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It shouldn't come as a surprise that we at Perfect Circuit think that modular synths are awesome—they provide a platform for building a highly personal instrument tailored to your own musical needs. These instruments can even evolve to the point of acting as the sole sound source for entire tracks or performances, with plenty of opportunity for sound generation, processing, and control. Some artists' entire output relies on modular synthesizers alone. In fact, for many, the idea of creating a complete piece/performance/album on a modular synth alone has become a sort of aspirational ideal.
While this holistic approach can absolutely be rewarding and inspiring, however, it is important to remember that it is not the only option for being creative with modular synths. We quite often see new modular synthesists gradually shed their attachment to other gear and techniques in search of the ideal all-in-one music making solution; and of course, this sometimes works out just fine. But sometimes, an approach that draws from broader resources can be every bit as inspiring and unique as a modular synth alone.
State Of The Stomp: Living In Synth
We've been having a lot of fun lately pairing guitar pedals with modular gear. For a long time it seemed as if the Eurorack world was developing into weirder sonic territory much more quickly than the pedal world—but now, there are plenty of pedal makers pushing boundaries into the esoteric corners of sound design. Today, many pedals present sonic possibilities uncommon in the world of modular synths; some present familiar ideas in novel ways; and some simply have a sound so compelling that they are difficult to pass by. And of course, pedals are an excellent way to offload processes that you don't always need in your synth, so that you can more easily add/remove functions than would be practical with dedicated modules. Along these lines, it's also great to have options for sonic expansion without needing to completely rearrange a Eurorack case—and without the need to approach the tough (and expensive) question of when to buy a bigger rack.
Whether using guitar pedals to augment your modular synth or adding in a few modules to complement your pedalboard, interfacing modular synths with pedals is an excellent way to explore new sonic territory...but there are some things to keep in mind as you join these worlds together. Let's talk details so that you're prepared for all the questions you'll encounter when deciding how to pair your pedals with your semi-modular or modular synthesizer.
One of the most important considerations—signal levels. You might remember from our article on connecting Eurorack and line-level gear that signal levels in different corners of the audio world can vary drastically. Microphones produce different signal levels than electric guitars; electric guitars produce different levels than keyboards and drum machines; modular synths produce different signal levels than all of these. Knowing how best to connect different types of gear together can be a bit mind-boggling, but it is now part of the craft of being an electronic musician.
Patch Box Enclosure — Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers
In this particular scenario, the most important thing to remember is that Eurorack signal levels are usually much higher than the levels that effects pedals expect to receive. Pedals are usually designed to receive signals from electric guitars (whose pickups have particularly low output levels) or other sources like keyboard synths and drum machines—which have somewhat higher output level, but not nearly the level of modular synths.
The safest bet for connecting your modular gear to effects pedals is to use a dedicated output interface module in order to get your modular synth's output down to instrument or line level. Depending on your purposes, any number of different things could fill this role—but perhaps one of the most common solutions is a dedicated insert interface, which simultaneously allows users to scale down signals to be sent to their pedals, and to scale up signals coming from their pedals. Let's explore this idea, as well as some alternative solutions.
Eurorack + Pedal Interfacing ToolsStrymon AA.1 Amplifier Attenuator 4hp $129.00 Cart Wishlist Add to Compare There are tons of modules that can do this! Perhaps the most straightforward options are Strymon's AA.1 or ADDAC's 200PI, which can be used to get stereo signals into and out of a modular system with fixed attenuation levels—producing precisely the signal levels that each type of gear needs to work optimally. The Retro Mechanical Labs GPI is another module in this vein, adding attenuation controls to the outgoing signal level for fine-tuning your signals for use with external effects (often a huge asset for processors like fuzz or distortion, where incoming signal level has a profound impact on the resulting signal). If what you need is a quick and easy way to convert signal levels both directions, these modules will work spectacularly. Some other pedal interface modules additionally include a built-in control for outgoing wet/dry mix. Malekko's SND/RTN is personal favorites for this sort of processing, providing 1/4 send/return I/O for interfacing with your pedals and both manual and CV control for Wet/Dry FX mix, making it an excellent choice for inserting external pedal effects virtually anywhere in your modular synth's signal chain. ALM's SBG and Doepfer's A-138d are other similar options, providing the same interfacing functionality as the SND/RTN, but without CV control over the wet/dry balance. SBG also adds some interesting tools for using CV to control your pedals via their expression pedal inputs—a feature which we'll discuss in depth in a forthcoming article. All of the modules described above offer more or less basic input/output functionality, but others add in some extra functions that can make working with external effects a bit more interesting. One such module is the XAOC Devices Sewastopol II. Sewastopol provides the same type of input and output controls, but adds an envelope follower and comparator. This provides users the option to generate control voltages and gates that correspond the loudness of incoming signals—an excellent way of creating organic modulation and timing signals to help the modular system feel overall more in sync with external processes.
