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MODEL SAMPLES:
puede tener:

-plato 2 (sample)
-VOCAL (o sonidos largos) (sample)
-VOCAL 2 (o rumble sample)
-plonk (trig y cv notes)
-dfam (trig de su clock y notas)
-bombo (trig) (en realidad es el clock de la malekko) (vease el archivo word, y la cuestion de esquivar el NTS para enviar midi clock a la case)
manda su midi a Yarns

DUAL FILTRO BEH:
-Una parte va entre la salida del mixer a fx, y la entrada a FX AID. Osea que puede filtrar (o no) antes de que se procesen los fx
-Otra parte sirve para el side chain del bombo:
-Bombo sale, y se divide la señal.
-Una parte a limpia al mezclador (p.ej.)
-Otra parte de la señal va a PICO DSP, donde al salir va al filtro beh.
-Hay un Envelope Generator (ADSR) (trigado por el bombo) manda su adsr al filtro beh, y así se consigue la curva de ese bombo con reverb.
-Supongo, que se podría mandar a un atenuador y directamente al main mix

PICO DSP:
para darle fx al bombo y luego al sidechain

ADSR: POSIBILIDAD
crea un adsr
es trigado por el bombo
manda la señal al dual filter beh.

PICO DRUMS 2
Es la caja (y otras posibilidades)
es trigado por LADIK

MUTA JOVIS
Mutea: plonk, caja, plato1, bombo

MALEKKO
podrá tener 3 lfos.
Sin el ADSR, malekko podría ser el que hace el side chain, subiendo y bajando el Filtro BEH, con el sonido del fx del bombo... (quizás poniendo "slide" en malekko para que la curva sea más lineal)
un triger para plato1

HAT:
es trigado por la model samples

MIXER:
-Tenemos: (de arriba a abajo) dfam, plonk, caja (pico drum2) y plato1
El bombo tendrá su control de volumen con un atenuador

BOMBO:
Saca su señal y se duplica.
Se controla su volulem por un atenuador
Una señal va limpia afuera
Otra señal va pico dsp (con atenuador) o afuera como korg nts
Otra posibilidad es la señal va a pico dsp, de ahí elijo si es dry/wet, y de ahí va al atenuador como volumen

EDITED Sep 4th 2022, 17:43

Hi Gabor,

Ha, ha, yeah, quite a bit mental track ;-) But fun to listen at and especially in combination with your video. I always appreciate your creativity of the your combination of: audio & video.

Yet another nice creative creation by you, thanks a lot for sharing this with us! :-) Kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular

Thanks, Garfield! :)

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1937039.jpg

I started with Eurorack approximately 2 months ago. My goal is to make a live techno rack. I want to be able to maybe do my first live gig within now and 6 months. I'm still learning a lot about modular, and this is the first post im making on the forum!

My 'problem' is that i feel like I subconsciously bought my first couple of modules in a way where I wanted to move as much as possible towards what I could already do in a DAW. At the moment i have 176 HP of free space and I am curious what experienced modular friends think I should add to this case to make it feel even more powerful.

The things I feel like i miss the most are a good deep Bass sound. I am gonna sell the doepfer oscillator because i just don't really like it. Thinking about getting a Dixie II. But than again I am not sure how i am going to sequence the bass sound yet. any tips on this?

For the rest I am open to hear all your suggestions on what you guys would think that my Live (deep)Techno Rack would need!

Greetings,
QkelleQ

After some consideration my mind wandered off from moar modules, to... playing.
Twisting knobs and playing theremin won't go together very... um... melodically, right?

Yes and no. It's true that the OG theremins had minimal timbral control. But in the present day, you've got Peter Blasser making his post-West Coast devices which sometimes house multiple theremin circuits, with the ability to mess with those to use them for all sorts of purposes. The Deerhorn Organ (https://ciat-lonbarde.net/ciat-lonbarde/deerhorn/index.html) actually has three different theremin controllers, with the ability to patch them into all sorts of configurations.

