IMO, it grew a little too quickly for how small it really is. I mean, it’s the biggest modular synth market to ever exist, but it’s still RELATIVELY small in the scale of music, musical instruments, etc. I think it’s reached a record amount of musicians, and I think that it will also continue to do so. However, it also grew WAY too fast, it became almost like a collectible item (card game, stuffed animal of choice, etc.)
People also tend to get so excited once they see the possibilities that they grow their systems faster than they learn how to use each part. Then they get frustrated with the whole thing.
Euro, while not horrible, is also kind of wild-west(y) when it comes to “standards” and I’ve seen people get excited to put together their dream synth, (generally from disparate brands) only to be disappointed when it all doesn’t work like what they were emulating, or had built up in their head.
There are also a lot of REALLY cool non modular synths, sequencers, boxes, etc. out these days (more than when modular (Euro specifically) started picking up so much. People likely don’t have the capital to build walls of modular, try out every cool module, AND try out all the cool non-modular gear. Also, some boutique and high end non-modular gear has prices that were pretty much unheard of outside of vintage markets since maybe the 90s (not including adjusted 60s, 70s prices).
I think your observation is correct, but rather than people just dumping to dump, I think the market and peoples’ expectations are NORMALISING and ADJUSTING, and things will eventually settle more or less where they should be.
There will likely be a slower re-uptake in modular gear from those who dumped it, though much more cautiously and thoughtfully, and studios will have a more leveled spread of hardware types.
Chip shortages also threw EVERYTHING WAY OFF. Nobody really saw it coming (at least not the full picture) until it was too late. For someone like me, I can adjust my analog designs very easily to use alternative parts. But digital MCU/FPGA/etc. designs require learning completely new platforms, acquiring them before they get bought up, etc. in those conditions, and are much harder to adapt. That’s where much of Euro was headed. Digital. You’ll notice things like the TT Buchla modules are available, because they don’t require STM32 ICs for one example.
Also, I haven’t noticed any slowdown with the ultra boutique stuff (Buchla, Serge, 5U, etc.) Those already moved at a snail’s pace compared to Euro, but they didn’t seem to be quite as impacted. I’m guessing because they’re larger investments comparitively, and people approach them differently than they would Euro. I also know from my own tiny tiny super under the radar micro one man pseudo business, that I can’t even keep up with the people that want things from me, so there’s still at least a few people wanting modular bits and pieces.
There’s definitely a shift happening, but I think it’s more like entropy than a passing fad.
Also, it seems like modern non-modular gear (and specifically designed accessories) more and more is coming with or designed with CV interoperability in mind. Elektron was kind of on the front end of this with the A4, but now you have things like the Hydra including a lot of CV IO to interface with (among other things) modular gear. Also an unprecedented amount of conversion boxes (where once you basically had Kenton and Encore, there are TONS of options now) There are also many keyboard housings to fill with Euro modules, and all of this adds up to a lot of cool connectivity and customization that was never possible before. I don’t think that’s going to be wasted on a public that just decides to ditch it all.
I’d snatch up everything!
format. No sequencer - all analog & knobs all over the place. Just 1 complex voice with filters and eq, distortion and saturation. 1 drumpad. done.
It should be all controllable by the Elektron sequencer! And four voices! Could have CV out … and CV in, if recordable to a track …
