Share your AE Modular Story

Hello everybody
I've received my AEM yesteday, so I don't have AE Modular story to share yet, but I thnk I have AE Modular future ahead  
Mine is 2 rack, early version with some valuable additions: one more osc, Nyle filter, seq16, delay and reverb. Bought it from a previous owner in pristine condition. 

First impresion after opening the box: it's small! I't's hard to determine measures from the photos, so it was a surprise - I mean in a good, charming way - it looks cute, it's very light, it's comfortable to take it on your lap. Also it looks great - I dig it's minimal aesthetic very much, if Bauhaus designed synths they would look like this!

Now let's try to use it. I have no background with proper modular, yet I have Behringer Neutron, which is semi-modular, so I'm not completely left in the dark here. Osc to audio1  - it works! Turning the knobs shapes the sound in a very pleasant way - the sound has character, I like it! 
It took mi a while to produce proper sound with env controling vca and with changing pitch. In semidular all the basic connections are made for me. I roughly know I have to connect env with osc and vca and lfo, sequencer and some filter but which output to which input?  Ok, I got it, Ha! Now I can explore further! That was one of the very reasons to buy modular - to fully understand how the creation of sound works. I love Neutron, I have learnt a lot but still too often I'm surpised with it's behaviour. Happy accidents are great method but I would like to clearly see what is connected where, to hear (or not) the effect. So AEM looks like amazing tool for educational and creative puropses!

I was worrying a bit about patchwires, but they are generaly better than I thought. It happens to unplug something accidentaly or it's sometimes tricky to plug in or pull out the wire among three others, but once the're in, they sit pretty well,
and they have this spaghetti-like/mad scientist laboratory look I love so much! 

I'm 40 now, but I make music for less than a year only - which have been a bit unexpected turn in my life I have some bugdet synths (some Volcas, Monologue, Neutron, SQ1 sequencer, even Yamaha PSS480 with simple fm synthesis onboard, Behringer mixer with multi FX and Zoom 8-track recorder) and I love to sew their sounds together into one musical fabric. For now I have to experiment and explore with AEM alone to understand what I'm doing, but the goal is to include it as a valuable member of my synth family. I've already ordered 4I/O module, midi break cable (there was none in my AEM set) and waiting for Volca Modular integration module as I'm going to buy VM too. 

Thank You Robert, for making a modular I can afford, I'm gald I can be part of this community and explore the sound and myself further than I have ever thought.  

Now, excuse me while I continue my electronic meditation with AEM. It's a small step for mankind but huge step for wannabe synthesist

Just learned of the AE Modular system this morning from a post with audio on Facebook. Checked out a number of videos; very impressed, took the plunge, ordered the starter system 2. In addition to my Dot Com P88 and a number of VST synths. Looking forward to diving in. 

tl

Even someone with a P88 needs more synths, no wonder we all get G.A.S.....

I could never justify the expense of Eurorack but wanted a modular synth for my studio; I've been really pleased with the quality, sound and the sheer joy of fiddling with the controls/patch wires. Just don't forget the Headphone amp module if you are going to use it on it's own....

Welcome Gerard to our forum and the world of modular synths. Please ask if you ever need help with how to use a module or how to do anything with the AE. I checked out your music on soundcloud and bandcamp and love it! Have you done all of this using a PC and DAW? Or do you use other synthesizers and drum machines as well?

Also I see that you live in Barcelona? I love that city and spent a lot of time there in the 90's when I would fly to Barcelona one week every month for work .. while still studying computer science in Berlin What a great place. My fondest memories are of a live performance of La Fura dels Baus in 1995 which just blew me away. Not sure if they are still active?

Had enough of the lurk-and-like, figured I might post and share.
Hello and hi, I'm another Australian, attracted initially to the affordability this system offers. I've got a small system and another bunch of modules on the way. Very happy with the sound and form factor of the AE, here's a little plib of a track I made, more for practising using the Korg SQ1 than anything exciting patchwise. I'm keen to get the next load of modules, have plans for incorporating a kastle and making a small carry case that will allow me to take my system to me to work. I do nights at a music university, so I regularly have time alone, waiting for student audio engineers to run into issue while they're learning to record so I can go help them out, looking forward to making a few videos to upload to youtube and get involved in the conversation here. I don't think I've used BBCode since 2005, ha.
See ya on the boards.

I agree, I thought it was a good track also... and the DELAY module is great fun. I do like analogue delay, I have a silly number of delay pedals as well.

Greetings all! Jason from North Carolina, USA here.

I do not yet own an AE system, however I have a performance coming up in the fall which should earn enough for me to get a substantial system. I'm excited!

I got started on electronic music in the late 90s with sound forge, hammerhead rhythm station, TS404 synth (which is where I learned all the synth basics) and Ejay. I was recording to cassette tapes at the time, and had no idea what I was really doing. I later got an Ensoniq FIZMO and used it with my Boomerang guitar looper to make simple arrangements.

Much later I got into electribes and really started working on compositions and arrangements. I tried volca beats when that came out- absolutely loved it but my cat knocked it off the table and broke it- and used that with a microbrute and minibrute, all using a korg EMX-1 (with the vacuum tubes) as a midi brain for everything. After a bit of housing crisis I had to get rid of all that gear and downsize, so now I just have maschine, with which I use the Arturia V Collection, and an ipad running beatmaker 3 and a bunch of apps.

As to modular, I have been researching it for over a decade, but didn't like the way the options have lined up with my budget. I've made extensive use of the Model 15 app, and the modular stuff in Caustic (ios), as well as the V Collection moog modular. My favorite is the model 15 app.

I've been inspired very much by Mylarmelodies on youtube, particularly when it comes to using a modular as a groovebox and for generative work. For me the dream is to work with a fully modular system, improvise, collaborate with the synth itself, and let it lead me where it will. I'm looking forward to being able to do that with an AE system.

Currently I play guitar and oud in addition to the aforementioned stuff.

Here's a track featuring a Model 15 bassline with several Legowelt mono/poly samples and various sampled korg Gadget kits in beatmaker 3 on ios. Hope you enjoy.


soundcloud.com/abacus-systems/routing-play