User Posts

I would love more options for filtering out modules from the search results.
-- jgb

Actually, that seems like a fairly good idea...perhaps these could be configured as filters within the user settings...? They'd be a total mess to implement in the selection menus, but if you know what you DON'T want ahead of time, having them as user settings seems like something relatively basic and simple to implement.

"Simple to implement" according to someone who uses test gear side-by-side with the latest revision of Ableton, that is!

I'd like to see if I can figure out Kraftwerk's cover album among other things.
-- m00dawg

I gotcha here...Ralf's rig consists of a Minimoog and a Farfisa Professional Piano, plus some small instruments. Florian's, however, is much more complicated...

There's two mixers in front of him, and they appear to be early Barth mixers. I say that because these bear a strong resemblance to Can's pre-MCI mixing console, which I know is a custom Barth. Below the right mixer, the two big cases appear to be either Echolette or Dynacord power amps. The stack to his right has an oscilloscope, a graphic EQ (maybe Dynacord?), a Dynacord Echocord Super tape delay, and I suspect that the bottom device is their early vocoder. His mic is a Shure 55 (or a copy), then he has a bass flute, alto flute, an A flute, a C flute, and a piccolo, plus an 8-string lap steel.

And yes, that's an early shot of the inside of their Klingklang Studio in Dusseldorf. It's also a very good bet that there's more widgetry off-camera.

EDITED Oct 8th 2021, 02:13

It's a good reminder too that I haven't at all been considering the price of patch cables (namely due to needing more than I thought I would) ;)
-- m00dawg

yeah, I know the feeling - I'm at about 300 or so and probably need more soon!

-- JimHowell1970

Honestly, once you get on up into the hundreds of patch cords, it starts to make more sense to just get a spool of Belden 8441 (three conductor with foil shielding) and a pile of Switchcraft 250s, then whip out the ol' soldering iron. That way, you can do patchcords of whatever length you need. True, it's tedious AF, but you get a superior patch cord (that foil makes a definite difference in keeping crap off of your signals) AND you pump up your soldering game. Same trick applies for 3.5mm cords as well, although you might be better going with Belden 9396 for those and, of course, the right 3.5mm connector...in this case, I recommend CUI Devices MP-3502s for the plugs.

EDITED Oct 8th 2021, 01:56

@Lugia About that Digisound 80, did you build the whole thing ? From EMM articles ? I've only heard rumors and short videos, but I hear the filter on it is extra creamy...

-- toodee

No, I actually don't know who did the module builds...but I DO know that the cab, power system, and touch-ups on the modules were done by no less than the late, great Kevin Lightner, the Synthfool himself.

The Digisound here has a few different filters...it has a pair of state-variables, a pair of LPFs, a Moog ladder LPF clone, and the Dual Resonant Filter, which is something like the usual resonator-type filter albeit with some extra tricks to make the module do more than one would suspect. And everything there except the ladder LPF is actually CEM chip based...along with most everything else in it. So not only is it pretty well-equipped, it's very reliable in terms of programming...you can be assured that your twiddling-around will have the same result over and over again.

And actually, some of the Digisound modules have been reworked for Eurorack. Check out both Wavefonix and Pharmasonic for two interesting takes on the old Digisound 80 modules.

Banged on it. Now, if you've got enough external devices, this should work quite well.

This is sort of upside-down from how I normally set things up, but I also know that the Arturia P/S likes to be in that upper-left corner. So the top row is the "control/modulation" row and the bottom is the voicing. Also, the width was wrong; Arturia's user notes state that the Rackbrutes are 88 hp, and that also opened up a couple of neat possibilities.

Top row: P/S, then this is where the Pam's modules wound up. To up your "variable module" game, the Disting went away, to be replaced by an Ornament&crime, which can serve as loads of different things...especially for that top row. After that is a dual window comparator...this is a generative MUST, as comparators allow you to pick off gates from LFOs and the like. And with this being a window comparator, you'll get more than just a single threshold-crossing for each incoming signal. After this is yet another useful thing, Tesseract's VC Logic...which sounds pretty much like what it is: two logic gates with CVable mode selection. Then there's a quad LFO for free-running LFO signals x 4, followed by an interesting Ladik LFO which has CV over rate AND wavefolding...yeah, you can screw with the LFO waveform! Maths is next, then you have a Frap 321 and a 3xVCA for modulation manipulation. Last, for envelopes, there's a Zadar with a Nin expander.

