My modular is physically a copy of the Moog modular system that was invented by Dr. Robert Moog back in the 70s.  Bob Moog was a brilliant engineer and synth designer, and is considered the father of the synth.  You can find out much more about the old Moog systems here

At the same time, another designer named Don Buchla also developed a system, but he is kind of whacko and produces bizzare systems that are not meant to create music. his system did not even have a keyboard, just a dozen touch pads.

Since i wanted to copy the Moog as much as possible, i made the cabinets the exact same size as the Moog, and used walnut just they did.  Walnut is expensive.  just the wood for my cabinets cost around $400.  Ouch.

Since i have no circuit design skills, i’ve built the system from completed modules from roger Arrick over at Synthesizers.com, and also built many modules using blank circuit boards from Tony Allgood at Oakley Sound, as well as from Ray Wilson at MusicFromOuterSpace.  Ray not only designs modules, he also does standup comedy.  That guy cracks me up.  Roger builds very good quality modules.  Tony is a first rate circuit designer and sells very high quality boards.  Raw wilson does the same, but usually at a lower cost.

I’ve recently started building modules from scratch, doing my own pcb layout and etching the boards, etc.  but these are simple modules, nothing complex at all.  usually just an op amp or two, and a hand full of resistors.

For the front panels, i buy blank panels from roger, drill them and then silkscreen the text on the front.  Getting good looking graphics on the front is a real challenge.  People have tried everything, but the only thing that looks worth a damn is silkscreening.  Recently, some companies have popped up that offer do-it-your-self screening kits, and they work pretty darned good.  I get my stuff from a company called CircuitBridge.  I don’t know what that name is supposed to mean.

The one complex module I did design from scratch is my sequencer, functionally equivalent to a Moog 960.  I give all the details on a separate page.