MOTM

Good comments, all.

I'd like to add this perspective:  Aren't you glad MOTM has physically 
distinct modules, each self-contained?  After all, if you bought a Serge, 
you would make a module clustering decision up front and that would be 
that.  When I built my own synth back in the early 1980's it didn't have 
physically self-contained modules.  Each set of modules was designed into a 
single 19-inch rack panel with the knobs, switches and LEDs grouped 
together on the left side by module, and the patch bay off to the right 
side.  I didn't have to worry about patch cord length because all the jacks 
were next to each other.  (Mini jacks were used on the panel, so a lot of 
them fit in a small space, too.)  My longest patch cord was maybe 18 inches 
in length.  No patch cords were tangled in front of controls either.  I had 
to live with my layout, but of course I spent a lot of time thinking it 
through beforehand.

There is a variety of ways to build a modular.  I'm quite pleased with the 
MOTM format.  It gives me the freedom of module placement.  That makes me 
have to think about it, but I can easily change my mind several times (a 
month).  Seems to me the only way you find out what works best for you is 
to try different placements.  No arrangement is going to be perfect.  What 
makes sense one day may seem nutty the next day.  That's one of the reasons 
we like modulars, isn't it?  The placement thing is part of the play, too.

-Richard Brewster