This is Takazudo Modular Highlights vol.9 (distributed August 29, 2024).
This is an archive of the newsletter sent through our Mercari Shops. While we call it an archive, the Mercari newsletter has various limitations, so this is an optimized article for the web.
Here are the contents of Vol.9.
This is Takazudo Modular Highlights vol.9 (distributed August 29, 2024).
This issue covers the August–September sale announcement.
Sale Period and Eligible Products
This is the third sale since Takazudo Modular started. And it's been about a year since we opened this shop. Time flies! Thank you for always checking in!
This sale runs for about half a month:
August 29, 2024 09:00 – September 18, 2024 00:00
The eligible products are those in stock whose prices haven't changed for a certain period. As with previous sales, this is a great deal where Mercari covers the discount, so please take this opportunity to check out any products you've been interested in.
Let me pick out some recommended products from the sale selection.
Weston Precision Audio: SE1
First up is Weston Precision Audio: SE1 Shaped VC Envelope.
In this sale, the majority of our products are eligible, and Weston Precision Audio modules are on sale for the first time. Takazudo Modular is currently the only shop in Japan carrying Weston Precision Audio, and I, Takazudo, have personally tested each one and can say they are truly high-quality modules.
Among them is the SE1 envelope generator. This envelope generator arguably has nearly every feature you could ask for in a standard ADSR envelope. Not only can you adjust the curve of each stage, but you can also control the output CV level. It can switch to AR envelope mode as well — if you're looking for that one definitive envelope generator, this is the ADSR final answer kind of module.
Weston Precision Audio: SF1
Next is Weston Precision Audio: SF1 Dual / Stereo VCF.
I, Takazudo, sell modular synths for a living, and while I'm motivated enough to start a shop, I wouldn't say I was originally an expert. So by carrying these products and writing introductory articles, I end up understanding them more deeply — it's a continuous learning process.
Using this module brought many discoveries. First, the VCF — essentially a filter — is quite large. It has two channels, each with two outputs. The resonance has 1V/Oct tracking, and you might wonder how to use that.
You might question how many people would specifically want something like this, and if I were in the buyer's shoes, I'm honestly not sure I'd find this module immediately appealing. But once you actually start using it and experimenting, you discover many things.
For example, with two channels, you can route VCO output to each channel, sequence the resonance and cutoff separately with envelopes and other modulation, then mix the outputs panned left and right. With just a filter, you get this sense of infinite combinations, and you realize just how much variety is possible.
It's that kind of realization — that simply playing a melodic sequence through a VCO is just one approach among infinite possibilities... I tend to feel this way with every module I explore, and it's always a repeated discovery.
Weston Precision Audio modules all share this quality of analog excellence — you can strongly feel that the designer creates them because they find these aspects genuinely fascinating.
I got carried away writing modular synth poetry and the newsletter got quite long. I only introduced two products...
That's all for this newsletter. We'll send another during the sale period.
See you next time.
This newsletter was distributed on August 28, 2024.
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