Monthly Archives: October 2022

Introduction

When I first began my modular synth journey, I had no clue what I was doing. Now mind you, it wasn’t because I was unfamiliar with synthesis. In fact, I was well-versed in sound design. My first synthesizers were the Access Virus TI2 and Roland V-Synth—neither were “simple” synths. Instead, both share complex menus, matrix routing, and effects engines, to name a few. To this day, I spend hours programming the Virus and V-Synth, as well as other complex synths, for hours until I get a “good” patch. So why did I have such a hard time at the beginning of modular synthesis?

MISTAKE #1: Buying a case that I would soon outgrow.

I underestimated how quickly my system would grow. At the time, I looked at my budget and decided on a Doepfer low-cost wood case. It had a total of 252HP or 3 rows of 84HP. For some readers, that may sound like a sizable case, and it is! With proper planning, I would be able to obtain all of the modules I needed.

Overview

At first, providing power to a Eurorack modular synthesizer system might seem daunting and complicated. But in reality, there are only a few components involved in powering a Eurorack case. First, the power supply converts wall power to low voltages that the modules can use. The second is a bus board for distributing power from the power supply to each module in the case. The last part of the chain is a ribbon cable connecting the bus board to the modules. This article will go through each of these in detail and explain the options available.

Power Supply
The power supply is the first component powering a Eurorack modular system. The power supply can be built into the case internally or be an external power supply or power "brick" like a laptop uses. In both cases, the power supply's output connects to one or more bus boards. Power is then supplied to the individual modules from a bus board through multiple connectors for connecting individual