Is an expression pedal module worth consideration?

Can be, sure. But you can just as easily use a passive expression pedal between patchpoints with no need for an external pedal module, or an active one as long as it outputs a 0V to +5V voltage range. I like some of the smaller pedals coming out of China these days, such as https://www.amazon.com/Sonicake-Vexpress-Passive-Expression-Effects/dp/B077PVVC38/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2UEUU3PEQ1ANY&keywords=expression+pedal&qid=1662014966&sprefix=expression+pedal%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-14 They're sturdy, small, and inexpensive so that if you wanted to use a few of them, all you'd need is the long 3.5mm to 1/4" cables to go to and from the modules. I have a few of those Sonicakes, btw...got one some time back, and it was a real "convincer".

I would rather not look too much into guitar pedals as an fx alternative (researching modular is enough).

Oh, yeah...I've got a good "library" of them, and thanks to Ryan over at 60 Cycle Hum on YT making his jaw-dropping clip about the Cuvave fuzz , I got deep into the Chinese stompboxes. And the "why" there gets explained by that YT clip...these Chinese pedals are really more like little boxes of sonic surprises. Yes, a huge number of them are supposed to be clones of existing models from other manufacturers, but note that "supposed to be" part. Given differences in component tolerance, the reverse engineering processes they use, and on and on...they never exactly behave like their counterparts. So when, for example, I hooked up a Joyo "Classic Flanger" and expected basic plain-jane flanging but instead got something like MXR's wall-powered tripout-monster (not in production these days) from the 1970s...yeah, that's why I get these things. Just check all of the YT demos by bunches of YT creators and see how things sound in various hands, and you'll see what I'm talking about here.

One I will suggest, though, is Aural Dream's "Breath Delay". Basic analog delay...except for this one little switch marked "NO" and "GH". And what THAT does is to let you build up layers of stuff on the delay tails when it's set to "GH" (for "GHost", with "NO" for "NOrmal" operation). It's a little bit like Clouds, minus the ability to directly manipulate what's in its signal path like the synth module. Unlike Clouds, though, the pedal costs less than $30.

Do you use your theremini as an cv source?
-- krmk

Oh, yeah...and that can get fun when I start messing with the CV once it's out of the Theremini. Using one to "control" a Wavetek function generator is simply NUTS due to the different CV standards, for example, but it can do things that you can't get to with just the knobs on that device.

EDITED Sep 1st 2022, 07:12

Q1: do modular cables differ meaningfully in quality?

They can. But for the most part, they don't. You can get hi-tweak patchcables with all sorts of voodoo to 'em, but those are somewhat pointless; using silver Mogami cables or some such makes far more sense on LONG cable runs, and not little 1m or less lengths.

At the same time, my skepticism about audio cables still stands. The only place I use something like that are the OFC lines from the amps to the monitors, and there it's mainly due to the fact that those big 12 - 14ga lines pass amplified audio much better and don't pose a resistive load like, say, cheapo speaker 2-conductor lines from Menard's. But at the same time, I have used that low-rent speaker wire for things such as a few amateur radio antennas...and even with the 10 watt signals I put out (I like low power operation...more of a challenge), I can still hang with other stations running ten times that...or more.

The one point where they DO differ, though, is in build quality. Some cheap patchcords really do feel like they're about to fall apart in your hands, either due to using a flimsy cable stock, or janky soldering work on the plugs. That was the scary bit, but I opted to make the leap with these AliExpress ones because I didn't see anything about them that indicated that. And sure enough...really well-done molded plugs with molded-on strain reliefs at the plugs, and they use a bit thicker cable stock which is the sort that has plenty of flex to them...but which can also be easily manipulated to stay out of the way of things and stay there, kind of like what you'd get in the box with an ARP 2600 back in the day. So...

Q2: Lugia, you think these are as good or better than most modular cables?

