I discovered modular synthesizers roughly four years ago, and knew at once that I wanted one.

Unfortunately, as is known by all who have felt lure of modular, the cost is prohibitive. Even a small skiff realistically costs over $2,000 while still being quite limited in its capabilities.

If you want a more complete modular instrument, such as by filling a 7U 104HP case, then the cost can easily exceed $6,000. And while this is a common size for fully-fledged, self-contained modular setups, it’s also firmly in the low/mid-budget range for this hobby. If you can afford it, the sky is the limit — or rather, the ceiling of your studio space.

Not included is the cost of patch cables. Even cheap ones cost about $2.50 each. The useful stackable ones start at $6. Anything beyond a small rig is likely to require several dozen, meaning that if you’re going to get into modular, you should probably expect your patch cable budget to start in the three figures.

Then again, once you’ve spent several grand on a fancy system, what’s another $150 on the cables that will actually let you use it?

When I first began to dream about modular, $150 did matter. I was in the middle of a divorce whose strain on my finances ensured I couldn’t treat even the smallest expense as an afterthought. Consequently, modular synths were part of a fantasy I prescribed to the future. Even if I had wanted to get into it piecemeal — buying a module here, a module there — I simply couldn’t bear the startup cost. A case, a power supply, and a single nice module could still run anywhere from $500-$1,000.

Not only was this more than I could afford, it was hard to imagine a worse value proposition. Modular is exponential. Every new module adds value to the ones you already have, but it takes a good handful to get anything remotely as capable as a traditional synth. Without prior gear or the ability to buy a decently-sized system all at once, it simply makes no sense as a starting point for making music.

And indeed, if the goal is to produce music, modular can be difficult to justify. I’ll get into that in another post, but for the moment, it’s enough to say there are many pros and cons to consider, which I didn’t have to do because the cost alone was enough to outweigh all other factors. So I waited, budgeted, and made music. From spring 2022 to fall 2023, I worked purely “in the box,” spending money only on an FL Studio license, a pair of speakers, and a small MIDI keyboard. I was lucky enough to already have a digital piano and a good pair of headphones.

Eventually, I purchased my first hardware synthesizer. This was shortly before publishing my debut album, Space Bunny, as a reward to myself for taking the hobby seriously and for nearly two years of meticulous budgeting. It wasn’t modular — that was still too expensive — but with the goal of one day getting around to that, it was semi-modular. I had chosen an Arturia MiniBrute 2S, used — $365 after taxes and shipping, down from a retail price of $500. Not bad.

That was over two years ago. Since then, my budget has grown and my hardware expenses ramped up to match. First, I spent six months jamming my heart out on the MiniBrute, learning its ins and outs. I discovered I preferred using it for making bass lines, and feeling badly that it needed a drum machine companion, I paired it with a Roland TR-6S. I chose it for its affordability, portability, and appealing library of classic sounds — though I quickly decided I did not like the workflow.

Four months later, I bought a Novation Peak to serve as my polyphonic synth workhorse, as well as a distortion pedal through which to route the MiniBrute. After another four months, I decided I needed sequencing and sampling capabilities, knocked out those two birds with one Elektron Digitakt II, realized it could also be a drum machine, and sold the TR-6S.

I bought all of these devices on the second-hand market and saved good money doing so, but the cost of related equipment added up — especially as I felt a rising desire to disconnect my music hobby from the computer that already took up so much of my time. As of selling the TR-6S, I had also acquired a MIDI controller, MIDI merger, MIDI splitter, audio interface, audio mixer, USB hub, speakers, stands, and a veritable menagerie of cables and adapters.

Thanks to my meticulous bookkeeping, I knew that my whole music studio had cost $3,650. The instrument themselves made up about $2,450, and the remaining $1,200 had been devoted to equipment that existed purely to support those instruments. Keep that in mind if you ever decide to go DAWless. It’s a reality of this hobby.

