It Was Inevitable…

Hardware modular synthesis has arrived in The Disaster Room. You knew it was coming. It was just a matter of when.

I know that on a number of occasions, I’ve written that I didn’t think I wanted to get into modular — despite the fact that I have wanted a modular synth ever since hearing Wendy Carlos’s Switched on Bach in the very early seventies. I’ve told the story before, so I won’t belabor that point here.

My trip to Knobcon and Sweetwater last month rekindled the desire and after a few days of mulling over exactly how I wanted to approach modular synthesis, I ordered a Behringer 2600 Blue Marvin, along with some patch cables and a desktop rack to hold my fledgeling modular system. Thanks to friends Luke and Joe, I’ve also added a TipTop Audio Happy Ending Eurorack kit and a handful of modules.

And so, another musical adventure begins.

In previous posts, I’ve shared my thougths on how I would approach modular synthesis by opting to use a semimodular instrument as the heart or starting point for my system. In those posts, I mentioned several models of semi-modular synths that I might use as starting points, most recently Behringer’s Model 15. Ultimately I went with none of the initial choices. Here’s why:

A large percentage of affordable semimodular use a form factor with a large section of controls coupled to a patchbay that moves all of the patchpoints to one spot. The possible advantage is that it can keep patches neater and provide better access to the controls. But I find a bit of a disconnect in that form factor — the patch point is removed from the thing that’s being patched. By contrast, the 2600 is arranged more like a fully-modular synthesizer with each section of the synth has its assocatiated patch points in the section. For me, the proximity makes it easier to find the correct patch points and to patch and re-patch on the fly — it’s much more intuitive.

One really nice thing about the 2600 is that it is a complete solution, containing everything one would need to start into modular. But there are a couple of things that it could use a little more of, most of which are utility items like more/better mults and a couple of unity mixers. Being the modulation nut that I am, I’d like a few more options there as well.

In that regard, friends Luke and Joe sent me a care package the other day that included a rack-mount Eurorack case and a few modules. Not all of the modules made it into the case, and a couple that are in there now will be swapped out. And, I’ve ordered some of the aforementioned utility modules to increase the patchability of the system.

The 2600 made it’s debut on my live stream two weeks ago, and I’ve released a WIP music video, which are linked below. There’s also a YouTube playlist for both the 2600 and for Eurorack in general on my YouTube channel.