Bottom row: Big changes here. First off, the Doepfer A-119 allows a mono signal into the system AND extracts the envelope, sending that CV to a separate jack. You also get a gate when the level crosses your set threshold, which also can serve as a third comparator in a pinch. The single Plaits is now replaced with a Doepfer A-111-4 Quad VCO, giving you much more than you could get from a single VCO, it being Plaits notwithstanding. A Veils follows this to give you CV over amplitude plus VCO mixing. I swapped the Doepfer LPF for something MUCH more nifty, G-Storm's clone of the Korg Delta/Poly-61 VCF...which offers both LP and BP modes in your choice of 2- or 4-pole topology. The Polaris is next, with a PanMix jr. following that to serve as a manual mixer for your filter outs as well as providing stereo panning over those. The PanMix feeds a dual VCA for stereo mix level control, then it's on to the Beads, then an FX Aid XL takes that output and applies FX before the signal path hits the Isolator, which gives you transformer isolation on your outputs to help with noise/crud issues AND to give you a pair of transformers which you can "hit" a little hard to get some nice, euphonious saturation.

The big problem here is that, if this is supposed to be a generative system, it's a little "tight". I was able to add enough modulators and pick-offs to help with that, though. But this would really turn out better if I didn't have the Rackbrute constraint to work against. That's really the big stumbling block here; even putting the build into something slightly larger, like a Mantis, would give more working room to go with some larger/more ergonomic modules plus offer more room in general for additional functions. But for now, this is pretty serviceable.

remember - Woody Guthrie's guitar "This Machine Kills Fascists"

& I've seen that slogan (or very similar) stuck to many, many modular synthesizers over the years
-- JimHowell1970

I note that I've been tempted to put "This Machine Confuses Fascists" on the back of the Digisound 80 for live gigs as of late.

EDITED Oct 7th 2021, 03:40

I'll echo Jim's advice here: don't build this out of a pile of 2-4 hp modules. The result will be a total mess when patching, and then you've got to be able to easily/intuitively get at the controls...which will be a bitch with all of the wires everywhere. Especially if this is an FX device, and your attention is divided between the instrument feeding this and working the Euro build itself. One of those proverbial "recipes for disaster", although not quite that dire...just sufficient to drive you up the wall!

Now, as for VCAs...have a look here: https://www.discogs.com/release/50203-Kraftwerk-Kraftwerk Note the cover art (this is on the British release of both of their first albums) and what that scope pattern is doing.

There's two ways to accomplish that. One is to manually increase an attenuator that's fed by an LFO, but this can have some human "slop". The other is to feed the LFO into a VCA, then feed that VCA with an envelope with a slow rise. Now, consider if that scope pattern was of a pitch modulation signal. What you would have if you fed that to, say, a VCO's FM input, would be a gradually-increasing up and down pitch-waver in the VCO's output. This is why VCAs are important for things that DON'T emit sound...they have the capacity for loads of control signal variation, with this being just a sample.

Most of the issues I ran into were simply organizational. Only two modules got pulled out altogether, the Links (use inline mults and/or stackcables instead) and the Endorphin multi-FX. Some others were swapped for better options. So...

It's a little different. For one thing, I moved the Veils to the post-VCO position so that you can put their levels under CV control, and this allows for the Veils' "breakable" architecture to be more useful here. Filters and VCOs were grouped for organization, and post-VCF, you've got a Frequency Central Volts Platz...a four-channel mixer with waveshaping/distortion. Next are your FX, then I swapped the original Erica mixer for their Drum Stereo Mixer...which is mostly the same as the other, but this offers some autopanning capabilities and a limiter. Then this outputs to the Happy Nerding Isolator, to give you some protection against ground loops and noise while adding some saturatable "iron" in the output courtesy of the module's transformers.

Bottom row was mainly reorganized along the lines above, to group various modules according to function. The center "manipulation" section also now has your modulation VCAs grouped with the attenuverter so that if you need some inversion, you've got that there, and the offsets can also be sent to the two VCA modules as bias voltages. Other than that, nothing new there.

Overall, it's a damn solid build. There was very little to do here other than to suggest the module swaps indicated and to get the signal flow to be less convoluted. Nice!

Waaaaait for iiiiiiit...Tiptop should have the Euro Buchla 200's version of the Model 266 SOU in a matter of months, for a reasonable price that's rather non-Buchla-ish. Given that the Source of Uncertainty is something of the "gold standard" for random signals, having that for randomness seems to me to be a real opportunity to experience something historical AND useful, to say nothing of it being built to Buchla standards.

Jim, I'm presuming that the stackcable stuff would be the right way to go if you built up a Euro Buchla 200. If Tiptop's making them to Don's original spec, the outputs should be good for star networking. Since Don was more than familiar with test equipment's musical uses, he tended to use reverse voltage protection, so "starring out" something probably won't have the same results with those modules as it would with the majority of others.

