Words from Robert First of all, I want to wish all of you a very happy new year! Here at tangible waves we are looking forward to welcoming many new customers and members to our growing community. You will see already with the new modules below that we haven’t been idle and plan to continue to deliver you new tools for your musical arsenal every month. It was an absolute delight last year to see so many modules from independent creators and we hope that this trend will continue this year as well. It seems safe to say that the AE Modular system has grown up from a tiny noise kit from Kick Starter to a serious music production system as the last three fantastic AEtherwaves albums can attest. Our focus this year is to improve the overall quality of the modules. We started this last year with the introduction of the new black faceplates, which offer more stability and may prove more durable than the wooden faceplates. We will increase our quality controls, during the design phase of the modules and also pre delivery. We will also continue to work on the Synth Explorer to bring the AE Modular into the educational sector so that modular synthesis can be experienced by students of any age and there are now a few new collaborations which are looking promising. And while it’s still a few months away, we are already preparing our presence at this year’s Superbooth, at which we hope to see as many of you as can come! New Products Knob Remover Now that you can “upgrade” your modules with black panels you may shy away from the hard work of removing all the knobs first. This tool is made to make this job really easy. We are using it here in our workshop every day and now you can get it, too. You find it here in the shop. XMIX This is a module made specifically for very small systems, eg. 1x12 row. It offers many different ways to mix signals (briefly: four mixers and two attenuators with fixed steps) and can be your swiss army knife of mixing solutions. On this and the next module you will also see a much improved type of switch which is much easier to handle and no longer prone to breaking like the old one. You can find more information and purchase this module here in the shop. MODULATORS This module is also made with very small systems in mind. It offers various different types of modulation sources: one LFO, one A/D envelope, a VCA and a random CV source. You can find more information and purchase this module here in the shop. DIODE FILTER This is a new entry in the AE Modular filter line up and is modelled after the TB 303 filter. You can find more information and purchase this module here in the shop.
And last, but not least ... AE modular T-SHIRTS! Some of you have asked already, and now we did it: AE modular T-Shirts! They will be available in "AE sidepanel red" and "frontpanel black" and in the the usual sizes; you can choose T-Shirts and Hoodies They are in the press right at the moment and you can find them in the Shop in approx. one week. Firmware Update for the CIRRUS As some people found out, there were some issues with a random variation of pitch in the original CIRRUS firmware. Mathias aka @visuellemusik has dug deep into the code and managed to not only tame the pitch variations, but also created various additional modes to make the best use of it. You can find out more about this and how to install the new firmware on the Wikie page: https://wiki.aemodular.com/pmwiki.php/AeManual/CIRRUS Music made by the Community Jaemuary 2022 We don’t know when or how Jamuary first started, but it has since been a fixture of each new year. The tradition has been well received by our community and a few people have stepped up and posted an amazing variety of jams. Please head over to the forum and check it out, you won’t be disappointed! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1872/jaemuary-2022 Most of those are videos on YouTube and we have added them all into one big playlist so you can just switch it on and listen to it all day long! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKDTkcFrcxVgwNm4FHCBON0GYRXzDXG6F Although it wasn’t a competition at all we do have to send a big shout out to @maydonpoliris who absolutely topped the list in terms of quantity and variety of jams. It’s great to see and hear so much enthusiasm expressed via the AE Modular! One relatively new member of the forum @tgergo listed his jams via Soundcloud, you can find the list here: https://soundcloud.com/user-189241435 New Albums With the next Bandcamp Friday soon approaching (on February 4th) you could show your appreciation to our dedicated AE Modular musicians by chipping in a few quid for their work! Here are a few more albums that were revealed this month.
DIY Projects First sighting of black panels in the wild! @aethia has “upgraded” his modular to an almost all black system and it looks beautiful! Another Wooden Case This is another simple, but beautiful DIY case made by @jubin. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1918/wood-case-fun DSP-99-MK effects boards with AE This is an inexpensive DSP board which @duddex has integrated with his AE Modular via the Breadboard module. Check it out here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1904/dsp99-effect-module-reverb-delay Meetups and Events Unfortunately Omicron has made it difficult to host live events in most places these days. However we are still hoping for the big one, Superbooth in May. It would be great to see some of you there and there’s a discussion on the forum on whether we should organise a more structured AE Modular meetup. Please let us know your plans! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1701/ideas-ae-meetup-superbooth-2022 This year was again a challenging year on many fronts for everyone. At tangible waves we’ve had to deal with the usual demands of a growing backlog of orders, the breakdown of global supply chains and distribution channels, the “Chipocalypse” and changes to our team. Not all change is bad though, and there were amazing highlights during the year: The visit to Superbooth 21 was just incredible. To see (almost) everyone from the wider synth community back in person felt so good and gave me a big boost to keep going and keep making modular synthesizers which are affordable for everyone. We’ve also had a change to our team which is now, myself excluded, 100% female powered! All production and distribution of our products is now firmly in the hands of Antonia, Tamara and Albena. Together they managed to work through the backlog and bring down the wait times from 3 months to just under 3 weeks and many smaller orders are now dispatched almost immediately! The module palette has increased enormously this year and many of these modules have been produced by third party manufacturers. This proves that the AE format is becoming a “real” independent standard and it is something that I couldn’t even have dreamed of when I started this journey 5 years ago. To all those brave creators, I owe you my thanks for putting your energy and money into this format and to bring new ideas (and a splash of colour) to the AE Modular system. What will the next year bring? Who knows? But one thing is certain: I have so many ideas and prototypes for new modules and I bet the other creators out there will add more new modules as well. Also I’m looking forward to more music from artists on our forum. Whatever happens, I’m just so happy to be working on this system and to be part of this fantastic community! Many