The E-mu Modular System is an analog modular synthesizer built by E-mu Systems in 1974. [1] It competed with synthesizers such as the ARP 2500, ARP 2600, and Moog modular synthesizers, although E-mu designed the instruments for mostly universities and notable musicians who submitted custom configuration requests. The Modular System's polyphonic keyboard and sequencer are controlled by a microprocessor. Around 100 units are thought to exist today.
E-mu Systems, based in California, began producing the Modular System in 1972, as a competitor to the ARP 2500, ARP 2600, and Moog modular synthesizers of the day. [2] The Modular System was their second production synthesizer, following the E-mu 25 in 1971. The E-mu 25 had been a "front panel" synthesizer, but E-mu developers Dave Rossum and Scott Wedge thought it would be more fun to build a modular synthesizer. [3] [4] Custom systems were produced for universities and high-profile musicians, the target markets for the Modular System. The systems were hand-built to the specifications of each customer. [2] While around 100 units are still in circulation, mostly at universities, [3] some sources claim that up to 250 were originally produced. [2]
E-mu claims the Modular System's polyphonic keyboard and sequencer were the first to be controlled by a microprocessor, and they patented the technology at the time. [4] The term "modular" in the product name refers to the customizable set of "modules" available for the synthesizer. Each customer would specify which modules they wanted from a list of available modules such as "Quad Inverter", "Sample-and-Hold", "Dual Reverb" and others. [2]
Users create sounds by manipulating patch cords to direct the signal through the modules above the keyboard. In other words, different combinations of patch cord connections produced different sounds. Through all of the combinations available, the Modular System could produce any popular synthesizer sound in use at the time. [3] Users could also save favored patch sequences using a "firm-wire" patch that connected to the instrument and could be swapped out at any time, recreating sounds without manipulating the patch cords. [3] The Modular System was known to have a "cleaner" sound that its competitors, although that aspect was not always desired by users. It also had a unique aesthetic, featuring blue-lined modules rather than the traditional black and aluminum panels. [2] [3]
An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker, creating the sound heard by the performer and listener.
An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, or digital signals for logic or timing conditions. Typical modules are voltage-controlled oscillators, voltage-controlled filters, voltage-controlled amplifiers and envelope generators.
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Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim.
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Moog Music Inc. is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesizer, followed by the Minimoog in 1970, both of which were highly influential electronic instruments.
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Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic or paraphonic.
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A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.
An analog sequencer is a music sequencer constructed from analog (analogue) electronics, invented in the first half of the 20th century.
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David P. Rossum is an American electronics engineer and inventor best known as the co-founder of synthesizer and sampler manufacturer E-mu Systems.