Meghan Hui
Modular synthesis is an incredibly empowering form of making music. Building your own modular system is all about dreaming up your ultimate instrument and having the creative control to curate what truly moves and sounds like you.
We invite the Hackaday creator community at large to take part in our journey.
(1) Create a profile and join the Hackaday community.
(2) LIKE + FOLLOW this project. Deadline to make the next round is June 1 2019.
(3) Follow our journey on Instagram @null.modular.
Origin of the Case
The story behind the F(n) started (like most great ideas)... as a happy accident between friends.
The first iteration of the synth case was the brainchild of Meghan Hui (Null-LA) and Berlin-based graphic artist & modular maverick Jonas Sella. Fast forward a few brainstorms later, the duo co-inspired on dreaming up a DIY starter case for J Sella's first modular system called the Ps Modular.
Aiming to bring simplicity and minimalism to the musical aesthetic and form factor of a starter case, the Ps Modular created a new way of entering the world of modular synths. Since its inception, the case took on a life of its own - forming an intimate cult following and passing through the hands of many modular enthusiasts and electronic artists based in Los Angeles.
For the past two years, Null-LA has been listening actively to our creators - the true heroes who inspired us to take on this entirely new approach to develop the F(n) Series. An ever-growing line of unique accessories made with creators, not just for them.
The cherry on top: We're just getting started.
Building for the Future: F(n) Series
The F(n) series of case accessories is a means to identity & address turn-key activations to build and continuously improve upon the user experience.
In the research and development of Ps modular, we found a handful of red flags. We plan to address the highest barriers of entry in this field by bringing down the astronomical start up costs and inner-sourcing a fully vertical operation (open sourcing the development process internally within a community or team). By streamlining modern best practices and collaborating with industry partners, we can fabricate a state-of-the-art modular synth case right from the get-go without blowing a black hole in your bank account.
Our goal is to enable musicians from every walk of life to chase after their dream system. How we achieve this is through building a community of resources via an open & constructive discourse during the product development and design process. By doing so, we can further aid in the artists' discovery process.
The more knowledge we share, the better we can build.
The First Sprint: Illuminating The Experience
The Hackaday Challenge offers us a platform to introduce the first accessory in the F(n) accessories pipeline: an embedded LED light feature optimized for studio use and live performances. We intend to craft a 3U x 84hp wooden casing for the Ps modular case integrated with a controllable, light-reactive LED strip to illuminate your workflow, so it's one less thing to worry about. No more headlamps to mess up your vibe!
The second phase of the light feature is to create a Eurorack module to add into your modular system, enabling manipulation of various parameters and playable functions on the fly.
Upcoming Milestones
Phase 1:
- Modular case integrated with audio reactive and dimmable LED unit
- Document the build process (stay tuned in the Log Section!)
- Log #1: Combating The Cardinal Sin of Design
- Log #2: An Artist Perspective - Understanding The Nature of the Problem
Pictured at Triptronics Research show, Little Joy bar in Echo Park, Los Angeles. 
Tom Swift
Josh Cole
glad this is moving forward! I have a couple of the prototypes and they are great..