"Emute Lab Instruments is a new project, based at the University of Sussex, and coming out of the Experimental Music Technologies Lab research group.
Nick spoke to Dimitris about their first creation, the uSeq module, which bridges live coding and modular synthesis.
Rather than relying on laptops, uSeq uses a Raspberry Pi Pico to handle code expressions, translating them into control voltage (CV) and gate signals. Its design emphasizes accessibility, featuring an open-source platform that's DIY and budget-friendly.
The module has three CV and three gate outputs, coupled with a user-friendly coding language called *ModuLisp*. This setup allows you to manage multiple code patches and switch between them using onboard controls. Aiming to move beyond traditional code interaction, Dimitris is exploring vocal control methods, aligning with live coding's evolving narrative.
Available both as a DIY kit and a ready-made module"
"uSEQ is a eurorack module that brings livecoding into your modular system. Fundamentally, it’s an extremely flexible voltage generator and processor. It has a set of CV and pulse inputs and outputs, but instead of having a fixed set of controls and functions, you can choose how voltages are generated by livecoding them. This means that you can control uSEQ’s behaviour with the vast possibilities of creative coding, using a simplified programming language specialised for music. uSEQ is great for sequencing, waveform generation, and waveform processing. You can use it as a live performance tool, or configure it for specific functions.
To use uSEQ, hook up a computer via the USB port, load up the editor in your browser and start playing."
"Emute Lab Instruments is a new project, based at the University of Sussex, and coming out of the Experimental Music Technologies Lab research group.
Chris showed Nick their latest creation, Myriad a new multi-oscillator module.
This prototype featured nine oscillators organized into three banks with a hybrid analog-digital synthesis design, aimed at creating dynamic sounds. Chris explained the module's CV-controllable parameters, including pitch, spread, and octave control, designed for rich tonal diversity. An integrated wave-shaping and overdrive circuit added depth and distortion, with LEDs indicating the overdrive status.
It should be available soon through Signal Sounds and Thonk.
"Nick met Manuel from Leaf Audio at the LSPXPO 2025, showing the *Microphonic Soundbox*, a fascinating device designed to capture intimate sounds using a pair of contact microphones. Built on the concept of body sound transmission, the sound box allows you to isolate detailed audio elements, making it particularly appealing for sound designers in film and gaming.
Leaf Audio also presented their innovative Geophone*, which excels at picking up low-frequency rumbles from 15Hz, ideal for adding cinematic impact to your soundscapes. Newly released *contact microphones boast advanced mounting options, engineered in collaboration with sound designer Robert Dudzic. These microphones provide incredible sensitivity for capturing subtle environmental sounds.
The conversation highlighted the importance of using matched preamps to achieve optimal audio quality. With reasonable pricing and a focus on utility, Leaf Audio's offerings ensure high-quality sound experimentation for creators."
"Fuzzy psychedelic ambient jam using only analog machines. I did use a couple of the digital machines on the Syntakt, but routed them through the analog drive and filter of the FX block"
"'Interaction' is a work that opens up new musical possibilities through the resonance of the beautiful sound of the Prophet-5 and the innovative musicality of the atarist m. Please give this one-of-a-kind sound a try."
It has come to my attention that Paul Schreiber has passed away.
Pictured: Paul Schreiber at the 2006 NAMM show. Top from this previous post (pic by fr1zz), and bottom from this post (pic by Synthtopia) - this is the first image of Paul on the site. There is one comment in that post: "He's a good guy." Indeed.
Readers of the site should be familiar with his work. He was the man behind MOTM and Synthesis Technology.
To say Paul was one of the greats to influence the synth community would be an understatement. He was pivital to the rebirth of modular synthesizers. He started when modular as we know it today was in its infancy, as one of a very small group of large format DIY modular manufacturers along with Blacet, Modcan, Cynthia, Wiard, Oakley, STG, Catgirl/CGS, Tellun/Lower West Side StudioYuSynth, Jurgen Haible, and of course DIY staples like Thomas Henry/ MFOS, Ray Wilson and PAiA (see this post for some modular formats back in 2007). I focused mainly on those offering DIY. There were other manufacturers including Synthesizers.com, Club of the Knobs, MOS-LAB, Moon Modular, MacBeth, CMS, and more. Feel free to mention others in the comments. This post is about Paul, but I think it's important to reflect on some of the large format modular manufactures he was amongst at the time.
Paul created the MOTM format of 5U modules in 1998. MOTM stood for Module of the Month offering monthly DIY kits. From Wikipedia: "MOTM was created by Paul Schreiber in 1998. The system was created in part due to the renewed interest in large-format analog modular systems that occurred in the late 1990s. Between 1998 and 2021, over 8000 modules were sold. The company, Synthesis Technology, also offered a limited number of modules in Eurorack[2] and Frac[3] format."
He was also helped design the Moog/Realistic MG-1. From Wikipedia: "In 1980, Moog Music was seeking to contract manufacture a mass-marketable synthesizer which could be sold via a large retailer. Moog representatives secured an appointment at the Radio Shack corporate offices for a 5-minute demonstration. Radio Shack approved the concept, and Paul Schreiber (then employed by Tandy Systems Development) worked together with Moog on the synthesizer's design to achieve Radio Shack's price requirements.[2][3]"
He later joined the eurorack scene with Synthesis Technology branded modules. FYI, his site for MOTM was always http://www.synthtech.com/, short for Synthesis Technology. The first post to mention Paul and MOTM was posted just under twenty years ago here on MATRIXSYNTH back on August 26, 2005. If you click through you will see it was a post announcing the MOTM/synthtech.com site was going down for the weekend. He announced he was retiring from the synthesizer business in August of 2023.
It's worth repeating, Paul Schreiber was one of the key figures that brought modular back to the masses. He was both respected and loved by the synth community. It's impossible to overstate his influence. He will be missed.
The following are the first the last video interviews with Paul to be featured on the site:
The SynthSummitShow Episode 2: Paul Schreiber (Synthesis Technology) and A.Dapt (music producer) ...
SysEx Dumpster - Episode 44 - a conversation with Paul Schreiber
video upload by Sysex Dumpster on Jul 30, 2023. Details previously posted here.
The first videos to feature Paul presenting a module was back on January 3, 2010, and the first interview on SoundCloud in 2013, and he was of course featured in the modular documentary film I Dream of Wires.
"This is a short sunday afternoon jam with my Roland System 100 Model 101, TR505 Drumcomputer and Sequential Prophet 5 Rev. 3.
I'm using Arturia's Beatstep pro as Sequenzer for Midi Clock and for triggering the Model 101 via CV."
