Modular synth scares me, so I learned how to use it.
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- čas přidán 30. 11. 2022
- Modular synth is terrifying. My eurorack and harp journey has begun. Harp through modular synth is going to be wild.
Thanks to Perfect Circuit:
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⤑ • Distortion on harp but...
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I started a modular setup a few years ago, and got overwhelmed. I think y'all have inspired me to start again.
YESSS do it!
we gotchu Rhett :) you know who to call!
@@PerfectCircuit oh hi perfect circut I love u guys
👏👏👏👏
do it Rhett! Guitar into modular can be killer.
I love modular. Its like a living breathing thing that pumps voltage through its veins instead of blood.
Yes exactly!
Can't wait to see where modular takes you, the chances for incorporating pedals are so exciting.
I can’t wait either! It’s gonna be so much fun!
Hey Emily Hopkins and Russ! Modular thanks for overcoming your modular fears to bring us this nice introduction to modular synth! It was about 1975 when I first heard Isao Tomita's beautiful album snowflakes are dancing and I've loved synthesized music ever since! I am eagerly anticipating many magnificent modular music movements! Ride ride ride!
Hey Eric M! Ride ride ride!
Snowflakes is my most treasured Tomita record. Truly amazing stuff.
@@FrederickFoxtrott Tomita's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' was my first. But your right, Snowflakes is lovely. Debussy is great.
@@t3chnod3lic Pictures is one of my favs!
Thanks for picking out the DivKid ochd! (massively bias of course but it continues to be a special modulator for making patches come to life, I hope you find it to be too. All the best for the journey, here for any help and questions, excited to see what you get out of it.
The Ochd is great, just got one last week! I use it all the time.
the ochd is a modern classic.
Yeah!!!!! Awesome to see these patches. Emily and Russ are some pretty cool people.
OHHH YESSSSS THANK YOU!
Great job dude!😎👍
@@soveriegn777 thanks! I think things are gonna get even more immensely cool with those boredbrain modules.
@@FrederickFoxtrott heckyeah😌🤙
Thank you for your contribution of time and expertise :)
Fascinating, for me it was completely the other way around. My partner used to own a standing pedal harp and it completely spooked me and made me feel terribly inadequate and such a beginner. Though I totally loved it when she played the harp. Happily I could safely hide behind my synthesizers and modules and many many cables. Your story and honesty bought a tear to my eye, wonderful to see you embrace the "impossible". Subscribed to Frederick's channel, thanks for the tip.
Haha wow that is the complete reverse! I guess it really comes down to experience and perspective!
Eurorack is daunting, but it is such a fascinating way to create. So much of your normal composition tropes go straight out the window. I love it.
It’s like the guts of an 80’s spaceship ❤🚀
It's a brave new world! I will probably never buy a pedal or module, but I really enjoy discovering how the music I love gets made. And it helps that you and Russ are delightful internet friends to spend time with.
You totally should buy a pedal or module or both! It's great fun & stimulates the mind in untold ways.
I also would love to start having some pedal demos on modular as well! I think it'll be less obvious what the pedal as doing than it is with the clean sound of the harp, but things like distortion is really powerful and lively on some synth patches.
I'm really looking forward to this being added to your channel - but make sure you and Russ don't get burned out by all you're doing!
I'm elated you're sharing your experiences getting into modular! It's definitely a mountain to climb, and I'm really glad you're working your way through it!
Thanks Brice! It really is quite a mountain!
@@emilyharpist soon I'll be ready to share where I've gotten on my own journey with this too - all on VCV Rack because I've got so many things I want to put money into, but it's still a lot of fun! (Less knob-turny, though!)
Emily, you've given me many ideas, over the years, for building pedals but now you've gone and done it again. Now you have peaked another interest I've had for years and will now attempt to build a modular synthesizer. I don't think you realize how much an inspiration you are to people like me, a jack of all trades but master of none, that thrives on keeping my mind and hands busy.
Thank you so much! This comment made my day, I’m so happy that I can help people find new interests! Modular synth has been so much fun haha and i hope you enjoy it! 🥰❤️🎶 I really appreciate you! Thanks for being here
Myself and a friend started a monthly get together, for synthesists, at a local brewery and bar in my home town in England. So once a month people can bring their gear, perform and skill share. Like Emily said it is far easier when somebody shows you how things work rather than trying to figure it out from a video or a manual. It already helped me a lot.
