Converting everything (twice) is overcomplicating things imo. Just get a blokas midihub, process midi coming from your synth and send it back out as cc's. You can f.i. generate random values on every incoming midi note. Just keep in mind: midi will never be as smooth as cv. If you really wonna go with a module, check ORN8 (O_c Teensy4.1 running Phazerville). Full midi support.
"everyone who owns the module gets the exact same rhythm. No internet connected needed."
Two of these should get out of sync sooner or later. Might be interesting to connect them through some logic
and see what happens ;-)
Edit2: Um, will possibly take too long to be of interest.
Edit:
its home page says this:
"note: in order to set the clock, you need to download a fresh copy of the firmware. When you download the firmware, the current time is embedded inside of it which is copied to the module when you boot it (so don't wait more than a minute or two after downloading the firmware to upload it to the module."
So the time is actually stamped into the firmware when you donwload it, interesting.
I want to augment a poly synth with more envelopes over midi. My idea is to convert polyphonic midi data to just a series of cv gates (probably with the rk-006). Then I need some AE module to take those gates to trigger a sequence of gates. The sequence separate outs, so that they are polyphonic, will go to maybe 4-8 separate envelopes. These envelopes will be converted to midi cc with the CVMx module and my midi poly synth will have more envelopes than it did before.
I've looked at the sequencer modules for AE modular and the I've looked at the IMDI poly conversion chain. While the IMDI would probably work, I don't need the other data (pitch, bend, etc) and would be less modules if the sequencer method could work. But I'm not quite seeing the best sequencer module for the job. What module am I looking for?
I have pretty big hands and have no issue tweaking the knobs. Just gotta place it in a sensible place in your rack where it isn’t up against other modules knobs. Anyway, fantastic sounding filter that screams in resonance. Super happy with it.
if your goal is primary Sounddesign, there is much missing.
in this racksize, to much modulation
(your bottom row is gone for modulation.)
the Captain O is redundant if want to process extern synths otherwize its just another modulationsource
if you dont are on a small budget and must rely on Behringer stuff, there are other incedible options, at least for the Sounddesign part.
You may focus on either junction or abacus or the doepfer adsr and drop the rest.
same for waves or four lfo.
the sounddesign capabilities of this rack are very limited.
you may look for modules which combine several ways to process audio in one, like waveshaping, saturation, filtering, delay, feedback and so on.
Also a nice filter for pinging.
if you want to go the low budget route, you may get a much bigger rack for the big sized behringer clones.
but I would invest in 1-2 more high quality modules for Sound-Design.
like Malstrom Wyvern (Filter+ Saturation) or intellijel Sealegs Delay, reverb, saturation)
Limited high-quality audio output processing, No Sequencer, Missing Texture space. Can use more VCA (random, chaos), distortion, Bit-Crush, FX, Stereo/multi-output for monitoring and capturing better quality.
I'm very excited to announce the FlatSix Modular Shroud Of Turing.
It's been a long road trying to make it a reality, but this latest entry into the Nocturne Alchemy Platform is live. If you have any of the other modules, you can simply flash the firmware from the website, and you are good to go. The inspiration behind it is the Music Thing Modular Turing Machine (Thanks Tom!) which I have long been a fan of. In fact it was one of my first few DIY modules and I have two fully expanded ones in my own rack. It takes that concept, but adds in a keyboard-based quantizer, with 6 slots to save the scales you come up with on the fly. It also has a manual reset, sequence rotation, and bit manipulation so you can sculpt the sequences you find into something even more inspiring. I find it a lot of fun to play with, and I hope you all do too. Cheers!
You're still not really clarifying anything about your use case...Yeah, if you want to make music you want rhythm and melody. That doesn't get us any closer to recommendations that meet your intended workflow.
Are you intending to play this alongside other instruments? Do you have any kind of controller you wan to use with it (eg MIDI keyboard, drum pad, ribbon controller, etc)? Are you trying to make something that you'll live-interact with, or something more generative that you more or less set up and let it run itself? Do you want to program in a melody, or "discover" melodies from a random source?
-- Bassman1805
No other sources for the final track will be eurorack format! I will record the output into a multitrack software editor and work with audio files there... or Live ...using Warping! I have midi controllers around...now the live interaction aspect depends on the specific nature of that voice/osc...the voices im interested in, are not traditional mono signal with clear frequency osc ..so it requires a different approach..maybe in between live interaction and generative. But im not here for the artistic aspect..( i know what i have to do there :) ) it's more for productive exchange of ideas!
