Eurorack

[1][2][3][4] It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from more than 600 different manufacturers ranging from DIY kits and boutique, cottage-industry designers to well-known, established synth mass-manufacturers like Moog and Roland.

[3] In the UK, Analogue Systems had been independently developing a very similar format, with small technical differences such as the power connectors.

[14] In the mid 2010s, increasing interest in Eurorack modulars prompted large, well-known music technology manufacturers to start producing Eurorack-compatible equipment aimed at this new market.

In addition to modules, manufacturers like Arturia started producing outboard devices such as the Beatstep and Microbrute[15] designed to be able to communicate with Eurorack modular synthesizers via 3.5 mm jacks transmitting control voltages.

The electrical characteristics of signals are split into three loosely defined categories: Several manufacturers offer Eurorack-compatible modules in a smaller 1U tall format, sometimes referred to as "tiles".

[33] They can be (1) dynamic processors, used to control the level of a signal (like compressors, or limiters), (2) equalizers, used to change the frequency characteristics of a given sound (sometimes in the form of a eurorack mixer module), or (3) special effects, like delay, reverb, or chorus.

Building DIY modules can be a gateway to learning more about electronics and physical manufacturing, as well as being satisfying and developing a more intimate connection with the synthesizer as a personal musical instrument.

Open Source licenses for both hardware and code allow individuals to build the modules from scratch, and companies such as Thonk to offer kits.

[36][37] Some manufacturers do not offer kits or intend for end users to build their products, but release the code, schematics and layout under open source licenses.

Émilie Gillet of Mutable Instruments cites transparency and the possibility for customers to customise or modify their modules as driving reasons for this decision.