This was so cool!!!! I know nothing about modular but I love how this sounds!! And Frederick, I remember your contest entry was one of my favorites! So cool of you to collab with Em!
The video is perfect for me, I've been just started my "trying to figure out modular synth" journey.
It seems so beautiful~ My end goal is to have a synth that can act as a randomized dreamy ambient music/noise generator. I'm binging through a ton of videos on this lately and it's been real fun to learn. I wanna dive face first into it like you did, but I'm probably gonna try out the virtual modular synth just to figure out how stuff works first.
Awesome video though! Looking forwards to seeing how you use it in the future :3
I'm going to sound like a shill or something with how much I'm promoting this, lol.
But Red Means Recording did a small CZcams series on starting out in VCV Rack - free, top notch software modular system. By the end of his videos, he shows you how to start doing generative music, so that's a great place to start! I found his videos were particularly helpful because they were easy enough to follow along with in VCV Rack while he was doing it.
@@bricelory9534 Ohh, that looks like a fantastic channel :D I'll make sure to check it out, thanks! :3
This is awesome! I really liked that you kinda “showed your work” in the 1st example, showing what was doing what. I’ve watched hours of synth demos now, & when the demo person kinda explains what they’re, or even just labels what’s doing what in the setup, it helps the “less informed” like me. Stoked to see where this leads ya!
Thanks so much Richard! Can't wait for more!
This is awesome and I’m glad that you had a good modular community experience. The community is what really sets it apart for me. Tons of innovation happening in modules and in general everyone involved just seems excited and happy for everyone else. It’s a ~~~vibe~~~ and it doesn’t matter how many modules you have or how much much money you spend, if you’re enjoying it, you’re doing it right. It’s just downright fun once you understand the basics too, then you can get more wild patching idea from what others are doing in the community + your own discoveries. The fact that you can’t really break anything plugging random stuff into other stuff is great for experimentation.
Yaaaasss!! Twistin' knobs til the break of dawn!! 😁 It's great seeing you getting into modular and using your harp along with! Welcome to the Rat's nest of cables club!! 😂🐀
Hey, it's @LabRatWarfare! I remember your harp stem submission
So stoked to join the rats nest 🐀
@@stefansynths Hey Stefan!! Thanks so much, definitely glad you dig! 😁🤘🐀
The Boredbrain stuff is going to be great with your pedal collection! Lots of ways to incorporate stuff you already have. Can't wait to see what you do with envelope followers and your harps :)
I can’t wait! Boredbrain is incredible!
I love that you jokingly said modular synth was something you were afraid of, and at some level we all knew that meant you were going to get into modular synth. You are so fearless with music and trying new things, and we are here for it!
you see an empty 1 hp slot; I see a place to hide lil packets of the sawce for mid-gig snacks
I sincerely enjoy what you're doing with this new instrument, it's fresh and you bring your own voice to it, your modular music doesn't sound quite like anyone else's modular music. I especially like that you keep the setup in a bunch of small pieces because it looks more attainable as someone who has zero modules, and ends up being more focused because you don't have access to every module under the sun (or wherever Sweden is this time of year). Even as you expand, it'll be nice to have this kernel to understand the growth of your setup.
Big thank you to Mr. Fred; I think it's important that we value both formal and informal teachers even as the internet holds more and more information close at hand, because at the end of the day it's not about learning synths, it's about YOU learning synths or French or how to stack actual spaghetti for maximum spaghetti flavor.
happy synthesizing!
Thanks so much, Noyd! You’re the best 😊
I'm very excited to see you getting into modular! I've been on that journey for one year, and I'm still very much a beginner. I'd love a Frederick of my own!
Looking forward to the videos you create; I'm sure I'll learn some really cool things from them.
I love the way you're approaching talking about modular, because it is intimidating and overwhelming. I might never go beyond writing Zoia patches, but I can completely appreciate how you're learning a new art and sharing it with us.
EVERY TIME I hear your Super Mario Galaxy Comet Observatory cover, I instantly want to go replay the game for the thousandth time.
Haha thank you so much! I love that one!
This makes me so happy. I'm happy you've taken the plunge into Modular!
Thanks so much! It's been a wild ride so far, hahah
Emily, just so you know, I do stuff I don't want to do (clean my room, learn stuff like languages that are hard, clean litterboxes, laundry, exercise, that sort of thing) and then I reward myself by watching CZcams videos or a Netflix or Hulu show or movie. And I feel like I get a good reward every time I watch your videos. Thanks!
