Paul Schreiber, founder of Synth Technology and creator of many Synthesizer products, has passed away at 69.
Sad news has reached us from the American modular synthesizer community. Paul Schreiber, founder of Synthesis Technology, passed away today at the age of 69.
Paul leaves behind a family and a great legacy of fantastic analog and digital developments and knowledge that he passed on to others until the end.
Paul Schreiber
He worked in the Synthesizer world for a long time. As early as 1981, he was part of Tandy Corporation and worked with Moog on the Realistic Concertmate MG-1. It was a low-priced analog Synthesizer sold at Radio Shack stores under their Realistic brand.
It became Moog’s best-selling synthesizer at the time and is still considered one of the first budget synthesizers.
MOTM Modular Synthesizer & Synthesis Technology
Paul founded Synthesis Technology in 1998 by introducing the MOTM modular Synthesizer format. This unique format enabled musicians and electronics enthusiasts to build their own DIY Synthesizer, one module at a time.
Although it had the same Moog Modular 5U size and specifications (1/4 ” jack connections…), Paul’s MOTM format improved on the modular synth concept with updated components and engineering techniques. The main difference was digital modules such as the MOTM-650 polyphonic MIDI interface.
Paul Schreiber’s company, Synthesis Technology, evolved and went further with the development of Eurorack modules, which archived the greatest popularity. In 2010, they released their first Eurorack module, the E340 Cloud Generator.
Many impressive modules with innovative concepts followed. Paul’s modules went beyond the classic, especially during the beginning of the Eurorack boom (2010…). Absolute highlights in its portfolio were the E370 Quad Morphing VCO and the E520 Hyperion Processor.
In August 2023, Paul Schreiber retired from the Synthesizer scene. However, he remained active in the synth community and, in his retirement, worked on a new module that was recently released. The Synthesis Technology E430 is a faithful re-creation of the classic SEM 12dB/oct state-variable filter with additional features.
Now Paul has left us forever. I have never met Mr. Schreiber personally, but only through communication over social media. However, through numerous interviews and social media chats, I saw a true synth personality with a vision of synthesizers and a fixed idea of how his modules should look and sound.
All I can say is RIP Paul Schreiber. You were a legend in the modular synth world—many condolences to his family.
More information here: Synthesis Technology
“Paul founded Synthesis Technology in 2018 by introducing the MOTM modular Synthesizer format” You mean 1998
indeed sorry
I was busy running experiments on my MOTM modular today. Built from kits. I love the 5U format. Big knobs! I have eurorack too, but…
I had the chance to meet Paul a couple of times at KnobCon, and was his first beta tester for the E370. He was quite a guy.
Paul released the E490 Ladder VCF (Moog style Ladder) and E430 morphing VCF (SEM style) post “retirement”… that could never stock working.. be it synths or fixing pinball machines. He WAS a machine and will be greatly missed!
I’ll treasure my Hyperion. What a great guy. F
Rest in Peace Paul. A humbled and wonderful soul.
RIP Paul! His modules sound so good! Spent sooo many hours with the Cloud Terrarium. He suddenly updated it like a couple years ago to add even more features. Truly a passion project. Legend.
about 5 years ago i had the honor of talking to Paul on the phone for an entire hour. He assisted me with using my quad vco. I have the Hyperion and the formant synth. RIP to a legend.