Legowelt's view on modular.

[blizt]

[headband]

I agree with all of you that his views are a bit dismissive, and while he criticizes the cost of modulars, mine has been very economical in comparison to trying to track down a bunch of the Korg and Roland stuff he's hoarding in his studio.



...but just to play devil's advocate

A guy would have a $5000 modular system and the only sound he makes with it is [makes raspberry noise] sound.

He kind of has a point here, how many times do you go on muffwiggle to see some guy with a Buchla or row after row of modules and they post up their demo and it's like.....O kewl. At the end of the day I think modular are a fair bit more difficult to coax pleasing sounds out of, and for some people that hurdle is a bit too much.

[Torque]

I'm sorry but i understand Legowelt on this one pretty well. I know plenty about synthesis, in fact i've built my own analog pieces from scratch quite a few times down to the basic designs as projects for my apprenticeship. That being said i would rather have a ROMpler too. The main reason being that it's quicker to get an idea out. Let's cut all the BS for a minute. The modular thing is straight up a matter of taste, you get them because you're fascinated with the basics of synthesis. I get it...i like synthesis too, but even the most hardcore modular guy will admit that there are a sh!t ton of disadvantages unless you plan to spend $20,000 to get all the modules necessary to make everything. I'm serving an apprenticeship in Electroacoustics and the more i understand circuitry the more i realize how musicians get straight up ripped off. Some of the modules they sell for $700 a piece you could make with radio shack parts for $20. It has to be the most ridiculously inflated market next to the high fidelity home listener market i've ever seen. That being said though it is neat patching in your own chords and all that sh!t but unless you can show me a modular system for around $1000 that can do what an Access Virus TI does i'll stay off the bandwagon for a while.

[Phase Ghost]

Rule #1 for modulars is disregard nearly every demo on muffwiggler. The majority of people don't seem to be making dance music and seem to noodle around and make...ugh...I don't know what you want to call it. There have been some pretty good demos though. You have to use your imagination a little to see the possibilities. If you can't make techno with a $5000 modular, it's because you're bad at synthesizers; period.

As far as difficulty, it's way easier for me to patch up a sound on my modular than it is on my prophet or the mopho I used to have. WAY easier. I usually start at the oscillator and follow the signal until I have something basic patched up. That takes 2 minutes at most. Then, I just start fucking around until it sounds cool. All the patch cables and knobs and sh!t make it look difficult, but that's it really. It "looks" difficult to understand. The mopho was infinitely more difficult to understand what was happening.

[Phase Ghost]

Couldn't agree with you less torque. If you're ever close to pittsburgh, you're welcome to give mine for a ride.

[headband]

I'm sorry but i understand Legowelt on this one pretty well. I know plenty about synthesis, in fact i've built my own analog pieces from scratch quite a few times down to the basic designs as projects for my apprenticeship. That being said i would rather have a ROMpler too. The main reason being that it's quicker to get an idea out. Let's cut all the BS for a minute. The modular thing is straight up a matter of taste, you get them because you're fascinated with the basics of synthesis. I get it...i like synthesis too, but even the most hardcore modular guy will admit that there are a sh!t ton of disadvantages unless you plan to spend $20,000 to get all the modules necessary to make everything. I'm serving an apprenticeship in Electroacoustics and the more i understand circuitry the more i realize how musicians get straight up ripped off. Some of the modules they sell for $700 a piece you could make with radio shack parts for $20. It has to be the most ridiculously inflated market next to the high fidelity home listener market i've ever seen. That being said though it is neat patching in your own chords and all that sh!t but unless you can show me a modular system for around $1000 that can do what an Access Virus TI does i'll stay off the bandwagon for a while.

Sure, it would be much quicker and simpler to pop in a bunch of presets and be on your way,

but if I'm going by that mindset why don't I just download some sample packs and drum loops and call it a day?


Oh and my modular was probably >2,000 and has infinitely more capabilities than the Virus, I can do polyphony, or monophonic leads while doing other things, multiple filters, VCAs, etc.

And another thing I've become addicted to on the modular you don't have as much in regular synths is being able to change the response curve, I never realize how much you could shape a sound solely by the shape of the envelope before I got into patching on the modular.

[Themis]

i dont have knowledge about producing in any way

but what i think is true, you get so bad ripped off if you get into modular..
and to build your own moduls is like super freaky.
i would rather invest the time into actual producing, cause you want to make music, not building moduls.

[mehta]

of course it's a ridiculously dismissive generalization, but he's right that the modular synth world is supported by gear fetish hobbyists who really don't make music

I liked the interview and identify with his process - that being said, if I had the time and money I'd love to build a modular system