I felt happy with my three hardware devices (four, including the piano), but I still had my mind on modular. Specifically, for almost as long as I had known modular existed, I had kept an eye on the Tape & Microsound Music Machine by Make Noise. Every module in the TMMM seemed inspiring on an individual level as well as in the context of the whole system. True, the idea of buying or assembling a predetermined system seemed to go somewhat against the modular ethos — but I couldn’t shake the appeal of the TMMM.

This was doubly true because over time, I had gravitated toward wanting modules for FX processing, and wished for my modular system to have very little overlap with the rest of my hardware in terms of functionality. The TMMM seemed to fit while still having the ability to be played by itself if desired.

Finally, in August 2025, after endless planning, budgeting, and second-guessing, I decided I would no longer wait. I purchased a powered case, an input/output module, an oscilloscope, and a Mimeophon. Along with cables, this cost a little over $1,100.

I decided that after this, rain or shine, I would spend roughly $500/month until I filled the case. This would give me room to learn modules one at a time without getting overwhelmed, but still be fast enough to complete the system by early 2026. My finances were finally more than healthy enough to support this, and after putting off modular for 3.5 years, I decided I would not allow myself to hesitate any further.

As of writing this, I have now acquired all of the modules in the Tape & Microsound Music Machine — except two minor ones that I will not be getting. I’m left with some small gaps, which I’ve yet to fully decide how to fill. But after getting my last major piece of the TMMM, I wanted to reflect on how far I’d come.

Next week, my marriage will have ended four years ago. In the year that followed it, my finances were in freefall. Not long before the separation, my ex and I had bought a house into which I’d put a lot of my own money to purchase and renovate, as I had anticipated to be there for a long time. Consequently, when we sold the house just a few months later, it was at a loss to me even though the value had gone up — and a gain to her. This was exacerbated by her refusal to pay for any lingering joint bills, like foundation repairs for the house that the buyers requested after an inspection.

I didn’t help my situation by moving out of state to a city where the cost of living was higher — though at the time, we had agreed on a marriage dissolution. It wasn’t long before I received divorce papers in the mail, containing a list of laughably exaggerated grievances and several flat-out lies. This didn’t stop a judge from ordering me to pay $500/month in spousal support because my ex was unemployed. She had, just before the separation, quit a full-time job that paid $2,000/month (net). My own income was $2,700/month. It doesn’t take a math savant to see this doesn’t add up.

I didn’t push back against the spousal support because my attorney had told me it would be refunded to me in the final settlement. In fact, it wasn’t. It only served to put pressure on me to complete the divorce proceedings as quickly as possible — to agree to unfavorable terms to stem the bleeding. Then there were the attorney fees, and the disbursement my ex received from my retirement account. I was entitled to half her marital savings as well, of course — she just didn’t have any. Her money had been for spending. I was the piggy bank. All the budgeting in the world won’t matter if you marry the wrong person.

Back to the present, I find a kind of poetry in that $500/month figure I allowed myself to spend on modular. Three and a half years ago, this was money that put a genuine strain on my finances. In truth, it doesn’t even come close to representing the full cost of that divorce … but I like the symbolism. It took until mid-2024 for my finances to fully recover, yet I am now thriving and able to spend more on myself than ever before — and for the first time in my life, I am also allowing myself to do so without constant second-guessing.

So far, the modular system has been a lot of fun and has so much to offer. I’m not entirely convinced I will keep all of the TMMM modules, but I am settled on limiting the system to my current case at least until I move again, which I’m not in a rush to do. After expanding my hardware setup for the past two years, my goal is to slow the expansion and focus on refinement, and on actually uploading music. I play all the time, but I’d love to have something to share to the family members that ask.

Happy New Year <3

Audio connectivity

All the sound generators are connected via TRS audio cables to a mixer, where their outputs are merged together to taste. The output of the mixer then goes to the computer via an audio interface. From there it goes out to the speakers. There’s a hilarious number of volume knobs that each signal passes through.

It also takes a fuckton of cables. I’m currently using 1 XLR cable and 13 TRS cables. It’s about $10 each so let’s say $150 after tax. I also paid $125 for a used Mackie Mix12FX mixer, which is on the low end. I won’t include the cost of the audio interface because you’d probably want one even if you’re fully in the box (doing everything in the DAW).