Bet! After I had a close look, messed around with them and such, I was very pleased. Zero buyers remorse here. And like I mention above, I really like the feel on the cable stock. It's got plenty of flex...but it's not limp, as you can shove it all around and it'll largely retain the position you leave it in. And those prices are really the cherry on the cake here, tbh...the cables are pleasing enough, but the money saved on them? Daaaaaaaaaamn...

A harmonic mixer from AI Synthesis. Straightforward and simple (a mixer doesn’t do a lot, after all), with the addition of some harmonic grit if you want it.
Would be a very good first or second kit, and you do need a mixer….

Build

@Jim: "I think the biggest challenge is finding what works for you and not what works for other people - experimentation is the key - not 'specific techniques for patching modulation + utilities in Eurorack patches" --> nicely said. Modular has taught me a lot about "groping and listening my way through" sound design; in fact a great boon of modular is that it absolutely forces experimentation. A lot of my earlier VST time was cursed with "nail that patch I'm hearing somewhere" vs. playfully getting to know the ins, outs and quirks of a particular instrument. Howard Scarr can nail patches, do the Batman scores, write the Virus programming handbook and the Bazille Cookbook, but I still have to grub my way around hearing and understanding the building blocks of sound design (though Rob Papen's fabulous "4 Element Synth" helped get me past ground zero).

@Garfield, good question, yes I have a bunch of filters (and waveshapers) but I'm probably underutilizing those too. The more of this thread I write and read, the more it occurs to me a lot of my time on modular is focused on really exploring 1-2 modules at a time (which is all well and good), and pretty rarely am I focussed on building a robust signal chain that has a chance of having good sonic depth, interest, movement, etc., while still being a good "role player" and fitting into a reasonable mix.

Net net, this is helping me shift mindsets a bit from "OMG there's still stuff I don't know about this module I've got to focus on it more" to "make sure to spend a good chunk of making a nice and full sounding patched instrument, and enjoy getting to know modules a bit better along the way."

... AND while we're talking filters, I have to give a shout out to my latest addition, Jolin Agogo (Octal LPG). Sounds really good and it's great to have 8 LPGs in a small package!

Happily, all this leaves me really jonesing to get back in front of my modular rig -- need to wrap up my work for the day and leave some patching time before bed!

Thanks for the ideas and encouragement guys, cheers!

Hi Lugia,

Thanks a lot for your great article on this matter. You mention several valid & good points. I totally agree here with you.

So let's focus back on having fun with Eurorack :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Nickgreenberg,

Regarding your point i) Are you using filters or do you have enough variation of filters you can choose from when using your oscillators? I couldn't live without a bunch of filters to choose from when I do a patch.

Good luck and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Nickgreenberg,

Regarding your first question: Yes, there is a huge difference in quality regarding patch cables. For example take Vermona's patch cables or those from Cordial the CPI ZZ series whereby is the length in metres; these two are great patch cables but bloody expensive. Then on the other scale there is for example those patch cables from Endorphin.es, which I expected would be good patch cables but I had to return them, extremely thin cables and also very thin moulded mini-jacks. And of course then there is anything in between from fair till good. Endorphin.es is just an example there are more bad examples (like those cables that come with some of the Behringer equipment, those cables are also not top-notch stuff, but to my surprise at least a slightly bit better than those from Endorphin.es). I am using quite a bit of Make Noise patch cables, those have moulded mini-jacks too however their cables are a bit thicker and if I am too lazy to make myself the cables I usually buy those from Make Noise, kind of fair quality I guess.

Making yourself patch cables is here perhaps the best option. I am using a rather thick instrument cable from Cordial and using Neutrik mini-jacks for my CV cables (I use blue to differentiate) and I am using even a bit thicker black cable from Cordial in combination with gold-mini-jacks from Amphenol for my audio patch cables. But it's a lot of work to DIY, so if I am lazy I buy those from Make Noise :-)

That are my 2 cents, kind regards, Garfield.

Edit: removed a typo.

EDITED Aug 31st 2022, 23:01

Hi Lugia,

Nice to hear that you like your 100 new patch cables! :-) Let's hope they hold for several years and don't cause any issues.