Check out the Frequency Central Stasis Leak, also...fits the slot for the Endorphin, and saves you $30. Yeah, it only does delay, reverb, and chorus, but if you want to use the Stasis Leak AND get a delay line, swap the 3hp blank for an Erica PICO BBD.

Otherwise, this is brilliant. Seeing how the B. modules can be configured like the original Moog systems will hopefully make more people curious about how all of that works.

That 3U was just about there, but there was a signal discontinuity between the mono VCO and the stereo VCF. Fixed that with the Minsk, which lets the user adjust a mono signal into stereo...and natch, it's post-VCA and pre-VCF. Also, I went with the Veils due to the convenient "breakable" mixbus, as I wasn't sure that the Erica had that. But now, this lets the user use one of the Veils VCAs for signal-to-Minsk levels and then there's plenty left for the stereo output and that STILL leaves a VCA free for modulation level control. So here it is...

Surprises me not! Ever since Schlappi put their first offerings out, they've excelled in putting out modules that sound like they're going to explode or jump out of the cab and kill you! I'd have to say that their modules are a MUST for industrial, hard techno, harsh noise, and the like.

I think the customers will do the right thing, but Uli's got to do something else extremely stupid to get that to happen. When the Board of the Music Tribe picks up on the notion that their founder's mouth is losing them money, that'll kick something loose.

And yeah, the synths are the items that'll change this. Beforehand, B.'s gear was mainly used by studios...and not too many, as a lot of their early stuff WAS nicked from other firms, most notably Mackie and dbx. But yr.avg musician doesn't know what those firms are or what they make. Thankfully, it doesn't take much of a scratch on Tribe's surface to find the "ick factor" lurking just under it, and if Uli does another "Kirn", THIS time it'll likely backfire on an epic scale.

And when that happens, to quote Ren Hoek: "I'm gonna stand there...and I'm gonna LAUGH!"

May I ask why you choose the 960 Sequential Controler? From the "half million" ;-) sequencers/controllers, why this one, was there for you a particular reason to choose this module? I am usually not so much concerned about HP usage however this one is huge.

Simple: I know it already. Since B. replicated all of the Moog spec (including the ultra-annoying S-Trig busses), I have no reason to suspect that it would work any differently from ones I've used. Also, the 100M and Buchla sequencers can either alter the behavior of the 960, or vice-versa.

Do you know perhaps when the TipAudio Buchla modules start to become available?

The last thing I was told (by Tiptop) is that we can expect the first ones around Xmas this year.

Beautiful designed rack that, I agree indeed, should not exist, it should not be allowed, far too great ;-) You make me think of selling my house and replicate that rack! :-)
-- GarfieldModular

Actually...all of that, with the B. cabs, just cracks the $4k barrier. Mind you, there's some module prices missing at present on a few of these, but not so many that I would think the build is improbable.

Oh, and Jim...yes, I still think Uli's a prime example of "appalling". But now, his actions are so transparent and evident that everyone knows the story...which is part of why Sweetwater trolled B. when they came out with the "Swing" (aka the Arturia Keystep) and at present, their Four Play VCA (ie: the Intellijel Quad VCA or Mutable's Veils) and the Brains (a blatant Mutable Plaits rip). Back then, they were rerouting search inquiries to the REAL modules, but these days searches for these just drop you into the midst of ALL Behringer listings, which is pretty much like getting tossed into the deep end of the proverbial pool.

Also, consider: now that Uli's making instruments, his visibility has increased, and continues to increase as Tribe keeps putting out more visible gear (as opposed to mixers, rack processors, etc). Might be great for sales, but if Uli goes off in some weird direction again (the Kirn debacle instantly comes to mind), that public coverage will potentially be his downfall. I'd be good with that, and I think lots of others would be as well.

I forgot one...and it's definitely a "holy grail" filter: the Rohde & Schwarz UBM. However, this ancient tube-driven bit of WDR Cologne's electronic music history (especially in Stockhausen's hands) is VERY screwy. Tubes, of course, are AUTOMATICALLY screwy, but whatever's going on inside these huge gray boxes (I have two) is NOT simple filtering. Push the input, and you get warm, wooly fuzziness. Run up the regeneration control, and the filter first acts LPF-ish, but then gets into a NASTY, ringy passband configuration with that Q rising as the control is raised.

What does it sound like? OK, it's all over this: along with a few other filters, but the UBM handles the bulk of the load on this work. Frankly, I'd love to see one of the tube-oriented Eurorack companies take on a challenge like this...and it could be lucrative, too, given that there's only a finite number of these still in operation and when one pops up, the feeding frenzy gets INTENSE.

