In the latest episode of the Art + Music + Technology podcast, synthesist Darwin Grosse talks with Paul Schreiber, creator of the MOTM synthesizer modular synthesizer.
“At what point does the electronic reality stop and the voodoo start?” asks Schreiber – who goes on to offer his perspective on the question and how it applies to the modular world.
Episode Summary:
Paul Schreiber has seen it all, from building his own Heathkit gear, to designing automotive stereo systems, to designing cell phones to creating modular synthesizer systems. I was, of course, mostly interested in the latter, but I was also interested in how modular systems were informed by his earlier experiences. In this interview, Paul shares how he learned electronics, how he designed the MOTM modular system, and also shares his advice for anyone interested in digging into it themselves.
Interview With Paul Schreiber
You can learn more about Schreiber’s MOTM designs at the Synthesis Technology site.
It’s too bad that many of Paul’s 5U module designs are not available anymore. They were all great, but they were expensive enough that I had to buy them over time, and unfortunately, missed out on many of them.
I’m very excited about randy jones’ interview. I would love to hear from Peter Blasser of ciat lonbarde/shbobo his instruments are very interesting.
Nice interview, but would it not be better to do it with sound quality a little better than a phone line, for instance skype or soemthing like that?
Ozzy,
I would actually like to do these in person with a nice set of microphones, but we have to bow to the reality of the situation, and the convenience of the interviewee. A phone recording is what was most convenient for Paul, and I was just grateful that he was willing to put up with the conversation!
[ddg]
Thank you for this great interview with paults. I am a fan of his modules, and found his perspective of progression in a technology development profession to be informative and interesting.
I hope he starts releasing his new designs in Moog format finally. The grid thing’s not a huge issue, but screws that don’t line up with my existing metal rails is. The circuits are really fantastic designs so it’d be a shame to see them not get resurrected in some meaningful way.
Just a gentle nudge to Paul’s memory, and small adjustment to the given history – Paul build a 3 VCO modular synth while still in high school – I know because he built it for me. It was a thing of beauty, incredible sound. Sadly, it was a victim of a shipping accident in 1982 and is long gone. I think it was built in 1974 or so. I still have pictures of it.