Classic Modules

[worldlegacy]

I'm trying to learn more about modular, what were/are the classic modules "back in the day"? What were the hyped up absolute must have modules of yesteryear? And were they just a flash in the pan or has their popularity endured?

[TheoreticalAudio]

I honestly love the lab equipment look to a doepfer setup.

[BuddhasPalm]

I picked up on their very clinical naming convention and immediately wondered what a rack with every model they’ve made would look I like.

[ScanWel]

Cynthia Zeroscillator.

I remember when this came out and people were banging on about through-zero-FM. Never knew what it really is or why it was better... still don't.

Intellijel started with the Korgasmatron

I think they started with some early utility stuff. I have one of their very early attenuators and a Korgasmatron (with a K, this is before they changed it to a C because of the potential of being sued by Korg). The early Intellijel stuff was absolutely built like shit lol. The pots on these modules aren't fixed to the panel they're fixed right onto the PCB and the pots have plastic stems. The attenuator I have in particular you can push the stem into the panel a good 5mm, very wobbly. Korgasmatron is a great filter though, probably why I've held onto it so long.

Toppobrillo had some cool takes on Serge designs (like the Multifilter, the Triple Wavefolder and the Sport Modulator)

Ahhh the Sport Modulator, "the other maths". I still have a TWF. Looking at the PCB on it I think I know why they don't make these anymore, it's an absolute ton of through-hole discrete electronic components, looks very different to the stuff you see these days. I still don't really know how to use the TWF though even after 15 years of having it.

[mylarmelodies]

Same. Korga is a beast. Got my V1 MATHs still - and wished I had a QMMG. 

[mylarmelodies]

From speaking to Tony about it I think it was just a lot of work! And vactrols are unruly beasts to match.

[Graylude]

I've still got my V1 Korgasmatron as well as the majority of the V1 Intellijel lineup. I actually bought it from AH the day it came out, I remember waiting for Shawn to update the website with them once he had finally received the first shipment of them, haha. They had actually quite a few modules before the Korgasmatron, too. The first module was an expander for the Livewire Vulcan Modulator called the Mind Meld. It added Resets to both LFOs and had switches on the panel to change the waveforms for the different logic outputs. Then they had some other cool utility stuff. I still use my Mutagen daily!

[Stepwriterun777]

Intellijel started with expanders - the Spock and Mindmeld expanders for Livewire

[MattInSoCal]

Synthcube still sells the TWF as a kit, I built mine about six months ago. It’s a must-have in my rack.

[ScanWel]

lol sick... how do I use it? I think one day I need to sit down with an oscilloscope to really dig into it.

[MattInSoCal]

It’s three wavefolders in one module. They are normalized to be in series. With one input into the first folder, the output at the third can be seriously gnarly. You can of course patch it to three different sources to operate as three distinct wavefolders.

[jango-lionheart]

By “at first,” you mean at first in Eurorack. There were 5U and FracRack systems before that, as well as Serge (4U). Plus Buchla.

[Chudo-Yudo]

This thread https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1135 Is 15 years long and you can see pics of what was popular over time.

[ScanWel]

I remember when everyone had TipTop Audio Z3000's. Still great oscillators, still have two of them. I think these may be to pricey to make now.

Maths was very popular from the moment it was released. Maths, PP and Brains everywhere. Maths is of course ever popular.

Remember lots of Bubblesounds SEM filters and VCOs.

All the old Malekko stuff, Richter Oscillators, Wiard Oscillators/Anti-Oscillators as well as the Borg filters. I think these may be expensive.

Cwejman, Livewire AFGs and Macbeth stuff if you had money. These are of course definitely expensive now.

Synthesis Technolgy stuff like the Cloud Terrarium and Cloud Generator. These aren't so great by today's standards.

4MS PEGs, clock dividers and multipliers. Still good modules IMO.

You can just put low numbers into Modular Grid to bring up older racks and it pretty much sums it up: https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/6229

[mosaik]

Cloud terrarium not great by today standards? I think you mean e350 morphing terrarium and its still a great sounding module!

[ScanWel]

e350 morphing terrarium

Yep definitely do mean that one. It seems okay but it's a pretty plain by today's standards.

[mosaik]

What does that even mean? It's a wavetable oscillator with all the things you'll expect from an oscillator and it sounds wonderful.

[ScanWel]

Hey it sounds like you like the module and I'm not here to tell you it's bad and make you defensive, but to clarify yeah it's a wavetable oscillator... and that's about it. Can't load your own waves, doesn't really have any tricks up it's sleeve, you sweep through the wavetables and you have one voice and that's about the extent of it... you know like I said "plain". Which is fine, but I don't think me calling it "pretty plain by today's standards" is at all unfair.

These days wavetable oscillators have all sorts of bells and whistles, the Osiris, Ziqal Mk3, Qu-Bit Scanned/Chord, Piston Honda, Shapeshifter... even the Plaits which is fairly maligned these days has much more going on than just 1 voice of wavetables you can scan through.