You're still not really clarifying anything about your use case...Yeah, if you want to make music you want rhythm and melody. That doesn't get us any closer to recommendations that meet your intended workflow.
Are you intending to play this alongside other instruments? Do you have any kind of controller you wan to use with it (eg MIDI keyboard, drum pad, ribbon controller, etc)? Are you trying to make something that you'll live-interact with, or something more generative that you more or less set up and let it run itself? Do you want to program in a melody, or "discover" melodies from a random source?
Version 1: Clank as sequencer + Pams for modulation
Version 2: Jam-friendly turing maschine setup
but ....
if you are really just starting, dont focus on small mini setups (before you know that this exact what you want)
Get a mantis case and start exploring a standard synth voice
or build a utility rack and combine it with a semi modular desktop synth
this special voices like vihkkx or plasma voice are special stuff
maybe not the best to learn and starting out
and if you only want to do sequencing without much modulation and modular workarounts, then it´s probably better to get a used Oxi One or something which fits on the desk.
Me personally like mini setups for special purposes but it´s mostly quiet hard to do them and very expensive for that special individual concept.
If a standard desktop synth can do what you want and maybe also has sequencer and modulation - it´s mostly easier and less expansive.
This rack here will cost like 1500 € - You could also get a nice high end desktop synth for it. (Just to mention)
-- VONDENFUNKEN
True...it's just their sound timbre ( of these two special osc/voices) is so special...not sure if there is a dedicated noise synthesizer that offer those specs ( maybe close to it , yes...). So these small systems will basically be the background in a larger recording ...or track build up...no midi involved ...just audio ! Thank you for your systems! I like for example Newfangled audio generate...but i kinda want to stay away from software , if possible!
Plasma voice looks way cooler than it sounds and it's a one-trick pony. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But if you are just getting started, I would suggest something more versatile. There are countless voices out there that can achieve that sound. I recommend Noise Engineering stuff for what you are proposing.
When you mention using external FX, I am assuming pedals, yeah? Either way, add a ADDAC200PI module and you can have access to two different FX chains with proper audio signal attenuation both ways.
Something like this combo seems to fit your request:
(
)
Cheers
-- AEROCATONE
YES!!..Noise Engineering...well ,I want all their modules ...its just with this small systems i want to add something...that maybe im not easily able to achieve in other hardware synths ( maybe software yes...Newfangled audio Generate). Id love a NE machine!!!
Version 1: Clank as sequencer + Pams for modulation
Version 2: Jam-friendly turing maschine setup
but ....
if you are really just starting, dont focus on small mini setups (before you know that this exact what you want)
Get a mantis case and start exploring a standard synth voice
or build a utility rack and combine it with a semi modular desktop synth
this special voices like vihkkx or plasma voice are special stuff
maybe not the best to learn and starting out
and if you only want to do sequencing without much modulation and modular workarounts, then it´s probably better to get a used Oxi One or something which fits on the desk.
Me personally like mini setups for special purposes but it´s mostly quiet hard to do them and very expensive for that special individual concept.
If a standard desktop synth can do what you want and maybe also has sequencer and modulation - it´s mostly easier and less expansive.
This rack here will cost like 1500 € - You could also get a nice high end desktop synth for it. (Just to mention)
Plasma voice looks way cooler than it sounds and it's a one-trick pony. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But if you are just getting started, I would suggest something more versatile. There are countless voices out there that can achieve that sound. I recommend Noise Engineering stuff for what you are proposing.
When you mention using external FX, I am assuming pedals, yeah? Either way, add a ADDAC200PI module and you can have access to two different FX chains with proper audio signal attenuation both ways.
Something like this combo seems to fit your request:
(
I think something like this would be great. Just adding folders is probably not the most difficult thing so I'm going to scope creep the hell out of this simple request and say it would be nice if the grouping were more meaningful. Potentially even giving you the opportunity to view multiple racks at the same time.
I think adding this part to the request makes it a much more complex UX problem, but I'm sure a lot of people have multiple cases and it would be nice to have an easy way to see which modules are being used where. I can sometimes accomplish this by making one MEGA rack, but that's getting harder to do since I have 84, 89, and 104 width racks.
Having an option to group rack in the command center and view them all at once would be nice, but I think adding an option to share modules across a group would be nice. Maybe you can make a folder in Command Center and select "logical" or "real" where "real" will show module counts across the whole folder and "logical" just groups them for organizational purposes.
Even if that is just too much to make work cleanly, I still like the idea of just folders for grouping. I like to keep some record of historical setups from time to time. It would be nice to have a "2025 summer/fall" folder and "2026 winter/spring" folder.
