The many faces of modular synthesis
Moog’s Minimoog set the template for standardised synthesisers, with its fixed number of modules and inflexible signal path – in fact, many synthesists of the day considered it a ‘preset’ device and not a real synth at all!
Today, most synthesisers are of the fixed-path variety, though some offer some signal routing flexibility via software matrices – normally tucked away beneath layers of software menus. The newfound enthusiasm for modular synthesisers is due in part to the desire on the part of the user to craft original sounds using whatever modules and routing works best for the task at hand. Need another filter inline or parallel to the first? Simple – just patch one in. Two or three oscillators not enough? No problem – add as many as you like (or can afford). Maybe you’d like to drive a sequencer ‘s tempo with an envelope – yep, you can probably do that too, if you’ve got the modules and the patch leads.
And those patch leads are so very important. Without them, most modular synths simply won’t make a sound. The user is required to connect modules together to produce a sound. This is why you every modular system you see will be shrouded beneath a birdsnest of cables.
However, not all modular synths use patch cables. Some, such as those made by EMS, route signals via a modulation matrix into which are slotted shorting pins that make connections between various sources and destinations. Such matrices are generally restricted to ‘semimodular’ instruments – those with a fixed number of modules, with unrestricted routing. Most semimodular systems, like ARP’s 2600 or Korg’s MS-20, use a combination of the two, offering a standardised signal path that can be overridden by plugging in cables.
Though a truly modular system can be comprised of any modules, semimodular synths like the 2600 and VCS 3 generally offer a similar complement of modules, usually two or three oscillators, one or two filters, a couple of envelope generators and maybe an LFO (though LFO duties are often the job of one of the oscillators). There might be some ring modulation onboard, and almost certainly a noise generator. Such a collection would be seen as basic in a standardised instrument, but in a modular system, these same few components are vastly more powerful.
Below, we’ll take you through a basic modular patch, getting you ready to build on it in further tutorials, and to get your juices flowing!