This section presents the *Atlantis3000*electronic modular synthesizer, built and troubleshot on a d.i.y. approach over unaccounted sleepless days+nights alone in my room back in my hometown. Its name was also inspired by the homonymous corner-shop down the street that still runs there since times immemorial which for kids it was a little suburban paradise for sourcing of the sweetest treats.
The word 'synthesizer' has become well acknowledged these days even amongst the technological-kids using cracked music software for their game with the world, I mention them since they represent my favorite category: the kick-starters with no funds which find their way to audacious musical realms via forums and peer2peer networks. A few of them may well find the required resources forward to discover that the voltage-controlled synthesizers may open a new way of understanding music: it is where we come to talk about the 'analog sound' made by electronic machines. If computer-made music is based on programs, data and algorithms, the analog machines do not require processing power and can simply be represented as an audible continuous flow of electrons modulated by voltage. Another notable difference consists in the direct immediate access to a vast array of parameters for the analog, whereas the digital demands diving into a certain screen/interface for attempting changes to a certain value. I wanted to present this short side2side comparison just to make a simple idea why analog instruments are still in high regards as for their ease of experimentation and unpredictability of creative methods.
It was 2012 when I first took a soldering iron in my hand, our electronic door-bell broke and bravely decided to attempt for its repair. It was like a start of a love-affair, soon after this I was buying my first electronic components and my first prototype-board. Started to gain more practical knowledge and the projects on my working desk became more and more complex. The best resources have been found on the forums and tutorials available online, it's just a good amount of helpful people out there to which I bear great appreciation. I embraced this open-source environment that has always been up for new technical challenges. This is how the Atlantis3000 started to take shape. I quickly found out that designing and soldering a module becomes an act of artistic expression, through a 'roll-your-own' attitude where freedom gets new meanings: being the designer, composer and performer all in one person allows me to get the best out of my equipment. Going further on this road, I got to explore with the vast possibilities of routing the sound-signal through various modules(functions) and could not be but overwhelmed by how this machine can zoom out easily to such a diverse spectrum of decisions available. As far as I am now concerned, modularity has always been synonymous after-all with adding functionality within a technically correct wireframe. Therefore this represents an ever-growing volume of work and research which has inspired and disciplined me in unexpected ways.
The latest important upgrade which coincides with the last time I have touched the machine was in December 2020 and gave a new turn to its operability by facilitating the external control from midi signals.
Audio samples and a live performance have been scheduled for Aug. 2022 with my next visit home, more information will be made available here in due time.