To be honest, I am not so much a fan of moulded mini-jacks but of course for this price, who wouldn't like it? :-)

At least you don't have to worry about not having enough patch cables for a while, enjoy that luxury :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Gabor,

Ha, ha, yeah, quite a bit mental track ;-) But fun to listen at and especially in combination with your video. I always appreciate your creativity of the your combination of: audio & video.

Yet another nice creative creation by you, thanks a lot for sharing this with us! :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

thank you gompa108, good to know!

Thanks Lugia,
from what I understand the rackbrute cases are aluminum with a bit of wood on the sides (amazing vintage optics?).
After some consideration my mind wandered off from moar modules, to... playing.
Twisting knobs and playing theremin won't go together very... um... melodically, right?
Is an expression pedal module worth consideration?
I would rather not look too much into guitar pedals as an fx alternative (researching modular is enough).
Do you use your theremini as an cv source?

EDITED Aug 31st 2022, 17:11

Hi Jim, thanks for the note.

NP

In my big studio rig, I do have a bunch of relevant scale/offset/mix utilities: Maths, Sum*Diff, SISM, Levit8, Doepfer A 1-38m Matrix Mixer, and 12 lanes of VCA (3 quads). I also have plenty of CV sources from standard envelopes, LFOs and sequencers through chaos and random. Your tagline of "sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities" I've tried to keep in mind for my modules --> but I probably haven't kept it in mind for all my actual patches!

It's more important to have them there for when you need them as opposed to using them all the time... I have loads of modules I don't use in every patch...

So I'm probably vastly under-utilizing my existing scale/offset/mix utilities --> my current guess I should press my upcoming patching to have i) a lot more modulation targets and ii) nearly all mod signals "dialed in" or restrained via attenuate / offset / mix.

sounds like a plan!!

I think one challenge I've had on this point so far is not having a great sense "what good looks / sounds like" in terms of #s, balance and specific patching techniques for modulators + utilities in Eurorack patches.

I think the biggest challenge is finding what works for you and not what works for other people - experimentation is the key - not 'specific techniques for patching modulation + utilities in Eurorack patches'

Hi Jim, thanks for the note.

In my big studio rig, I do have a bunch of relevant scale/offset/mix utilities: Maths, Sum*Diff, SISM, Levit8, Doepfer A 1-38m Matrix Mixer, and 12 lanes of VCA (3 quads). I also have plenty of CV sources from standard envelopes, LFOs and sequencers through chaos and random. Your tagline of "sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities" I've tried to keep in mind for my modules --> but I probably haven't kept it in mind for all my actual patches!

So I'm probably vastly under-utilizing my existing scale/offset/mix utilities --> my current guess I should press my upcoming patching to have i) a lot more modulation targets and ii) nearly all mod signals "dialed in" or restrained via attenuate / offset / mix.

I think one challenge I've had on this point so far is not having a great sense "what good looks / sounds like" in terms of #s, balance and specific patching techniques for modulators + utilities in Eurorack patches.

Thanks for the ideas folks!

Nicholas

Maybe they need a "bottom Draw" feature.

Just an area to dump modules without pissing off the cat :P

-- Keean

just add an extra row at the bottom of the rack...

so Nick, the answer is - better patching technique AND more modules!!

it's all there in my signature

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities

how to get the most out of your modular for the least cash - plain to see and easy to understand, but unfortunately also often ignored...

a matrix mixer is a great addition to any modular system - relatively inexpensive, if you buy something like the doepfer - which will take 4 modulation sources as inputs and spit out 4 more related (and possibly/hopefully attenuated) more modulation sources

a bank of attenuators (and/or attenuverters) is a near necessity to reduce the travel of modulation sources

lots of vcas are useful to modulate those modulation sources

for those extra modulation sources to be useful you need modulation inputs (both on sound sources and sound modifiers)

