Has modular become uninspiring (2023) - a thread...

With recent SuperBooth and the ever refreshing homempage of Thonk, I'm just not seeing anything creatively new or inspring being released in eurorack format.
Past creative modular players are now just using YouTube to sell the next module they are being paied to sell...
New setups are just techno or pinged etheral ambience, and no one is really thinking outside the box...
A thread to discuss if anyone else has picked up these vibes, or it's just me falling out of love with modular (I hope it's just a phase!)

Hmmm... I would disagree that modular artists are only making techno or ambient, though modular is great for those styles. I know the Melvins, for instance, just completed a modular album of Throbbing Gristle covers. Like any synth music, modular is only limited by your imagination and/or choice of modules. What kind of music are you making?
I'm kind of at the point where I don't need to shop for much gear to explore the kinds of sounds I like, so I'm not sure what's going on in the "synthfluencer" and retail world. Everything is cyclical, so I'm sure there will be ups and downs.
I've found that running everything through my rack is fun... guitars, bass, drum machines, vocals, keys, you name it. If you don't have a preamp of some sort (or multiple preamps!), get one.
This post sounds more like you are bored with the instrument you've built. The Fender Stratocaster has basically been the same for 70 years, and it's still inspiring people. Dive back into your rack and try something new.
Have fun and good luck!

Maybe people gravitate to modular from certain music styles they enjoy, though the entire point of it is experimentation to me.
I'm quite prodedure lead as a person and its always been an important part of all my work from mechanical Engineering, to Print Finishing & Graphic Design then onto Brewing, so experimenting with different procedures to make sound is about all I need. I'm sure I tend to make "techno or pinged etheral ambience" ;-) plus experimented with more Drum & Bass and Noise patching.
@Farkas is right, dive back in and patch something up differently, do something you don't normally do.

Creativity has nothing to do with gear. It's you that needs to be creative with the tools you've got. Completely re-think your system, make a smaller setup and focus on certain ideas or modules, read Allan Strange's book on synthesis techniques... For sure you'll get creative again.
Also: there's some modules being released that are completely new like f.i. Klavis Grainity, MN Spectraphon (maybe not completely new), phase modulation oscillators... I'd just stop looking at all those new things and record an album with the stuff you allready own. ;-)

With recent SuperBooth and the ever refreshing homempage of Thonk, I'm just not seeing anything creatively new or inspring being released in eurorack format.
Past creative modular players are now just using YouTube to sell the next module they are being paied to sell...
New setups are just techno or pinged etheral ambience, and no one is really thinking outside the box...
A thread to discuss if anyone else has picked up these vibes, or it's just me falling out of love with modular (I hope it's just a phase!)

-- Timbres

EDITED Jul 4th 2023, 17:56

Creativity has nothing to do with gear. It's you that needs to be creative with the tools you've got. Completely re-think your system, make a smaller setup and focus on certain ideas or modules, read Allan Strange's book on synthesis techniques... For sure you'll get creative again.
Also: there's some modules being released that are completely new like f.i. Klavis Grainity, MN Spectraphon (maybe not completely new), phase modulation oscillators... I'd just stop looking at all those new things and record an album with the stuff you allready own. ;-)

perhaps go even further than this... create a single patch - ie a costom instrument and create a whole album with it... you can change the tempo, notes played, any switches and knobs, but not the patch cacles... you'll really learn to play that instrument... then pull the patch cables, create a new instrument and repeat...

A musical instrument can inspire musical works and even the music of all composers during a whole century. The invention of the piano ('piano-forte', the power of expressing nuances) has inspired a century of romanticism. The harpsichord alone could not have offered this path.

But human beings can also individually create their own path with the same tools. Debussy and Rachmaninov had the same piano but their music was totally different.

Things are not one way.

Someone once wrote that among the best musical spirits of our time should be included the creators of electronic instruments. He wasn't wrong.
Only the modesty of people like Bob Moog or Dave Smith (Dieter Döpfer or Emilie in the modular world) could contradict this statement.

All, some great advice here…

@farkas – I’ll have to check out Melvins stuff, sounds ace. You also reminded me to blow the dust off my Strat... Now days I’m a diehard Doepfer user and have found this creatively inspiring as you have to think more cleverly around patches with more basic style modules.
Regarding post, I was alluding more to finding myself listening and watching the synth enthusiasts who got me into modular many years ago and have yet to see any head turners in 2023. I wonder if this is symptom of new modules releases, changing platforms, or just changing music tastes in general…

@wishbonebrewery – maybe I need to add a pint of the good stuff into my creative workflow. In 2023 I’ve also found myself gravitating towards coding rather than hardware builds, as VCV rack seems like a great entry point for new enthusiasts.

@geusensdriesmusic / @JimHowell1970 – completely agree, maybe the quick solution is just to get on with recording and writing music rather than procrastinating on everything else happening around me with eurorack. Should probably get attending local modular meet ups also.

@Sweelinck – Modular for me has always been about building a custom instrument personal to me. I come from a Violin background, so having to pick the right modules – just like choosing the right sounding Violin, makes sense to me. I do like your analysis of what it means to be inspired, so thanks for that.

EDITED Jul 5th 2023, 11:36