Affect Your Synths With (pedal) Effects! — Earthquaker Devices
Of course, while input amplification of pedal signals is important when adding signals into arbitrary parts of your synth signal flow, for many applications, a simple output interface will suffice. For instance, if you're just looking to add an end-of-chain delay or reverb to your synthesizer, you probably don't need the input amplification stage of a SND/RTN, SBG, or similar module. Instead, you could look to something as simple as an Erica Pico Output, Intellijel Outs, or even just a simple attenuator or VCA to tame your outgoing signal levels before hitting the pedal(s) in question.
Boredbrain Music INTRFX v2 Eurorack to Pedal Interface $220.00 Cart Wishlist Add to Compare Sometimes, of course, adding an extra module to perform these interfacing tasks isn't a possibility—either because you're out of room in your Eurorack case, or because you're working with a semi-modular instrument...meaning that you don't have the easy ability to add new modules without the entirely separate task of buying a Eurorack case. Luckily, there are solutions for these scenarios as well—perhaps most notably, the BoredBrain INTRFX and Transmutron. Boredbrain Music has developed a number of clever patching utilities for pedalboards, and these two offerings are no exception. INTRFX provides three Eurorack/Pedal interface channels in a single enclosure, making it easy to either add Eurorack effects into your pedalboard or to add pedal FX into your Eurorack signal flow—and it even offers manual and CV control over FX Wet/Dry blend (as with the Malekko SND/RTN module, described above). Boredbrain's Transmutron (now discontinued) is another clever signal routing tool—a combination dual FX loop/two-way crossover filter designed to allow you to separate the high and low frequencies for parallel processing. It features both Eurorack and line/instrument-level inputs, allowing you to merge these two worlds in a somewhat more novel way than the INTRFX alone. All that to say, there are definitely tools out there for helping you interface between modular synth and pedal ecosystems without necessarily needing to add new modules to your setup, or to buy a new case if things are cramped.
So naturally, buying a module or pedal for the purpose of scaling signal levels isn't always compelling when money could be spent on something more overtly exciting—after all, many of these modules' prices are in the same range as some pretty rad oscillators, filters, effect processors, etc. So it's important to face another big question...what if you—*gasp*—don't use a pedal interface module for connecting your pedals to your Eurorack system?
Using Control Voltage With Effects Pedals
The most important facet of this question: are you going to hurt something if you connect a modular-level output into a pedal's input? The answer is probably not...but maybe. Not all pedals are designed in the same way, nor are all modules—so it's conceivable that there are combinations of modules and pedals that
Of course, while input amplification of pedal signals is important when adding signals into arbitrary parts of your synth signal flow, for many applications, a simple output interface will suffice. For instance, if you're just looking to add an end-of-chain delay or reverb to your synthesizer, you probably don't need the input amplification stage of a SND/RTN, SBG, or similar module. Instead, you could look to something as simple as an Erica Pico Output, Intellijel Outs, or even just a simple attenuator or VCA to tame your outgoing signal levels before hitting the pedal(s) in question.
Boredbrain Music INTRFX v2 Eurorack to Pedal Interface $220.00 Cart Wishlist Add to Compare Sometimes, of course, adding an extra module to perform these interfacing tasks isn't a possibility—either because you're out of room in your Eurorack case, or because you're working with a semi-modular instrument...meaning that you don't have the easy ability to add new modules without the entirely separate task of buying a Eurorack case. Luckily, there are solutions for these scenarios as well—perhaps most notably, the BoredBrain INTRFX and Transmutron. Boredbrain Music has developed a number of clever patching utilities for pedalboards, and these two offerings are no exception. INTRFX provides three Eurorack/Pedal interface channels in a single enclosure, making it easy to either add Eurorack effects into your pedalboard or to add pedal FX into your Eurorack signal flow—and it even offers manual and CV control over FX Wet/Dry blend (as with the Malekko SND/RTN module, described above). Boredbrain's Transmutron (now discontinued) is another clever signal routing tool—a combination dual FX loop/two-way crossover filter designed to allow you to separate the high and low frequencies for parallel processing. It features both Eurorack and line/instrument-level inputs, allowing you to merge these two worlds in a somewhat more novel way than the INTRFX alone. All that to say, there are definitely tools out there for helping you interface between modular synth and pedal ecosystems without necessarily needing to add new modules to your setup, or to buy a new case if things are cramped.
So naturally, buying a module or pedal for the purpose of scaling signal levels isn't always compelling when money could be spent on something more overtly exciting—after all, many of these modules' prices are in the same range as some pretty rad oscillators, filters, effect processors, etc. So it's important to face another big question...what if you—*gasp*—don't use a pedal interface module for connecting your pedals to your Eurorack system?
Using Control Voltage With Effects Pedals
The most important facet of this question: are you going to hurt something if you connect a modular-level output into a pedal's input? The answer is probably not...but maybe. Not all pedals are designed in the same way, nor are all modules—so it's conceivable that there are combinations of modules and pedals that
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