Rob Hordijk Design

Rob Hordijk Original Design are the West Coast style 5U (Moog Unit) modules designed and crafted by Rob Hordijk; based in The Hague, Netherlands. Except for the Benjolin, the designs are not available for DIY.

As Rob has never had a product website for his instruments, the source for much of the information about them comes from direct contact via email.

Biography
Self described as a "synthesizer designer and builder, " Hordijk began learning electronics from around age 14. Before working on his own instruments Rob studied as a sculptor and goldsmith with an interest in sound in for its application in art and environments: "'The idea of sound as a material to be sculpted has always intrigued me. I see equipment only as tools to sculpt the audio material, I am not really a gear freak. But I do believe in mastering synthesis techniques, in making synthesis a second nature, so to be able to fully concentrate on the creative processes.'"He has produced music for environments, buildings, film, and dance performances, but is yet to produce an official release on a label.

Hordijk has been working with synths and computers since sequencing some analog stuff around 1982 with an RCA 1802 based SuperElf processor board. Later switching to an Apple ][+ and the Mountain Hardware Music System, for which he developed a Forth language version that could do all sorts of stuff with the Mountain cards, like KarplusStrong-type plucked string sounds and pitch shifting. His first introduction to a DSP was to the DMX1000 around 1984. In 1986 he switched to Atari ST and an Akai S900. These days he is a Clavia Nord Modular G2 aficionado.

As of 2022 Rob has announced his retirement and will no longer be taking orders.

Workshops and Lectures
Rob has given a handful of workshops and lectures both demonstrating the functionality of his instruments, and explaining the design philosophy behind them. These include:


 * 2012, European Electro Music Event, Mallorca, Spain. Recorded by Pedro Trotz - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAC347DE38ABA9E8D
 * 10 April 2015, at Basic Electricity #15, Berlin. Recorded by Matthias Ochs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtzQQcacR9A&t=1398s
 * 15 November 2015, recorded by Chris David - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os1bysJCjMw&list=PLKw0bc1wG1afu-3VHTOAXvoTQ2ulJ2rSN
 * 3-4 June 2017 at NOVARS Research Centre in Manchester, UK - https://vimeo.com/233841864
 * 2017 at Modular Meets Leeds, UK. Recorded by DivKid - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzW6pTzATG4
 * 2014, at Sines & Squares Festival, Yoga Room, Islington Mill, Salford, UK https://vimeo.com/111131227
 * 2019, at Rob's Workshop, The Hague. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6XpHDU67Mw

Performances
While self confessing, "I'm not a performing artist, I'm a synthesizer builder." Rob has performed a number of times demonstrating his instruments in a more creative context as opposed to purely technical demonstration. These include:


 * 22 December 2016 at Noodlebar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBGjkpNS0F8
 * 2017 at Modular Meets Leeds 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnlqV4kzzvg

Modular Systems
All circuitry is original and follows Rob's own concepts based on over thirty years experience in sound synthesis and electronic design. He has complete control over the whole module building process; Research &Development, prototyping, panel design, cutting, drilling, PCB etching and populating, final hardware assembly, calibration and testing. All components and every piece of hardware is carefully selected for reliability and comfort in use. Panels with the signature Original Rob Hordijk Design are both designed and built by Rob Hordijk in his workshop in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Rob's philosophy and concept of a modular system is that each 'function' has its own inputs and outputs and should be patched up with cables, and not specifically that each function should be a separate physical entity. So, a triple panel is more like a 'section', offering specific musical functionality by grouping together a sensible collection of functions. Within a triple-module there are several internal normalizations on the input and output jacks, but there are very little 'module to module' normalizations in triple panels and no 'triple to triple' normalizations. Systems were built in a number of different configurations and cases depending on the customers request. A full four triple-module system in a plywood flight case weights about 23 kilograms, the lightweight flightcase reduces this to 16 kilograms.

As everything is hand built there can be minor cosmetic issues like dustmarks anodized into a frontpanel or some lettering slightly out of focus, basically the usual things that are simply unavoidable with handwork. All electronics however are thoroughly tested and burnt in for several days before a system leaves the workshop. Only high quality precision components are used for the electronics and all pots are of the 'conductive plastic' type that will never develop crackles in the sound and easily last ten times as long as the more common carbon pots. Everything is designed to last a musicians lifetime and first time owners have unlimited warranty on parts and repairs.

A frame holds the modules in a way that it becomes one solid block. A frame can easily be mounted in a DIY cabinet made of just four shelves, it is fixed in a cabinet with a set of woodscrews from within the frame into the side shelves. Frames can be made up to three triples in width (976 mm wide) and basically any number of rows in height (225 mm per row). The most popular frame is two rows of two triples and measures 651 mm in width and 451 mm in height. The plywood flightcases have their power entry either on the left side or on the right side of the case. This should be specified when ordering. The lightweight flightcase has its power entry on the front and for this it needs the TriLFO-Matrix6x4-Nodeproc-MIDI-IECinlet triple or the Rungler-Matrix6x4-Nodeproc-MIDI-IECinlet triple. It lacks the +/-15V MiniXLR power outlet that is available on the other MIDI triples. The MiniXLR might be used for future expansions, to power e.g. a Blippoobox or for powering DIY projects. It should be considered just a convenience if ever needed and not a necessity.

Power
The power supply used is a Meanwell RD-3513 set to +/-15V. It accepts an input voltage between 100VAC to 240VAC, meaning it can be plugged into a wall anywhere in the world. One PSU can safely supply current to four triples, for a bigger system a second PSU is recommended. The power distribution board uses MOTM-style connectors and modules with the +/-15V MOTM header can be readily connected and used. However MOTM modules use another 44 mm based grid than the 107 mm MU grid used in the triples, so they would leave a small gap. However and more important: the standard MOTM mounting holes are not compatible with the metric frame profiles, so they can not easily be fixed in our frame. In practise this means that in a user built cabinet with a section for a frame and a section for MOTM modules the MOTM modules can be powered from the Meanwell PSU + power distro board, but it is physically not feasable to mount a MOTM module in a frame without drilling extra mounting holes in the MOTM module front panel.

Modules
Triple-module panel formats conform to the 5U (Moog Unit) standard at 222mm (8.75") height and 325mm (12.79") wide. Modules came with various combinations of the following single functions, though some smaller functions were combined; for example the PHASER and FREQ SHIFTER have appeared in both dual and combination formats.
 * TRIPLE LF-VCO
 * DUAL ENV
 * OSC HRM
 * OSC SYNC
 * RUNGLER
 * 24dB FILTER
 * TWINPEAK
 * MINI MATRIX / Active Matrix / Mini Bay
 * FADER
 * PHASER
 * SHAPER
 * NODE PROC

Other Instruments

 * Blippoo Box
 * Benjolin, shared with the DIYers by Rob.

Pre-built Eurorack Modules

 * Benjolin, Epoch Modular
 * Benjolin and Twin Peak Filter, KlangbauKöln