SynC Modular
The end of the millennium was an exciting time for would-be desktop music makers. It had been only a couple of years since the release of ReBirth RB-338 from Swedish developers Propellerhead, a product that proved that native synths could be used in real time – and sound good. Meanwhile, Germany’s Steinberg were attempting to expand their VST plugin format to include instruments, a mission accomplished with the VST 2.0 standard in 1999.
Another little German company had caused a stir with a software modular construction kit called Generator and its stablemate, the samplebased Transformator. It was when the company merged the two products into a unified system dubbed Reaktor 2.0 that things really got interesting. Yet there was still something missing – it was only when the core technology of one more product was added into the mix that Reaktor would become the program we know and love. That product was SynC Modular. A Windows-only affair, it strongly resembled Reaktor in that it offered a full collection of lowlevel components that could be combined and connected with virtual patch cables.
The brainchild of Russian developer Vadim Zavalishin (aka Dr SynC), SynC Modular hit the web in 1999, and thanks to its lower price, became a go-to for cash-strapped bedroom boffins who could afford neither Reaktor nor an actual modular synthesiser (rare in 1999). Thanks to its flexibility and a growing community of users, it gained serious attention from serious synthesists and sound designers, too, among them Guilherme Kallfelz and Luigi Felici, who would build and sell some interesting Sync ensembles under the brand name of DashSynthesis. Kalfelz would eventually develop Wusik Station, while Mr Felici would become the main man behind NuSofting.
These two budding builders weren’t the only ones paying attention. Indeed, Native Instruments themselves began to take notice of SynC Modular and its uncomfortable resemblance to their flagship product. Rather than going toe-to-toe in a battle over superficial similarities, Native Instruments made the smart move of bringing Dr SynC into the fold, putting him to work on the next major overhaul of Reaktor itself. At Native Instruments, the best bits of SynC Modular’s code would be assimilated into the Core technology that powered the upcoming Reaktor 5, released in April 2005. As expected, development on SynC Modular ceased and the product was no longer offered for sale after 2003.
Yet this wasn’t the end for SynC Modular. In 2010 – and much to the delight of the devoted users who’d long since given up on the platform – SynC Modular re-emerged as freeware. Still Windows-only, and looking as if it hadn’t aged a day, the site and its forum are still active, bustling with excited users swapping the products of their Sync Modular sessions.
These days, there are plenty of alternatives, but the original still inspires those looking to cobble together their own complex musical contraptions and, we dare say, still holds up to competing commercial products. See for yourself at www.sync-modular.org