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+1 on removing the Subby and Strega. Doing this sort of thing only makes sense if you MUST minimize your rig for travel and don't want to keep track of the cabs that SHOULD contain those two. Otherwise, this is a massive waste of valuable (and expensive, if you're really planning on putting this in a traditional A-100 Doepfer cab!) rack space and power resources which, if these two devices stay in their already-powered cabs, you'll actually be able to use for modules that DON'T have power and DON'T come already cased.

As for the rest...hard to say. Since about half of the build is taken up by those two devices alone, it would probably make more sense to delete this build and start again, this time NOT putting cased and powered devices in with regular Eurorack modules. One thing, though...what you have in actual modules is nowhere near being suitable as a synth voice. Without VCAs, you have no way to control ANY signal levels, for starters. There are no mixers, no attenuators, no ways to invert signals, and so on which you need to work with both modulation and audio signals.

It would appear that you're following either some misinformation, or you're attempting to proceed with something VERY expensive without the requisite information. Either way, you're about to create a vast black hole into which money gets poured and no useful sounds come back out. A far better approach would be for you to get a copy of VCV Rack (it's free: https://vcvrack.com/) and start exploring what various modules/circuits actually do. Spend a few months with it...THEN attempt another build on MG. I guarantee you that, with the info gleaned from VCV Rack and hours spent with it learning synthesis basics and beyond, you won't put together something that looks like the above. Instead, hopefully, you'll wind up then with a real system, capable of all of what we associate with good modular builds.

And don't forget the current chip shortage...it's hitting everyone from car manufacturers to gamers to...well, us. The analog chips aren't so much of an issue, but the embedded processors in some of the more elaborate modules are certainly getting hit by this.

Maybe Sweetwater will redirect this to either the Mutable or Intellijel version on their website, like they did with the Swing. I thought that was a nice gesture...and once they did it, you really didn't hear much about the Swing anymore.
-- Lugia

@Lugia Did they really do this? I never noticed but that is a pretty cool move for a company that I thought had done a complete 180 on Behringer. I remember years ago when they didn't even sell Behringer products at all, for whatever reasons they had.
-- merzky_shoom

Yep, they really did. And still do...go to their site and type "Behringer Swing" into the search. All sorts of Behringer Swings there, all apparently made by some knockoff company called "Arturia".

Frankly, if there's a retailer that can slap the silly out of Uli, it would probably be them. Thomann's clearly bought-in on the Tribe, so you can't count on them for that. And no, Sweetwater isn't as "pro-Uli" as one might think, as that search cross-ref shows. Maybe they think they can get him to behave? Dunno...

EDITED Jul 2nd 2021, 23:29

Effin' Uli...OK, going to have to find some brown duct tape to cover up the Behringer logos on the 2600 and Pro-1.

Maybe Sweetwater will redirect this to either the Mutable or Intellijel version on their website, like they did with the Swing. I thought that was a nice gesture...and once they did it, you really didn't hear much about the Swing anymore.

Thanks, great tip!
Btw (a little bit OT, but…), it’s been a while since I looked into the AE modular, but I did yesterday. Those drone modules (DronX & Drone38) seem really interesting. You’re using them?
-- Noctopolis

Not YET...but they ARE on order. Should be here either late this month or sometime in August with Tangible's general order fulfillment scheme.

Frankly, I love the HELL out of my AE. The primary voicing "cores" on that are very Buchla: a dual DCO and dual VCA, plus two main VCOs, a CVable waveshaper, and manual summing mixer per "core". Six of those. Haven't got anything cut with it just yet due to being stuck in an inexorable studio upgrade, but that sound...daaaaaaaamn...

If it's not sending clocks through the Hydra, then a perfectly good approach would be to split the clock with an inline mult or Y-cable. Since clocks are nothing but +5V(ish) pulses, you can split these as needed without major issues.

Another possible performance mixer would be Tesseract's TEXMIX system. In that case, you start with a master module, then add input modules as needed in either mono or stereo strips. Jim really likes this one, although it does have less CV automation potential than the WMD.

One thing I'd suggest if you ARE recabbing a Mescaline: check Folktek's modules, and you'll find a few more that use the Dupont pins...especially some little attenuator banks that can open things up further.