+1 on farkas' suggestion. Actually, these days it probably makes more sense to NOT use passive mults unless you're putting something huge together, because we now have inline mults, stackcables, and so on. With smaller cabs and skiffs, though, it's far more important to dedicate the case space to ACTIVE devices and leave passive mults as something better dealt with while patching, along with the cables.

Oh, believe me, I'm well aware of Uli's...uhm..."mindset". And he's still apparently on that cavalier attitude of his toward intellectual property. But when you're talking about the synth gear, you find some of the same names here on MG assisting B. in their module and synth designs. For example, you had AM Synths' head assisting with the B. 2600, double-checking the circuitry, functionality, etc to make sure it was dead-on to the original. And yeah...they did that. Aside of form factor, it's the real thing.

My hope is that there might be some changes to this. After the "Kirn fiasco", Uli's been a lot less noisy and/or visible, of which I approve. If Tribe's board of directors would step in to shut him up and curtail his nonsense, I think they'd find that their brands would have a lot more market viability.

Also, don't forget...there's a bunch of REAL modules in there, too...notably the upcoming Tiptop/Buchla collabs. Frankly, what I'd REALLY like would be a full-on 100/200 hybrid, especially since now they can make the 100 series circuitry comply with the de facto "standard" of +5V gate/trig, 1V/8va tracking, and the higher amplitude across the board (ie: no more split paths). Maybe if the docs turn up, we could get some of these to jam in with the 200s; yes, docs ARE the problem...some of the more interesting 200 series modules don't have engineering docs, and Buchla USA has no idea where in Don's archives they might be found. To say that he was a slob as far as records and documentation goes might be an understatement! Hopefully Todd Barton et al can get some of that sorted.

But it can...

Notice: this thing contains numerous modules that, back in the day, would NOT talk to each other or play nicely in the same cab. Voicing is on the upper two rows, control on the lower two. But you'd never have put Moog or ARP modules in the same build with the Buchla modules. And adding the Roland clones opens things up even more, along with a few modules from other manufacturers. In actuality, this turned out to be a pretty potent build, and I'm going to file this one for future reference. Plus, by the time I get around to building this, I'll probably have to change it, as Tiptop's stated that there WILL be further Buchla/Tiptop modules on the way.

And yes, a cassette deck is another source in this system...albeit a twisted sort of cassette deck with a chopper circuit and CV over speed.

EDITED Sep 30th 2021, 01:04

Another thing, too, deals with how MG handles currency conversion. You have the option for putting in prices in EUR or USD on the module edit page, but the conversion routine places its work in a wholly different order. Same thing happens when MG only sees USD as a price, and then has to convert those to EUR, with the same sort of ordering result. Apparently there's not much to do about it, either, since this is necessary; some European modules cost more in the USA, and vice versa.

There's also quite a few EG+VCA combo modules that would be ideal for this purpose. Or perhaps using something simpler would do the trick, since we're talking percussion here and not something that requires a gate. You might consider Doepfer's A-142-4, which is a quad decay (Schmitt trigger, more or less) with a very fast fixed attack and ONLY decay as a parameter. Given that the rise on those is immediate, then all you'd be doing there is adjusting the "ring time". The A-142-4 can be dialed down to as short a decay as 20 msec or up to 2 seconds max. The factory setting on the attack time (3 msec) can also be adjusted via a trim pot on the board.

Hi, gang! Now that XODES has come up with these really excellent tile frames, and there's also some other similar devices...could we get a way to add tiles/modules to these, sort of in the same way that the half-height Buchla modules work over in that part of the site. It seems relatively simple (just alter the image/grid layouts so that you can drop tiles in) to implement, which of course is probably totally wrong on my part.

Here's a good example: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/mutable-instruments-veils-2020

If you look at the bottom row of jacks (in the gray box), you'll also see a set of little arrows pointing from one jack to the next. By plugging into the #4 output, you'll get the signals from all four VCAs at that patchpoint. But if you wanted to "split" that module, you can. Let's say you have two different voices that you want to send to a Veils for amplitude control, but you also want to keep the different outputs separate. With "breakable" normalizations like this, you can pull one voice through the first two VCAs by jacking into output #2, as that will break the normalization between #2 and #3 and effectively split the Veil in half so that your other signal's output is on #4, even though you're using just ONE module.

And yes, this appears on other points besides outputs. Have a look at Intellijel's Mixup. On that, you can use inputs 3 and 4 as either stereo (by patching L-R signals into those inputs) OR mono...because there's those same arrows again, and those mean that you CAN use mono signals on 3 and 4 simply by connecting those to the "left" inputs alone. The input normalization does the rest.

DAMN useful! More manufacturers really should jump on this...

