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by v64 673 days ago
Programs like this and VCV Rack are great ways to get started on the road to building your own modular synthesizer [1]. Many of the modules in the program are based on real hardware, and while the hardware versions of these modules can cost hundreds of dollars, the software versions are using the exact same firmware. Whether you stay virtual or go out and build the hardware equivalent of your rack, it's a great way to experiment and learn the basics at a lower cost than in the past.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_synthesizer
1 comments
fsckboy 672 days ago
>while the hardware versions of these modules can cost hundreds of dollars, the software versions are using the exact same firmware

firmware? so for the modules you are talking about, what you are saying is that they're virtual analog software synths anyway, and the "hardware" aspect simply provides some jacks for patching?

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drmr 672 days ago
They are not necessarily "virtual analog", they can also just be "digital".

Think the Mutable Instruments modules, many of these are based around STM32 microcontrollers. The firmware is MIT licensed and has simply been ported into Rack modules.

There are a number of Rack modules that started out as pure hardware that now have virtual counter-parts.

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vegadw 672 days ago
Eurorack setups can be as digital or analog as you want these days. My rack, https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2558872 , for example is mostly analog oscilators and filters, but digital low-frequency oscilators, envelopes, sequencing, and effects. IMHO, the analog filters and oscilators are 90% of the analog magic though, so that's what really matters to me.
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