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Sounds like a new module idea @Lugia, "press a button and get a random Oblique Strategy" 🤣

Got it! Thanks for the info.

Nice! I've been thinking about getting one, sounds like it's pretty good?

You should check out the RF Nomad if you're into short wave @Kel_

I googled around a bit, I'd guess it's out there somewhere @Lugia but you'd have to hunt a bit. If you're into shortwave though I check in on this site now and then (also funnily enough based in the Netherlands), plenty of weird beeps and boops. http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

Rings is really a pretty amazing module @GarfieldModular, I think people'll be using it for some time to come. Interesting textures here, I've stumbled on this mode myself once or twice and it's surprisingly realistic sounding, especially with the right rhythms as you've got here. I wonder really how far you can take it...

Re: the clipping, I've seen this before too, you normally don't need an envelope+VCA with Rings, but perhaps in this case it would help.

I'll say that personally I love a nice wavefolder, and especially with an analog oscillator it'll open up a nice new range of possibilities for you.

Can you share a link to the new rack itself btw? A little hard to navigate the pictures, but one comment, the /W doesn't seem to have great reviews for what it's worth, might be a nice module but I'd do some research before buying one.

Took a crack at this myself, didn't fill the whole rig out but made some changes:

1. I'm not sure you need a Samara and an MVP both, so I dropped the MVP.
2. In my personal experience, I wouldn't say Rings is actually a great techno voice, so I swapped it for a Manis Iteritas.
3. I'm not familiar with the Stereo Dipole, but it's a lot of HP. I swapped it with a Viol Ruina and a Ripples 2020 both of which work for techno in different ways, and give you different filter characters to play around with.
4. I added an Intellijel Quad VCA as I'm not sure you'll always want to use an LPG, and you could use a submixer in here anyway.
5. You need some effects imo so I added a Happy Nerding FX Aid XL, I have an FX Aid and it's a nice module with a ton of range.
6. Put in a Disting Mk4 because in a rig this size you can always use a Disting to fill different holes.
7. Add a Peaks clone, opening up a bunch more functions in a small-ish package, including the ability to run drums in the rack if you want to.

I don't make techno so this may not be exactly right, but take a look and see if some of these modules resonate a bit more with what you're aiming for here.

Editing to add: Perfect Circuit has a nice vid on putting together a palette techno system, worth checking out: https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/modular-synth-techno-tutorial

EDITED Nov 22nd 2020, 17:44

This is a great question to ask, like you @Exposure, I've been jamming a lot, generally alongside 2 and/or 3. I also throw in two other variations:

1. Try to ripoff someone I like and see how I can reproduce their style in modular. This helps me get away from my typical patterns and think about areas of my synth that I'm not working with as much, or different approaches to modules I'm already using. And of course as you do this you end up adding your own ideas and flair, so it becomes a nice hybrid piece in a way.

2. Pick some sort of metaphorical idea and aim for that, e.g. "This song will sound like different types of water coming together, or arid fire, or have a particular feeling." This one is a little bit more subjective which makes it harder but I like to throw it into the mix now and then. That said, you can also take a more concrete approach to this, a la James Tenney's Postal Pieces (https://blogthehum.com/2016/05/31/james-tenneys-postal-pieces/) which gives you a chance to provide a framework to work in and then demands you explore it properly.

With both approaches, having a clear goal other than "this sounds good" can go a long way to keeping you learning. It can be a little easy to coast on how good a synth sounds, which is definitely great, but we learn best by continuing to push forward.

Anyway, just my 2 cents!

Nice tune @mowse, thanks as usual for sharing

Nice one @GarfieldModular, I'm feeling a bit of a "Smooth Criminal" meets 90s Funkstorung vibe, nice space between the drums (love the clap), the synth line drops in and out at exactly the right time... throw some squelchy synths on top and you'd have a nice polyrhythmic Acid... in fact I wanna hear the @GarfieldModular take on Acid now... Thanks for sharing, and hoping to hear more soon!

Must've missed it @GarfieldModular, I'll give it a listen now! BTW, the tones that come in later in the piece above are field recordings of bells from the Netherlands, funny that you'd especially appreciate that part 🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱

@GarfieldModular, glad to hear you enjoyed it and thanks for listening as always. I realize 18 minutes is quite an investment, but I'm happy it paid off, this time at least! Now, when're we going to hear some more tunes from you? It's been too long.