OK...now that the 416 hp cab is in play, I did some major adjustments to the initial version of that. There was a lot of superfluous stuff in that, and that was dealt with pretty quickly. For one thing, the only mult that's in here now is the 1 x 8 Erica buffered mult on the top row. As for the rest, just use inline mult widgets, and you'll be fine; you don't need several buffered mults, as their primary use is to keep scaled/quantized CVs on pitch by avoiding voltage sag. The Studio Electronics mixers also went away, as they're just too big for a build of this size. Once I got things pared down to size, I dove into the rework. So...

On the layout: things have been majorly regrouped in favor of function groupings, instead of splaying out all of the various "voices" all over the build. This actually makes the result much more intuitive and easier to patch.

Top row: This is all audio. The buffered mult is first, then the two Pitt oscillators, and then the Bifold. After this, you have the Mob of Emus...and I gave that a Bubblesound hex VCA so that every output of the Mob can now be brought under modulation control via the VCAs. The ONE got co-located with the Beads (a sensible pairing) and then the Panharmonium ends things up with more VCO processing.

Second row: Modulation left, filtering right. The mod sources here (except for a slew limiter, which fits into the signal flow between your MIDI interface and the buffered mult for the oscillator CVs) are all envelopes: Quadrax, Zadar, Dual ADSR, and the Quadrax and Zadar have their expanders. The other side is mostly filtering: Forbidden Planet, Linnaeus, Rings, then a Veils gives you CV control over the levels of four signals. Now, how that works is like this: if you wanted a signal via the Linneaus AND the Rings, you'd patch the left outs into the first and second VCAs, and the rights go to the third and fourth. With the way that the Veils' "breakout bus" works, you then take outputs from 2 and 4, and then you have two stereo pairs under full VCA control. The last bit there is a stereo summing mixer that lets you sum down three stereo signals to one stereo output pair.

Third row: Again, this is split with more modulation and control on the left, and your FX on the right. The MIDI interface is first, then a more complex dual sample and hold with an internal noise source. After that, the Batumi (with Poti), a triple linear VCA for CV/mod control over modulation signal levels, and the MISO fits in before the Maths. Then the FX themselves, with the two Tiptop modules up first, then the Mimeophon and Warps. The Dual Black FX was removed mainly due to redundancy, plus the new output mixer allows a lot more flexibility in terms of FX routing, as you'll see.

Bottom row: Control on most of this, with the main mixer taking up the right end. The left end's small modules all play around with timing: the Pam's, an Adventure Audio clock counter, a quad pulse delay for shifting/swinging clock pulses, a dual-channel stochastic pulse skipper, then a Joranalogue dual window comparator, which allows you to pick off gates from modulation signals or when any CV exceeds a given value. This is a window comparator, also, so you actually get THREE pickoffs per inputted mod signal. And all of these timing modifiers get down to a dual Boolean gate from Frequency Central. All of this allows you to really mess with the clocking and triggering, especially where the control of the different layers in the Z8000 are concerned. One more little module gives you stereo audio inputs, and this is located next to the WMD Performance Mixer, which contains your final level VCAs per input, gives you two different AUX busses to feed your FX from the strips (and this is where those two Tiptop modules come in, since you can simultaneously use the ZVERB and ECHOZ and have them return to the mixer in parallel and NOT series, which is more of a pain to control), panning, your headphone preamp, and a number of other useful procedures.

Lastly, you'll see two little 1U modules on the left side on rows 2 and 3...those are KonstantLabs PWRchekrs, which let you have visual feedback of the health of your DC busses while you use the system.

Now, yes, there's a number of things that were removed...and really, I don't think you'll miss them at all. The big key here was to try and "multitask" as many modules as possible. For example, the dual S&H before was just a dual S&H; in this build, the noise source is integral with that and the module has more complex routings internally. And some other things were added, like the hex VCA after the Mob of Emus, which now lets you "strum" through the six different "voices" and then sum this down, either as stereo (with the lefts in 1-3, rights in 4-6) or mono (just use the mono out). There's a lot of that in here now. But this now has a pretty good balance between modulation, control, generation, modification, and utility across both the audio AND mod/control signal paths. And most importantly, there's plenty of that to go around to really make the audio aspects here shine.