thanks to you all, and I wish you a beautiful festive season and a happy new year! XMAS Discount To express our gratitude to you all who are either new to the AE Modular community or have been with us for a long time we’ve decided to offer a 10% discount from 18th December through to 31st December with code XMAES-2021. New Products These products are now ready for sale, however the chip shortage may strike again any time, so better get in early! TBD The TBD module is a multifunctional DSP (digital signal processing) module that includes more than 30 different synthesis and audio processing plugins. It is a collaboration project between CTAG Kiel (an academic working group of Kiel University of Applied Sciences), instrumentsofthings.com (who produce this module for Eurorack) and tangible waves. You can find more information and purchase this module in the shop. ENVFOLLOWER/EXT.IN This module allows you to bring in external audio via balanced and unbalanced mono inputs. It then converts the volume of this signal into CV which you can use in the AE system to control anything you want, filter cut off, oscillator pitch, amplitude, etc. It also provides a gate signal every time the input passes a certain threshold, which can be controlled by a knob. You can find more information and purchase this module in the shop. CVSHIFTER The CVSHIFTER module is the AE version of the well-known analogue shift register modules that have been around in the modular world for a long time. It works like this: The CV input is sampled with each trigger input signal and this CV is sent to the CV 1 output; at the same time, all CV outputs 1-4 are shifted by one. You can find more information and purchase this module in the shop. Black Face Plates We are now also offering all the modules, which are used in the Starter System 1 and 2 with a black faceplate made from fibreglass, the same material used for circuit boards. This matte black with white lettering looks extremely stylish. The starter systems and also the individual modules are now available with the black option. Soon we will extend this option to all the modules in the store. We are also offering the face plates individually, in case you would like to upgrade your existing modules. For now, only those modules from the starter racks are available, but soon we will offer upgrades for all modules. You can find more information and purchase these products in the shop. What about the CIRRUS? As discussed on the forum, the CIRRUS can no longer be produced due to the global shortage of certain chips, especially those produced by STM. However while we won’t be able to produce more of the CIRRUS with the Microcell firmware, we did find another, similar chip, which could be used to run the original MI Clouds firmware. This chip is available in relative abundance and at a decent price so the plan is to release a CIRRUS Classic sometime in the first half of 2022. Music made by the Community VA- 400th-Murmur This is a huge collaborative album with contributions from 63 artists and among them are a few artists from our forum who have used the AE Modular for their submission. A great sounding album with an astonishing variety of sounds, please check it out! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1816/va-400th-murmur A generative Yuletide Patch @funbun presented us with this great festive generative patch: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1835/generative-patch-yuletide Album BELLS This is another Christmas inspired album by @funbun in which he explores modal and generative music. Please check it out and buy it at: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1842/bells-christmas-ep Chapel FM live concert with AE Modular John from Wonkystuff plays a live set every year for Christmas and this year it was a 100% AE Modular performance which is a very nice meditative ambient set: https://namcom.bandcamp.com/album/live-for-chapel-fm-2021-12-12 And if you missed last year’s performance, you can catch up with this link: https://namcom.bandcamp.com/album/live-for-chapel-fm-20201213 These tracks explore some dark places User @pt3r is again inviting us to follow him to dark and beautiful soundscapes: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1710/sc-apes-ladders and https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1834/regurgitate First patch for Euclid Grid, Core, Moco and Five step @luckylutte shows us how to use those cool new 3rd party modules for fun and dance: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1838/first-patch-euclid-grid-core DIY Projects User @duddex found this little digital reverb module and was successful to simply stick on the BRAEDBOARD to make fantastic sounds: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1843/accutronics-digi-log-reverb And user @yoreb has added these nifty switches to his sequencers to be able to quickly change the sequence length without having to repatch the cables: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1829/switches-added-seq-triq Programming More and more modules are now programmable and it was the right time to start a sub forum for this. In it you can discuss anything to do with installing or developing firmwares for either the GRAINS, TBD or Wonkystuff’s core1.ae. Check it out here: https://forum.aemodular.com/board/23/programming The first project to report this month is an implementation of the Bernoulli Gate which works similar to the Branches module by Mutable Instruments. It has been developed by @duddex and is now also available on the official AE Modular Github: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1807/bernoulli-gate-grains https://github.com/aemodular/GRAINS/tree/master/Grains-BernoulliGate Then we got a Sine Wave LFO made for GRAINS by @keurslagerkurt: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1801/vc-sine-lfo-grains Also for GRAINS is a CV to MIDI converter by @duddex: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1822/cv-midi-grains Then this new cool Eurorack module was presented which might become an AE Module next year? It would be another programmable module which you could program in Python and it's based on the Raspberry Pi PICO: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1837/raspi-pico-documentation Superbooth came and went in a big rush of preparations, travel and 4 long days filled with the joy of meeting with so many like minded people. Thank you to all who come to our booth and all those who send their greetings via social media! I also have to thank Antonia, who was a great help on this trip and did such a fantastic job of documenting it and keeping you all up to date on Instagram and Facebook! Another big thanks goes to Tobias, our former intern, who came by and stayed at the booth more than half of the time talking to people about AE modular, showing his tiny AE system in a homemade case. We showed off a few new and upcoming modules and you’ll be pleased to hear that they will soon be available in our store. I expect some of them to be ready just in time for Christmas. New Products We missed the newsletter last month so the below is no longer news to most of you, but it’s just so impressive that in the last two months there were not one, not two, but FIVE new 3rd party modules released! This is such a joy to see as it means that the AE Modular format is “growing up” and the cases are getting more colourful. Also these modules are so creative and offer surprising possibilities.