The closest I've ever come to something like that is when I was a little kid when we used to go to one of my Mom's friends house. For some reason she had an old school switchboard in the foyer of her house so I would pass the time playing with that and plugging in and unplugging all the patch cords. It didn't make synthy tones and sounds but it is a fond childhood memory. That would have been in the early-ish 1970s when mod synths were the hip and happening thing so maybe deep down I was subconsciously pretending I was a mod synth master in a prog rock band. 😀
This is a great setup! I also got into the world of synths after playing another instrument (guitar in my case). Modular is very interesting, but being a former IT guy, the sight of all those loose cables triggers me. I ended up going with a Hydrasynth instead
Former guitar player here, modular is good you should try it- at least go semi-modular, there’s just stufff you. Cant do without it
I have no intentions of learning modular synth but I have always been curious about them after seeing them used in various channels/videos. Thanks for this!
Thanks so much!
Love your channel! Every time I see a new pedal I'm trying to find review from you 😊 Also lovely modular rig you have. Thanks!
This is fantastic! I can't wait to hear you play your harp through the rig. Another fun and cheap way to learn modular synthesis is via software emulations. I use several on the iOS platform, and it is wonderful.
I literally just started my first fully modular setup this week! Looking forward to learning about this crazy corner of the music world along with you! 😁
Emily it is very cool that you jumped head first into modular! Yes, just fiddling around with the different knobs will teach you a lot about how the modules work together. I only had a couple hours to play an ARP 2600 back in 1979 but it was a gas! And now I have VSTs that mimick many great synths! Enjoy and have fun, lady!
Did it inspire.... GAS? 🤣🤣🤣
100% agree. When you hinted about doing modular synth content I tried watching some “beginner” videos and didn’t understand 90% of them. Please keep it up!
That's a crazy picture of you in the thumb LOL made me chuckle, love it.
Also: Eventide, baby! YEAAAAHH!!!
Rad to see you and Russ jumping into this vastly creative world!
Welcome to the modular fam! It's a great hobby but is also not what I imagined going into it, in that I thought that one day I would feel confident in what I was doing. Nooooope! It's endless learning, every patch, every time. But that also makes it more fulfilling that I was expecting, too.
Hey Emmy!!
Glad you guys are still keeping the videos coming with the bestest quality ever. Work is busy and I'm doing masters classes, so I can't be as active on your channel as I wish I could be 😢. Keep up the good work and give Russ a pat on the head for me
Always a joy watching you discover something new!!
Can’t wait for more modular content!
YAY! Ive been waiting for this. I look forward watching this Emily story-Arc.
Sidenote: another great way to explore new concepts and modules is "VCV Rack". a free eurorack emulator. ok, thats all. take care. bye
i lied ive got one more thing to say: I do not own any synths of my own, cuz that blip-bloop itch is fully scratched by VCV Rack
excellent! love the way you are fearless!
way to go, Em!!! that was AWESOME!!
I’ve been waiting for this video!!
Oh, I am so glad you are going to start doing videos on this! I’ve already decided to buy three semi modular synths even though I have no idea how to use them. They have rows of inputs and outputs that I have no idea about. Any info you’re willing to offer I am willing to consume. Thanks, Em!
super excited for what you guys do next!
I have looked into modular and love the flexibility and creativity but definitely fear the time needed to do it well and the money I know I would pour into it! 😳
It’s definitely a lot of time and can get expensive! I agree
Hey Emily! Glad you persevered. FWIW, modular is only as complicated and scary as people decide to make it for themselves. The thing that makes it potentially confusing is most times we don’t realize what incredibly complex devices the instruments we usually play are when it comes to producing sound.
Synth modules tend to be orders of magnitude more simple in function than even a hand drum. The complexity in modular synthesis comes from the interactions and interconnections of multiple modules. It surprises many people just how little and of limited musical use a single module by itself is. Best way to imagine modular synthesis is as a collection of building blocks that let you construct your own unique instrument from scratch. Kind of more like a musical Lego set than anything else. Only drawback is modular synthesis tends to be fairly expensive to get into if you don’t have a clear goal in mind and do some research before you start buying things. It currently costs about a grand to build up a basic collection of modules that’ll be musically useful. And the sky is the limit on what you can spend on a modular system after that. Which is crazy considering you can get an extremely versatile and powerful non-modular mini synth for well under $500 that it would take a large rack of expensive modular gear to even come close to in terms of capabilities and features. Modular is for someone who mainly wants to design their own sounds. If someone (not you) just wants something to play that sounds good they’re far better off avoiding modular and getting an off the shelf synth like an Arturia Brute or similar. However, if they’re up for the challenges, including financial, of assembling their own modular system then there’s few rabbit holes more satisfying to fall down into. Happy patching! 😊
Niceeeeeeee!! Been waiting for this one!!
