One month in. Here's where the Moduleur is going.
About a month passed since we launched the Moduleur and honestly, it's been the biggest thing we've ever done with Shmøergh.
More than 2,200 people signed up on the waitlist which was a genuine WTF moment for us. We honestly didn't dream of this level of interest. The feedback has been overwhelming in the best possible way. People really seem to get what we're trying to do here: the design, the openness, the honesty (remember that part of the launch video), and the fact that this is not a mass-produced product pretending to be something else.
This means the world to us and we can't thank you enough for being part of this.
The Moduleur featured as "probably the most fantastic thing of the year" in Molten Music Monthly
A proper milestone: the first DIY Moduleur
Guys, the care, precision and effort that @zimo @Flame have put into this project is unreal!
— Matt, from Australia
Almost immediately after the launch, Matt, all the way in Australia ordered the PCBs and started building the Moduleur, module-by-module from scratch.
We were kinda shocked. We never thought that two days after the release someone would be brave enough to be the first builder of a brand new DIY project.
Look at that beast, built by the first Moduleur DIYer.
Over the following weeks we kept going back and forth with Matt, discussing circuit details, edge cases, documentation, and all the weird little details which only come up when you actually get your hands dirty and build the thing for real. He helped us spot bugs, unclear steps in the build guide, and fine-tune parts of the process to make it simpler and more robust for anyone in the world.
This is exactly how we imagined the Moduleur to exist in the DIY community.
Matt is the first true Moduleur DIY builder and it feels like a real milestone for us. Not because it's the "first unit" but because it proves the whole idea: someone on the other side of the planet with a soldering iron can actually create a Shmøergh synth and enjoy making noise with it.
Huge thanks, Matt.
What we're doing now
Right now our focus is one thing: finishing all DIY materials. We've learned a ton from the synth builder community over the years, and Shmøergh wouldn't be here without that shared knowledge. Giving back is our first priority.
Our goal is simple: if you are a synth DIYer and you're up for the challenge, you should be able to build your own Moduleur from scratch.
We're very close to the finish line, waiting for the last batch of PCBs to do a final test pass, so we can share everything in the wider DIY community.
Open source is work.
And we love it.
What comes after that
Once the DIY side is in a good place, we plan to do something really special for people who love the Moduleur but would rather not smoke solder fumes to get one.
These won't be sold first-come-first-served. Instead we'll raffle the opportunity among the people who are interested, so everyone has a fair shot.
We'll share more details in a next newsletter, so just keep an eye on your inbox.
All in all, things are moving nicely in the shed, one step at a time. We're here, we're building, and some super cool stuff is coming up.
More soon. Thanks for sticking around.
Peace.