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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 takes two input CV’s, and spits them out in various ratios through a number of outputs. Up, down, left, right, and in-between, plus middle and the complement of middle. Patch in a joystick or two LFO’s, connect all the outputs to appropriate inputs, and listen to the sound change drastically and becoming really alive. The JAG comes highly recommended! 

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SYNTHESIZERS.COM MODULAR SYNTHESIZER [2005 – 2015]

My main Modular of choice. I sold my Doepfer (and a spitload of other gear) to finance this, and I am not one bit sorry that I did. The feel is very reliable, the sound is massive, and it simply looks like a modular should look. A shame I could not actually a/b the sound of this and Doepfer, but this sounds really wonderful. My plan is to build a flexible modular, which will include interesting modules from several modular manufacturers, and in which the dotcom will be the core. I have had loads of fun with this already, and this is again one of those investments that have a potential to be for life. 
At first I wanted to get a custom walnut cabinet, but it turned out that my modular Muurame bookshelf is a perfect fit for rack gear. And I have a lot of Muurame modules…

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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. Doepfer’s got a huge amount of filters and other sounds processing modules, so I think it will grow out of proportion and that I will feel quite good about it, all things considered. 

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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 as Doepfer, but I figured I shouldn’t be too picky about these things. Blacet have some fun modules, and there really is no reason not to get some, as they integrate quite nicely into what is now becoming a Frankensynth.

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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 the panel is lowered to its lowest position, the entire weight of the panel ends up resting on the cord. How could that ever get a green light? Oh well, nobody’s perfect.

I actually put this one for sale after Judgment Day, but nobody wanted it. Go figure. So I still have it. I would probably like to go simpler, meaning I would not mind trading it for a re-issue of the Model D. Drop me a line if you’re interested.

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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 waited, I happened to place the winning bid on an entire full 6U system from eBay. So much for going slowly.

Doepfer has a truly excellent setup of modules and they are very reasonably priced. Still, before my modular grew out of proportion, I decided to go for another brand, the Synthesizers.com modular. So I sold the Doepfer and ordered a dotcom instead. 

Main reasons for not keeping Doepfer: small plugs feel a bit flimsy, small modules are a bit unergonomic, and it isn’t black 🙂
My Doepferlessness didn’t last for long, though…

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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 didn’t quite cover the dotcom price…

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ARP ODYSSEY [2004 – ]

Now we’re talking Synth History. I grew up listening to this machine, without even knowing it, as it was used by all those bands that shaped my taste in music. Playing around with this for the first time was an almost religious experience. In my Quest for Simplicity, this one takes the cake so far. What you see is what you get, plain and simple. Nothing is hidden, so just go for it. In that sense, this would have been the perfect first synth, but I don’t mind getting it now. This particular unit is one of the original Odyssey’s with a black face and the 24 dB filters. Or so I was told, I have yet to verify it. I would have to open it up, remove all the slider caps and dissassemble it in order to get a peek at the filter chip, and I just can’t be bothered now. It’s a great machine for weird metallic sounds. 

The duophonice feature is quite interesting; when holding a key and pressing another, the other key “borrows” the second oscillator, and you can get quite nice effects that way. Also, getting it to Finland was an adventure in itself. An official Thanks to m@ & Gert who made it possible

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KORG MS-20 [2004 – ]

I saw one for sale in my own home town. I haven’t previously even seen one for sale in my home country, so I thought this would be a great chance to get a real classic analog synth and actually get to test it before buying, instead of having to wait for the postman for two weeks while wondering what he actually might be bringing. Of course, when I contacted the seller, it was already sold. I happened to chek out the German eBay, only to notice there were a bunch of these up for grabs. The one I gave the winning bid on (and which was located in Switzerland) was almost 300 euro cheaper than the one for sale locally, plus I got a friend of mine to bring it to me along with the rest of his stuff when he moved back to Finland. 

It’s a “half-modular” synth, meaning that there’s the standard hardwired signal path, which you control with knobs, and then there are patch points in the signal path where you can insert physical cords to redirect the signal, just like in a modular system. This makes it really versatile and a fun sound creating tool. The patch points obviously allow you to patch in signals from other sound sources as well. This one appears to be a real screamer. I expect to have a lot of fun with it. Haha.

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SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS PRO-ONE [2004 – ]

This kind of sneaked up on me. It somehow “just happened”. I completely fell for it. I just had to have it. So here it is. eBay is dangerous.

In search for pure simplicity, this one isn’t quite there yet, as it has an analog modulation matrix-y thingie which kind of makes it “advanced”. It’s a monophonic analog synth, said to be the little brother of the Mighty Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, as in its one voice is exactly the same as one voice of the Prophet-5, but being monophonic, it’s obviously very different from the Prophet-5. This feels very straightforward; Vince used it (and reportedly nothing else) for Only You, and that’s precisely how it sounds. Extremely good for those warm bass synth sounds as well as leads and arpeggios. Really solid stuff.

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