I don't own a TD3 but route external hardware instruments like Nord Drum, OP-1 directly into VCAs in my rack on a regular basis - no problems detected.
-- aphew_goodman

Thanks

Thanks

... returning a few hours later, after managing to get in a good session on the modular rig tonight, here are a few reflections:

I) I often have a pretty short device chain, not a lot between OSC and line out. Partly this is because I love OSCs and like to focus on exploring the depth of the ones I have.
II) BUT as a result of (I), I often don't have a lot of modulation destinations. I can see how adding more devices post OSC then adds more mod destinations and adds dimension to the "wavespace" I'm creating gestures through.
III) net net, I'm probably "chronically undermodulating," and when I do apply modulation, maybe I'm using too many sources with too much gain. Maybe more mod destinations, fewer mod sources, more carefully trimmed mod settings would be a good rule of thumb for my patches for the near future.

Reminds me of earlier times doing sound design on VSTs or fixed hardware, I thought "I should look at patches I really like, count the # of modulation sources, # of modulation destinations, and get a sense of the median modulation depth..." something like that. Probably would still be a useful exercise for me to spend a bit of time on.

Reflections above notwithstanding, I'll be interested to hear any suggestions (in response to the original post above) that you might have, thanks!

humbly request an option to hide the clean up the mess cat or at least fix the CSS so it doesn't make the rack jump down in the viewport when the cat appears. a lot of us use that space as a staging area.
-- scragz

Maybe they need a "bottom Draw" feature.

Just an area to dump modules without pissing off the cat :P

One feature i'd love to see is the ability to lock a position of a module or group a number of modules.

it would be awesome when you have to move your drum rack over 1hp :P

Hi, a few comments:
-- I have SISM and am very happy with it. Yes the mini-pots are small, but the spacing is adequate for me to use happily.
-- Levit8 has medium-sized nobs and can handle a lot of duties SISM can
-- Joranalogue Morph4 may be interesting for you, but it is more of a mashup module than offset/attenuvert
-- WORNG Vector Space does a tone of CV mashup and everything is selected by tap

all my cases are Deopfer or Case From Lake

What I like about Doepfer is they're widely available in stock, are stackable (with some basic hardware), have great reputation for PSUs, and I imagine they'll be available for a while so in the future when I need another case, I don't have to mix and match, I can probably get another Doepfer.

Case From Lake is super responsive, nice, easy to deal with, does wide customization, and made me a real nice case.

hmm, yes I need cables, a BUNCH, and all I use is black (typically Ad Infinitum cables)

Q1: do modular cables differ meaningfully in quality?

Q2: Lugia, you think these are as good or better than most modular cables?

... btw, thanks for sharing this find!

EDITED Aug 31st 2022, 03:23

I use two of them and they work well

Well, they showed up yesterday...50 50cm ones, 50 100cm ones. And the verdict is....

Hot damn, what a DEAL!

Yes, they're everything I was hoping for. True, they're only in black, but unless you're hellbent on having your modular look like a unicorn sneezed all over it, black is fine, IMHO. The cables are pretty much the same sort of thing as Nazcas et al...molded 3.5mm plugs, and a nicely-flexible cable stock that's easy to deal with when there's a bunch of them and you need to get past the tangle. Definitely NOT throwaway grade! So if you need piles of patchcables, I think this might be the mother lode!

Take a look at the Stolperbeats trigger sequencer... I love mine!

I'm reorganizing and this rack is sort of a scetch of where I want to be headed.

I already have most of the modules shown, except the verbos and the erica synths drum machine and I'm quite sure that I'm missing some utilities here and there - whats your take on this?

And yeah, I know, it's probably smarter to just get a drum machine and save a bunch of rackspace but I'd really like to try out the squid salmple and bia with the erica synths drum machine and be able to cv the **** out of these. I also have a dfam and some fx pedals on the side and a 114hp "skiff" that can be used as an extension.

