Producer’s Guide to DIY Modular Skiff
Modular maven Rob Redman guides us in the art of planning and building your own Eurorack enclosure
Modular synthesisers are possibly the most varied, personal, versatile and complex
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instrument and can mean different things to different people. Once you dive down the rabbit hole it can be equally daunting and exciting, with a number of aspects that can prove tricky to understand. A traditional ‘all in one’, keyboard-based instrument is easy to understand, as the box houses everything with no user input.
Modular is a very different beast; however, a little understanding of your forward journey can prevent disappointment and even damaged modules. There are quite a number of cases on the market that will provide a mechanism for attaching modules, a box to keep them safe and power to run them. Most will work off the shelf but they are not made equal, with huge variations in power supplies, build quality and aesthetics. It’s likely that you will have to make a compromise somewhere along the line and pay handsomely for doing so, as
Eurorack cases can be eyewateringly expensive.
Putting it all together
Here I’ll take you through the process of planning, designing and building your own Eurorack enclosure, including using some popular online tools to help you work out the power requirements, as we’ll be wiring up our own power and having enough clean (noisefree) power is pretty important.
Before we begin with the nitty gritty of the project it’s important to think about the goals you have in mind. If you are an existing modular user, like me, you might be consolidating two or more rigs, or want to have a studio home for your modular setup. All you need to consider is the amount of room you need for current needs and any possible expansion. This is possibly easier, as you will have an established workflow that allows you to understand what you need.
If you are coming to this fresh and are interested in the DIY route either to save some cash or to gain a better understanding of what is involved with a modular rig you have
a little homework to do before breaking out the tools. Spend a little time thinking about the kind of instrument you want to create. I’d recommend spending some time thinking about the kind of music you want to make, then researching the modules you think you might want. I’ll talk more in a bit about this but sites like Muffwiggler and Modulargrid are great places to share your plans and then get some feedback from other users. Take advantage of their experiences! They have all been through this and can help you avoid the temptations of certain modules, when you’d be better off investing in other areas.
Once you have established an idea of what you want to achieve it’s time to read on and make some music (and sawdust).