frap / ˈfrap / s.m., [Modenese dialect, probably from Latin faber, ‘craftsman’, ‘blacksmith’] – ‘blacksmith’. First of all, it is the regional spelling of the founder’s last name: this outlines the deep connection between Frap Tools and the geographic area surrounding Modena, with its well-established tradition of craftsmanship and design. Moreover, on a more symbolic level, ‘frap’ relates also to the very musician whom our ‘tools’ are made for, which crafts art with modular synthesizers in the same way a blacksmith forges items with crucible and bellows.

Music plays a massive role in the life of every Frap Tools member. Being a musician, a performer, or an audio engineer, each of us constantly faces the need for specific tools to accomplish our tasks better: from such demands, the idea behind each of our products arises.

Music has to be played and listened: we try to focus on both sides when developing our products. For the player, we want them to be solid, versatile, easy to use:

  • We chose the best available materials to guarantee the most suitable physical response to every performance.
  • We try to define the most significant set of functionalities without getting beyond the point of usefulness.
  • We chose a graphic design that is not self-explanatory but which guarantees a fast and smooth workflow once learned.

For the listener, which often is the same person as the player, we have the non-negotiable aim of superb audio quality. There is nothing worse than a beautiful musical piece ruined by a bad listening experience, and we want to avoid this at all costs through meticulous circuit design and component choice.

‘Frap Tools’ refers to craftsmanship. Our products are carefully assembled and tested one by one to guarantee the best quality possible. We are proud that these operations happen locally, even if sometimes certain specific components, such as exotic woods or electronic parts, are sourced abroad. For this reason, and also for more transparency, we chose to label our products as ‘Designed and Crafted in Italy’ instead of the more conventional (and often sadly abused) ‘Made in Italy’.

Fabrizio Benatti

Software Designer

 

Whenever a digital component is required, he is in charge of designing the software architecture. His strong background as a programmer for well-established industrial automation companies gave him all the practical skills required for such a delicate task, and his parallel formation as a bass player provides a firm common ground to interact with all things related to music technologies.

Simone Fabbri

Product Designer – Founder

 

He develops the concepts for the new modules using the skills acquired in his diverse background as an audio software developer under K-Devices and bass player. His main goal is to achieve the best match between a consistent and unconventional user interface and high-end performances in order to foster new performative approaches. For this purpose, he collects as much feedback as possible from musicians and performers during the earliest developing stages, which often take place in a digital environment.

Federico Foglia

Production Manager

 

He has the crucial task of merging Simone’s panel layout and Antonio’s analog circuit into a compact Eurorack format, as well as assembling and testing all the modules. Being a performer himself, heading from the 90s rave scene, Federico puts a lot of effort into designing the most solid PCB layout possible, in order to guarantee the best musical performance even in the most extreme situation.

Giovanni Grandi

Content Manager

 

Together with Simone, he develops and supervises textual, audio and video material for Frap Tools’ web platforms, such as product descriptions, demonstrations, and user manuals. Coming from a background as a classical scholar and piano player, his main goal is to exploit in the most straightforward format the vast musical capabilities of Frap Tools’ instruments.

Antonio Masiero

Analog Designer

 

His main role is translating the theoretical product design into the “practical” analog domain: he designs the circuit and meticulously selects the individual components in order to guarantee the best combination of functionality and, most importantly, audio quality, which is the only characteristic of the final product that cannot be sacrificed. Antonio has a well-established background in the pro-audio field, let it be studio recording, mastering, or hi-end equipment manufacturing.