Does this also apply for DIY modules? The shop/store criteria won't really fit there, but there are folks out there who provide open-source layouts for free - and I'm not talking schematics only, but ready-made Gerber files to have a decent module made. While HAGIWO, for example (as a well-known and highly represented creator of module designs) wouldn't qualify as he's building perfboard mostly, his schematics have frequently been incorporated in PCB-based modules, so I'm suggesting to add those, as the entry barrier in DIY is significantly lowered there, compared to providing schematics and code only. Crediting the original author of the design should however be considered polite and common practice. Thinking about Testbild in particular, as I have added a couple of his modules recently. While he offers some of HAGIWO's modules, he's also done outstanding work on his own, building something what he describes himself as a Maths clone without using their documentation, based on VCS designs from Voxmachina. So, while he's not selling anything, he should somehow be represented in some form IMO.
Wow. Thank you for introducing this beast to me.
Now I need one.
I saw there are cool accent modes on the plasma voice and it even works with midi.
My first idea would be to try the Torso T1 sequencer with it.
I imagine it could be a good fit.
T1 is nice for rhytmic stuff and arps.
And it´s small and looks good besides a small pod.
If you want something in your rack:
Clank Chaos is nice to generate a full random sequence and change it until you like it.
Can go really bonkers - you have to carve the sequences out
Plasma voice seems to have all in it, filter, envelope, distortion = full voice
maybe just add a reverb pedal or any fx of taste.
just pod + sequencer + pedal
or maybe does a MN Mimeophon fit in your pod?
I have my hands on NE Gamut Repetitor and Multi Repetitor at the moment. These could be a good match as well.
Gamut Repetitor offers also nice arps but more on the fly like a turing maschine without save and recall -option.
I saw the performance of the creator with a Erica Black sequencer - also very nice.
But with your small case better use an external sequencer.
The Plasma Voice module doesn't need an external EG, it has one built in. It's a voice, not an oscillator, so it has its own EG and filter.
It can be controlled by CV or MIDI, so it's on you which of those routes you want to pursue.
You haven't really described what you want to do with this, other than plug it into an external FX processor. Hard to make any recommendations if you don't have a defined use case. What works well for one setup may not work well in another.
-- Bassman1805
Hey Bassman, i want phrases that can be rather melodic or percussive ( as i mentioned in the first post)...now, ill like something as a first sketch...with actual modules...so i can start talking about...scale/note specs since i mentioned " melodical " and sure, sequencer specs
The Plasma Voice module doesn't need an external EG, it has one built in. It's a voice, not an oscillator, so it has its own EG and filter.
It can be controlled by CV or MIDI, so it's on you which of those routes you want to pursue.
You haven't really described what you want to do with this, other than plug it into an external FX processor. Hard to make any recommendations if you don't have a defined use case. What works well for one setup may not work well in another.
I intend to build a small system around one voice ( plasma voice from Gamechange Audio) using a 48 hp pod! ( i might consider expand ,if a specific setup will bring more on the table ) again, i will only use plasma voice as osc/voice!
I want to have rhythm with this voice...phrases that can be rather melodic or percussive, but not too advanced deep modulations! System needs an output module !
I am using external effect processors!
Would you go tactile/ spontaneous trigs/gates or would you use an actual small sequencer/arpeggiator? I suppose a sequencer/arpeggiator would fit better!
What envelope generator would you use?
At 28-11-2025 Estroe and I played a modular liveset at Lab1 in Eindhoven opening for the wonderful Andrea Cichecki
It was a very special night and a part of our set was captured on film beautifully. All music heard in this video was performed live by us and recorded straight to our mixer. We did some mastering and a little bit of mixing afterwards but no effects or heavy audio editing was added to the recording. Please enjoy and do let us know what you think about our set!
I’ve been dabbling in modular for quite a while, but up until recently I mostly treated my system as a collection of independent monosynth voices. Lately I’ve started taking modular much more seriously, and my goal has shifted toward building a performance-oriented system capable of generating full, semi-generative tracks — IDM, acid, techno, etc.
What I’m aiming for is less of a traditional “play notes on a synth” workflow and more of a living system where sequencing, modulation, probability, and interaction drive the music forward. I want the patch to behave like an ecosystem — patterns evolving, rhythms mutating, voices influencing each other — rather than a set of isolated voices running static loops.
