The synthesis community is sharing an outpouring of remembrances following the loss of Paul Schreiber, creator of the MOTM synthesizer, Synthesis Technology, co-designer of the Realistic Concertmate MG-1, and more. He was not just an inspiration but a friend to many in the synth world.
Image at top is from the Tandy Assembly keynote below, because I appreciate that it includes 2019 Mr. Schreiber featuring an image of the 1970s model of himself.
Synthtopia shares a detailed obituary, and I can’t possibly add to it – it’s a personal story of how James was personally connected to Paul, and really what you should do is go read that:
Remembering Paul Schreiber Of Synthesis Technology
What better way to mourn a fallen synth hero than a sweep of a knob, as we get from our friends at Make Noise:
Thank you, Paul.
We join the synthesizer community in mourning the loss of Paul Schreiber. We send our thoughts and condolences to Paul’s friends and family and honor his lifetime of contributions to the world of synthesis.
Sweeping an e350’s Z Axis is still one of our favorite sounds.
— Make Noise (@makenoisemusic.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Eric Brombaugh also shares a message:
I’m saddened to report that my friend and colleague Paul Schreiber passed away this morning. He was a consummate engineer with deep roots in music and technology and worked on the TRS-80, the Realistic Concert-Mate MG-1 synth, the MOTM modular system and many Eurorack modules. He will be missed.
— Eric Brombaugh (@emeb.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 10:40 PM
And we have conversations. Here’s Paul on the wonderfully named Sysex Dumpster (via @frozenreeds.com on BlueSky):
And Paul Schreiber was podcast #13 for the late, great Darwin Grosse:
I adore the Realistic MG-1; as I’ve written before, I think this Moog was long undervalued. Its sound and economic approach frankly predicted a lot of instruments today. The MG-1 was a collaboration between Paul (on behalf of Tandy) and the folks at Moog, and it was an early triumph in original, accessible low-cost electronic instruments. Plus it just has a load of personality:
MOTM was the “Module of the Month” and – here’s a sense of that great filter:
For a trip back in time to NAMM 2006:
And people have used it to create beautiful sounds like this:
The Synthesis Technology line is also available affordably for VCV Rack, in case you don’t have the money and space for a 5U system:
https://vcvrack.com/SynthesisTechnology
Looking beyond the synth community, we also get some tales of Paul’s early gig at Tandy Corporation / Radio Shack, where he worked as an electrical engineer, including work on the TRS-80 and accessories. Here’s a great anecdote via Adafruit:
Mostly True Tales: The Radio Shack TRS-80 Modem I
The TRS-80 – CC BY-SA 2.0 fr Rama & Musée Bolo:
I see Paul is credited as working for Radio Shack/Tandy for 1977-1987, but his own bio from Tandy Assembly in 2019 suggests he probably did more for the company than any of us could ever track.
That bio:
Paul worked at Tandy R&D 4 separate times, beginning in 1977 and finishing up after the AST acquisition in 1993. He deigned over 40 products for not only Radio Shack, but also car stereos for Kenwood, Blaupunkt, and Alpine. Some projects were great successes (modems, DVMs) while others were not so much (VIS).
The keynote is available, too, from 2019 – going all the way back to 1977, when he “wire-wrapped the Model 1 [TRS-80] prototype.” I honestly didn’t know there was a Tandy get-together; this is amazing. And since I mostly know Paul’s music side, it’s great to hear about this whole history. “Things which all went very badly” is a bullet point I might reuse.
If that’s not a deep enough rabbit hole, there’s a TRS-80 Trash Talk podcast with an interview, too.
Oh and if you’re wondering what a TRS-80 is, here you go! (I’m sure it’s better to remember Paul for the synth stuff, but as this was a big part of a lot of our childhoods, why not both?)
To all Paul’s friends, to his family, to everyone he’s moved with his inventions over the years, my condolences.
