#13
masterclass with Scot Solida
Free up some floor space and ditch the pedals, says Scot Solida
> While most of us think of modular systems as musical instruments, there are a number of artists who use them solely to process external signals.
It’s not actually too big a leap to view them in this way. Many guitarists create elaborate ‘pedal boards’ stuffed with all manner of stompboxes that can be patched together in various combinations to create what amounts to complex multi-effects algorithms. These pedal boards can be seen as modular systems with the guitar itself acting as an oscillator. More recently, studio engineers have adopted API’s ‘500 series’
format, which bears a striking resemblance to the Eurorack systems favoured by modern modular synthesists. The 500 series is primarily built around outboard utilities like preamps, compressors and equalisers. Owners can mix ‘n’ match different components as they like to build the ultimate tacking tools.
Yet many of the same tools found in a typical pedal board or outboard rack can be found – or cobbled together – in even the smallest modular or semi-modular systems.
The typical modular environment offers many possibilities that are found only in specialty multi-effects like those from Eventide or TC Electronics.