Now the other thing thats been on my mind: instead of the erica synths dm, I thought about grabing a digitact and mutant brains/ cv.ocd combo and use that to sequence my modular... or mostly my drums actually. To this point I'm not quite sure which of these would be more fun to operate and which goes further in terms of overall (drum) sequencing abilities. - I hate hearing the same beat over and over and over again so I want to be able to make quick adjustments to keep things interesting.
The digitact can also be used for drums and for fx and so on, I'm well aware of that but I'm not trying to use it as a substitute for anything, except a bad ass drum sequencer. I've been looking at other hardware sequencers (polyend, oxy, etc.) as well but I really don't like their style. to bright, to shiny, to smooth or unjustifyable, like the grp r24.
If anyone has some experience and/or expertize to share I'd be really glad to hear it! :-)

Also, Frequency Central's jammed the ARP 2600's signal manipulation section into a little module called the Process 26, and that'd work well, too.
-- Lugia

Looking into this one myself. But to be honest, the name kinda gives me the creeps.

Hi folks,

I'm about 2 years into modular, with many other years in music and VST synthesis. Enjoying modular a lot!

I'm finding a lot of my modular patches are "flatter" than I would like -- they are 1-2 dimensional, and not as fluid, bouncy, dynamic, juicy etc. as patches I hear from Heinbach, Divkid and other power-users with videos online. I have plenty of modular gear at this point, so "not enough gear" can't really be the problem. I'm guessing either i) my approach to modular is somewhat stuck in VST based thinking and experience ii) I haven't picked up enough modular-specific techniques and patches iii) or simply more modular soak / practice time is required. Practically, I imagine I'm probably underutilizing CV and CV mashup/mixing.

That being the case, I wanted to pick your brains for favorite techniques, patches, (and to a lesser extent) modules that you love for getting a modular system to give that multi-dimensional, (broadly) dynamic sonic response we associate with a good modular system being played by a strong modular synthesist. Any suggestions of i) specific techniques or patch types ii) great videos or books on this iii) key modules you use for this?

Thanks!

Nicholas

Hmm...well, Tiptop should be close to dropping the Buchla 257t at this point, and that would be a good candidate here. Also, Frequency Central's jammed the ARP 2600's signal manipulation section into a little module called the Process 26, and that'd work well, too.

Just that? It's not even implemented properly to just be a synthesizer, not to mention generative work. You're missing a LOT of what needs to be in there...and ironically, there's NO modulation and NO timing aside of Pam's...which, perversely, has pretty much nothing to do here. Given the amount of control signals and control modifiers needed to make generative work, you're already in trouble with just one 3U skiff.

Jomo's advice regarding VCV Rack is probably your best bet for figuring out the what/how/whys of generative. These tend to require either very dense functionality per module, massive amounts of modulation generation and manipulation, or both. Also, timing signals get messed with quite often, with one of the requisites being some Boolean logic to (ab)use the timing signals to make other timing signals, etc etc. The only caveat I'd give about VCV is that it can get pretty piggy about resources, so it's best to run it with as little as possible going on besides it.

One other bit of advice regarding Mutable clones...if you're going to use those instead of actual Mutable modules, examine them closely to see if you see any possible ergonomics issues. One gripe that many have with these is that the knobs get so tiny and so densely-packed that you need to turn them with a pair of tweezers, or damn close to that. But seriously, that's an important consideration...you DON'T want controls that'll see lots of manual tweaking (such as VCF cutoffs) being made hard to use. Plus, keep in mind that the patchcord rat's-nest (generative programming DEFINITELY causes those) will also be obscuring those controls as well.

My new (not very large, only 4 x 104 hp) custom powered case was built by Uryan Modular, a small business that happens to be operating in my country. The prices are pretty friendly, the build quality is great. They use Meanwell PSUs with plenty of reserve power. One example for a larger case (17U/168 hp, 160 module slots, 4 x 2800 mA +12v, 4 x 500 mA -12v):

-- aphew_goodman

Damn, that's a big honker! That price is right, though...840 in 3U and 336 in tiles for EUR 1100, with some clearly BEEFED-UP power, is a helluva deal!