I don't have the history you do...not even close...but I'm curious about your comment about E-mu and mostly because I bought one of the XK-6 keyboards twenty years ago, acquired a couple nice ROMs to go with it over time (Techno Synth Construction Yard and Proteus 2000). I've thought about selling the keyboard (too big for the space I have) and getting one of the E-mu modules that has 4 SIMM sockets to use the two extra ROMs but people are asking crazy $ for the ROMs which I can easily use to support my newfound modular addiction :) It would be cool if there was a way to use the ROMs I have as a sample source for my modular setup...plug the ROM into a module and boom, tons of nice sounds
-- jb61264

No can do. E-Mu's modular days began in the early 1970s and went up to the point when the original Audity (not the Proteus variation, but a much more complex device) was being designed c. 1979...when they realized that there's only a few customers for those huge systems. So they started to retool slightly, which is when they dove into digital devices such as the Emulators, the Drumulator, etc. Those have more in common with the XK-6...which, in truth, is a synth that was a product of E-Mu and Ensoniq together after both brands were acquired by a third party in Singapore that was much more interested in computer audio. That's also why you don't see any new E-Mu or Ensoniq stuff anymore, and haven't for many years. Damn shame, really...

OK...it's the latter half of 2021. Modular synth tech has reached a point where you can get bits and pieces even at certain big box stores. Recording tech has also reached a similar paradigm in that you can slap together a top-shelf multitrack for a couple grand; when I began, a couple grand might get you ONE circuit card out of a Studer A820. Synclaviers have become something you can get...at least in VERY comprehensive and accurate software versions...at Guitar Center for a few hundred bucks. Same goes for the Fairlight IIx. Every processor you can think of...even ones that would cost you a cool $20K+...is now out there as VSTs, often dead-on-accurate to the point that they're indistinguishable from hardware.

But just looking at Eurorack alone, we have a situation where if you want a vintage device, you can have that. Oh, sure, some VERY obscure things haven't been made available in the format, but even some of THAT is out there. Take G-Storm's Syrinx VCF, for instance. A real Synton Syrinx would cost you...hmm, I can't count that high. But if you want the "magic part" from it, that being the formant filter itself, it'll run you $320.

It was a couple of weeks ago, though, when I realized what a strange position we're in these days. It was the intro of the Tiptop/Buchla modules, and I couldn't help but think that we have come a LOOOOONG way in all of this. Consider:

If you want a Buchla 100, there's ways to get that via LA67, Tokyo Tape Music Center, maybe Buchla (haven't heard anything about their 100 series reissues as of late)
If you want a Buchla 200, same deal.
Moog 55/IIIp/c, etc? Behringer plus several other makers.
ARP 2500? You can pick either Phil Cirocco's version or Uli's.
ARP 2600? Modules out of that are in the MG database, plus Uli gave us a proper one while Korg continues to flounder around in the wake of the 2600FS fiasco. Meanwhile, the Antonius and TTSH are still out there for those who want the 1:1 experience.
E-Mu modular? Dave Rossum's got you, and he's even pushed the old E-Mu ideas further in the Rossum modules.

There's also digital-based modules that do things that we only DREAMED of back c. 1980, in the halcyon pre-MIDI era. Granular synthesis used to require things such as the ISPW (IRCAM Sound Processing Workstation) and a fast NeXTcube to run it on or, if you go back even further, DEC mini-mainframes (which are also pretty much what the original Synclavier's engine ran on). And don't EVEN get me started on how sequencer tech has metastasized and metamorphed.

And this all prompts the question: "Where does this go NEXT?" Hell, Eurorack systems have become SO commonplace that it's not unusual to see someone working with a skiff or cab...and not just one, either. I remember seeing Animal Collective on Colbert a couple of years ago, and I think I counted three separate(ish...there's really no such thing as "separate" modular synths in the end, after all) Euro skiffs amongst the pile of other toys.

So where is all of this heading? If you wonder what the answer is to that, just like I do, toss around some ideas in the comments and maybe we can cook up a few bits of the future.

Well, when you get back to using the Ears as an external preamp and you STILL want some overdriven grit, check out Plankton's NUTONE. It also gives you a pair of VCAs, but the big ticket there is...yep...TUBES. Or in this case, the Korg-created "NuTube", which uses a variation on a fluorescent display tube to give you a dual triode, but it doesn't suck amps like most other tube circuits. I've heard the NuTube in other devices and it's totally shocked my shit; I always thought this would require something heftier and requiring big current, but not this thing, even though it HAS that triode amp sound.

My eurorack rig is just a small side project in an already full studio.
-- asleepwheel

You're obviously confused. Electronic music studios aren't considered "full" until you start eyeballing the ceiling as yet another "surface" for adding gear.

