Sonicsmith Modulor A1

The Sonicsmith Modulor A1 is a small desktop synth module rather than a pedal. MusicRadar's review describes it as "two patchable oscillator/VCA combos in a colourful metal box"¹. In practice that means two voices, each built from a voltage controlled oscillator and a voltage controlled amplifier, with patching between them and a low frequency oscillator for movement.

The same review places the Modulor A1 in Sonicsmith's wider line of compact instruments. Compared with the company's other modules, it is a simpler design: MusicRadar calls it a "diminutive synth module" that "was restricted to a simple combination of VCO, VCA and LFO," with some patching but limited in functional terms, and without the ACO chip found elsewhere in the range². Sonicsmith's earlier semi-modular synths, the Squaver P1+ and the ConVertor, use the company's Audio Controlled Oscillator technology to track an instrument's signal², so the Modulor A1 sits apart from them as a more conventional oscillator-based voice.

That verdict frames the Modulor A1 well for a player weighing it up: as a companion to other Sonicsmith gear it makes sense, and on its own it asks more of the buyer. For players looking at synth voices in pedal form instead, the site's Synth Pedals page covers the wider field, from the Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer to the Boss SY-1.

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