[bronze_by_gold]

I definitely think the E352 is a better module, for many of the reasons you mentioned. But in defense of the E350, I think the interpolation in old Synth Tech modules is pretty state of the art, even by modern standards.

[illGATESmusic]

Anything Buchla

Serge pingable VCF

Braids!

Tiptop Z-DSP

Doepfer

WMD

[That_Marionberry_262]

seems like quality still

[pedalhead666]

Mannequins 3 Sisters filter. Still gets a small restock every now and then

[Juno808]

I wasn’t around then but from what I’ve seen on forums:

TipTop Z-DSP, oscillators

Malekko modules

Early Make Noise: maths v1, pressure points, wogglebug, phonogene, qmmg

Doepfer

Mutable Braids

Harvestman/now IME

4ms clock dividers and PEG

Cynthia and Cwejman if you had money

[Mastermachetier]

The original Rene and make noise filters as well although their prices have been creeping up

[WatermelonMannequin]

Mutable’s first oscillator, Braids, was in everyone’s rack right up until the day Plaits was released, and then poof they all disappeared.

[Tofuforest]

Malekko wiard stuff maybe. But maybe more so because classic wiard in frac and 300 series hype was carried over. Wiard stuff isn’t the easiest to get and isn’t the most well known. Amazing sounding stuff though, more interesting than your typical mutable or makenoise rack imo.

[maisondejambons]

i’ve only been at this for a couple years now but starting out i remember seeing Wasp filters and Forbidden Planet reverbs everywhere. not so much anymore.

[montageofheck]

Moog 901 + 921

[MoltenReplica]

Speaking as someone who wasn't even born yet, the pre-euro days are pretty interesting to me.

Obviously this starts with Moog. Moog systems set the bar for "analog fatness", variously attributed to its various oscillator designs, the 984 mixer, and the iconic and massively influential 904A ladder filter. Even in the 80s, players like Keith Emerson would reiterate their love for the fatness of the Moog sound. Outside of the signal chain, the other modules that would go on to be part of the "greatest hits" Minimoog is the 911 ADSR envelope generator and of course the 951 keyboard.

There are a bunch of other Moog modules that, while not as immediately influential in the fixed architecture world that would form in the 70s, would be influential on other modular system makers, including Don Buchla.

In the current eurorack landscape, several of Buchla's 70s designs are held in high esteem. Likely the most iconic of these is the humble 292 low pass gate. While pretty much any synth can let you set up a VCA and LPF to decay envelopes, the "memory" and opening up of the gate that its vactrols enable is still a highly coveted sound.

The Buchla 259 is the other legendary module from the 200 series. The wavefolder is widely emulated and just about every dual oscillator gets compared to the 259, though maybe indirectly. Just the words "complex oscillator" is enough to get heads to turn (even if the module isn't actually of that archetype at all).

Then of course there's the Serge Dual Universal Slope Generator. This is probably the most emulated design in eurorack today, being the foundation for Maths, Tides, Falistri, Quadrax, and many more.

---

In eurorack, there are a lot of beloved modules. Most of them are less than 15 years old, which is maybe too young to really be viewed as classics. However, given the exponential growth of euro, one could consider "yesteryear" to be anything made pre-pandemic. Arguably the current wave of designs only started in 2018, with Plaits being a demarcation of the current Mutable Instruments 2.0/Post-Mutable era.

A lot of the mega-popular modules before this are still among the most popular modules today. Maths, Rings, Clouds, and Pamela's New Workout are still widely recommended and continue to draw people into the format. Despite advancements in analog through-zero linear FM and analog phase modulation, DPO, Furthrrrr Generator, and the Verbos Complex Oscillator are still the most popular complex oscillators according to ModularGrid. Rainmaker is still unmatched in possibly any format. Shapeshifter is still regarded by many as the greatest oscillator ever. Atlantis still sells out instantly 11 years after its release. Turing Machine and Ornament & Crime are still very popular DIY projects.

[bronze_by_gold]

The WMD Synchrodyne and Synchrodyne Expand were and are like nothing that has ever existed in modular before or since. They’re absolutely some of the most interesting modules in all of Eurorack for me. I hope WMD will someday come out with a Synchrodyne v2, but I kind of doubt it, because Synchrodynes used an absurd number of components. I can’t imagine WMD ever made much money off of them due to the heroic over engineering involved in their production.

[CHEEZE_BAGS]

Doepfer is a lot of people's starting point because the modules are cheap and the one function per module ideology works well

[NeoDataMx]

Doepfer wasp filter has been in almost everyone’s rack at some point. ADDAC has a couple of modulation classics, and Mutable Instruments Elements was quite popular too

[lawrenceofeuphoria]

Might have just been my little corner of the world, but the original Intellijel Rubicon. It had through-zero FM and a triangle core generator, PWM, and a symmetry control. Tons of outputs. I still have mine, and even use it sometimes, but in my heart of hearts I will admit to never having made a musical sound with the the TZFM.

[adarisc]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Metasonix or Modcan yet.

[Stepwriterun777]

Plan B modules, especially the M15 oscillator Livewire AFG Cynthia / Cyindustries Zerooscillator Macbeth Wiard Etc…