Mutable Instruments has discontinued 6 modules including Marbles & Rings and in a forum post Emilie Gillet writes about the upcoming end Bob Moog, Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim… all personalities who have massively shaped the Synthesizer landscape with their outstanding developments. They are true pioneers. And there are also modern ones. émilie Gillet of Mutable Instruments is a contemporary pioneer. Whether desktop in the form of the Shruti or Ambika poly analog synthesizer and later the multitude of brilliant analog and digital modules. Next to Dieter Doepfer, no other developer has gained as much prestige as émilie Gillet in the Eurorack modular synth scene. Clever concepts, constant support (updates…), innovation but also a massive community input brought MI so far. And if you believe the latest forum post, the MI success story will soon come to an end.
Mutable Instruments Marbles Rings No New Modules & Production Is Stopping In a new post in the Mutable Instruments forum, émilie announced that she will no longer design new modules. Beads was the last module from the French developer. A news that has been known since the official release. What is new, however, is that the production of the current modules is slowly coming to an end. She writes that “existing modules are going to be discontinued one after the other when depends on hard to predict supply, production and sales patterns.” The two most recent modules to make the discontinuation list are Marbles random sampler and the Rings module, legendary among ambient musicians. I won’t design new modules and production is progressively stopping. Modules are marked as discontinued when the last shipment is sent to dealers. I can’t predict when it happens as it depends on how fast a batch is made, and how fast it gets sold. It might happen in a week, in a month or in a quarter. There is no easter egg, no plot twist, no teaser. She was asked how things will continue in the future and whether she will stay with us in the Synthesizer world. She said “no“, otherwise she should keep going with Mutable Instruments. A sad message. And that it’s the case can be seen in the available modules. Mutable Instruments modules 2022 Mutable Instruments Marbles & Rings Discontinued A look at the website shows that the number of current modules has once again shrunken. Including Warps, Blinds, Ears, Shades 2020, and two other best-known modules. The popular Mutable Instruments Rings resonator module (Rings in Clouds), as well as the Marbles random modulator, have recently been added to the discontinued module list. Rings brings easy-to-use, hands-on physical modeling synthesis to Eurorack. A module that quickly created very organic, clear sounds that went in the direction of bells, string instruments, etc. In combination with a Clouds or a reverb module, you have an ultimate ambient setup for your next gigs or Instagram shots. Marbles is a very special, unusual module right from the start. A very deep module that is a specialist in controlled chaos and repeatable randomness. A module that gives every modular setup a life of its own. It’s Mutable Instruments’ unique take on random generators. It is capable of creating repetitive signals that have constant variations/evolution in them. Modulations that randomly inspire you. Shops probably currently have the last batches of the two modules in stock. After that, it will be over. If you still want to get hold of an original, now is the perfect moment. The End Very sad news about which I am writing here. Emilie Gillet inspired musicians with her developments. The modules are well thought out, hands-on, very musical, and innovative. And they have an open-source character. Although this was exploited by many companies around the world, maybe they would never have reached this status they actually have if they hadn’t been open-source. It will be a slow end. Emilie Gillet doesn’t want to tell us when. But one day it will be over. She is currently still fully active in the forum and offers support for the customers. Something that you always have to take into account here. She has released many free firmware updates in the past years which have massively boosted the modules. The spirit will remain in the open-source and Eurorack community after the end. Although without the possibility of getting an original, musicians can still discover the brilliant developments and sound worlds of Mutable Instruments in the form of clones in the future. I wish émilie the best for the future and hope to see you again sometime in our colorful Synthesizer world. Au revoir Mutable! |
