Below are all of the blog posts I’ve created for the Learning Modular site. The include instructional videos and articles on important concepts (such as getting started, managing clocks in your modular system, how the different types of FM work, etc.) as well as trade show reports and other writings of interest. To browse a specific category, click on one of the Blog Categories at right.
Calibr8or firmware for Ornament & Crime: How To Make Your Oscillators Behave
One of the most maddening things about using a modular synth is how few oscillators track accurately – or at least each other – fresh out of the box. It’s something you think manufacturers would have mastered by now, but they haven’t (partially because so many other...
Warming Up Tracks Using the SSL BiG SiX
Using Crossfades to Create More Complex Waveforms
I’ve been playing around with a simple extension to the typical synthesizer voice patch that has been producing some interesting results. The short version is: Replace the typical oscillator or waveform mixer with a crossfader. Then try using all sorts of different...
NAMM 2020: A Few of My Favorite Things
Rather than do my normal in-depth interviews with each module creator, this year I'm giving a quick review of the new modules that resonated with me the most. That does not mean all of the other modules were not cool and may be more appropriate for the music you make;...
Choosing Patch Cables
When putting together your own modular system, a vital component that’s easy to initially overlook is buying a collection of patch cables to use with it. What should you be looking for when you go cable shopping? Most important is that you need cables with plugs which...
Your First Filter (or Two)
Modular NAMM 2019: New Modules & Trends
For a variety of reasons, far fewer modular manufacturers chose to exhibit at NAMM this year. This meant it was possible to spend more time playing, talking about, and listening to the gear that was at the show. Here is a summary of what I saw, with a focus on interesting developments and stories:
Master Clocks & Reset
While putting together a live performance case focused on creating percussion patterns, I ran head-first into a problem that has frustrated many Eurorack users: how to make sure all of your modules agree on where the downbeat is. In this video and article, I sort out what’s going on, and how I fixed it.
Comparing Amplitude and Balanced Modulation
Two of the older module designs around are the VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) and the Ring Modulator (sometimes called a Balanced Modulator). Both use the signal from a modulator – usually a VCO – to rapidly alter the volume of a waveform from another VCO (the...
Understanding the Differences Between Exponential, Linear, and Through Zero FM
We know using one oscillator to frequency modulate another is a lot of fun…but just what is the difference between the different types of FM? I finally got my hands on a module – the Endorphin.es Furthrrrr Generator complex oscillator – that is capable of being switched (with some behind-the-faceplate fiddling) between exponential, linear, and linear through zero FM, so this is a good opportunity to finally make an apples to apples to apples comparison between the three.