Omg, my dream video has been uploaded
THE MODULAR SYNTH VIDEO IS OUT LETS GOOOOO
Hi, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your journey with us. I'm glad you found a great mentor. I'm just beginning to explore synthesis, as a piano player / keyboard player who used to also play the pipe organ. It's so fascinating how you incorporate your modular setup into your harp playing. I know it can be intimidating out there. Just wanted to say how refreshing it is to hear another woman diving into this world and showing the way!
This is the perfect amount
I can’t wait to hear what it will sound like with the harp!!!
Groovy baby! You launched this vid in the same week I got my modular too. Exciting!
I've been needing this video!
Kudos to Frederick and as always great content Emily and Russ 🙏💚🙂
Timely! I just got a midi keyboard last week to dive into software synths, you're right in that content can be so very overwhelming. Interested to see what's coming next!
I really appreciate this video. I do want to get into modular, but it has always been overwhelming. Even when using virtual mods.
Your videos are always entertaining and you should never have to be scared, considering your background and knowledge of pedal boards. You have the ability to put together music beyond most musicians imaginations, so if modular is the next phase, embrace it! Thank you for the precious insight into your music!
This is a channel of geniuses. Yet again here’s a vid where Emily bought only a few pedals & the rest were sent to her because the channel is that awesome. Talent + creativity + dedication + great taste in music = this kind of inspiration.
Shout out to MODULAR GRID. Massive help in putting mine together.
Well done, guys.
I have a couple of synths and lost of VST stuff but this is the goal! Not in the cards for me at the moment but thanks for sharing cuz I expect when I am able to adventure into his stuff harder, I will want all the info I can get lol. I really appreciate people like you on youtube who have a way to share info that's really palatable to me. Never too serious, but you still take it serious cuz you enjoy it and want stuff to sound cool. God I love youtube. I love music. I love beep boop
You should start off by installing the free VCV Rack, which is the software version of these things.
@@d5uncr I will! I had something similar years ago when I had a non genuine version of some DAW starting out but that looks even more in depth. Thanks for the suggestion
I started synth recently, I have a microfreak , and a minifreak. So much to learn. Good thing I can take as long as I need , it's very fun!
Would love to see more modular content... I hope you continue making these as you learn
Love this video. So happy to know about you now! 🙏🏼
thanks for doing great video on modular synths. I have dabbled in modular synth but I might get back into it
Modular synthesis is truly the dark art of sound creation, the ability to build waveforms from basic elements, sine, triangle, square, and then perform varying amounts of addition and multiplication of themselves, or with "effects" like reverb, delay and to then modulate all of this with yet another elemental oscillator is a real rabbit hole. Looking forward to watching Emily develop this as a tool for refining and expanding her music in general, the possibility's are endless.
There are different kinds of modular sound sources. Additive and subtractive synths are the easy kinds. If you want the darkest of the dark arts, try FM synthesis.
@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 Most definitely! However technically as soon as you take one oscillator and connect it to the frequency of another oscillator you have a frequency modulation 😎👍
Fantastic!!!! Going modular is a wonderful journey.
Hey, that's great. And so inspiring. 👍👍 Congratulations for jumping and diving into a new universe of sounds! 👋👋
Thanks so much!
sweet vid ! not looking to get into it just yet but this was very insightful and chill !
Thanks so much!
This is so exciting! I already made my first step into the modular world and it is such a fun! Bought the Moog Mother-32 and I'm waiting for its 2 brothers - the DFAM and the Subharmonicon. Most probably later on I'm gonna build my own modular setup like yours but first I need to understand more about these things in order to know what I need. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Emily! Take care! ❤
Awesome system! Nice work.
Huzzah!! Finally some Strong Island Synth sawce! Been waiting for this moment for awhile. As Eric would say, “Ride! Ride! Ride!” cheers!, Dré
So many modular musicians have a ROOM full of modules. Thanks for breaking this down to something more bite-sized. Can't wait to hear more with the harp, too!