Total audio cost now: $275 Total audio cost future: $325 because I anticipate having to buy at least five more TRS cables for future synths and devices

MIDI connectivity

The sound generators also need to know what notes to play, which is passed via MIDI data. All of them can both send and receive MIDI. MIDI can be sent over USB, but this typically introduces jitter as well as noise, and is best avoided. Some synths have a MIDI-Thru input that makes it possible to daisy chain devices, but that also has its complications. The best and simplest method is to use a MIDI hub.

Simplest doesn’t mean simple, though. I want to send note data out to all my instruments with my MIDI controller. But I have more than one possible source of MIDI data. The computer can also send MIDI data. So can my piano. And if I don’t want to send that over USB, then I need a way to both merge multiple incoming MIDI signals, as well as split the result into multiple outgoing signals.

There’s a MIDI hub device I could buy that solves all these issues. It’s $180 for the smaller budget version. I just have a $53 splitter box for now and dealing with USB when I have to. It’s about $7 per cable and I am using five, so that’s another $35.

Total MIDI cost now: $88 Total MIDI cost later: ~$250. I could sell the current hub but I’d probably keep it, could be handy

USB connectivity

As mentioned, it’s preferable to avoid USB. Even if you completely avoid using it for MIDI, it still adds noise to the system. My TR-6S, for example, is quite noisy when plugged in via USB, even though it has a Ferrite choke. My piano’s USB connection is also noisy. However, there are still reasons to use USB. The TR-6S is powered by it, and it churns through four batteries quite quickly so it’s not feasible to keep it unplugged at all times. My Minibrute 2S has settings that can only be configured on the computer when connected via USB. If I want to manage patches or add new wavetables to my Novation Peak, I need USB. My MIDI splitter hub is powered by USB. So is my audio interface.

In other words, a USB hub is needed, and one with a good number of inputs. About $30. And not all of these devices come with the necessary USB A-to-B cables, especially when purchased used. I’ve had to purchase two for about $20 total.

Total USB cost now: $50 Not sure about future.

Back to audio

Even with a well set-up mixer, audio connectivity is still a hassle. My Mackie Mix12FX mixer has a single mono FX output, which is currently going out to my single Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The output of the pedal is plugged back into one of the mixer’s inputs. This is a basic FX send setup. But what if I want to change it? The Peak and TR-6S both have built-in distortion effects, so what if just wanted to insert the RAT into the Minibrute’s signal chain only, instead of using it as a send? Then I’d have to do a bunch of rewiring.

I eventually intend to get a sampler and some Eurorack modules. This will inevitably involve sending the output of some of my other devices to their inputs. Again, more rewiring needed, and there will not be a single fixed solution. The ability to make break connections and make new ones needs to be built into the setup.

That means getting an audio patch bay. More money spent, more space used, more cables required. Looks cool though. I’ve done a mockup and determined that with my planned setup I could use almost all of the patch points in a 48-point bay. Costs about $130 and another $35 for 8 short cables.

Total patch bay cost now: $0 Total patch bay cost future: $165

Mounts

If you’re going DAWless, you’ll need hardware instruments, and that means you’ll need a place to put them. I’m just working at a single desk and don’t have the room to expand beyond. I’ve managed to really maximize the space with mounts, including wall mounts. I raised my speakers to give myself more desk space. I mounted my primary monitor to the wall to make room under it. My mixer is stuck to a monitor wall mount with command strips so it uses far less space while still being movable. I bought a KVgear mount to stack the Minibrute above the Peak on my desk.

There’s a lot of options here, but for me that was about another $190.

Expensive AF

So I’m looking at about $600 spent so far just for the sake of DAWless connectivity. No synths, no pedals, no keyboards included. None of the fun stuff. And I may spend an additional $330 for a total of $930 to make the setup properly usable, accessible, patchable, and convenient to use without having to constantly redo cable management or pull things in and out of storage.

