A manufacturer of modular synthesizers in the 1970s, based in the Boston area in the USA. The Aries 300-series format was notable as one of the first to make use of 3.5 mm jacks, as opposed to the larger 1/4" jacks used by Moog and most other modular manufacturers of the era, and it grouped the jacks at the bottom of each module for less patch cord clutter (a design technique revived by the MOTM format much later). The module lineup started out similar to Moog's, but later moved to include more esoteric modules such as a voltage controlled phaser, and the company had plans, never realized, for computer interfacing. The systems were sold in both kit and assembled form.
Aries oriented its designs and marketing towards academia and "serious" music. Manuals skipped over basics, on the assumption that the Aries customer already knew how to use a modular synth (a rather audacious assumption at the time, when few people had ever come in contact with a modular synthesizer), and focused on more advanced patching and techniques. Marketing materials made heavy use of 1970s-style graphics, and disdained the typical ways that synths were often used in popular music.
Aries ceased doing business around 1980, as the popularity of modular synths declined. The company never offered a product other than its modulars, other than some synthesis guides and textbooks co-authored with the Boston School of Electronic Music.
