UC Santa Barbara

Modular synthesis is a continually evolving practice. Currently, an eective

taxonomy for analyzing modular synthesizer design does not exist, which is

a signicant barrier for pedagogy and documentation. In this dissertation,

I will dene new taxonomies for modular control, patching strategies, and

panel design. I will also analyze how these taxonomies can be used to in-

uence the design of musical applications outside of hardware, such as my

company Unltered Audio's software products. Finally, I will present Euro

Reakt, my collection of over 140 module designs for the Reaktor Blocks format

and walk through the design process of each.