And that’s only half the price of a small Eurorack setup! LOL this hobby will financially ruin me

![Wine](https://i.imgur.com/l5P0kX8.jpeg "Wine’)

Nobody really knows how to identify “good” wine. Slap a fancy label on a cheap bottle and, upon tasting it, people will describe it using terms like “complex,” “rounded,” and “woody.” Serve the same wine, this time with the original label, and it will suddenly become “flat” and “weak.”

These are real quotes from a 2001 study, and there are plenty more that show the same phenomenon. Expert wine reviewers can’t even tell the difference between white and red wine. I’ll leave you with this great article if you want to read more.

It’s the same in the music production industry. Try to find any review of an analog piece of gear without hearing the term “warm” or “vintage.” Impossible. Yet in a blind test, people can’t accurately identify one synthesizer from another. Most can’t hear compression at all, let alone the difference between a digital one and an authentic 1176 — yet the internet is positively rife with analog compressor emulations, all claiming to be the one that will finally take your mix to the next level due to its unique acoustic properties. It’s snake oil.

We experience what we expect, and we like what we’re already familiar with. Confirmation bias and the placebo effect constantly work against us to undermine our perception of reality. As soon as you gain even the tiniest bit of insight into what you think something is supposed to be, it changes how you experience it.

There are differences between synthesizers, of course. Their signal paths, interfaces, and features all vary. But in terms of the raw sound, they are subjective differences that cannot be given any sort of meaningful quality. Just like people can’t tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine, people can’t tell the difference between a $10,000 Moog One and a free piece of software like Vital. Certainly not in the context of a mix.

For me, the point of buying hardware is the interface. Being able to touch the instrument, to feel more directly connected to the sound, is an experience that’s harder to obtain with software. And indeed, that’s an experience that varies from one device to the other. Some synths have capabilities others don’t. I personally like anything that helps me perform the instrument in a more expressive manner, which means I’ll gravitate toward things like poly aftertouch, bi-timbrality, and limited menu diving. Expressiveness is what made the CS-80 legendary in the hands of Vangelis, even though its raw tone isn’t particularly noteable. Give me an Osmose Expressive E any day of the week over an old Juno-6.

But while these things are not ignored by the marketing, they’re usually not the focus. More often than not, the focus is on imparting a sense that whatever new synth you’re checking out has a certain special sound quality, that je ne sais quoi you can only get from the manufacturer selling it. Of course the expensive hardware synth sounds better than the free software one. Of course it will take your sounds to new heights and help you finally reach your dream of being a successful music producer.

Right?

Nope. I’m not saying there’s no point in buying hardware. I buy hardware and I love it. But if you’re doing it because you think it sounds better, you’re probably fooling yourself.

One post in and I already had to stop myself compulsively self-editing. But hey, I caught myself. That’s a good step.

Anyway, after saving for a few months I recently acquired a Novation Peak synthesizer, which I was very excited about because it’s my first hardware polysynth and it’s also pretty fucking cool. But more importantly, I now finally have three sound generators.

The first one was the Arturia Minibrute 2S I bought last year. I got it because it was affordable and seemed like a good staging point for getting into modular, which I eventually want to do. Then I added the Roland TR-6S some months later, because after jamming for a few months on a single analog monosynth, the first thing I was always reaching for in the DAW was a beat.

And now there’s three, which means we’ve almost got a full band. I have plans for more, but it’s starting to get pretty damn fun already, and with some careful sequencing and performance, I could probably put out some good songs out of just those three instruments if I wanted to.

For now I’m happy to not worry too much about perfecting a performance, and focusing mainly on jamming and having fun. When I was a teen I spent 10 years straight playing the piano every day, and as it was a digital piano, I often reached for alternate instrument presets, and in particular I loved to layer them. I adore the piano, but I always wanted more than just one thing to play on, and it’s been a long time coming but it’s finally happening.

Anyway, I’m trying to just keep things recording whenever I jam, so if there’s a segment that I think sounds good, I can upload it to YouTube and bother my friends and family to listen. These are the first two.