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WIARD MODULAR SYNTHESIZER [2006 – 2015]

The more, the merrier. The Wiard modules seem to be quite expensive, but I got two FracRack-format cheapies, which turned out to have an enormous impact on the realtime tweakability of the modular’s parameters: a nice little joystick and a joystick axis generator. The joystick axis generator is a kind of Modulation Matrix Lite: it […]

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DOEPFER A-100 MODULAR SYNTHESIZER [2006 – ]

Butt-ugly or not, the amount of available interesting modules is quite overwhelming, so I really saw no reason not to include Doepfer in my rig. As with Blacet, the idea is to complement the main modular. The first modules I got were two theremin modules, which should prove fun both to me and my daughter. […]

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BLACET MODULAR SYNTHESIZER [2006 – 2015]

The first “next” manufacturer to be added alongside the dotcom modules. Blacet modules come in kits or assembled, and without hesitation I went for the assembled ones. I don’t quite trust myself behind the soldering iron, I might end up with something not-so-safe. Blacet uses the FracRack form factor, and the same annoyingly small jacks […]

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MOOG MINIMOOG VOYAGER ELECTRIC BLUE [2006 – ]

A Moog. Pronounced “Mogue”. This is a heavy piece of work, and it just oozes quality. It sounds exactly the way you would think a Moog should sound. Solid as a rock and absolutely no complaints about its sonic properties. There’s one interesting design flaw, though: when the electrical cord is attached to it and […]

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DOEPFER MCV24 [2005 – 2022]

Instead of having one Kenton Pro Solo per analog synth, I thought it would be wise to have only one MIDI-to-CV -converter to Rule Them All. So I got this, and it’s perfect for that: you can have up to 4 synths connected to it (or 12, if you’re not picky about pitch accuracy), or […]

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DOEPFER A-100 MODULAR SYNTHESIZER [2005]

OK, then. Time to go seriously analog. My plan was very simple: to build a modular synthesizer one module at a time, and spend serious quality time with each new module in order to truly learn it. I ordered an empty 6U case, and oscillator and an lfo and sat down and waited. While I […]

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WALDORF MICROWAVE I [2005]

I bought this by mistake. I got it dirt cheap from eBay; I just placed a very low bid and ended up getting it. Never really used it; kept it for a few months, then sold it to help finance a dotcom modular. Er, I sold a bunch of other stuff as well; this one […]

The Soft Synths Are Coming: 2004

Soft synths don’t force you to rearrange your studio whenever you buy a new one. This fact alone did not keep me from getting new hardware during 2004 instead of focusing all my energy on the admittedly handy soft synths. This proved to be a hardware-intense year. Think Close Encounters of the Analog kind. It […]

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KENTON PRO SOLO [2004 – ]

Before digging deeper into analog (= MIDI-less) synths, I had to make sure that they would play nice with digital stuff like, say, a computer that’s supposed to be sequencing them. Kenton came highly recommended. It’s a MIDI-to-CV -converter, meaning that it takes the incoming digital MIDI note data and transforms it into voltages and […]