Roundup 9 January 2025 | Matrix mixers & awesome oscillators...
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2025! We hope you had a peaceful festive season wherever you are. The whole Signal Sounds team is busy planning for the year ahead, thinking about how we can make the online shopping experience even smoother, working on a host of useful videos and blog posts to help you make the most of your gear, and devising a busy programme of in-store events to nurture the incredible synth community that we’re a part of here in Glasgow.
We’ve kicked things off already with a bunch of improvements to our website. Aside from various cosmetic tweaks and some under-the-hood optimisation, we’ve introduced a much more powerful search engine, plus some new shipping options and payment methods. As always, we really value your feedback, so get in touch if you have any thoughts or spot any teething problems.
Things have slowed down a bit on the new gear front as a lot of manufacturers and distributors shut down for Christmas, but we’ve still had plenty of new arrivals and there are some very cool things on the way. Read on to see what’s landed and en route.
Until next time,
Jason, Aleks, Kyle, Luke, Molly, Rob & Tom
Latest arrivals & pre-orders
ADDAC 814 6x6 Eurorack Stereo Matrix Mixer System (A+B)
£342.00
We say... ADDAC's eagerly awaited matrix mixer is a bit of a monster - 6x6, full stereo, with the option to expand to 12x6, 6x12,...… read more
If there’s one thing hardcore Eurorack heads love, it’s a matrix mixer! The ADDAC crew have delivered a super-powerful stereo option here in the form of the 814, which has 6 stereo inputs and outputs. If that’s not enough, you can expand it to 6x12, 12x6, 12x12 or even a frankly mind-boggling 18x18. And if you’re wondering why you might need a matrix mixer in the first place, check out our in-depth guide.
Beanie Bunnie Moo Moo Eurorack Dual Oscillator Module (Pre-order)
£549.00
We say... A brilliant take on the complex oscillator concept from the mind of musical polymath Jeanie! Two analogue oscillators with through-zero FM, a built...… read more
From the mind of Chinese musician and designer Jeanie comes the Moo Moo dual oscillator - a unique-looking and fantastic-sounding module offering a fresh take on some classic ideas. With voltage-controlled octave switching, through-zero FM, two crossfading mixers and a built-in noise source, it’s a patching playground that makes the perfect centrepiece for an analogue modular system. Check out Tom’s in-depth demo to see what it can do!
Rides In The Storm SED Eurorack Filter & VCA Module
£96.00
Manufacturer's description Single ended discrete VCF and VCA plus 3 Channel Mixer Three Channel Mixer Overdrive Button and Resonance Boost level Discrete VCA with low...… read more
Berlin-based Rides in the Storm is a new brand to the store, and we’re carrying a great selection of their powerful, smartly designed analogue Eurorack modules. The pricing on these is fantastic, and it just goes to show that if you’re on a budget or starting out in modular-land, you don’t need to resort to buying low-quality mass-produced modules from a brand with questionable ethics! Just take the SED for example - a proper discrete mixer, filter and VCA in 8HP for well under £100.
Ieaskul F. Mobenthey IMF Eurorack Touch Keyboard Instrument (Mocante & Mr Grassi)
£1076.00
We say... Two great IFM devices in one lovely wooden case! Manufacturer's description The IFM keyboard includes Mocante + Mister Grassi. Mocante The Mocante module...… read more
We’ve had a big drop of handcrafted wooden synths from our friends at Patch Point, including the stunning IMF touch keyboard which puts two of their popular Eurorack modules - the Mr Grassi noise synth and the Mocante tuned touch-based instrument - into one wooden enclosure. Let’s face it, if you’re looking for sweet-sounding analogue melodies this probably isn’t for you, but it’s perfect for all the experimental hands-on synthesists out there!
Cycle Instruments Tetrachords Eurorack Sequencer Module (Pre-order)
£665.00
We say... If you're interested in polyphonic sequencing in Eurorack, this should be at the top of your list. Super-powerful yet intuitive and easy to...… read more
Due in from Australia next week, Tetrachords is a super-powerful polyphonic CV and MIDI sequencer with a novel approach to scales and tuning. To be honest we haven’t had time to digest the extensive video manual yet, but from what we’ve gleaned so far it looks like one of the deepest and most powerful tools for melodic and harmonic sequencing to hit the Eurorack world in some time.
A chat about the PlayFader
Andrew ‘Hadj’ Hadjiantoni is the brains behind Play All Day, whose PlayFader sequencer got a lot of attention last year. We caught up with him to discuss the PlayFader’s unique design and hear more about his story, from working for Apple to building a unique sequencer that’s as intuitive for non-musicians as it is for experienced players. Head to our blog to read the interview.
Podcast pick
Why We Bleep is always essential listening, but this one is particularly special - a chat with the mighty Robert Henke: co-founder of Ableton and the man behind the ace Monolake project, among other things. There aren’t too many people who can claim to have changed the way millions of people make music, but he’s definitely one of them - and a super-humble and lovely fella to boot! Watch it on YouTube or listen via your favourite podcast app.
And finally...
In case you missed it over the festive period, DivKid’s 2024 round-up is well worth watching. Taking a different approach from most YouTubers, he’s done a data-driven deep dive into the most successful Eurorack modules of last year, using sales data from selected stores (including us!), votes from his Patreon supporters, Modulargrid stats and YouTube views. All the data is on his website too if you want to take a closer look.
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