What is MODULA 26, exactly?
MODULA 26 is a new synthesizer and electronic-music expo, and it opens for the first time on 17 and 18 July 2026 at Dynamo Zürich, on the river in the middle of the city. It is put together by the Swiss outfit Loop'n'beat, and it runs on a day-and-night rhythm: exhibitors, product demos, workshops and talks while the sun is up, live performances once it drops, from Balouk, Modulator, Nahste Oner, Vanini and Schlagschatten. Tickets go through the organiser at loopnbeat.com/modula-26.
Why does another synth fair matter?
Because the synth calendar is where gear culture actually gathers, and until now it has leaned hard on a handful of dates. Superbooth owns Berlin in May with close to 300 exhibitors; NAMM and Knobcon anchor the United States. A credible node in Switzerland, wedged in the middle of Europe, gives small makers another room to launch in and Central European heads a shorter trip than the pilgrimage to Berlin. It helps that the Swiss Museum of Electronic Music, SMEM, is a partner, which ties the fair to a real local synth heritage rather than parachuting one in.
Who is actually showing up?
For a first edition, the guest list is the whole argument. The partners include Moog, Arturia, Waldorf, Erica Synths, AKAI, ADAM Audio, KRK and PSI Audio, names that do not lend themselves to a fair they expect to flop. The exhibitor floor leans boutique and modular: Bitwig, Endorphin.es, Expressive E, Joranalogue, Playtronica, Teenage Engineering and more, with additions still being announced. It is the mix that reads right, majors to give it weight, small and strange makers to give it a reason to exist.
A first edition lives or dies on who agrees to show up. Zurich got the names that make a debut look like a fixture.
