Hi,
I am new to modular and slowly building up my rack. I Started out with a small 2hp lunchbox case and I am now enjoying expanding into a Rackbrute 6u. I'm Interested in ambient but also want to make upbeat dance. I also have a TR6S and a Keystep. I would like the rack to be playable/sequenced on its own and also used for sound design.
Any advice pls on where to go moving forward as there are so many modules to choose from and I already have some areas covered.
Thanks
Just to clarify:
You said you wanted to be able to make ambient and also upbeat dance music. Will you be doing this alongside the TR-6S, or do you want to do everything in the rack? I just ask because you mentioned you want the rack to sequence itself.
Knowing this will make it a lot easier for me to make suggestions.
Beyond that, it's time to start looking at modulation and utilities. Three voices, even with two in 2hp format, is a lot to keep track of. Function generators/loopable envelopes are always nice because you can experiment with different kinds of events. Attenuverters and VCAs will also be really important, since it will allow you to control amounts/positions for modulation and give you more control. Maths is a good place to start and see how these kinds of simple but potent circuits can improve your system (this stuff is the heart of modular and makes the more feature-heavy/obviously cool stuff work), but you'll probably need more than that to service all the voices in your system. Hopefully you still have the standalone case for that West Pest - you'll need that space later on.
Also, I would suggest just running through every single function on the Disting. All of them. Just to get a sense of what they are and whether they can help you or if you need them in a standalone module with more control. If there's a mode you don't understand, learn it.
Thanks for your reply.
I will be using the tr6s synced to Pams as my main drums, then sync everything else in the rack, alongside the keystep to generate patterns.
I still have the case for the West pest but I do find it very useful in the rack ie for midi cv conversion, but when the times comes for more modules it will have to go back to the case.
The disting mk 4 is the only module in the rack I'm yet to purchase, I think would be a great starting point for learning all the functions and modulations.
Do you have any more recommendations for modulation and utilities please that will compliment this rack?
Thanks again
I'm not going to lie - I got a little confused here at first and thought your Clouds clone was the Marbles clone. That definitely changes my view of how playable this rack is at the moment. If you like ambient and techno and sound design and want to sync with an external drum machine but don't want a giant rack right away, a Marbles would be worth a look. It gives you random CVs and random gates that can be internally quantized to scales and rhythms, clocked externally, or set to be completely chaotic. It's about as practical as randomization gets, and it can be used, among other things, as a very flexible 3 track CV/gate sequencer for your voices. Clouds has a cool sound and goes great with a drum machine, but a voice/effect like that needs plenty of modulation to make it move and sound like it did when you decided to buy it. There is always the option of getting smaller versions of each, but I leave that to you, since they are nicely designed in the original format. And it will sell if you decide you want something different later on.
I'd also suggest a Mutable Veils clone or an Intellijel Quad VCA (or both). I'm not a Mutable obsessive or anything, but Emilie Gillet made several very efficient modules that cover a lot of ground in a small space and lend themselves well to real music making. Whatever you choose here, though, they will make what you already have even more fun.
You'll want to do as much of your own research as possible throughout all of this, though. Your modulation is just as much a way of getting your personality into your music as the sounds, if not more, and you'll want to tailor this to your needs as you go on. Once you have the Disting, you can run through that and it'll be a much more hands-on way of testing stuff. VCV Rack is also good for this - you can try free software versions of hardware tools and test the musical output of various systems to see if it's something you want to work with in hardware form. They even have ports of Mutable Instruments modules so you can test stuff alongside their version of Clouds and Marbles and Veils and Plaits or whatever else to see how it would work in your system.
I guess if you're already used to 2hp, their sample and hold module is pretty helpful. Sample and hold is one of those classic modulation sources that can do lots of stuff, from sequencing to random voltage generation to a sort of analog "bitcrush/downsampling" effect - and having two means you can do it in stereo. It pairs perfectly with a Pam's. to trigger it, or any of your VCOs if you want to do some audio rate stuff.
