Matching Octaves in Your Modular
Different oscillators and MIDI to CV converters may have varying ideas of what voltage a given note produces, and what pitch should you hear as a result. If there is a difference, in most cases it can be dialed out with a pitch knob or transpose switch. However, there are occasions when you need the assistance of an additional module to settle these disagreements.
NAMM 2016: Day 2
I got to a few more booths today at NAMM 2016 (Malekko, The Harvestman, Sputnik, Snazzy FX, and a return to Intellijel), and wanted to share some more conversations and observations about some of the current directions in modular synthesis – both my own, and from the Meet the Makers panel on modular synthesis.
NAMM 2016: Day 1
I’m at the NAMM music show in Anaheim California, and thought I’d summarize some conversations and share some quick impressions of a few of the booths I visited on the first day of the show.
Should you go Semi-Modular or Full?
One of the primary reasons to make the move from pre-configured synthesizers to patchable modular synthesis is the ability to create your own instrument – be it to pick and choose your favorite flavors of synth building blocks, to expand it in ways you prefer, or to explore new signal paths and configurations. A common question is: Where do you start? Keeping in mind there’s no single right answer (and very few wrong ones), here are a few different approaches and their potential trade-offs.