Micro Pico Micro!

Limitations, creativity and the Erica Synths Pico System III

Aug 22, 2025

As the numbers on my WHIRRINGS YouTube channel have started to go up I’ve reached out to a number of manufacturers to see if they’d be willing to send me some of their most excellent gear for use in my videos.

And, somewhat to my surprise, I’ve had a number of positive responses! 🙏

One manufacturer I contacted was Erica Synths. They make some really interesting modular and desktop synths and effects that I’d love to work with: the Perkons HD-01, Steampipe, SYNTRX, LXR-02 to name but a few!

I've used some of their modules in my modular experiments including a couple of their Pico modules.

Pico is their range of compact, affordable Eurorack modules which they sell separately and as a complete system. The Pico System III is the third iteration of that system and is available as either a powered desktop box or a Eurorack module. It is a compact standalone modular system with thousands of patching possibilities.

Erica Synths sent me a desktop Pico System III to use in my work.

Initially, I was unsure how to work with it. I am by no means a modular expert and the System III has been around for a while now. I didn’t want to just make a guide on what it was and how to use it because there are already a lot of those. So instead I’ve decided to embrace its exploratory and experimental nature:

“Pico System III brings modular synthesis back to the basics – the system has multi functional analogue modules and is intended to encourage creativity in modular patching”
“you can patch the system in 121000931215044250740178662400 variations”
“you and all your future generations can spend a lifetime only patching the Pico System III.”
From the Erica Synths Website

I’m a big believer in the power of creative constraints or limitations.

“Option paralysis” can often hamper our creativity and I find that actively seeking to limit options can lead to a much more manageable and creative working environment.

Ideally I’d like to work with just the Pico System III for a while, embrace its limitations and see where that takes me, but after a few days of initial explorations I’ve decided to extend “the system” slightly!

The System III only contains a simple bucket brigade delay and modular needs effects to shine! So I’m allowing myself some extra effects power in the form of the rather wonderful Hologram Microcosm—which has also been sent to me for use in my work. Thank you Hologram Electronics!

I’ve also found that the available clock sources on the System III are quite limited in range and there is no MIDI so there was no way to sync the tempo of the Microcosm except by hand. So I’m also adding the Arturia MicroFreak into the system. The MicroFreak has both a modular clock out and a MIDI out so I can use it as a master clock for the System III and the Microcosm. And it also gives me a second simple sequencer/arp using the cv/gate outs.

So there it is Micro—Pico—Micro!

That’s the plan and I’m interested to see what I can achieve with this little setup over the next few weeks. I will of course be documenting my patching adventures here on Substack and at the end of the process I will make a YouTube video or two, possibly create an album with the best bits, and maybe even make the patch sheets available for download—more on that soon!

Here are a few short excerpts of the types of sounds I’ve been creating with this Micro Pico Micro system over the last few days! Some tracks have a smidgen of reverb and chorus added in post but not much else…

250819a excerpt

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