This recalls the early days of synthesizers; what was Switched-On Bach if not “I see what you did there”? I hope that analogy is right, because the synth provides a healthy, sustainable template for these tools (AI). Ubiquitous and unremarkable, controllable and hackable, with flavors ranging from fully corporate to gloriously DIY … I’m realizing, as I type this, that synthesizers might be one of the truly utopian technologies.
Robin Sloan, Notes on a Genre
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You are ok until you get a compulsion to buy a lab coat for use with the modular. Once the lab coat happens, you’re really screwed.
The Mysteries Of 5U Modular on Reddit -
No matter how beautiful your interface is, it would be better if there were less of it.
Edward Tufte -
Monotrail Tech Talks
My favourite source for modular synthesizer patching ideas is Monotrail Tech Talks. This channel consistently provides inspiration for new techniques to try, illustrated by easy to follow block diagrams.
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Speaker Grills of the World
Speaker Grills of the World is a single topic website, which is exactly what it sounds like, a collection of different speaker grill designs. A great source for examples and inspiration when designing patterns of holes in things.
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From: Making Music Your Own -
Peter Zimon
Peter Zimon is making some downright beautiful all in one analog syntheizers by combining basic designs from a number of sources. The level of polish on all his projects is astounding, the first version of his Shmoergh project lived in a Ikea flower pot and didn’t look any worse for it.
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Moritz Klein’s YouTube Channel
Moritz Klein’s YouTube channel is a great source for explanations of how analog synthesizer circuits work, along with schematics and breadboard examples of the circuits in action.
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Things Made Simple
Tyler Klein’s blog Things Made Simple documents Tyler’s work in creating a eurorack module based on Yahama’s YM3812 FM synthesis chip, which was a mainstay of computer soundcards in the 1990’s. Tyler also has a YouTube channel which follows his work.
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