I do remember that about Stockhausen @Lugia, what an interesting, crazy guy. You do make a fair point about context, but overall I think the bar's being raised for what we expect from people, which is necessary and even rather late, but also lots to figure out about how we reconcile the past with our vision for the future. The 21st century will be interesting I think. Re: this tune @Lugia, it's the patch I was working on the other day where we were discussing envelope followers: the HP and LP outputs each go into one of the DUSG inputs (whose fall CVs are tweaked by the Ochd), with the HP Envelope set to control the filter cutoff in reverse, basically setting the HP and LP filters up to fight over the cutoff point. I'm looking forward to more experiments like this... #modularrocks

Haha, thanks @Kel_, glad you enjoyed it.

To the question about Reich and progress, I have kind of mixed feelings about all this. On the one hand, I think holding people accountable for their behavior is critical, but on the other hand we (here in the US) live in a very punishment oriented culture and seem to prefer to hurt people rather than to help them grow and work through their issues. On the other other hand, abusers or racists are often great at playing the game, so protecting people from harm can very much be in tension with the desire to help others improve (rather than just be cancelled).

It's a pretty tough nut to crack, the solution I aim for is a bit of a "not OR, AND" and accept that Reich has issues and probably caused harm in his own community, that I should not be buying his music and should support other folks instead, but that I can also acknowledge he made some great songs and that I can continue to enjoy them, just maybe not so much from a "He's an Icon" perspective. Everyone will of course have a different perspective on this though, and I think the next few years and decades will definitely be interesting in how we keep working through all this as a people.

EDITED Nov 21st 2020, 19:28

No @Kel_, I meant Steve Reich, one of the pioneers of minimalist music in the US, who this piece is ripping off quite a bit. I'll have to edit to make that clear.

It's an interesting question for me as the times progress and our sentiments change... how do we keep our connections to the icons of the past who don't meet the standards of the present day (and who should've known better back then TBH)? For myself I'm choosing the path of valuing the art, acknowledging the importance of these people in history, but moving along and maybe this is part of that, the future has plenty of great tunes yet to hear.

EDITED Nov 21st 2020, 18:12

Steve Reich's getting some well justified criticism nowadays for his cultural attitudes (edited to add, it's probably just clearer to say he's made some racist comments, or been reported to), but nonetheless I found myself ripping him off this evening in a jam for a friend, give it a listen here:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/for-danielle-take-one

Lots of clipping, probably needs editing, the levels are all off, but somehow it comes together pretty ok, at least I think so! Like a lot of my other tunes lately I'll probably re-record it, we'll see if the vibes remain.

In this case, made with:

EDITED Nov 21st 2020, 18:09

I was literally just working on a patch like that @lugia before I saw your comment, great tip and definitely opens up some interesting possibilities.

Excellent, @mowse, really really digging this, the voice placement in particular is fantastic but the melody and everything else too, well done.

Yep, that was me @GarfieldModular and I'm glad to see it having influence already 🤣, this rules pretty frickin hard @the-erc, the textures, dynamics, and rhythms are great, thank you for sharing, and for advancing the 17 minute-long cause lol

They're pretty sick @sacguy71, here's one of my favs

Nice groove @sacguy71, did you ever listen to Wolf Eyes? If not I think they might be your kinda band.

Agreed @GarfieldModular, I think we need to move the Overton Window for long drones here on Modular Grid... 17 minutes or longer should be the new norm ;p

Big thumbs up, love the textures you have going here.

I'd personally add a function generator here (Maths, Falistri, etc) or a second effects unit to get some layered texture going, let's say an FX Aid (the 4HP version in your rack). BTW, how are you liking the Javelin and the Red Dragon? Re: the Javelin, I'm thinking about getting one for my acid rack, it looks sweet. Re: the Red Dragon, from my experience the Ensemble Oscillator really needs a nice filter to sing, are they a good combo?

You too @GarfieldModular!

Thanks @GarfieldModular, glad you enjoyed it. As to the Metropolis, I've got some mixed feelings and think I may be turning into something of a sequencer snob... I want it to do everything but that's just not possible. That said, it's got some nice modulation capabilities, it's * very * easy to be musical with it, and it's good for both uptempo tunes and ambient stuff. I'd definitely buy it again, but I'm also curious if Intellijel might be working on a v2 given that the line is (I think) 8 years old at this point. And if so I hope they add another trigger sequencer to it!!

Ha, I think something similar happened to my bank account when I bought them 🤣🤣🤣

I've had the Metropolis for awhile and the Stepper Acid for a month or two, both solid sequencers, you may be thinking of my other rack (designed atm for ambient) which is currently "No Sequencer" unless you count a Tirana II. Gated slew is a big plus for Acid, I'd also recommend to get as many trigger sequencers as you can, you will find you want a lot of em... for the single voice patch above I used every out on the PNW and the Algorhythm both! Hopefully Crow will help there a bit once I finally plug it in here...