Music made by the Community Usually we list links to the forum where people have uploaded their latest patches with short Youtube videos or soundcloud clips. Not so this time. For some reason the AE Modular artists were especially prolific in creating not just short sound clips, but full albums! Check them out, each one of them is a musical treat!
Black Warrior Lures Damon wears many hats: fisherman extraordinaire, prolific videographer, successful entrepreneur of fishing accessories and also accomplished electronic jazz musician. His albums are always intricate, complex, food for thoughts and ears. You should definitely check them out: Deofol Atmospheric and dark soundscapes, noise as beauty. These are just some attributes to describe the work of Deofol. Here are two fantastic albums which explore the juxtaposition of frequencies that verge on isolationism, the darker side of ambient, and drone.
DIY Projects The DIY forum was especially alive again over the last two months and it really shows that the AE Modular community doesn't shy away from getting their hands dirty with woodworking, painting, soldering and other crafts. First off, @thehatghost showed off his incredibly beautiful wooden cabinet which he built for his 2x20 system. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1756/wooden-studio-stands-travel-modular
tangible waves got hacked ... secret designs leaked! These designs were leaked to the AE Modula forum ... we don't know if or when they will be released, but they certainly look delicious! forum.aemodular.com/thread/1739/hacked-tangible-waves-unreleased-modules This year the Ambient Waves Festival was again at the beautiful Nazareth Church in Munich. This time I brought only my small AE Modular system with a few of the recently released modules: Drone38, DronX, Phaser, etc. Many thanks to Andreas Merz who so artfully filmed and produced the video of my performance! https://www.ambient-waves-cosmic-music-festival.de/ Another day at Superbooth and even after our big announcement of the TBD yesterday there a few more news. Some of you pixel-sleuths have already spotted 3 new modules in the photos we published on social media, so naturally you may have a few questions and here is what we can tell you so far: HEARTBEAT is a new module that is currently in development which will provide a steady master clock in your system. The display allows you to select a very fine grained BPM setting which you can select either via the knob in steps as fine as 0.1 or via the tap tempo button. It has 6 outputs which can be configured individually for different clock divisions between 1/1 and 1/32 and even dotted notes and triplets. The module has its own internal clock, or it can be configured to use an external clock (e.g. the Bus clock if MIDI is plugged into the MASTER module). HEARTBEAT EXTENDER will be an extension module which connects to the HEARTBEAT module via a small cable in the back. It offers a quick way to switch between different clock rates via the 6 preset buttons. It also offers 3.5mm connections for MIDI in (as an additional clock source independent from the external clock input). With the MIDI out connection you can use the AE system as the master clock in your studio as it sends standard MIDI clock/start/stop signals to other gear. Lastly the SWING/ACCLR knob allows for choosing a swing amount or accelerando/ritardando time when switching between tempo presets. Those two modules are shown at Superbooth as prototypes but are still not quite ready for production yet. We’ll let you know once they are available in the shop in a few weeks. We have come a long way since the last Superbooth in 2019. Not only are there now over 70 modules available in the online store, but a few indie developers have started creating their own module lines which are compatible with the formfactor which is much smaller than Eurorack and allows cheaper production costs. Our team has grown as well to tackle the steadily growing list of orders which are all still handled in the beautiful small Bavarian town of Murnau. Notable module creations, which can be inspected in person at Superbooth, are the CIRRUS, a clone of Mutable Instruments’ Clouds, WAVETABLES, a wavetable oscillator which is a collaboration project with Paula Maddox from Dove Audio, METER which provides an oscilloscope among other functions and a complete 18 voice drone oscillator. The main stars at this year’s Superbooth however are the Synth Explorer education system and the AE TBD, a brand new, programmable multi-function module for sound generation and -processing. The AE TBD (“to be determined”) is based on the ESP32 chip which is very powerful. The module is made to run the open source firmware CTAG-TBD developed by the Creative Technologies AG of Kiel University in Germany. Currently the firmware includes 50(!) plugins which include a huge variety of sound generators, filters and effects. The module can connect to a PC running Windows, Linux, or MacOSX via a USB cable and the many parameters for each plugin can then be adjusted in real time via a web interface and stored as favourites back to the module for standalone performance. The module has 2 CV and 2 trigger inputs which can be mapped to any parameter via the web interface. In addition the module has two knobs and two trigger buttons which can also be freely assigned to any parameter or function on a given plugin. The firmware contains plugins which are based on open source code by Mutable Instruments: TBDings, TBDaids and Claude (Their web interface is inspired by their Eurorack counterparts Braids, Plaits and Clouds)
But there are also completely new and unique fully featured synthesizers all within this tiny package:
The firmware also includes a very sophisticated sample player (Rompler). Up to 60 seconds of audio samples can be uploaded to the module via the USB connection. A full list of all included plugins can be found here. A small, but very dedicated and friendly community of open source software developers is constantly expanding the available plugins and since it is based on C++ and a very well thought out framework, it is relatively easy for new developers to come up with new plugins. Initially the TBD platform was only available for Eurorack, developed and currently sold by another small start-up, Instruments of Things. Through a licensing agreement this amazingly versatile module is now also part of the AE Modular family of modules. There are only two main differences between the AE TBD and its Eurorack counterpart: The AE module is in mono and offeres only USB connectivity, not WIFI. Please see the dedicated page on the AE Modular community forum for news, demo videos and soundbites about the TBD for AEM: https://forum.aemodular.com/post/13652/thread Words from Robert As autumn is now clearly on its way into the land, we can all breathe a bit more clearly and enjoy the way nature paints all trees in the most beautiful colours. But instead of spending my free time in the mountains nearby, I’m preparing for the long train ride to Berlin. Finally, after much uncertainty the Superbooth is going to happen, live and in person, albeit with proper social distancing. I’m looking forward to meeting my friends and colleagues and of course I’m very much looking forward to meeting you, my dear customers, members of