Eric Schlappi is the engine behind the eponymous Schlappi Engineering, a boutique developer based in the Pacific Northwest (though Eric himself currently resides in Grenoble, France) whose latest spate of modules includes the extraordinary Three Body and recent headliner Nibbler. The focus for Schlappi and his team has always been on joyous experimentation; an ethos that runs unwaveringly through his modules, merchandise (one sticker reads ‘noise to some, spells to others’) and personal musical output.
On his entry into modular
I got into Eurorack around 2014 after seeing the documentary I Dream Of Wires — the four hour version — and also getting my first real engineering job. Both of these were probably equally important. Before getting into Eurorack I had already worked in a couple of vintage synthesizer shops and been making music with monosynths for about a decade.
I started with the 4MS DIY kits and a few Pittsburgh [Modular] modules and went through quite a few different configurations. I found the learning curve quite difficult, even with a monosynth and engineering background, and putting together something I was really comfortable with performing live didn’t really happen until I had built my own.
On his go‑to modules (aside from his own!)
I’m almost entirely using modules I have designed at this point, however I still use the 4MS STS [Stereo Triggered Sampler] and DLD [Dual Looping Delay] for sampling and delay respectively, the Mordax Data for waveform viewing and tuning, and the DPW Limit and MÖG D‑2 for saturation and external input. I have been using the Ultra Kick from SSF and the AD110 from Weston for drums lately, though I also patch my own. This is a tricky question because most of my friends make modular gear!
On Schlappi Engineering
We’ve been going for about seven years now and are still a small team, three people right now. We are trying to explore fundamental synthesis and engineering concepts while also building a system for playing live, improvised, electronic music. It really is just about following my interests and building up my own system to play live and hoping that other people also want the same things. We are getting really close to having released a full system, which is super exciting for me.
On the Nibbler
The Nibbler came out of spending several years digging into FPGAs for the Three Body and getting really immersed in computing and DSP theory. It is an accumulator, the digital version of an integrator, and a fundamental component of most oscillators or filters as well as digital computing. It came from a desire to explore the direct manipulation of bits, and after much experimentation I decided that four bits was enough for a lot of rhythmic and noisy purposes but still manageable from a patching perspective. In our system it takes the place of a traditional sequencer (along with the other forthcoming 4‑bit modules, BTMX and BTFLD) but can also be used in all sorts of audio‑rate patches for those who want to get really experimental.
Sometimes I miss the days when the tools were more primitive so that the music made on them was generally strange abstract bleeps and bloops.
On the culture of modular
The culture of modular is evolving rapidly. Sometimes I miss the days when the tools were more primitive so that the music made on them was generally strange abstract bleeps and bloops. While it’s also exciting to see what people can do with it now, I don’t want people to lose the connection to theory and understanding that the lab‑tool aesthetic helped bring, but I also know how hard it is to play live with a system that’s only made of building blocks — it gets big fast!