Definitely interested in seeing you use harp + modular.
YESSS!! So grateful for this video. Can't wait to see what you do with Harp and Modular. Thanks for the eggcellent vids.
I was really happy to see this video pop up today. I'm looking forward to hearing the sounds you guys come up with. I really like Dreadbox products that I have come across, mostly their pedals. Their modules seem very affordable and a great entry point into modular gear. They seem like a company that likes to put the fun in functionally weird. The upcoming Treminator video has me wondering if you will be using any CV routing with the modules you have.
Thanks as well for taking my suggestion for signal routing in your live stream. That reverse pedal makes me think you could create some lovely ambient beds for music ranging from light and dreamy to nightmarish and dark. With a modular set up you can get some nice utilities that will allow you to mult to your heart's content. I am getting images of the Harp audio being like Mogwai getting wet with Ru$$ being a cross between Stripe from Gremlins and Philo from UHF. Just be careful feeding him pretzels after midnight.
This is totally great! Modular synth for effects is a great next step! I can't wait for the video where you use the Game Boy as a sound source for your modular setup.
I can't wait to jump into modular, I've sort of started with a semimodular (minibrute 2) and a drum machine (drumbrute impact) and I think they are a joy to play
Yep. I really needed this Emily "generator of beautiful noise" this evening. Thanks.
Finally a friendly intro to modular. Thanks for making this, it feels a lot less intimidating now 🤩
🥰🥰🥰
@@emilyharpist now I just do't have any idea what I want it to do. =D Too many options! ^_^'
Happy Merry Christmas to you Emily! ❤
Thanks! You too!
I'm simultaneously pleased and overwhelmed by ModSynth/Eurorack stuff.
I bought the system-1m thinking getting into modular was going to be easy….fuck I was wrong. Bought some Moogs to learn and then integrated the system-1m into my Moog modular setup. Stoked to hear your harp with your modular setup!!
Congratulations on conquering your fear! Looking forward to hearing what you do with this
This is what I was waiting for
I like to discribe a modular set up as building a little synthesizer city.
It's like a model railroad of sound design and performance that you design yourself
Perfect Circuit is such a great store too!
Cant wait for some modular content, love those earrings too!
Also Kass's theme on harp makes _perfect_ background music.
Hahaha thank you so much! I loved playing that one!
Hell your stuff is always amazing, and with great humor and vibes. Cheers and keep on ! ^^
Thank you so much for this! I need to be baby stepped into modular like this!!
Thank you for making music, so many of the people into synth seem to want to make cool noises. Great video, keep up the good work.
Once up a time I took Music Technology in secondary school 6th form (high school)
As part of that we were taught subtractive synthesis on an EMS VCS3 and a Roland System 100m.
At school.
We had our own studio with a 24 channel desk, 8 track ¼" reel to reel and some off board.
Fun times.
It was also 20 years before modular came back and was affordable again.
Those synths were going for silly money back then and have 5 figure prices now!
I have a MicroBrute now and my own Portastudio 8 track.
Fun times are back
If anyone wants to get started with modular but doesn't want to drop a fortune on equipment, check out VCV rack. The VST version costs money, but the standalone is free and is a great way to get started.
Emily, I just love your content!
It's so relaxing to watch your videos... Especially with a harp zelda Ost in the background ❤
Thank you
I've just started too. Well, about 3 months ago. I have found the hardest and longest part of starting a composition is building the sounds -- much like "composition... composition". I need to build a language. One doesn't have the brass playing in phrygian, the winds playing 12 tone serial music and the strings doing whatever the figure might sound nice. That's not a composition. I think the same way about building the sounds in modular. So yeah, it takes me a week to two weeks before I even begin to think about hitting the record button.
i feel you with the whole thing about not learning much from tutorials; every modular synth tutorial i’ve seen feels like it either doesn’t explain enough, usually little more than how to use an oscillator, or like it was clearly made by an expert who just assumes you know what they’re talking about because they know what they’re talking about. i’ve learned a lot more just from playing around with a modular VST in the past week or so. it’s amusing how, just like initially getting into using synthesizers at all, modular synthesis pretty quickly went from seeming inaccessible and impossible to figure out to seeming as if i understand a lot more about it now just from playing around, even if i still have a lot to learn