October 2023

I'm so happy about the release of AEtherwaves, the 5th album of our amazing forum and Discord community. It is always a source of wonder for me to see and hear the many different ways in which the system which I've created is being used. There is so much variation in the songs which I could never have even dreamed about when I started the tangible waves journey almost exactly 7 years ago now. While I wish I had the time to make music myself, I'm just incredibly thankful that you, the community, are so generous in making your creations available in this format. ​

AE Modular featured in German Synthesizer Magazine

​​We are very honoured to have been featured in Germany's most prominent eponymous Synthesizer Magazine in a special edition which gives people, who are new to modular synthesis an easy entry. Especially for this edition we created three new full mini systems based on the VCASE-7 which can now be purchased in our shop (links below). These are described in detail in the magazine and there's also a nice introduction video by The 5th Volt, for the first time in German language!

You can purchase the Synthesizer Magazine special modular synth edition here:
​https://synthesizermagazin.de/products/sonderausgabe-das-modulare-synthesizer-magazin-print

New Products

The VCASE-7 seems to inspire many on the forum to go "small" and to come up with creative combinations of modules which will fit into the tiny 7 unit space of this Volca sized case. Then we were invited to collaborate with the German Synthesizer Magazine and came up with the idea of 3 systems which would be useful out of the box for different purposes and now you can purchase these in our shop!

• VSYSTEM-1 is a true analog synth with a sequencer
• VSYSTEM-2 is a digital wavetable synth with effects, eg. reverb, chorus, shimmer, etc.
• VSYSTEM-3 is a lo-fi drum machine with a sample player

​If you have an idea for a cool mini system configuration, then please let me know, either via the contact form here on the website or via the forum:
https://forum.aemodular.com/board/4/tangible-waves-ae-modular

Other Products

SAMPLYR is now finally shipping for real!

As explained in the last blog post, we discovered a few software bugs just before releasing the module and had to fix all those before shipping it to everyone who has ordered it. And along the way we also added a few additional features! But all orders are now shipped and the software is better than ever!

Thanks to RSKT for being a beta tester and not just finding all the bugs just in time, but also for making this cool overview video for the SAMPLYR module. Also to Matt for suggesting features which I would have never thought of.​

​Problems with the TBD Open Source Software

If you are a forum regular you may have witnessed the long running thread about issues with missing presets in the TBD module. As it is all based on open source software and not a hardware issue we had to involve the creator of the project, Robert Manzke, and one of the most prolific plugin developers for TBD, Mathias (aka @visuellemusik) to troubleshoot and work towards a resolution. It's tricky as there are many interconnected parts, but it seems that a fix is either already there, or at least close. Well done to everyone involved, especially user @tIB who not only reported the issue in the first place, but became an integral party in its resolution process. You can read all about it in this thread:

https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/2040/tbd-troubleshooting

AEther Waves Vol. 5 has been released! ​

Many thanks to the community of artists and fans of the AE Modular for giving away their hard work (although I think you all had fun doing it, too). The mastering was done perfectly by Scott aka DeepSEA of Audio Detroit LLC and the album cover was provided graciously by Rhys aka RSKT who is not only a consummate musician, but also a very talented graphic artist.

Again, all proceeds are sent directly to Musicians without Borders in support of their work to bring music to young people who are living in regions which are affected by war and terror (of which there are now way too many, unfortunately!). So please go and buy the album, it's only 5 Euros!

​DIY

Add terrifying sensors to your AE Modular

User @feijal suggests these super cute and quite affordable sensors which can be connected to the AE Modular via the bus power and send CV directly to modules, as they operate on 0-5V. This could give your system immediate expressiveness! Read more here:
https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/2853/adding-terrifying-sensors-ae-modular

GRAINSurgery is not for the faint of heart, but can give much power!
This thread is all about making the GRAINS be controllable via direct MIDI messages when partnered with the mb/1 module from Wonkystuff. You need to do some soldering and there's a new firmware, but it may be worth it! Find out more here:
https://forum.aemodular.com/thread/2835/grainsurgery-midi-input ​

Events and Meetups

Synthfest in Sheffield 
This was a great meetup of synth manufacturers and enthusiasts in the UK and luckily we had John from Wonkystuff to show off not only the AE Modular, but also his own fabulous module creations, especially the new MIDI modules. He was even interviewed by Sonicstate, which you can view here:

​Monthly Zoom Meetup
This was a bit later in the  month than usual, but again there were good discussions, especially around various DIY topics.

We are always happy to see new people at these events. If you would like to join, please find more information on the forum (you must be logged in to see this post):

forum.aemodular.com/board/29/online-meetups