Music Thing Modular is the project of Tom Whitwell, a former journalist and magazine editor at Mixmag and The Face, who came to electronics through a circuitous and deeply curious path. One of the most highly respected minds in music technology journalism and Eurorack modular synthesis, Whitwell has built Music Thing Modular into one of the most beloved and influential names in DIY electronic instrument design.
Open source electronic musical instruments, designed in London and made in Brighton, built and used by musicians around the world, that is the ethos at the heart of Music Thing Modular. Every design is released with full schematics and code freely available, reflecting a genuine commitment to community, transparency, and the democratisation of instrument-making.
More recently, the Workshop System, a complete modular synthesizer and audio computer, small enough to fit in a book-sized case but packed with sound-shaping tools and educational potential, has been designed for musicians, makers, and tinkerers as a fully modular playground for learning, composing, experimenting, and hacking.
Whitwell has also spoken about his love for minimalist composers and time spent in La Monte Young's house listening to sine waves, a reminder that behind the circuits and solder lies a deeply musical, endlessly inquisitive mind. Music Thing Modular is as much a philosophy as it is a product range.
