Before beginning, I wish to say that there’s a video about my journey creating the tracks ‘Reminiscence’ and ‘Reminiscence 2’ linked at the bottom of this post. Taking me over two weeks to create as well as being a crazy editing job. So please give it some love and share with your friends and contacts.
It’s wonderful, but ouch!
It’s a lot of fun and it may have added something big to my music creation. I’m talking about the sound of my music in general as well as the way I create it. I love the way modular synth is so customizable and that each person’s synthesizer is unique. But it is so expensive! The case, the modules themselves and even the darn patch cables, which really shouldn’t be! This is what initially put me off getting one for so long.
Sell sell sell
On one hand, it’s done me a favour. It’s made me sell off a lot of stuff I wasn’t using, stuff I’ve had but haven’t had the chance to use before. (You know when you have big plans for something and life gets in the way). Also synths which I haven’t used much and not likely to use again. Might as well let someone else enjoy them.
What is “Modular Synth” ?
For those of you who haven’t a clue when I’m rabbiting on about, I won’t go into massive detail, but eurorack modular synth is a synthesizer you build yourself using modules of your choice. Similar to building a custom PC computer where you buy a case and choose the components according to the personal specifications you would like.
With a modular synth, there is so much variety of synth modules out there, which all do a variety of different things. You basically get a case to your specification and choose which modules you wish to be in it. Finally you get a tonne of robotic spaghetti to connect the modules together in a multitude of ways to make it sing (or squawk) at you.
Amiga
I was initially using the mod synth with Polyend Tracker and creating tracks with that on my latest album ‘Primavera’. I’ve finally got my project room sorted (there was yet another move, but it’s done now). But all the while what I was excited about the most, was connecting the Modular synth to my Amiga running Octamed 4 and tinkering with it.
I had created a track called ‘Reminiscence’ on the Polyend tracker along with the modular synth and other synths such as the Moog sirin for a nice warm 70s/early 80s-esque analogue bass sound. This track chimed with me and I wanted so much for it to be an Amiga track that I created a Reminiscence part 2, which is the Amiga version.
I’m normally a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my tracks. If I have a specific feeling in my heart, I try to re-create it as music. However, if I don’t get it just right, I tend to not be entirely happy with the track despite sometimes still releasing it on an album if it’s good enough. There are certain select tracks which I gravitate towards more than others. Again it’s subjective. There are certain tracks, which friends of mine gravitate to that I don’t entirely. Different people have different experiences and different tracks chime with them.
Reminiscence
‘Reminiscence’ is one of the tracks I created, which chimed with me and I had to do a part 2 on the Amiga. The modular synth plays a big part in both these tracks. In fact I had bought a Varigate 4+ sequencer module (8 step sequencer) by Malekko. The first day it arrived I was messing about with it for a couple of hours getting to know it.
I created a sequence which I liked the sound of. I got my Polyend tracker and created a melody and entire track around this Varigate 4+ sequence I’d just created. The track I called ‘Reminiscence’ as it represented the mood I was in those days. My tracks are always related to what’s going on around me or within me at that period of time.
‘Reminiscence’ is a track on my upcoming album ‘Primavera’ Please follow me on Bandcamp to know when it will be released.
Reminiscence 2
In ‘Reminiscence Pt 2’, I was about to create a slightly different sequence with the Varigate 4+. However, In time I see a Varigate 8+ being sold on ebay. This is a 16 step version of the varigate 4+ with more functionality and more banks to store sequences. It almost feels like a poetic moment. I quickly sell a couple of things and pounce on it before anyone bids on it. Winning the bid for it and as I wait for it to arrive. Amiga is fired up running Octamed 4 and I start creating Reminiscence from the Polyend Tracker onto Octamed 4. I don’t want to do it exactly the same as it’s a sequel after all.
In the original Reminiscence I used the Moog Sirin to create that warm 70/early 80s analogue bass sound. In part 2, I decided to do something different, a digital FM bass. On the modular synth I have the ‘Vector Wave’ module by RYK.
This is an FM Vector module and like most of the other modules, I got it second hand to shave a part off the expensive price. It came with no presets, well a couple but they weren’t of any use to me. So I had to sit for hours and teach myself FM synthesis from scratch in order to learn how to create a sound. I was after one specific sound. That funky FM ‘Sega Megadrive’ bass. Those of you who had one, know what I’m talking about.
In the end, I couldn’t believe it, but I succeeded! I got so excited about it and created variants of that bass sound and saved them as presets. I’m after Algo by RYK now, it’s on my modular wish list.
Check out Reminiscence 2 on my YouTube music channel (Please subscribe to my music channel and hit the bell icon):
The Varigate 8+
The moment this arrived, I was so excited I chipped a nail trying to open the box. Once I installed it into my case and turned it on, I spent 4 hours on it. It puzzled me as I didn’t get on with it as easily as I did the varigate 4+. I was expecting it to be just a 16 step version with more functionality, but it’s such a faff. You can select a few musical scales with the Varigate 4+ but you can’t do that, you have sliders to create your own scale manually, which of course gives you more freedom to use whatever scale you would like. But it’s so faffy.
Long story short, it’s not as friendly as the Varigate 4+ is to get to know, but I succeeded in the end. I created a few melodies, saved them ready to be chained together in ‘Song mode’ when I link all this up with the Amiga. And finally the result is ‘Reminiscence Pt 2’.
Late to the party
With regards to modular synth, I know I’m late to the party. People have been into these things for many years and I’ve been seeing it all around. I’ve just been apprehensive about getting into it due to cost. But you know something? It actually doesn’t matter. Who decided that life has to be a competition or a race? Actually, it sort of feels like, while everyone’s gone home after the party, I’m left to my own devices with free reign over all the equipment in the room and can mess around with it to my heart’s content.
Honestly though, I used rack mount modules back in the 90s and it’s not so different, the concept is exactly the same. I have the same modules to this day and used some of them in ‘Reminiscence’.
Check out my video about the creation of Reminiscence here:
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