Great rack
-- GarfieldModular

No debate there! I've been looking at this for a hot minute, and the only thing I would change here would be to move the Ears to the left end of the top row. That would make it less messy as zuggamasta's audio input line could come in from the left edge of the cab, instead of over the middle-top. But the rest...this is clearly an experimentation rig, and it's a damn good one!

Lessee...10 hp left, and you're thinking LFOs. So, how about THIS: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/beast-tek-double-dragon

Basically, it's a complex oscillator but only works in the LFO range. LFO1 can be used to crossmodulate LFO2, plenty of adjustment parameters, and some wild results.

One other point...quite important, actually...get the level converter away from the power supply. Power supplies can induce crud on audio modules that are located in close proximity; it's MUCH better to co-locate them with modules that have no audio capabilities.

You'll have to build a massive rack for it to need more than a regular household 10-15A AC circuit to plug in to! :)
-- justarandomgeek

Or just have a metric fuckton of gear! The current setup I have DID require more amperage, so I had to get an electrician in to add a pair of 20A circuits. Not only that, I also picked up a cheap clamp ammeter/multimeter (Harbor Freight FTW) so that I can clamp it onto the power feed on each rack to work out a total and, once that's done, to figure out how to load the total 50A in here so that it's nice and balanced (power-wise, not balanced power which is a whole 'nother can of worms!) and free of ground loops. If you run several racks of gear, having one of those clamp ammeters is a MUST.

If you don't have a sense of humor, though...then why in God's name are you using a modular synthesizer?

Over here, I'm using a MOTU 828mkii as the interface for CV/G/T work. Ableton CV Tools is the source in those cases. If you have the room to put in a 1U rack device or two, that would be my recommendation. Just MAKE SURE that the interface is DC-coupled (all of the Expert Sleepers modules are) so that it can send/return subsonic data. This method is also cheaper than an E.S. module in that audio pros consider early digital interfaces to be "obsolete", so they're dumping these for dimes on the dollar.

ooooooookay...so, how does the clocking work?

So, if they merged, would the result be Gearwiggler or...hm, yeah, I see your point.

I'll echo Jim here: Bigger case, more utilities! You see a buttload of these microbuilds on YouTube, and either they're done by someone who thinks they know what they're doing BUT DON'T...or they're done by companies that want to sell you these silly-ass mini cases (coughcoughPerfectCircuitcough). Yes, they work GREAT if you need to add a few specific modules to an existing rig, but beyond that...nope. To his credit, Ricky Tinez is one of the very few synth-Tubers who HAVE said that these are "mission-specific" when you're (usually) building in a small cab like a Palette 62. The rest just seem to slap these things up with no comprehension that beginner modular synthesists need SPACE and need a WIDE selection of possibilities to explore, not merely some bespoke micro-box that's really set up for only a handful of uses.

Ah...then, my apologies. But I should also note that there's very little news on this side of the pond on the Fenix IV...just a clip or two on YT with Felix, so this wasn't information I had on hand. Much of what I did hear over here, though, was along the lines of "never expect this to happen", so I was going on the info I've had to work with. It also doesn't help that we've also got some janky sorts over here claiming that they'll have the [INSERT SYNTH HERE] reissue out next [INSERT SPECULATIVE DATE]...yeah, looking at YOU, Polyfusion!

One suggestion: you might want to get a bit more presence on Gearsource (ie: the site formerly known as "Gearslutz") and get the info about the Fenix IV in front of more eyes. That would not only get the waiting list filled in a matter of minutes, but clarify some of the info floating around. Same goes for Muff Wiggler (if it's even still called that!).

Keep in mind, though, that the mixer in there does a lot more than just mixing. It has your end-of-path VCAs for signal level control, an autopanner (and manual panner, natch) on each mono input, allows you to use the CUE bus for tuning and other checks on the fly, has your parallel path via the AUX for FX (also with per-channel AUX VCAs), and it's also your headphone preamp.

In fact, this is how you get more into a build in less room for less money. Whenever you have the ability to use something with a large function set as opposed to something basic but which requires a bunch more modules, always go for the multiple functionality devices.

And one last thing: never assume beforehand what you'll be doing in the future with something as open-ended as a modular synth. Sure, it works as a sound design rig just fine...but what if you find out that the modular opens up some new musical directions you'd not entertained before? YT jam vids, live performance, etc...make sure you've got those bases ALL covered, because you really don't have an idea where the synth will lead you!

Wailed on this...there was a lot there that was sort of superfluous once the organization process got going. This should make more overall sense, though:

OK...the top row is your oscillators and filters, plus a Veils after the oscillators for level control of those. Also, the crossover is up there at the upper left, as it makes more sense to use it to slice up the frequency domain of an external signal.