As you can see, I already have a wide range of sound sources, but I suspect what I really need now is more plumbing — routing, modulation infrastructure, logic, interaction, and system-level control. The RackBrute sits horizontally at the base of the Mega Rack and functions as a kind of control surface. That’s where I keep most of my logic and trigger processing. I’m still very much learning, but I’m trying to move toward a setup where everything interacts dynamically instead of operating independently.
I’d love to hear ideas from people who think in terms of systems rather than individual modules. What would help transform this into a more cohesive, interacting ecosystem? Where are the likely weak points? What kinds of “plumbing” tend to unlock the most potential in large, performance-focused modular systems?
For recording, I plan to capture evolving takes as stems into a Bluebox and then develop them further outside the rack.
I’m approaching this with a beginner’s mindset and fully aware there’s a lot I don’t yet understand, so I’d really appreciate any guidance, architectural thoughts, or suggestions on how to make the system more cohesive, playable, and alive.
Here is the rack brute that sits at the base of the mega rack:
Here is the mega rack so far:
For some reason, the thumbnail of the mega rack is not loading correctly so youll have to click it for accuracy.
(edit: the screenshot is wrong but if you click on it it leads you to the actual rack)
I make industrial synthpunk. My goal is building a eurorack synth for sound design, like generation 1 pokémon cries, complementing the Behringer Grind and Behringer K2 mkii I already have+offering extra utilities for them, and running the audio signal of my non-modular synths through it. Rhythmic stuff and live performance are not a priority, but I have a couple of Korg SQ-1s lying around.
What do you think? I'm considering replacing the second 3xMIA with a filter or maybe an effects unit. Maybe I'm missing something important that could take those 6hp?
I have added a Selecta and a Doepfer Slew Limiter, because they are simple, and looking them up should explain the concept well. You should look into other modules with similar features before making any decision, and don't feel like you need to do it this way. I have also added a breakout for the Beatstep Pro to represent its outputs, but as far as I know, this is not even available and you do not need it.
This is simple enough. You send the sequencer output into the slew limiter and it smooths out the rising and/or falling edges of your signal, making it more wavy and round so it sounds less like a "sequence" and more like an LFO or repeating smooth randomness that you can control with the sequencer knobs. It kinda lets you "draw" modulation in a limited sense.
This is the gates/triggers and envelopes combined in the Selecta. One envelope goes to the VCA so it can be brought down and used for rhythmic variety. The logic circuit combines them in ways where they don't do weird stuff at the moment when both envelopes are still running. The switch section can be used for lots of things, but one potential use is to extend the amount of things to feed into the OR combiner and create something where you can switch between lots of different kinds of gate and trigger patterns. This module is passive, so it only works with positive voltage, but that's fine for gates and output from the Fuji and Pam's. Different kinds of logic will produce different results, so be sure to look into all the different kinds and see what's available (Erica Synths make a Pico module where you can switch between different modes, Instruo has one with a bunch of types and cascading inputs and Takaab makes a collection of logic modules that can be powered from a single cable).
I don't own a Pam's New Workout, so you'll have to kind of imagine from here whether or not it still helps you. I imagine there's plenty it can do in this context, especially since it apparently also just puts out positive voltage, so you can send it to cheap passive modules and see what happens. Obviously, this should just be taken as a rough outline of a way to use these modules and expand them with very minimal extra spending. What happens from here should be determined with a lot of trial and error through experimenting with what you already have here.
Don't expect you'll get this much feedback on most things, either. My job is slow right now. You and Youtube should be able to take it from here.
Keep in mind: sequencers don't have to sequence pitch. Especially given the fact that you don't appear to have a quantizer in this rack, that behringer sequencer might be better suited to more timbral modulation in your rack.
Use one output of Pam's to provide the Clock In to the Beatstep (it probably wants 24 PPQ), the rest can provide either temo-synced LFOs or "weird clocks" using euclidean rythms and/or logic combinations between outputs. You can use those "weird clocks" to drive your in-rack sequencer, so that it's twiddling knobs in a way not directly related to what the Beatstep is doing.
I remember an interview with James Blake (I think it was on Mylarmelodies exceptional "Why We Bleep" podcast), where he talked about Mutable Instruments Yarns for some tempo detection via Midi
-- Progspiration
I was interested in this because I have MI Yarns and I watched this interview. It's indeed Why We Beep with James Blake and at time 1: 06 :00 they discuss the Yarns.
I paid 170 € including shipping for a second-hand Yarns last year and there's better deals here on Modular Grid at the moment.
