E-mu Modular Systems

Back in 1973, the very first unit of this modular beast sold to a guy who just wanted to learn synth building, kicking off E-mu's dive into ultra-stable analog designs that outshone the tuning woes of contemporaries like Moog and ARP.

Hand-built to each customer's wildest specs, it let you pick from pro-grade modules like large and small VCOs with four waveforms each—sine, triangle, saw, and pulse with PWM—plus lab-quality multimode filters handling lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, VCAs, ring mods, noise, sample-and-hold, and even dual reverb. Housed in sleek, quarter-inch-thick stainless steel panels with blue borders, cermet pots, and full-size 1/4" jacks, it screamed laboratory instrument while offering firm-wire rear patches to lock in your favorite voicings without repatching every time. The real game-changer was its microprocessor-controlled polyphonic keyboard and sequencer—world's first, patented by E-mu—with up to 50 channels and 512 steps per channel, savable to tape for epic, evolving sequences.

Mostly aimed at universities and pros like Kraftwerk or Tangerine Dream players, only about 100 units survive today, cherished for their rock-solid stability and endless subtractive sound sculpting in 2-voice poly setups via CV/gate patching.