page_title: Modular synthesizer
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Modular synthesizer / History
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Sintetizzatore Moog Modular 55
context_page_description: Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules of different functions. The modules can be connected together with patch cords, a matrix patching system, or switches by the user to create a patch. The output from the modules may function as signals, control voltages, or logic/timing conditions. Typical modules are oscillators, filters, amplifiers/gates and Envelope generators.
context_section_description: The first modular synthesizer was developed by German engineer Harald Bode in the late 1950s. The 1960s saw the introduction of the Moog synthesizer and the Buchla Modular Electronic Music System, created around the same period. The Moog was composed of separate modules which created and shaped sounds, such as envelopes, noise generators, filters, and sequencers, connected by patch cords.
  The Japanese company Roland released the Roland System 100 in 1975, followed by the System 700 in 1976 and the System 100m in 1979.
  
  By the 1990s, modular synthesizers had fallen out of favor compared to cheaper, smaller digital and software synthesizers. German engineer Dieter Doepfer believed modular synthesizers could still be useful for creating unique sounds, and created the a new, smaller modular system, the Doepfer A-100. This led to a new standard for modular systems, Eurorack; as of 2017, over 100 companies, including Moog and Roland, were developing Eurorack modules.
caption: A Moog 55 (c. 1972 to c. 1981)
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