@ArthurGeddon All the fun in modular is in experimentation ;) But how about you start with this: The Beatstep provides Gate and Pitch information to your synth voice (Brains through Mr. Philter, for example). It triggers the envelope of the Mr. Philter and the envelope opens the filter section. Now, how about you also patch the Gate from the Beatstep to the trigger input of the 182 Sequencer (through the multiple in your top row). Patch the envelope output from the Philter into a VCA channel on the Four Play and the CV1 output from the 182 into the corresponding CV input on the Four Play. Then patch the output of that channel into the filter section on Mr. Philter.
The 182 now controls how much the envelope opens the filter on each step. You can create accents and emphasize certain notes, which makes a sequence much more interesting. Think of the Beatstep as your basic Pitch/Gate information and the 182 as the "spice" you add by sequencing parameters that shape the timbre of your sound or modify the way the basic sequence is transmitted to your sound sources.
You can just use the Behringer sequencer and Pam's for clocked and/or stepped modulation. Throw in a slew limiter or two and it gives you a pretty handy way to design modulation. Some cheap logic modules or switches (or a Tesseract Selecta, which has both) will allow you to combine and move through all these gates/triggers/divided clocks in interesting ways, so you can have complex sequence of gate or triggers from the BSP and a simple clock divided counterpoint from the A-160 set up and then switch between having one, the other, both, or neither. It even works on envelopes and other modulation that is positive voltage, so you could do some of the same with the Fuji.
i just got a beatstep pro, and now i'm starting to worry if some of these modules are now useless in my rack. can anyone suggest some inventive ways of using them with my sequencer?
I remember an interview with James Blake (I think it was on Mylarmelodies exceptional "Why We Bleep" podcast), where he talked about Mutable Instruments Yarns for some tempo detection via Midi, but it also has an arpeggiator. So my brain went to using something like the Arturia Keystep to sequence chords that can then be fed as the notes for Yarns arpeggiator, using some other sort of pulse source to step through the chords on the Keystep. It could be as in tempo or not in tempo as you'd like, and could have some interesting interactions. I think there are a few companies making Yarns clones. Just an idea! Happy patching!
... circling back here, @theneweuropa, thanks for your reply and info above!
All considered, I think I'll grab a Stolperbeats in the next few months when possible. I like it potentials for altering the "time grid" holistically with a few controls, vs. needing to edit microtiming by step. I think this potential is interesting not only for drum programming, but for setting a groove which can also be fed to other ensemble instruments.
I would humbly like to point out that there is nothing odd about using a low pass gate with a complex oscillator. This is literally one of the main building blocks of west coast style synthesis.
— Zacksname
So I’ve done a bunch of reading after you made this comment. I didn't even know Buchla was a person till like two weeks ago, if that. Though it seems to me that the LPG does exactly what I am after really well. It seems like it plays a huge role in being able to create expresive plucky sounds from the CVCO. Also learning a lot of synth history along the way.
Thanks for getting the wheels turning.
There's two things that catch my attention here. Other than that, it seems well-rounded. The most-often made mistake with eurorack beginners is a disbalance between audio sources and audio manipulators. You did well on that part.
— stefvanriet
I wanted to double back and say thanks for the response and confirmation really. I did read enough to be able to approach this all with an idea of what I wanted and sort of what the big mistakes are. So it felt validating when I read your comment.
Thank you.
All that being said I’ve had some time to sit here and get to know Mindphaser a little and wow does this thing have some range! I’m sure it does more than I’m even aware of at this point. I jumped on an Erica Synths Quad VCA on reverb that was near me and at a good price. I think that will give me a little more control of this thing.
I'd love to know where those descriptions are. I didn't see them on the Forge TME website. I'd really love to see some diagrams, so I could better understand what each knob does.
I should quallify that I am selling all my hardware. I purchased the Befaco Oneriroi plugin for VCV Rack. I have a couple MIDI controllers (M-Audio Axiom Pro, and Korg nanoKONTROL2) that I can use for hands on control of VCV Rack modules.
They are two very different beasts. It's a very interesting module, but I got frustrated just twiddling knobs to try and understand what they do. The Vhikk X seems to be more geared towards evolving drones. The Oneriroi seems better at processing external sound sources, which is my main interest.
How do you experience both?
Are you now satisfaced with the Oneiroi? Why?
I did read some short descriptions about the algorithms. They seem to be very unique and thought out, which makes me curious.
I have a Oneriroi and was thinking about to swap it with Vhikk x.
The Vhikk X is a very versatile module, I never stop finding ways to work it into my patch. It does much more than just the drones you see in all the youtube video's. The only draw back is they can't make them fast enough for the demand!