the AE Modular community. I hope you can make it and visit me at booth W450 on the Ground Floor. Each year for Superbooth I have prepared a special module to unveil and this year I’m so excited to be showing off a very special module which I’ve worked on in secret for many months. I hope you will like it. But this is all I’m going to reveal for now! Product Announcements Synth Explorer Educational System What I can reveal however, is the Synth Explorer educational system which is now available for purchase on our webshop. This project is very dear to my heart and I’m very lucky to have the support from two amazing music educators in the US, Jordan Rose from Synths4Kids in Oregon and Frae-Frae LaSci from Willie-Mae Rock Camp in New York City. They each are trialling the synth explorer in their workshops and offer ideas and advice on how to shape the curriculum which is still in development. If you are a music teacher and are interested in acquiring the Synth Explorer at the educational discount for your school or university, please get in contact via the contact form on this page which also has a lot more information about the system and variations: Synth Explorer for Education Many people have asked about whether the Synth Explorer is also available for everyone and therefore we are now selling the “Ultimate” system which you can find in the web shop here: Synth Explorer Ultimate CIRRUS currently out of stock You may have seen that currently the CIRRUS is out of stock which is unusual for our web shop. The reason is the current global shortage of chips which unfortunately has driven the prices for the particular chip, which is used in the CIRRUS, to unforeseen heights. We are investigating alternatives to make the CIRRUS available at a manageable cost and will let you know when it becomes available again. This was discussed at length in the forum: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1620/chip-apocalypse-cirrus-price-opinion Third Party Products Flavorwave has announced another nifty accessory which fits perfectly for the AE Modular: a beautiful and colourful acrylic stand which you can order from directly from the Flavorwave Website: https://flavorwave-synth-accessories.myshopify.com/products/desktop-synth-stand Wonkystuff Teasers
The new module called MOCO is a take on Doepfer’s A-144 Morphing Controller which allows the mixing and morphing of 4 independent VCAs or other waveforms. Keurslager Kurt promised new modules Zeno aka Keurslager Kurt has mentioned that he has 3(!) new modules in development! They are
AEtherwaves Vol. 3 SUBMISSIONS close on 20th of September! We are doing it again and ask everyone in the AE community to send in a track to this year’s album! Please check out this forum post for all the details: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1591/aetherwaves-submissions-close-20th-september Music made by the Community User @pt3r presents a new album on Bandcamp. The first track shows how well the Algodrone works in an atmospheric drone. Please check it out here: https://deofol.bandcamp.com/album/we-never-left A first track presented by user @chmeee5 and it’s a really nice one, too: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1621/stranger-slings-arrows Some real live footage of Papa Rôti having fun with glitchy sounds: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1596/road-aetherwaves-vol-papa-ti This is a labour of love by @101 .. AE Modular samples played and processed through Audiomulch, an Australian music software that is made for live performances: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1563/dubstep-mix-aem-audiomulch This is the first track featuring the new Cirrus module, provided by @keurslagerkurt and it’s ambient: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1618/first-track-cirrus-ambient-okay Well this however is NOT so ambient, says @dmoney2000 about this track: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1594/ok-ambient A really nice summer groove from @lorizon: https://forum.aemodular.com/post/13353/thread DIY Projects How to hook a Z-DSP card to the AE Multi FX module: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1630/tiptop-audio-dsp-card-multifx Other Forum Topics HELP needed for a special art project! User @Maximilius001 asks for voice recordings from people who talk about their experience of and during the pandemic. Please read all about it here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1614/art-commission-help-needed All recordings should be sent in by the 1st of October. What are your overrated or underrated modules? This is a very fruitful discussion which may change your mind about some of the modules in your rack that you’ve neglected lately. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1634/overrated-underappreciated-modules We need more Schwingggg! Here are some ideas on how to make things swing a little and apparently there’s even a module in the works that might do it for you: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1624/schwing-swingggg Karplus Strong Synthesis with the GRAINS module! This thread started out with a discussion about how to achieve those plucky, clangy sounds using a delay in lieu of MI Rings and then @namke gave us the GRAINS codes for this! Check out the discussion here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1608/karplus-strong-synthesis The GRAINS code for this can be downloaded here: https://github.com/wonkystuff/grains_karplusStrong Are you stressed from having too many modules and you don’t know which to use first? This may be a first world problem, but you are not alone. Join the group therapy session in this thread: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1622/module-stress-first-world-problem ;-) Huge Humble Book Bundle with books for electronic inventors and aspiring geniuses, grab it while you can, it expires on 18th September: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/charles-platt-make-community-books Upcoming Events SUPERBOOTH 2021 in Berlin, September 15th-18th Please visit us at Booth W450, we would love to meet you! More information and tickets at the Superbooth Website: https://www.superbooth.com Many of you may have seen this short video of my workplace which I posted to YouTube in May 2019. Although it is now over 2 years ago, very little has actually changed from what you can see there. The biggest change was of course that I no longer work alone, but have the incredible help from Antonia and Benedikt who take care of most of the production work these days and which allows me to spend more time on dreaming up and prototyping new modules. This dream is a shared dream. For me it is to be able to do for a living what I love doing: To create and build synths and to inspire people. For you, it is to be able to build affordable modular systems to create the incredible music that you do. However I also love to make music, it’s just that with the constant pressure of building systems and getting orders out the door this part of me got pushed back again and again. Until now! I have been fortunate to secure the lease of a beautiful little former chapel which is in the same building as our workspace, within a renovated old Hospital which has been turned into an innovation centre. You can see the chapel in the video where I got