Just got the TD3-MO and want to incorporate it in my eurrack modular set up.
Is it safe to use the 3 5mm headphones socket of the TD3-MO to go straight into a vca ?.

-- Slammer22

In theory, yes. But you'll need to sum that stereo headphone signal down to mono, and if the level's too low, then it won't work without some sort of preamp module like a Doepfer A-119.

But if you want a better trick to do with the headphone jack, try a feedback line from there to the VCF in on the B-0-3. You will need to run that through an attenuator to keep things from going into runaway, but that OLD trick (as in REALLY old...the first synth that had people doing this was the Minimoog) really beefs up the nastiness and adds various weird resonances. Better still, put something like a delay line stompbox in the feedback loop and add THAT to the VCF path. Or a flanger, or phaser, or or or...

Hallo,
I'm in the market for an IO Instrument Sponde, I would like to hear some user's experience before buying it.
I will mainly use it as attenuators for my Expert Sleeper ES-9 inputs in Standalone mixer mode.
I can buy the ES tiny expander and control the volumes in Ableton from a controller, but I prefer having direct control via fader/attenuator in the rack and avoid midi control over volume.
The Sponde seems a good module for the job, the panel and color scheme are not my cup of tea but as long as it is functional I can live with it, and the price /function ratio is good.
I've noticed that the 8 direct output jacks on the module don't have hexagonal nuts (behringer style) and I'm a bit worried about jacks getting wiggling and worn over time.
How's the build quality? Are the slider solid or wobbly? any noise, bleeding?
Some Sponde users can confirm that it's possible to patch the 8 post-fader individual out and have the slider 5-6 on channel 1 and 2 controlling the volume on the relative main channel? From what I've understood reading the manual the signals from 1 to 4 disappear from the main channel (purple) if a jack is patched in the direct outs. Same for the other channel (green), right?

Wow Lugia, thank you!
I'm looking up some of the modules suggested; So many mults! Trying to wrap my head around patching... Is swapping one of the the 4x4 mults for another ASK a reasonable consideration?
As for the case, would an alm / brute case do?
-- krmk

You could do that swap, but you'll have to resort to some inline mults to get certain routings to work. As for the 'Brute case, yeah, that should work even better since they're wood...helps avoid signal leakage between the aerials and therefore playing issues that might pop up due to them. Also, you can then add the ASK and keep the mult, since these run 88 (or 89, depending on who you ask) hp.

EDITED Aug 30th 2022, 20:52

I agree that more utilities are probably necessary (i.e., power if you're not using a powered case) or very desirable. Definitely an envelope (dual+ if possible - that way you can control amp and filter envelope independently) and a standalone LFO (i.e., not Pamela's NW). A slew limiter could be very nice as well. A Make Noise Maths or Befaco Rampage will give you LFO + slew limiter (and lots of other things) in one package, but you're rather limited in terms of waveforms. You can use a lowpass VCF to modulate the LFO though, so not a dealbreaker.

The biggest gap to me is: how are you planning to trigger notes? If you're using a keyboard or other controller that doesn't have CV outs (i.e., just MIDI or USB), you'll of course need a MIDI to CV converter. If you're planning on using software to sequence/trigger notes, you'll need an audio interface (like a MOTU), which doesn't need to be in your rack and can be beneficial to leave outside (more space + power for fun modules )

Honestly, unless you're using a sequencer module, you can probably ditch Pamela's NW - an Arturia KeyStep Pro, for instance, is both a keyboard and a clocked sequencer with CV outs that only costs about $100 more than Pam's alone. So you'd be getting all the "core" functionality you need for almost certainly cheaper than Pam's + a sequencer module - many sequencers are more expensive than a KeyStep Pro by themselves, and they usually take up a ton of room.

