DIY MODULAR SKIFF

Modular maven Rob Redman guides us in the art of planning and building your own Eurorack enclosure

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Modular synthesisers are possibly the most varied, personal, versatile and complex form of electronic instrument and can mean different things to different people. Once you dive down the rabbit hole it can be equally daunting and exciting, with a number of aspects that can prove tricky to understand. A traditional ‘all in one’, keyboard-based instrument is easy to understand, as the box houses everything with no user input.

Modular is a very different beast; however, a little understanding of your forward journey can prevent disappointment and even damaged modules. There are quite a number of cases on the market that will provide a mechanism for attaching modules, a box to keep them safe and power to run them. Most will work off the shelf but they are not made equal, with huge variations in power supplies, build quality and aesthetics. It’s likely that you will have to make a compromise somewhere along the line and pay handsomely for doing so, as Eurorack cases can be eye wateringly expensive.

Putting it all together

Here I’ll take you through the process of planning, designing and building your own Eurorack enclosure, including using some popular online tools to help you work out the power requirements, as we’ll be wiring up our own power and having enough clean (noisefree) power is pretty important.