PPG Modular 300: “A Faithful Recreation of One of the Rarest and Most Exclusive Modular Systems”
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The PPG Modular 300 is coming back in all its high-end analog glory. But how much will it cost?
PPG Modular 300
What’s up with all the PPG re-releases these days? We just had news of an unofficial PPG Wave rackmount synth, and now we have another, this time a recreation of Wolfgang Palm’s first product, the Modular 300.
From the same team that did the beautiful (but wildly expensive) PPG 1002 as well as the PPG W2.2×4 Eurorack module comes the announcement of this modular madness.
“The PPG Modular 300 is a faithful recreation of one of the rarest and most exclusive modular systems in synthesizer history,” says the announcement on PPG’s website. “Originally developed by Wolfgang Palm in Hamburg starting in 1975, the System 300 embodied a unique philosophy: German engineering precision meeting uncompromising analog power.”
Inspired by the Moog Modular, the Modular 300 didn’t sell very well but did find its way into the rigs of artists like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schultze, who used it plus two PPG sequencers in tandem with his monster Moog Modular.
PPG Modular 300: Modern Recreation, New Approach
The new PPG Modular 300 will retain the original Moog-format size with the following modules, including three new ones.
- Portamento 300 (new)
- VCO 301
- VCA 303
- NOISE 304
- LFO 305
- Envelope Generator 307
- Mixer 309
- Sample and Hold 310
- Multiples 311 (new)
- Sequential Switch 313
- Clocked Sequential Control 314
- Analog Multiplier 315
- Voltage Controlled Filter 317
- Saturator 320 (new)
While the original system offered many dual envelope and amplifier modules, with functionality doubled up to increase utility, the new system will present these as individual modules.
PPG is promising a true recreation of the sonic character of the original, including its high-end and transparent analog sound, ultra-fast envelopes and oscillators with exceptional tracking across multiple octaves, and discrete VCA and filter stages that react vibrantly to control voltages.
PPG Modular 300: Pricing and Availability
The new PPG Modular 300 is currently in prototype stage, although PPG says that it’s 90% complete. The team will be showing the system at SynthFest France this week, and it will also appear at the 303 years of liquid sky cologne event, as well as some other future shows.
The new modular will be available as a full set or in custom configurations, and will feature black faceplates, discrete circuitry recreations of the 1975 schematics, and high-end components selected for thermal stability and long-term reliability.
There’s no price yet but these will be hand-built, and according to Dr Walker of PPG, it will be a bit more expensive than the PPG 1002 Mk2, which is $9790.
More Information
- PPG Modular 300 product page
- More about PPG
- More about synths
- Buy synths at Thomann*
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