On the topic of leaving some stuff out of the rack, you can definitely do that with effects processors as well. I see you have Beads, which is very cool, but if you add a 1/4" audio out utility, that opens up the possibility of using many very nice desktop effects units (like a Strymon BigSky). Eurorack obviously has tons of great effects units, but there are a LOT outside of Eurorack as well. The tradeoff there is that you have less CV control options, but in my experience at least, effects units are more often tweaked by hand than by CV. Just something to consider in case you want to mix and match.

One point - none of these modules have been discontinued.

Plaits is an amazing oscillator - I would argue one of the best for a beginner as it's very versatile and fairly easy to use, with just enough learning curve to get you used to the "funkiness" of Eurorack.

The Wasp is an awesome filter, especially for more aggressive/acid-type sounds. That being said, you'll be pretty limited to those kinds of sounds - it's doesn't do smooth well. One very affordable option that can give both smooth and aggressive sounds is a Behringer 121 - I have not used it personally, but I've heard several demos and (to me) the sound and functionality are very impressive (esp. for the price).

Two ideas that could help you refine further: (1), look at the setups of simple modular systems that produce sounds you like on YouTube and use them as starting points; (2), give VCV Rack a try. It's a free, open-source eurorack system for the computer, and it has exact replicas of most Mutable devices (so you could test/play around with Plaits and Beads for free - they're digital, so the "guts" are identical on a module or on a computer). If you do go the VCV Rack route, try setting the audio sample rate to 96khz and adjust the buffer as needed; it makes a big difference in the sound of the Mutable modules :)

Anyways, super long response, but hopefully helpful. Have fun with your system!

EDITED Aug 30th 2022, 16:21

Warm Star Electronics has a module called The Bends in 10hp. That might be an option to look for. You can find them used occasionally and they are fairly inexpensive.
-- farkas

Wow, this looks fantastic and extremely well thought out! Thank you for the tip, I hope I'll find one on the secondary market since they don't ship outside of the US...

alternative: doepfer matrix mixer
-- JimHowell1970

Definitely on the shortlist, although the knob matrix is almost a bit crammed imo. Thank you for the suggestion!

Warm Star Electronics has a module called The Bends in 10hp. That might be an option to look for. You can find them used occasionally and they are fairly inexpensive.

I don't own a TD3 but route external hardware instruments like Nord Drum, OP-1 directly into VCAs in my rack on a regular basis - no problems detected.

Just got the TD3-MO and want to incorporate it in my eurrack modular set up.
Is it safe to use the 3 5mm headphones socket of the TD3-MO to go straight into a vca ?.

Thanks for any help.
Paul

alternative: doepfer matrix mixer

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a module that lets me mix, offset, scale, and otherwise mangle several CV signals. 4ms SISM and TipTop MISO come to mind, but I have developed a severe aversion to these mini-pots that are not mounted to the front panel and would really prefer a module with a clean, spacious layout and full-size, haptically satisfying knobs. Happy Nerding 3x MIA seems to be sold out everywhere with no word about a restock anytime soon, so my number one option at the moment is the XAOC Samara. Do you have any other ideas or recommendations?

Regards

My new (not very large, only 4 x 104 hp) custom powered case was built by Uryan Modular, a small business that happens to be operating in my country. The prices are pretty friendly, the build quality is great. They use Meanwell PSUs with plenty of reserve power. One example for a larger case (17U/168 hp, 160 module slots, 4 x 2800 mA +12v, 4 x 500 mA -12v):

https://www.uryanhardwares.com/product-page/17u-168hp-black-classical-series-eurorack-case

Hello,
does anyone have any experience with the Xaoc Samara II?
Would a combination of MI Shades and Kinks be better?
Thanks

No, sorry, it would not. You have some of the basic building blocks... but you need sources of modulation (LFOs, envelope generators) and more basic utilities.

Also, it's worth noting that all of these modules except the Wasp filter are now out of production. There are knock-off versions available, of course (except for Beads)... but you may find it hard to buy these if you're looking for actual Mutable modules.

Thank you very much Audiorial !

JVR TR-909 is LowTom not BassDrum

LowTom not present on Modulargrid