Second row: modulation, save for the Schippmann Compressor at the end. Notice that the waveshaper from the top row is now down here (for tampering with modulation waveforms) and I replaced the top row one with a design based on the Buchla 259's wavefolder.

Third row: This starts with a Konstant Labs PWRchekr, which I often put into builds where you have no DC rail indicators so that you can keep an eye on those. Then the entire external thing was swapped out for a Nonlinear Envelope Follower...this has a mono audio preamp, but it also extracts the incoming envelope for modulation use as well as sends a gate when the input level is high enough, and does all of this in 4 hp. Then the noise...but since the envelope generation situation here was so insufficient that I yanked all of the previous ones and put in a pair of Zadars with Nin expanders, which now brings your envelope total to eight. After those are all of your main effects; I took that down to a Timizoara multiprocessor, Kaminiec delay, and Springray reverb head, then put in a Ladik AUX mixer so that you can sum down the effects to a single stereo AUX return but still have control over the incoming levels. After this, I added a Beads for all sorts of granular mayhem, then the Resonant EQ is down at the end.

Fourth row: Starts with the MIDI interface, then a WMD Tool Box gives you a number of useful utilities in just 6 hp. ANA is next, then since we're screwing around with CV values, I put in a Joranalogue dual window comparator to pick off gate signals from all sorts of incoming signals. After that, I put in a Frequency Central logic module, which together with the previous couple of modules now gives you more potential gate complexity for firing off the triple S&H after it. Then there's your Nutone distorter and Vocoder in the pre-mixer slots. For the main mixer, I dropped in a Toppobrillo Stereomix2 which gives you VCA control over levels, panning, AUX send levels, mutes on all inputs, a CUE send function which can be very useful for checking things on the fly, such as tuning, and a full AUX loop with a mono out and stereo return. The mixer's outs go before the last two modules...I used the River tilting Baxandall EQ as a post-mixer "tone" control and the stereo field adjustment is right after that and before your main outs.

Now THIS seems to be a lot more balanced. The layout is certainly easier to navigate with your primary synth functions all grouped together, as well. My impression is that it's still a little thin on sources, but the rest of the system is now up to snuff, I think, and you've got plenty of possibilities for faking things so that the build can SEEM to have more sources than it actually does.

Jim: Oddly, the build quality on the B.2600 is actually pretty decent. They even went the extra step of venting the metal case to get the temp-sensitive components to settle down easier. Fact is, though...the original's hardware was kind of "meh" anyway. You got left with two rather cumbersome lids to store, Tolex that wasn't always glued down properly, slider caps that seemed to want to hide along with the missing socks from your dryer, etc. And of course, that VCF swap, and the odd heat/cool issues that would affect tuning, drift, etc. But you can still field-recalibrate it if needed...and the service manual should be essentially identical to the original, which you can find HERE: https://www.vintagesynthparts.com/service-manual/ Just make sure to have a multimeter and o-scope handy.

Garfield: Yep, the Lehle filter is a perfect "fix" for the 2600's DC-coupled VCA. Like I said, this behavior is 1:1 with the original in all of its revisions. However, sometimes you can get the VCA to provide a useful subsonic "thump", and this works really nicely when programming percussive sounds, so being able to take the DC filter out of line is important. But again, note the reply to Jim above re: the service manual. The 2600 is easy enough to recalibrate, and recalibrating the ARP 2600 was something A LOT of synthesists would do to dial in the fine details of the sounds they were shooting for. I even got tasked with recalibrating MTSU's ARP several times when I was more or less "in charge" of all of the audio implementations in the School of Music, and it's NOT something super-involved and difficult. But if you want to tweak the VCA's behavior in general, the original service manual by ARP is just fine as a reference.

Smallest and most basic complex VCO: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/void-modular-gravitational-waves While it's missing a few controls you'll find on other complex VCOs, it's still very capable with its internal ring mod, plus you can use other modules to get deeper into the complex oscillator mojo...linear VCAs + an envelope source = oscillator signal that can rise after the note-on to alter the timbre across the sound's attack when you feed the audible oscillator the other oscillator's signal into the FM input.

Also, it's exactly $250...fits your budget perfectly.

ARP 2600 VCA sections have been annoying synthesists since 1971. Typically, they need a good voltage WHACK to fully open, and that's been a thing forever. The two ways around that are to either open the VCA slightly, then start applying an EG per taste via the "LIN" input...or to use the VCA control input marked "EXPL". When the 2600's VCA gets an exponential envelope, then you get the right sort of result. It's not really a Behringer issue, unless you consider copying the original design TOO exactly to be an issue.

