Watch this unmissable introduction to modular synthesizers by Zoë Blade.
Zoë Blade is a musician, writer, programmer and part of the magic behind Transistor Sound Labs. In a new video she unravels the mystery of the modular synthesizer in “A little bit about how a synthesizer works”. If you’ve ever wondered what all this modular synthesis mallarkey is all about and need a well-founded intro, this is it.
Modular synth 101
If you’ve got about an hour to spare then why not spend it in the company of Zoë Blade while she takes you through the basics of modular synthesis. She says it’s a “casual chat” or a “very rough guide” and in fact it’s a refreshingly warm and engaging video. It oozes a kind of classic Open University vibe where she gives out a lot of dense information without being remotely patronising. It’s not particularly slick or dripping with the sort of pizazz you find in most synth YouTube videos but I’m seeing that as a really positive thing.
It’s really interesting how she grounds it all in relating sound to the moving of a speaker cone, touching on unipolar and bipolar, talking about how fast volume modulation is perceived as pitches, creating waveforms from sine waves and all sorts. She frequently goes down little avenues to demonstrate what she’s talking about and flows from one idea to the other without any particular plan. This makes it pretty exciting as you’re never quite sure where we’ll go next and it’s totally fascinating.
Along with her own music and writing Zoë is a part of Transistor Sound Labs with her partner Nina Richards. Their main product is the awesome Stepper Acid digitally controlled step sequencer for Eurorack. We’ve seen the forthcoming Stepper Drum Eurorack drum machine at Synthfest last year but it hasn’t emerged as a product yet.
Synthfest Transistor Sound Labs Stepper Acid · Source: Robin Vincent
Zoë’s rough guide is full of useful information and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Eurorack and modular synthesis whether a beginner or a seasoned professional. There’s a ton of stuff in here I hadn’t thought about before. She’s very easy to listen to, I hope she makes some more of these!
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One response to “Watch this unmissable introduction to modular synthesizers by Zoë Blade.”
wow
http://www.zoeblade.com/discography.html