My adventure with modular synthesizers: from Eurorack to my own sound

For a while now I've been hooked on building my own sounds, and I came across a great article about how modular synthesizers are making a comeback. It turns out that what seemed far too complicated in the 1970s has today become the heart of home studios — all thanks to the Eurorack standard popularized by Doepfer. All you need is a case, a power supply and a few modules to build an instrument nobody else has.

What I love most is the physicality of it. Instead of clicking through presets, I connect an oscillator to a filter with a 3.5 mm jack cable and hear the CV voltage and Gate signal bring the sound to life. Even creators like Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL use entire walls of modules for cinematic sounds that ordinary plugins simply can't fake.

I started modestly myself: a VCO, a VCF filter, a VCA amplifier, an EG envelope and a slow LFO for modulation. That's enough to create basses, leads and organic noise. Only later did I buy digital modules with granular synthesis — combining the warmth of analog with the precision of digital produces truly unique textures.

What drew me in most were probabilistic sequencers and generative music in the style of Caterina Barbieri: the system plays by itself, and I just steer it. A good, free first step is VCV Rack, where you can practice patching before spending any money. Getting started costs a few thousand złoty, but every new module is a new story.

Source: Skaldowie.pl