The modular paradigm is standardized swappable units sharing power, signal levels and interconnection rules

Buchla’s system is built from functional modules — each generating one class of signal or performing one kind of processing — that plug together under a shared standard. What makes them a system rather than a box of gadgets is a set of shared conventions: a common power supply and cabinet (up to 15 modules per cabinet form a ‘super-module’), consistent signal levels (0 dB audio, .5–15 V CV, ~10 V pulses), and straight-forward interconnection rules (any number of inputs may take a single output; the system output can be tapped from any module). These conventions are exactly what let modules be swapped, patched in any order, and expanded economically — the design logic Eurorack still inherits.

Examples

‘Any number of inputs may be connected to a single output.’ Objectives listed: real-time control, full compatibility, transistorized reliability, light/portable, low cost via shared supplies and ‘modular construction… to permit economical system expansion.‘

Assessment

State the shared conventions (power, signal levels, interconnection rules) that make a set of modules a patchable system, and why they enable free reordering and expansion.