to use it for a short time only. Now I’m in the process of turning this amazing space into a room where I can make music, experiment and perform! This will allow me to play my own synth in a kind-of live situation; something I have increasingly missed over the last months. This will contribute to the module development for sure, and - it’s simply fun of course! At the moment there’s still a lot of work to do in the chapel, but I will keep you posted on the progress. -- Robert Reminder: Price increase from 12th of July We’ve written about this before so this is only a reminder that all prices will go up by 5%-8% due to increases in our production cost. So if you want to save some money then you still have a few more days to send off your order at the current prices. New Products now in Store! All the below products were featured in our last blog post and are now available for purchase from our online store! TUBE-VU This is a very cool VU meter with real tubes as display element! It looks great and definitely will make everyone come over and talk to you if you bring this to a synth meet! You can buy this product from our online store. 6MUTE A very simple, but useful module for performing. There are 6 inputs, outputs and switch buttons that will mute the outputs (click-free!) when pressed. The buttons are very soft, high-quality and illuminated to show the status. Buy this now from our online store. CVADDER-HQ This is a precision CV adder which you can use to easily transpose pitch sequences thattrack 1 Volt per octave. This is a single adder with four inputs and adds easy octave transposition by one or two octaves or a free interval. It’s now available for purchase here. 2CVADD-HQ These are two precision adders that work like the single one above, but don’t feature the octave transposition. You can find this in our online store here. CIRRUS !! This is a clone of Clouds from Mutable Instruments, however with the Microcell alternative firmware installed which adds many more features to the original granular and reverb effects. This is our second MI clone in the AE Modular range and more will follow! You can order the CIRRUS module from our online store here. STOMP I/O With the STOMP-IO module, you can integrate guitar effect pedals and similar devices into your AE modular system! For output (send) and input (return) return there is a mono minijack socket; two minijack to 1/4" socket adapters are included as effect pedals usually work with the latter ones. Send and return levels can be controlled with separate knobs. You can order this module now from our online store. Flavorwave Cable Hangers We featured this amazing cable storage device a few times here in the blog, but due to the very expensive shipping costs from the US, people in Europe and other regions were missing out. Therefore we got a big batch from Flavorwave and now it’s officially available in our store for our non-US customers. You can find the cable hangers here in our online store. VIOLET Patchwires All lengths are now available in beautiful violet! You can buy these in the store here. Music made by the Community It must be the summer heat or gradual introduction of freedom from COVID restrictions, but whatever it is, there has not been a month in recent history where more music was produced on this forum! The output from this super talented community was phenomenal and incredibly varied! Please have a listen to this selection of sounds below! S101w techno by @maydonpoliris where he combined techniques from @101 and @slowscape. It’s really cool to hear the influences here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1498/s101w-techno (Mr)(Bubble)T by @pt3r is showing off his DIY aeclidean sequencer module with nice bubbly sounds: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1500/bubble Arbor Low South by @martynaudio is such a nice mellow tune that invites a stroll through a summer garden … https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1497/arbor-low-south Contemplation (Drone) by @moruial is the first patch that uses the BioT module to great effect. As usual this comes with super nice visuals: https://forum.aemodular.com/post/12401 Tegmo 1: a zesty synth romp by UY Scuti (@dmoney2000) is a comeback with edgy sounds and creative visuals, check it out: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1504/back-yall-strange-synth-jam Quake of the Universe by @glitchyfrog is a triple treat of firsts. Some of these tracks were made on a train and we can imagine watching the landscape pass by to these relaxed tunes https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1496/quake-universe-experiments HiTek by @thehatghost is an audio visual experiment that is quite astonishing really. You have to see it to believe it: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1502/hitek Live techno featuring AE Modular by @keurslagerkurt is just pure fun with two guys having a party in the living room! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1505/more-live-techno-featuring-modular Pourpre-orange by @gaetan is a laid back ambient techno(?) piece which invites to lounge and have a beer .. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1514/pourpre-orange-ambient-techno CV Jam by @101 is a thumping beat with shifting CVs and ghostly background drones, cool stuff! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1520/cv-jam Droneday by @pt3r is his homage to drone day! https://forum.aemodular.com/post/12516 First Jam by Running in long grass (@docwho) is a great debut, full of interesting sounds in all directions and a beautiful AE sequence https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1523/first-jam-ae-modular Topography by @maximillius001 is a nice ‘West Coast’ inspired track https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1527/topography-west-coast-patching-jam Dark ambient by @namke lulls you into a safe space, but be careful, there may be occasional jumpscares! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1525/dark-ambient-occasional-jump-scares Album Releases UY Scuti (@dmoney2000) has released an album on bandcamp with selected works, many of which feature the AE Modular in some way. It’s a great album and you should check it out! At only $3 (or more, if you can spare it) this is better than a cup of coffee! https://uyscuti1.bandcamp.com/album/selected-works-2020-21 DIY Projects Experimenting with Capacitive Touch Ever since the BioT from Wonkystuff and Hotair the topic of capacitive touch interests and excites people. This is another similar experiment. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1528/experiementing-capacitive-touch Self Made Patch Wires These have nice tips similar to the original ones from tangible waves https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1487/diy-cables-male-connector Slinky Reverb Is this the ultimate reverb? It definitely looks cool and inviting to all ages to play with it. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/865/slinky-reverb DIY Switches These switches look awesome mounted to a blank panel. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1494/diy-switches Other Forum Topics KISS or Go For it? Is a valid question to ask once your first case is full and you have another couple of modules in the wait list. Should you build another Gargantua with everything but the kitchen sink, limit yourself to just a small case with a selection of vital modules or have many smaller cases that you patch together? It’s a great discussion.. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1510/ Stereo Solutions. Here are some very cool tips and tricks what you can do with stereo signals and the new MIXCONSOLE https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1492/share-ae-stereo-solutions Upcoming Events Superbooth, 15th - 18th September 2021 This time it’s really on! And tangible waves will be there again with a stand. Please come and visit us if you can, we would love to see and chat with you! https://www.superbooth.com/en/ Introducing the SynthExplorer We love synthesis, the electronic music you can create with it and of course modular synthesizers, which are so flexible and can adapt so easily to any creative mood and form. So naturally we thought of how to encourage and excite young people and kids to kick start their creative journey into music with this amazing instrument. After talking to a few music teachers and some brainstorming we came up with a small collection of modules that would be ideal to teach children (and any beginners) the basics of synthesis and even other concepts from a modern STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) curriculum. This led to the concept of a basic SynthExplorer system with a series of possible upgrades to target those different concepts. This system will be sold at a generous discount to schools or similar organisations who teach music to kids or young adults. But the hardware is only one part of the concept, the other is the Handbook, the curriculum, which will help teachers understand the possibilities of this product and how to integrate it into their lesson plans. For this we got in contact with Jordan from SynthsForKids, who runs workshops for kids in the beautiful forests of Oregon. We are also in contact with a few other similar organisations from various parts of the world and we hope that in partnership with such a dedicated and diverse group we will create a music curriculum which is unique and approachable for teachers and students anywhere. And after months of brainstorming and waiting the very first model of the SynthExplorer was sent to Carsten (aka The5thVolt) to be presented in Australia at a local synth meetup near Sydney. Here you can watch the presentation in full: We hope to officially offer these systems and a first version of the basic curriculum by August ‘21 and are always happy for any messages of interest, questions or ideas. Please send those to explorer@tangiblewaves.com. IMPORTANT - Price increases from 12th of July For almost 4 years the prices in our shop have stayed stable and true to our motto: “Modular synth affordable for everyone!” However, the shortages and increasing cost of microchips and other electronic components are taking a toll on the bottom line and we have to adjust the prices of our products for this new market situation. Therefore we will increase all prices by 5%-8% from the 12th of July. That includes the Starter Systems, individual modules and all accessories. Some modules which use now rare microchips will see an even higher increase, eg. the Wavetables and other microprocessor-based modules. So if you like our old prices, you still have 4 weeks to put your order in at that cheaper rate. New Products No new products in the shop, but definitely some new products next month. We are looking forward to bringing the following new modules in July: 6MUTE A very simple, but useful module for performing. There are 6 inputs, outputs and switch buttons that will mute the outputs (click-free!) when pressed. The buttons are very soft, high-quality and illuminated to show the status. CVADD-HQ This is a precision CV adder which you can use to easily transpose pitch sequences which tracks 1 Volt per octave. This is a single adder which adds easy octave transposition by one or two octaves or a free interval.. 2CVADD-HQ These are two precision adders that work like the single one above, but don’t feature the octave transposition. TUBE-VU This is a very cool VU meter with real tubes! It looks great and definitely will make everyone come over and talk to you if you bring this to a synth meet! CIRRUS @slowscape got it right and put the puzzle together, congratulations! This is probably the most anticipated module which will come out in a while. A clone of Clouds from Mutable Instruments, however with the Microcell alternative firmware installed which adds many more features to the original granular and reverb effects. Unfortunately this will also become the most expensive module in the entire AE Modular range which is due to the current price inflation and global supply shortage of microchips. You may have heard that due to COVID and other factors some chips are now very hard to get and the STM chip that is used in Cirrus is one of those. Fortunately we have secured a good batch of them before they went completely out of stock at our supplier’s. More MI Clones? Which MI clone would you like to see next? Leave a comment in the forum: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1491/new-blog-2021-synths-kids Pink Patch Wires Soon all lengths of patch wires will also be available in pink! Just to make a statement! Third Party Products BioT from Wonkystuff and Hotair Productions John and Matt have got together and produced a true work of art with this module that sold out on both their stores within 12 hours of release! Let’s hope they brew a new batch soon. This module adds touch plate connections and funky aliens to your rack, but you have to build it yourself, which, with only 24 solder connections, is really super simple! You can find more info at the Wonkystuff store: https://wonkystuff.net/product/biot-kit/ And on the Hot Air Bandcamp page: https://smallrocks.bandcamp.com/album/biot-touch-plate-demonstration-record Cable Hangers from Flavorwave Jason sent us a batch from the US so that they can be more easily shipped to our European customers and they will soon be available in the tangible waves shop. Music made by the Community As always, the community didn’t rest and gave their collective AE Modules a solid workout. Good to see a steady stream of good tracks from the regulars and also first pieces from new members. And this should really be an encouragement to all those that are coming new to AE Modular or synthesis or even completely new to music making: You’re learning new things, don’t be afraid, your “mistakes” are your style. Just keep patching and post your stuff! Dark Ambient First Album @jubin is relatively new to the forum and has posted this gritty, dark ambient to bandcamp. The AE modular plays a big role in it and so does a Korg Volca. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1474/peur-du-noir AEM + Bastl Kastle Drum - Acid Jam @101 shows us how it’s done. Apparently “It is like trying to herd cats when your jamming with it. You can get something good going - only to trash it with the slightest tweak.” Listen for yourself https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1446/aem-bastl-kastle-drum-acid New Album on Bandcamp - Murmurs By @pt3r who consistently amazes us with ambient soundscapes and beautiful albeit dark imagery. Check it out: https://deofol.bandcamp.com/album/murmurs Slow Moving Water @slowscape used found sound and found visuals to create this relaxing ambient track: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1480/ambient-session-slow-moving-water Found Sound Techno from Foxermod M.J. Hood has released a new EP on Soundcloud which uses a lot of found sound and the AE to glue it all together. Check it out: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1465/ae-sounds-new-track Ambient with new 5 step module @keurslagerkurt has done it again and not only created a new module prototype, but then made a compelling piece with it: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1460/ambient-patch-new-steps-module Night of the Yowie and Driving along the M1 @maydonpoliris posted these two awesome tracks that feature the AE Modular and a few Korg Volcas. It’s cool, funky and bit scary and you should check it out: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1455/todays-jam-track DIY Projects Show off your Rack Here are pictures from AE Modular systems that have their own very special make up! https://forum.aemodular.com/post/11898/thread @gaetan has beautifully hand drawn designs all over the blank panels in his rack. @lutzjak has put his AE Modular into a nuclear glowing spy briefcase Triangle Buddy
This is an inverting amplifier made with only the BRAEDBOARD and the components that come with it. A great first project, check it out: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1477/braedboard-project-triangle-buddy-inverting Upcoming Events World Drone Day - 29th May 2021 This is to celebrate not those pesky flying monsters, but those loooong ambient sounds that take you in and make you dream. Hundreds of musicians around the world are streaming or playing live on this day. You can find more at the official homepage: https://droneday.org/ There may be a few AE Modular members showing off their droning skills, check it out on the thread here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1444/world-drone-day-29th-2021 Words from Robert“Almost” business as usual - what does this even mean? For most of you it means that you are still waiting patiently for your order to be shipped and while I am incredibly grateful for your patience, understanding and kind words, there isn’t a day when I don’t think of how to turn this situation around. For 3 years now we are trying to catch up with this incredible demand, not just for the stock on hand, but also for new and exciting modules. We have grown from just myself to a team of three truly dedicated staff and while that helps, it also means that if one of us gets sick, production goes down by 30%! We encountered this painfully the last weeks - but now we are complete again. It is a fact of and reality of any small business and while we’re trying to improve processes, it’s not that easy like “simply hire more staff”.... All this might sound as if I’m a bit weary, maybe worn out from the double demands of getting out orders every day while trying to innovate and design new modules at night…. But - NO! In fact the opposite is true: I’m feeling more energised and more alive than ever! This work has been a true blessing in my life, not just because I can finally support myself and my family with work that I truly love, but also because of you, the incredible community which gives me so much inspiration and support and makes everything we do here in the shop meaningful and worthwhile doing! Due to the workload in the production I don’t get to read all of the posts on the forum and don’t get to watch all of the amazing jams and music videos that are coming out almost every day now, so I’m always happy when Carsten creates these blog posts with an overview of what happened and what was discussed in the community each month. Also reading some of the older blog posts shows just how far we all have come and how this community has grown in leaps and bounds over only the last 3 years! Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of this amazing journey! New Products4VCA A quad VCA, switchable DC/CV and Audio (same like 2VCA), and a mix output! So it is also a 4-channel CV controllable mixer! You can buy this module in the shop now! 2TONE A dual bass-treble tone control, that is a quite useful companion for the MIXCONSOLE. This module is now available in the shop! VMBRIDGE The VMBRIDGE module offers all necessary level adaptations for cross-patching between Volca Modular and AE modular. It offers two audio and two CV connections for each direction (from/to Volca Modular), plus two minijack connections for the CV and Sync in/out connections of the Volca Modular. You can find more info and purchase this module in the shop! SWITCHMATRIX 4x4 4 inputs, four outputs; you can make freely every connection between these, no matter if CV or audio signals. Each routing / connection setting can be stored in one of 64 preset memories. Selecting the presets is possible by up/down triggers, CV, and of course by two up/down buttons. A performance mode makes it possible to switch between 16 presets by simply pressing one of the matrix buttons - quite handy for live use! You can now buy this module in our shop! TeasersThe following modules have now been successfully prototyped and will soon go into production! 6MUTE This module will allow a click-free muting of up to 6 audio channels with illuminated pushbuttons. It is a nice addition for the MIXCONSOLE and is perfect for live performances. CIRRUS Think of those white fluffy water vapours in the sky and then think of the famous Eurorack module with a very similar name … This module is (for me) one of the most exciting additions to the AE palette! Cable Holders by FlavorwaveThis cable management attachment fits perfectly on all AE Modular racks and has already attracted much interest from the community. Check it out on Flavorwave's Online Shop. There’s also a discussion thread on the forum: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1407/help-cable-management-kit-question Music made by the CommunityMore and more fabulous tracks are being released into the AE Modular community. Each is a testament to the incredible creativity of these artists and how they use the modular synthesizer to express their visions of sound. Again the following list is only an excerpt of all the wonderful new tracks that have been posted. Please visit the forum for more! https://forum.aemodular.com/board/5/ae-music-performances Live Jam with Movie Comments by @lukylutte - It’s always so interesting to see how people use the AE Modular in live environments. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1430/kinda-house Techno Jam with the new 555 Breadboard Oscillator - Keuerslager Kurt just can’t stop. After his recent success with his first new modules he’s already working on the next one and showing it off here with great aplomb! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1428/melodic-acid-techno-modular-555 Psychedelic Video by @101 - There are a few really interesting music videos now posted on the forum with very artistic graphics. This one also features a nice psychedelic guitar: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1426/new-psychedelic-video Aphex Twin inspired Jam and showing off yet another Breadboard Design - We just can’t keep Keuerslager Kurt quiet! Does he ever sleep? This jam shows off his arpeggiator prototype on a breadboard: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1404/inspired-aphex-ae-jam And this is another jam with that same arpeggiator. This is more ambient: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1398/generative-ambient-droning-jam-aerpeggiator First Jam and it rocks! - New to AE and new to the forum, but this track makes us want to see and hear more of user @maydonpoliris: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1423/sampling-ae-externally First Ambient Track with Drone38 and DronX - Ambient master Moruial puts the new drone modules to work in this slow and meditative track: https://forum.aemodular.com/post/11721/thread Ambience and Swirling Video - user @dmoney2000 (UY Scuti) achieves a very captivating symbiosis between his ambient soundscapes and the swirling video structures: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1400/ambient-techno-ft-ae-structure Ambient Solina - @lorizon doesn’t post very often, but when he does the tracks are just absolutely excellent. This dreamy piece is another one of these marvels: https://forum.aemodular.com/post/11636/thread Video Synthesis and AE Modular - This is a faster track by Uy Scuti featuring video synthesis and a techno track made with the AE and other synths https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1422/more-video-synthesis-structure-modular A Volley of Ambient and Droney Pieces - are coming from user @pt3r who creates these amazing sound and video scapes with only a Starter Rack 2 and some FX. And lately he has even released an album on Bandcamp which might or not be your “Cup of tAE” https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1374/game-drones https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1424/rack-gently-bleeps https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1416/cup-tae https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1405/different New AE Modular PodcastThis is an initiative of The Tuesday Night Machines, Slowscape and The 5th Volt with the goal to meet once every month over Zoom and just talk about various topics concerning the AE Modular community. We are thinking of inviting guests in the future, so if you would like to be part of one of the next episodes, please contact @admin via the forum! All episodes will be listed in the forum thread below. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1332/ae-modular-synth-podcast DIY ProjectsAs usual, the DIY projects have bloomed in April. No wonder since it’s Spring in the northern hemisphere where most of AE’s fans live! The following is an excerpt of what our genius inventors have posted to the forum. However please check out the DIY board yourself and also go on to our Discord server where you can participate in real-time chat and discuss your next DIY project. https://forum.aemodular.com/board/8/diy-building Free 3D printed AE Modular stand Posted by user @lillyschwartz this looks like a great way to prop up a one case system. Thanks to Lilly for also posting the model files on Thingiverse so that anyone with a 3D Printer can make this stand! https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1427/3d-printed-stand-row-case Double Rack Stand This is another 3D printed rack mount and holds together the cutest little AE setup that we’ve ever seen. Check it out in all its cuteness: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1372/modular-rack-korg-volca-stand “Legendary” 555 VCO by Thomas Henry In his typical Lab Notebook fashion, Zeno aka Keuerslager Kurt has presented his experiments with turning the good old 555 timer chip into a wonderfully tracking VCO. The design has been out for a number of years and was only waiting for someone dedicated enough to port it to the AE. However for now it only lives on Zeno’s breadboard even though it already makes amazingly good sounds. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1411/adapting-legendary-th-555-vco An AErpeggiator And because Zeno can’t stop inventing new things he’s also presented us with a breadboard prototype of a new arpeggiator module that allows for CV controlled transposition of the root note. Check out his detailed report: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1385/cobbling-arpeggiator-ae Chaos aka Sloth This module is yet another project by Zeno and is a clone of the Sloth Eurorack module made by Nonlinear Circuits. It is a source of slow moving chaotic CV and great for drones and ambient things. Check out the progress here: https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1376/chaos-module-adapted-single-nonlinearcircuits Powering your AE directly via Micro USB 5V Felix aka TheTuesdayNightmachines wanted a super compact Drone Rack and found a way to get the modules powered without losing 1U to a Power module! This is a great hack for those small, battery powered rigs. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1389/ae-modular-microusb-power-adapter Other Forum Topics The AE Modular forum is a safe space for musicians and allround creative souls and in the Lounge we can discuss many other topics that aren’t directly related to hardware, software or even music making. It allows us to come together as people and as creatives and share our thoughts, philosophies and dreams. I think that it’s this opening up and sharing more personally our thoughts on our journey as artists that makes this community so incredibly fun and rewarding.
How the modular synth has kindled my creativity! User @johnpg “broke cover” and wrote a long and very important piece on the forum about his new creative process and he states that “Your mistakes and errors are not mistakes and errors - they are your STYLE.” I think this is such an important message especially for beginners as it will help to overcome the “fear of not being good enough” that might hold some people back from ever discovering and fulfilling their creative potential. https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1336/modular-synth-kindled-creativity Tell Me About Jazz This has become one of the most frequented threads in April and has definitely struck a chord in many of our members. What is Jazz? How do you make Jazz? How (if at all) can we make Jazz with our modular synths? Even if you never thought about or particularly liked Jazz, reading the posts in this thread will give more insight and most likely an appreciation of the influences that Jazz had and still has on all music and why not also on our electronic music? https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/1341/tell-me-jazz-play Sisters with Transistors If you haven’t yet seen this new documentary about some of the pioneering women who have contributed hugely to the development of synthesizers and electronic music, then you should definitely give this a go. Here is a good writeup to whet your appetite before you buy the incredibly cheap ticket to see this movie! https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/23/sisters-with-transistors-film-electronic-musics-forgotten-pioneers-clara-rockmore |
AuthorRobert Langer, founder of tangible waves. Here, I will share some thoughts, background infos and news about AE modular and tangible waves. Archives
February 2024
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