ShortScale.org

I've never really been into modular synths but this looked cool. The Roland System-500. Designed by the guy from Malekko based on the sound of classic Roland System-100 and System-700 modular synths.

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Backstory:

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Would love to have just a wall of these.

I think the whole kit costs almost $2000 though.

This has had me looking into modular synth DIY kits. This guy has made some System-100 clone modules: http://www.frequencycentral.co.uk/?page_id=416

You could combine them with one of the new Roland modules (like the Filter) to make your own System-100/500 for drastically less $$$.

Used/kits is the way to go, I think. Just be sure to get double the amount of rackspace you plan on using initially.

yeah I think so. I have a lot of electronics parts accumulated from this and that so I think with just buying PCBs and Panels I could be a fair amount of the way there.

So the System-100 is closely related to the SH-5. They are supposed to sound essentially the same.
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interesting to think that you could basically build this synth with the system-500 or system-100 clone modules.

so nevermind, System-100 and 100M are not the same. the 100M is apparently more similar to the 700. The 700 was a monstrous roland modular and was a major cornerstone in developing the roland sound. for example the TR-808 and 909 sounds were originally patched on a System-700.

it was used by Georgio Moroder as can be seen here:



also aparently Tomita used one although I've only seen pictures of him with his Moog IIIc:



and Doris Norton is supposed to have used a 700. You can see a 100M behind her here:

i haven't really looked at roland modular stuff much but analogue systems (or is it solutions? i can never remember) will build you all the bits you need to make a eurorack VCS3, (minus the joystick and the pin matrix- but if you ask them, maybe they would do that too). one of my friends has one as part of his modular setup and it's really cool. a lot of this stuff is re-creatable.

Doepfer makes a VCS 3 style filter module. along with many other filter modules based on vintage synths. there are many roland filter clones out there. what doesn't seem to be as widely available is analog oscillator modules based on vintage synths. the roland oscillator module is definitely filling a niche there.

An oscillator is just creating a sine/square/triangle wave though, so isn't anywhere near as responsible for a synth's sound as the filter or envelopes. Having said that, the triangle wave on a minimoog IS pretty unique sounding in terms of vintage synths (as an example).

Yeah but its sort of like the different pickups in a guitar. Its the the base sound that you're starting with. Yeah you can color the sound with the amplifier or effects or how you play but the pickups create the basic character of the sound. Like pickups, different companies oscillators have different harmonic character. What the true distinction is here, what oscillators are more similar/disimilar to others... I'm no expert. I do like single-coils over humbuckers though.

Josh from malekko talks about the oscillator sound very breifly in the first video up top. They did put out some demonstration videos for the different modules. They are all fairly technical though and rather sonically/musically bland. almost no one has posted videos using it yet. So its a bit hard to get an idea of the sound.