Thanks @farkas! I prefer Maths envelopes (great for wiggling) to the Time Warp, but TW does a ton for 4HP (the inversion option is really nice in particular) and it's a great backup when I'm working on a multi-voice patch. I can't speak to the AJH but if you're looking for flexibility over getting the exact right envelope or curve you want I think TW is a good choice, especially if you're space constrained.

I count myself as a fan of Analogue Haven too @farkas, they're a good spot to check for modules you may not be able to find elsewhere and good customer service too.

A variation on the last patch (same bass line even) but with quite a different vibe, VCFS again in the lead (what a filter!), check it out:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/froggy-acid-practice

Made with:

Beautiful wall of sound @aphex_goodman, my only complaint is you can't call it drone at 5 minutes please! Where is the extended version?!! 😜

EDITED Nov 11th 2020, 16:39

Thanks for the compliments @aphex_goodman 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️, it's exciting to see everybody learning and growing here. This vid of yours actually inspired me to break down my last acid patch and start over again, so hopefully I'll have something new to share soon.

Take care,

@troux

Quite nice @aphex_goodman, thanks for sharing! Now if only I could find myself a VCFQ too...

I'll second @Lugia, start small and really research the modules that work for what you're trying to do. Once you've got that smaller system in place, see if you then have the necessary knowledge and continued desire to expand that system. Eurorack is the wrong habit to pick up if you're going to let someone else design your system.

EDITED Nov 3rd 2020, 23:47

@the-erc, thank you for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed it.

And @ everyone here, thank you all for making this one of my favorite threads on MG, with a special shoutout to @GarfieldModular 🤣🤣

EDITED Nov 1st 2020, 16:19

Nice and cinematic @mog00, keep em coming.

@GarfieldModular I think you might have a future in science fiction along with modular, quite complimentary fields if you ask me! Maybe one day I too can go to Ylaolona K9E, if I do, I'll report back on the sights and sounds lol

@mowse, that's just about all the endorsement I need, I like Make Noise's presentation and just their modules in general, really nice stuff.

@Lugia, I hear you, but for one reason or another (probably stemming from my love of the Serge ResEq) I just wanted an RES-4... sometimes we're not rational lol

@GarfieldModular, glad you enjoyed it, and thank for your listening as always, you'll have to tell me where you're going on these hyperspace journeys one day, sounds like quite the trip! Glad to hear you appreciated the interruptions too, they were actually accidents and kind of annoying at the time, but maybe I'll have to do that more often 🤔🤣

Thanks @mog00, lots of good tunes on the board lately.

BTW, how do you like the QPAS @mowse? I've been eying one for awhile and hearing great things.

Thanks @mowse! And agreed, Clouds + Mimeophon is a nice combo. As to the "reference only" point I took it to mean "these (meaning Cwejman modules in general) are way too expensive unless you have a specific need," but the RES-4 is a really unique module, so I figured it was worth it.

EDITED Oct 30th 2020, 18:33

@farkas it's kind of weird but I think I enjoy Clouds most before or after another delay, to help remove the "This is a delay!" sound that I can't help but notice a lot of the time when there's just one of them. Clouds' smeariness on its own doesn't do it for me, but in layers it can turn into some pretty interesting results.

Given the prominence of those two I'll take that as a compliment lol. Rings really is a great module, Clouds I kind of go up and down on, sometimes I love it but it's a persnickety little guy. The A-118-2 helps a lot in getting interesting results in particular, but I'd like to throw a Wogglebug at Clouds too.

One funny note on this rack if you look, there aren't actually any VCAs, I came today to upset all the conventions of modular!!

Thank you @farkas! I'm leaning into Rings into Clouds here a bit which is rare for me, but after putting it through the RES-4 it has a kind of distinct feel. It's likely I'll try more experiments in this direction.

Despite @Lugia's maxim "Those are for reference only!" I figured I'd grab one from Big City Music, and it's a pretty sick little module, with a range from quad filter marimba pings to weird spacey drone movement. Hopefully I can figure out how to make it sing a bit too. Anyway, here's a chill drone I put together this evening before bed. Hope you enjoy!

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/s-n-rlar

Made with:

EDITED Oct 30th 2020, 05:35

Nice and fat sound @mowse, how're these two fitting in next to the SoundStage?

Big thumbs up @Quantum_Eraser, looking forward to more.

Exciting @mowse, looking forward to hearing more.

Pinnacles has been a fav of mine for a long time @farkas but I only realized Froese was in Tangerine Dream when @lugia posted those vids of them awhile back. Definitely good stuff, I'll check out Eno and Cluster too.