However, since it IS a known issue that's been "modded around" in past versions, a good synth tech should be able to apply the same mod to Uli's version. And there's other potential mods in there, although B. gave us a few of them (like VCO sync). But unfortunately, the 2600 is rather infamous for DC on its outputs, which is probably why the original ARP spec had that tough-to-open VCA to prevent DC from going out all the time when the VCA is outputting audio, but at the same time having it also capable of level control over CVs and modulation, which requires a DC-coupled VCA.

Yet another reason why the 2600 is perhaps THE teaching synth of all time. How many other patchables do you know that offer that flexibility + an opportunity to learn why you use exponential responses for audio and linear for modulation? 50 years on, and the 2600 STILL can strut its stuff!

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/modules/browser?SearchName=&SearchVendor=954&SearchFunction=&SearchSecondaryfunction=&SearchHeight=&SearchTe=&SearchTemethod=max&SearchBuildtype=&SearchLifecycle=&SearchSet=all&SearchMarketplace=&SearchIsmodeled=0&SearchShowothers=0&order=newest&direction=asc

Have a look at this module line, especially if you're contemplating a build with a tile row. This Schreibmaschine Modular firm seems to have something you'll find interesting...alongside their other timing/sequential toys! Not only do those odd-numbered sequencers have cross-rhythmic uses, they're also great as transposition sequencers. Three steps? Well, now you can wail the blues on your modular!

Simply put, TINRS needs to stop listening to Felix Visser. Lots of big noise and plans, but no follow-thru out of that guy. Visser's NEVER going to put the new Fenix version out, period, as he's been saying that the new version of the Fenix was "coming soon!" for longer than I even know!

That is, it was nice until sketchy promoters and janky drugs got into the Midwest scene, followed by a lot of the wagon-jumpers we came to know and "love" as "candyravers", which then brought in the corporatized feel. It really WAS nice before then...load up the car, drive to some odd location, then set up and let it rip.

But after? Well, if someone of the likes of Juan Atkins can put together an incredible record shop in Tha D, only to eventually close it because the REAL music didn't sell and those sorts above were all coming in and asking for pop-rap and booty house, yeah...you can say that things really didn't end well.

Doesn't seem workable to me. Those utilities that you don't think are necessary are, in fact, VERY necessary. Same goes for the modulation sources and the modules needed to properly control them.

I've done plenty of work over the years with "deterministic" sounds as well...but the difference is that while I might have a certain module or two that I know I want to feed a sound through, I also know that a sound is far more interesting to a listener if it's doing something more than just sitting in the mix like a bump on a log. So, the choice of operating modality for that would be either...

1) Grow a couple of extra hands, then you can work all of that module or two's controls simultaneously. Or...

2) Put the right modules in so that you don't have to have your DNA mutated for those extra hands.

Basically, you've definitely got the idea of what modules to use to alter audio...but the lack of modulation sources, any way of mixing/controlling those, and no way to arrive at any routings other than straight-thru as a result really puts a helluva spike in this build's heart. And that's even if you ARE using it as a processor; I have ZERO idea of how you're getting it to do proper FM without the attendant crossconnection modules between two VCOs or the absence of a proper complex VCO.

One other, also...but it takes two modules: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tubbutec-6m0d6 and https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tubbutec-6equencer-3u However, this also illustrates the modular cost-spike effect as well...all of the device clones of the TR-606 come in at a great deal under the $856 that the Tubbutec modules cost.

Everything in Eurorack is supposed to be 1V/8va scaling, so yeah, you can sequence a Plaits with most any Eurorack CV sequencer along with a bunch of outboard controllers/sequencers.

Yup. Have a look at SOMA's Pulsar-23. https://somasynths.com/pulsar-23/

Mat, if you're going to consider the Rene, you also should seriously consider pairing it with the Tempi. The Tempi has some "backplane connections" with the Rene that kick up the sequencer's functionality.

Also, I'm not buying Buchla USA's explanation regarding the vactrols. There's plenty of modules on here which use them that DON'T cost an arm and a leg and maybe also your other leg, too. My guess with the 200e modules is that the circuitry for the patch memory as well as the extensive signal processing and other hidden digital gewgaws are the real cost drivers, and not a simple component (that's NOT a chip, so scarcity doesn't apply here) that's an off the shelf item. Maybe Don had the right idea, but the execution of that idea shot the 200e modules off the feasibility charts for most musicians. So I applaud Tiptop's efforts here...we NEED a Buchla that anyone can afford.

Yeah, that's actually him. In fact, Richard routinely posts updates to his live rig on here, and I definitely recommend anyone who needs some new perspectives on what to use and how to use it to have a look at his designs.

Also, the OP might want to drop Xaoc a line and ask them directly. My bet is that if there's a ROM update capability on the Zadar, there might also be other methods for blowing new voltage curves into the module.