Analog Modular
Welcome to my synthesizer website. Diana has outdone herself this time and completely revamped the site to bring it up to Web 2.0! Pugix, the Halfling, was my Everquest alter-ego in years past. He had no interest in modular synthesis (preferring Misty Thicket Picnics). But the name stuck.
The Project
This is my MOTM-style synth, in the works since August of 2002. I started this monster after happening across the Synthesis Technology site of Paul Schreiber. Way back in the 1970’s I became interested in modular synths. I had met a composer who was using a big studio Moog at SUNY Binghamton. He took me along and let me play with it. The concept of voltage control hit home and I’ve been fascinated ever since. Later that decade I wound up building several modular synths for other people. A video artist, Walter Wright, gave me a collection of Electronotes and that got me planning my own synth. It was built about 1980, based mostly on Bernie Hutchins’ ideas in Electronotes. It was assembled entirely on fiberglass perfboard, using a technique I learned from David Jones at the Experimental TV Center, where we worked. (The two large yellow boxes to David’s right in this picture are a modular audio synth I had built for the ETC.) We used plain boards without any etched traces. All connections were made by simply soldering together on the backside the leads of components inserted from the front side. That can still be done today, but I prefer the luxury of using available PC boards for almost all of the modules in this new synth.
DIY Modular Synthesis
I chose the MOTM panel style for several reasons, one being that I wanted MOTM modules! I have one each of most of Paul’s modules, and two each of several. A second reason is I like to build as much as possible myself and Paul offered kits. Another reason is the fantastic support in the synth DIY community on the Internet. Stooge Industries — and especially the late Larry Hendry — made this whole project much easier than it might have been.
Also I have a few of my own design, or that I adapted from information on the Internet. I made custom modifications to many modules. My intent here is to document as much of these projects as I can without revealing proprietary information. You will find construction photos, schematics, parts lists, MP3 files and more.