The summer before my senior year of high school I stopped in to a fundraising sale at the Four Square Gospel Church in Winterset and for some pocket change stumbled upon something which provided a visual reference for something I’d find myself unsatisfactorally curious about—the analog modular synthesizer. The dusty Pickwick album has little critical musical merit to its name, but Happy Moog set a desire in my mind that I had not until that day known before. To create and possess a modular analog synth of my own.

My goal had been to create my own analog modular during my college years, but the requirements of social life and my studies made their own effort to keep me busy. In that time I managed to acquire a fair amount of electronic music equipment that allowed me a small home studio, but aside from a well-loved Juno 60, the analog sound was absent, and the modular experience far from my own.

I resolved over time that it may be wise to enter the world of modular synths through a manufactured product rather than the home-made, problem laden dream I’d created for myself in high school.  With this in mind I learned of Synthesizers.com in my later college years.  This Texas company offered something very tempting—an entry system program where a modular synth is purchased in installments—rather than facing the x-thousand entry fee for modular synthesis at one whack, a student/young professional like myself could make monthly installments and begin building, piece by piece, their very own modular.

Responsibilities in finance have kept the elusive modular from my door but ’09 may be a new year—through some wise (and scripturally-based) financial guideance Stacy and I are on target to be rid of consumer debt this month and the opportunity to begin building a modular is looking much more a reality than it ever has (and to be paid for in cash, rather than credit—if this does become a reality I’m going to own it outright, not pay for it for years to come!).

I’m really excited about the idea of this happening—the modular synth is what introduced me sound equipment and synthesis to start, and it’s scientific/laboratory approach to making sounds makes me feel like revisiting the questions I had in high school and college physics about sound waves and reclaiming my oscilloscope from mom and dad’s house.

We’ll see what the year brings—unexpected changes are always just around the corner, I’ve learned, but for the moment I’m really pumped about this.