Remember this giant PAiA modular? Here's another shot of it via plexus. Title link takes you to an even larger shot.Update via plexus in the comments:i like to push the limits. and i cant justify nor afford aquiring a moog modular. so i thought "what about that paia modular stuff from the 70's?" i went shoping on ebay years ago and foung a farily large system. when i arrived, i tested it out. it sounded ok. there were some problems but with my intermediate knowledge of electronics i set out to turn this into a musical instrument. it was just a matter of repairing dead modules and replacing some parts that were essential to the quality of the audio they generate. indeed i turned it into a viable musical instrument.
you can hear it, being used live, at www.musicofsoftware.com in the sounds and the video section. all of the sequences are the paia modular through an eq and delay, that is in the video clips that have the modular being used.
so after i was able to make this into a musical instrument, and indeed people in the know were amazed at how good it sounded because they, like you, heard that paia stuff didnt sound very good. well in fact, thats not true.
in terms of circuit design they are not too bad. i wouldnt say as cheap as possible. certainly cost effective. my paia is as stable as my minimoog.
so check out the video clips and hear it for yourself.
after that i decided i wanted to collect these and restore them. so i began doing that. but now its time to liquidate part of the collection to help pay for a dsi polyevolver. i will keep a few paia 4700 cabinets and continue to use them in the studio and live."
Update: More shots on Music of Plexus
I'm curious why someone would amass such a huge collection of them. People have told me and I have read that the circuits were built as cheaply as possible, and never really worked quite right. DC bleedthough, oscillator tuning stability and tracking, etc. Granted, if you just wanted it to make really fucked up sounds, I guess it would work. But not a serious instrument, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteMost of the thin modular sounds on Devo's early 4-track recordings & video intros were done on a Paia, early evidence of Mothersbaugh's "it's cool because it sounds like I don't care" aesthetic that presently manifests itself as General Midi sounds in the cartoon & indie film scores that he supervises.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I gotta laugh when I hear 'serious instrument'.
ReplyDeleteIt's like only the good clothes come from Neiman Marcus.
as they say.. one mans trash is another mans treasure
ReplyDeletei like to push the limits. and i cant justify nor afford aquiring a moog modular. so i thought "what about that paia modular stuff from the 70's?" i went shoping on ebay years ago and foung a farily large system. when i arrived, i tested it out. it sounded ok. there were some problems but with my intermediate knowledge of electronics i set out to turn this into a musical instrument. it was just a matter of repairing dead modules and replacing some parts that were essential to the quality of the audio they generate. indeed i turned it into a viable musical instrument.
ReplyDeleteyou can hear it, being used live, at www.musicofsoftware.com in the sounds and the video section. all of the sequences are the paia modular through an eq and delay, that is in the video clips that have the modular being used.
so after i was able to make this into a musical instrument, and indeed people in the know were amazed at how good it sounded because they, like you, heard that paia stuff didnt sound very good. well in fact, thats not true.
in terms of circuit design they are not too bad. i wouldnt say as cheap as possible. certainly cost effective. my paia is as stable as my minimoog.
so check out the video clips and hear it for yourself.
after that i decided i wanted to collect these and restore them. so i began doing that. but now its time to liquidate part of the collection to help pay for a dsi polyevolver. i will keep a few paia 4700 cabinets and continue to use them in the studio and live.
plexus
www.musicofplexus.com
www.musicofsoftware.com
oh yes, and about that "but not as a serious instrument" comment: what is a serious instrument exactly?
ReplyDeletedevo used minimoogs on their early 4-tracks, not modulars
ReplyDeletethey even had a (modded) 6 osc one
> what is a serious instrument exactly?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.borgato.it/gallery/original/0500.jpg
plexus: when are you next at the ping?
ReplyDeleteI haven't gone since it's been 'monthly'. Missed you at the Gladstone. Every time I went to the Galdstone though, I kind of abandoned the ping and went exploring the hotel reno and ended up eating Vietnamese on the roof.
Begrudgingly in their defense, I'll mention that Devo used a Paia modular, an EML 500, Polybox and some other affordable odds & ends throughout the 1970's. Jerry Casale's modded double Minimoog is from 1980.
ReplyDeleteI was singing 'whip it' just yesterday when I drove by the place I used to 'roller skate' :)
ReplyDeleteWas one of my two favorite songs to skate to. Other was 'Wasn't that a party' by the Irish Rovers :)