar instruments (and how they
got to where they are today), I'd like to re-approach our original question: what is a
modular synth?

So What is a Modular Synth...and What CAN It Be?

The core of the answer is the same: a modular synthesizer is an electronic musical
instrument which is comprised of individual modules. Each module serves a distinct
musical function, and groups of modules can be interconnected using patch cables,
enabling the player to create custom signal paths at a moment's notice. This differs from
self-contained synthesizers in that the signal routing is much more open ended: rather
than having to stick to a manufacturer's proscribed internal structure for an instrument,
users can effectively make decisions about how the instrument should work at any given
moment...in effect, designing their own instrument.

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This is why modular synthesizers have become so popular. Despite some of the technical
hurdles musicians can face when first getting up and running, the rewards can be
tremendous. By selecting from a range of thousands of modules from hundreds of
manufacturers, musicians are able to pick and choose the musical functions that matter
most for their own music—and from there, they can completely change the way their own
instrument behaves simply by patching it in a different way.

Because of this, a modular synthesizer can be basically anything you want it to be: it can
be a way of creatively processing external instruments. It can be a way of designing your
ideal personal synth sound, drawing influence from several different approaches to sound
design. It can be a way of mangling and sequencing samples, like a super-powerful drum
machine/sampler/groovebox. It can be a way of creatively mixing sounds coming from
your DAW. It could even be a way of establishing musical "rules" that allow you to create
entire pieces of music at the push of a button.

Perhaps one of the most profound implications of all of this—and perhaps one of the
strongest reasons for their popularity—is that modular synthesizers are a simple and very
direct way to enjoy making music and working with sound...even if you don't have any
other musical training. Electronic music as a broad genre has had an enormous cultural
impact, in that the evolution of music technology has made it such that entire pieces of
music can be made by anyone. From samplers and affordable drum machines in the
1980s/1990s and onward to the advent of affordable home recording technology,
electronic music tools have made it possible for a single musician to be an entire band, a
recording engineer, a producer, and more. You no longer need to rely on luck or record
labels in order to exercise your creativity, and you don't need to have years of musical
training in order to make music.

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I see modular synthesizers as strongly aligning with this sentiment. Though modular
synthesizers may not be the most easy-to-use instruments out there, I think it's fair to say
that they are fairly immediate—that is to say, you don't need to practice for years in order
to make interesting sounds that you (and others!) can enjoy. Because they allow you to
create instruments from scratch, they give everyone the ability to define the rules of their
own music: how does it sound? How do rhythms develop over time? Do melodies matter?
Is it loud, or quiet? Intricate, or sparse? Fast-paced and intense, or patiently evolving?
Without needing a musical or strongly technical background, modular synthesizers can
even allow you to sit back and observe your music unfolding before your very
ears...allowing you to engage as a listener during the compositional process. This means
that anyone who enjoys listening (and a little bit of knob-turning!) can make music—and
that the music they make could sound like nothing else before it.

Looking to Get Started with Modular Synths?

Of course, in this article, we've mostly been talking about modular synths' history and why
you might want to use them...but we haven't really touched on the technical details of how
modular synths work. Luckily, if you're trying to get started with modular synths, we do
have plenty of other resources available.

If you're planning your first modular system, we strongly recommend checking out this
article, in which we talk with musician Sarah Belle Reid about how to take your first steps
into Eurorack—and after that, check out our dedicated articles about Eurorack cases and
Eurorack power supply basics so that you can get up and running with confidence. And of
course, if you're looking for deeper discussion about synthesis techniques in general,
check out our series Learning Synthesis, in which we offer extensive deep dives into how
modular synthesizers work on a technical level. And of course, if you're ever looking to
learn more about the wonderful world of modular synths, you can always reach out to us
for suggestions & direction. All the best, and happy patching!

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