Tips, guidance, opinions requested please for a noob

Hi folks, as per the subject, been chipping away for a while, but I'm still at an early stage in my modular explorations. I'm not absolutely green, but I couldn't really describe myself as anything other than a beginner with this sort of setup.

It's a money sink of course, so mostly inexpensive modules for the moment, just to get me going and fluent. Looking for Berlin style sequencing as much as anything, drones etc.

So my question really is what do I have in there that I don't want or need, and what am I missing, or what should I buy next.

Thanks in advance

Howdy! One question: How much of this do you own already vs how much of it is your plan going forward? I'll give the obligatory "Behringer has questionable business practices" post, and you can do with it what you will. I personally own their 2600 clone and I love it, but a lot of their more recent copies of Mutable, Make Noise, and Xaoc modules are pretty ethically dubious. It's really hard to resist how cheap those modules are though, so I get the appeal!

On first glance, it looks like you have four complete voices included, and for a case this size I'd say that might be more than you want initially. I'd stick to two voices and really get to know your sequencing workflow. For Berlin style sequencing, I'd also recommend getting some sort of designated trigger sequencer. You can certainly do some interesting things with the clock out of the sequencers and the divider/multiplier, but something with direct control might be worth adding. Also some way to combine triggers can do a lot to mix up your pre-determined sequences, either by changing the timing and speed of advancing the sequencer, or divorcing the pitch sequence from the trigger sequence with the quantizer (Red Means Recording did a really good video on this technique a while back). A random source of some kind can do a lot to liven up a patch, as well a designated mixing utility for CV. I'm partial to matrix mixers or something like the TipTop MISO to get interesting combinations of your sequencers/LFOs/other CV before going into the quantizers. Cheers!

Hi, thanks for replying. This is all owned, this is where I'm at. Did have a Model D in there to start me off, but been picking up a few modules as I go. I get the whole Behringer debates and arguments, but they are a cheap starting point for me to have a bit of fun with. The System 100 ones I've grabbed recently as they cover a lot of ground in this situation.

I am finding the sequencers a bit limited, and they will be amongst the first things I replace probably when I start upgrading things. I do have more VCO's that I think I want at the moment, that's fine, I will find my faves and remove the others.

The clock divider I don't really have much of an idea how to use just at the moment. Triggers, random sources, direct control, you're losing me with all this stuff. I will keep scouring youtube and picking up what tips I can. Is there a sequencer you would suggest? I think the Doepfer mixer I have is for CV's, or can be made that way by adjusting a jumper.

Cheers!

I highly recommend checking out things on YouTube like Red Means Recording, Mylar Melodies, Cinematic Laboratories, Monotrail Tech Talk. They all have really good educational resources for learning some of those terms so you can make better use of the modules you have. For the clock divider, one thing you could try already is instead of sending the trigger or gate out from the 182 sequencer directly to the envelope or quantizer, send it to the divider first. Take any two of the outputs from the divider and send those to the Doepfer mixer and use that output to trigger the envelope and/or quantizer. That way you'll have a less regular but still predictable sequence for when the sounds happen, and you can still use the CV from the sequencer to determine the notes that are played. The added interest there is that based on the divisions of the clock that are being used, different notes will be heard depending on when the triggers actually happen. Combine this with something that's happening more regularly and you've got a patch goin'!

When I say direct control, I'm thinking mostly about rhythmic/trigger sequencing, where something like the Intelijel Steppy lets you activate or deactive steps in a 16 step sequence so you have direct manual control over when the triggers are happening, which you can use for activating your envelopes or grabbing CV with the quantizer.

I love having at least a couple sample and hold modules (Doepfer A-118-2 is great and economical) or designated random modules (like the Wogglebug or the Source of Uncertainty). One classic use for these is to control filter cutoff in sync with your sequence, so your notes change in a predictable way but the brightness of the sounds changes every step as the filter cutoff moves randomly.

As for other sequencers I'd recommend, The Metropolis/Metropolix/RYK M185 are really interesting for getting rhythmic variation for both the triggers and the CV. The Rene is a classic too (either V1 or V2, but V2 is effectively like having 3 sequencers in one). Bang for buck I'd recommend the Arturia Beat Step Pro. That gives you multiple lanes of both pitch and gate/trigger information. I know it's an outboard piece of gear, but it's super powerful. A simpler/cheaper option is getting something like the Korg SQ-1 (or two of them!)