At SynthPlex 2019, we talked with Jason Fry of Free State FX, a large-format synth maker, based in Lawrence, KS.
He gave us an intro to his company and its modules, and also told us about how he got started making modular gear.
Free State FX makes a wide range of Dotcom-compatible MU-format modules, including several based on open source Mutable Instruments designs, an MU Ornaments & Crime module, oscillators, a low-pass gate and more. They also do custom modules and short runs of custom designs, including a MU version of the Eventide H9 Effects Processor.
You can find out more about Free State FX modules at the company’s site.
As one of the developers of the Ornament & Crime module, may I just point out that the schematic for the design is clearly licensed CC-BY-SA-NC and the PCB files for the Eurorack version CC-BY-SA. Free State FX is welcome to create a 5U version of Ornament & Crime, but ONLY if the terms of the licensing are adhered to (see https://ornament-and-cri.me/licensing/ for details). The SA (ShareAlike) aspect of the licenses requires design files to be made available to others. The product page for the Free State 5U version of Ornament & Crime, at https://freestatefx.com/collections/free-state-fx-modules/products/108As , has a link labelled “Open Source” which points to the Free State FX GitHub repository, but there are no files relating to their Ornament & Crime derivative design to be found there (at the time of writing, on 6th April 2019), and thus they are violating the license terms. They have been reminded about this previously by us, and they indicated they would release the files, but they have still not done so. Please do not buy this module until its makers comply with the open-source licensing for the Ornament and Crime module design.