Next
Generation Music Synthesiser will drive a New Wave of Music Creation.
Bristol,
UK (July 11, 2014) -- Modulus,
a Bristol-based start-up that designs and manufactures musical
instruments, has launched the Modulus.002, the world's first
analogue/digital music synthesiser designed for the Internet age.
Designed and built in the UK by a team of passionate synthesiser
experts, it creates the rich analogue sounds that have been at the
heart of creative music since the 1960's by using a mix of classic
analogue techniques and the latest digital technology to give
reliability and innovation.
"Analogue
synthesisers from the last century are collectors' items and highly
sought after because of the amazing sounds but the electronics are
now getting old and increasingly frail," explained Philip
Taysom, Modulus co-founder. "It's tough to use them for live
performances or recording sessions as they are difficult to keep
working. Most modern designs of polyphonic synthesisers are pure
digital and just don't have the same iconic sound qualities, in our
opinion. What we have created in the Modulus.002 is a fusion of these
iconic analogue and hybrid sounds of the 70s and 80s synthesisers
with the reliability of the latest electronics plus Internet
connectivity to share sounds, settings and work collaboratively on
music without relying on painfully slow serial/MIDI connections to do
so. This is the first synthesiser designed for the interconnected
21st Century. The UK pioneered the synthesiser industry back in the
60s and 70s and that has grown to a three-quarters of a billion pound
a year global business, but now with little UK input. We are putting
the UK back on the map with the first polyphonic synthesiser to have
been completely designed and built in the UK for several decades."
Modulus
was founded in 2013 by Philip
Taysom and Paul
Maddox. Philip has over 30 years of experience in
the electronics and computer industries having been CTO and
co-founder of Planet Online (the creators of the highly successful
Freeserve internet service), CTO and co-founder of inTechnology plc,
and CEO of Peratech. Paul has been designing synthesisers for over 15
years with a reputation in the industry for designing state of the
art products that bring the best of classic designs into the modern
age. This highly experienced management team is complimented by
designers and engineers, most of whom are also graduates in Music
Technology. This team of eight has taken just under a year to take
the Modulus.002 from drawing board to volume production.
"Alongside
the voice architecture, a key innovation is that the Modulus.002
connects to the Internet," explained Paul Maddox, Modulus
co-founder. "As musicians and synthesiser enthusiasts ourselves,
we know exactly how people actually use synthesisers and what they
wish they could do; so we designed the Modulus.002 to be the
instrument that meets those needs and be the next generation
synthesiser to inspire a new wave of musical creation. Synthesisers
have been a defining part of the music of every decade for the past
fifty years with each new generation of synthesiser providing a new
soundscape. Being able to work collaboratively is fundamental and the
Modulus.002 enables this to happen very easily using its Internet
connection to the Modulus, cloud-based server platform to share
settings, sequences and sounds. Musicians can now work together
thousands of miles apart to create new music together. But, we wanted
to go further than this, so we're making our cloud technology Open
Platform and, later in the year, we aim to form a consortium to
encourage adoption of this standard by other manufacturers."
The
Modulus.002™ is the first in a planned family of synthesisers that
will be launched over the next few years. Dealers and agents are
being established in many countries and product will be available by
the end of July 2014. The UK price is £2995 plus VAT (£3594), the
European price €3,750 plus the appropriate VAT and the US price is
$5200 plus local sales tax -- prices correct at time of release.
Modulus.002
Using
high quality components, the Modulus.002 is a premium product
designed to be the flagship in the Modulus range. The keyboard layout
includes a semi-weighted, five octave key mechanism and has been
ergonomically designed by musicians so that the hands fall naturally
and intuitively to the controls. It provides twelve discrete voices
of polyphony with full multi-timbrility if required. Adding to the
ease of use is a large integral display screen that is context
sensitive, i.e. it displays the control parameters of any control
knobs immediately when touched by the user. Quick recall banks enable
preset sequences and settings to be stored for instant use such as
during a live performance. NCOs (Numerically Controlled Oscillators)
are used for stability and accuracy while an analogue transistor
ladder filter provides classic 'warm' sounds. Full specifications can
be found at http://www.modulusmusic.co.uk.
Synthesisers
Since
the first commercial synthesisers became available in the 1960s -
notably those from Moog, EMS, ARP, Roland and Korg, synthesiser music
has been an integral part of the sound of each decade. Experimental
and Rock in the 60's by The Who and Pink Floyd. Jean Michelle Jarre,
Mike Oldfield, Kraftwerk, Abba, and Roxy Music are a few of the bands
that brought the synthesiser into mainstream music in the 70s. By the
80s, the choice of synthesiser sound defined the band for the likes
of Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, etc. From the
90s on, synthesiser music then became the backbone of Techno, Trance,
Acid, Garage, Rave and Hip Hop, and is still at the heart of music
being created today and is as fundamental as the microphone in
recording music.
Modulus
Limited
Modulus
is a UK-headquartered designer and manufacturer of electronic musical
instruments. Based in Bristol, UK, the company employs a team of
eight engineers in the design of its synthesisers. Modulus
instruments bring cutting edge technology and user interface
features, but combine them with traditional voice architectures,
giving musicians access to the kind of synthesiser sounds previously
only available from vintage instruments from the 70's and 80's.
Founded in 2013, Modulus builds on the fifteen-year experience in
designing and constructing high quality synthesisers of its
co-founder, Paul Maddox. Bringing high technology into musical
instruments has always been a passion for Philip Taysom, a serial
technology entrepreneur, co-founder of Modulus. Modulus is privately
owned and financed.
Modulus
Limited, Mariner House, Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QD.
Tel:
0117 214 0400 (International Tel: +44 117 214 0400)
Modulus.002
is a trademark of Modulus Limited
