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"Just shut up and take our money!" - the seven words uttered by the entire SonicState office when we saw the first picutres of Pittsburgh Modular's new modular effects unit for guitar AND synth.
If those patch bays alone don't get you salivating and palpitating then you need to check yourself for a pulse.
Many before have tried and failed to make a successful modular effects unit for guitarists, but with Pittsburgh Modular's reputation in the synth world, they could just be perfectly positioned to be the ones to make a success of it.
As mentioned, this is designed for both synth and guitar, and has enough of a '70s tape echo vibe about the aesthetic that guitarists will probably immediately be drawn to it.
Sneak peek of the Patch Box. Fully modular effects for guitars and synths! Details soon... #musikmesse2015 pic.twitter.com/emUyenUKZj
-- Pittsburgh Modular (@pghmodular) March 27, 2015
There is no information from Pittsburgh Modular yet about the specifications of the unit, but the MusikMesse show in Frankfurt is just around the corner, and this will be at the very top of our priority list when we fly out to the show in April.
Perhaps the new offering from Pittsburgh Modular could be the next piece of gear given this sort of treatment in the SonicState studio:
But the big question is - will it take off with guitarists?
You can sort of assume that synth guys will immediately 'get' this as a concept, but breaking up the domination in the guitar effects market of single stompboxes and digital multi effects units has always been tough.
This unit from Pittburgh Modular already looks like something you could have a lot of fun with by being hands-on with it, and guitarists usually have both their hands tied up by having to strum and fret.
It's not new territory
Devi Ever FX created a Kickstarter for what looked like a potentially brilliant modular effects unit, based on cartridges - it'd be like playing Sega Mega Drive but with guitars!
It doesn't help that Devi Ever, who also develops games, is being hassled by Gamergaters.
And there was also SnapDrive
We wrote about SnapDrive not too long ago, and it's a concept that looks really quite cool.
It's a modular system made up of little lego-style blocks which allow you to completely change your rig in seconds.
Inventor Emil Kirilov told SonicState that he is hoping to get the project off the ground soon:
"I plan to sell a platform - a board that is a host for such blocks. The blocks should be with equal size and smaller than showed in the video."
Modular guitar effects seem to be an exciting area right now - watch this space.