[sdiy] modular synthesizers - another what passes for epiphany in my world

[Richard Wentk]

At 14:59 23/04/2006, Anthony Bisset wrote:
>greetings again,
>
>i realized that vco's and filters should be more modular in nature.  has
>anyone designed "musically useful" modules that can be combined to create
>filters or vco's?

This idea rolls around every couple of years or so. I don't think anyone 
did much about it last time it turned up.

>i'd rather be rolling my own with patch cables than at
>the bench.  anyone have some design suggestions?  i know, stability *could
>be a big problem, but what are some designs that would get around that,
>and what would be the best way to effectively break a vco or filter into
>sub modules that could be combined to create said things or of course, try
>things that aren't really practical on a breadboard?

You have a potential problem with what 'musically useful' really means 
here. Diddling with the shape of waveforms isn't usually all that 
interesting compared to other things that can done. Likewise there are some 
musical differences between different filter types, but not quite enough to 
merit modularising the different sections. You can always pull out a 
summer/expo and modularise it so it can be used in either a filter or VCO. 
But - not that interesting, really.

If by 'musically useful' you really mean 'fun to play with because I like 
patching stuff for the sake of it', that's a different question.

The other problem is that panel and patching hardware makes a huge 
contribution to the cost of any modular. Adding more of it makes everything 
even more expensive than it is already.

Richard