The Modular Synthesizer

From the first Back In Time Concert, October 31, 2004.

This is the "Minimodular" synth. On top a custom Minimoog with patch points and custom modules in the middle row. On the bottom are the MOTM synth modules. MOTM= " Modernized Old-school Technology Modular". For this particular concert, I have the modular set up as two seperate synth voices. The Minimoog is one voice, while the MOTM handles the other voice. No keyboard is connected as it's main function is for two part sequences. It sounds massive! I just can't get that sound from my newer digital VA gear. It just has a " Presence" that is difficult to describe.

The Minimodular was Keyboard of the Month in the Sept 2001 issue of Keyboard magazine.

Here are the MOTM modules and an old Sequential Circuits model 700 programer. The modules include a 100 Sample&Hold, two 300 VCO's, a 120 Sub-octave Multiplexer, a 190 VCA, the 440 Lowpass VCF, and the 410 Triple Resonant filter.

For more info on MOTM Synthesis Technology modular synthesizers.

A close-up of the 700 programer with 64 presets. It has three programable voltages, two go to each oscillator, the third to the 440 resonance input. And it has two 5 part envelope generators, DADSR, one for the VCA and the second with offset to the filter frequency. The 700 can sequence up to 8 presets in each bank from a seperate trigger input for unusual sounding sequences. Who said modulars from the 70's didn't have presets?