Depends...if you put the Mescaline in a typical cab, that would tend to get messy in the way I describe above. But if you put it in a 1 x 126 cab, now...that would actually preserve the "ecology" of the Mescaline while, at the same time, housing it in something less precarious. And yep, it fills that from end to end. If you wanted to do a lot of gigging with the Mescaline, this might be a good solution. However, you would still have the potential of patchcord snarls right over the middle of this.

How I deal with this: the Softpop and bitRanger aren't in any fixed position, so if they need to go somewhere for the sake of patch clarity, that's not a problem. The Mescaline is also not necessarily "fixed", either...but it tends to stay in a position that allows it easy access to the "non-movable" Dupont pin devices, such as the AE and the FHC quad comparator. But they don't need to go "outside" their patching paradigms, since each device also has 3.5mm I/O of some sort, so there's no need to start stringing Dupont wires all over the whole modular "sandbox" station in here.

The other key to this is the sandbox itself. This has 80 1/4" patchpoints in of itself (Furman PB-40s, all non-normalled) which, along with my unkillable Mackie 1202 (1st gen), allow me to centralize the signal routing for this entire subset of gear. Plus, it lets me have a pair of FX processors (Zoom 9120, Korg SDD3300), a quad gate (Symetrix) and my MOTU interface for either audio or CV/gate/trig work right there, all ready to go. And yes, I did implement the inserts on strips 1-4 on the Mackie, where I use some little short patches to handle the duties of the "normalization" link.

Lots of audio...but very little in the way of control or modulation. That's a huge stumbling block, as you NEED the control and mod modules in order to get the audio stuff to do what you want. If I were you, I'd go back and delete this, then majorly rethink the bottom row so that you finally do have the right mod/control complement.

Another point, also...the Z8000 and the Pitt Double Helix are hella huge. Taken together, they occupy 56 hp of the total 208, which is close to 1/4th of the entire build. I noticed that you don't have a problem with a second Mantis...which is good, because if you insist on using these, you're going to NEED that second cab. It's not just that they take up 56 hp, either...you also have to factor in ancillary modules for these. The Z8000, for example, has no quantizer onboard...so there's an extra module. Then you'll want some way to make the clocking more elaborate, which lets the Z8000 really get into complex behavior, especially with some Boolean logic onhand. So...yet more modules. Etc.

Instead of the "Buy another Mantis" option here, try and come up with ways to replicate the behavior you want in the build...but smaller, and with more onboard features. For example, the Squarp Hermod is only two hp smaller than the Z8000...but at the same time, the Hermod has EIGHT channels, MIDI interfacing, quantizing, and so on, which eliminates the space requirement for those ancillary modules.

One other point, also...don't assume that you're going to build a separate effects build, because you'll invariably find that you'll want the use of some of the "main" build's modules. It would make more sense to build up a single, unitized system that contains all of these features and then you can have numerous interrelated patches running FX and sound generation, sometimes even in sync with each other.

That would be me. And I wouldn't do this. For one thing, the observation about the module sizes is very significant...each one is 42 hp, and if you have a 2 x 84 cab, you'll fill 3/4ths of it with the Mescaline. I keep mine in the original stand/rack that Folktek came up with...partly because of the space issue, and partly because the Mescaline was intended as a stand-alone in the first place. And I also use mine with other devices, such as a 160 (soon to be 180) space AE system, a quartet of window comparators from FHC, and a couple of Bastl devices, the Softpop and bitRanger.

If I were to move this to a "proper" Eurorack cab, the interfacing would immediately become an issue. Consider: you would not only have the Dupont pinwires for patching the Mescaline, but some standard 3.5mm cables as well for the Eurorack implementation. This would get messy really quickly, to say nothing of being problematic for the Dupont connections as they tend to come loose far easier than Eurorack TS cables.

Besides, Arius Blaze DID intend these to also have an aesthetic component. Given that, my Mescaline is staying in its rack, where it looks cool and cryptic and mysterious.

Sure...have you had a look at ALM's Akemie's Castle? Also 4-op FM, but it has a much better panel layout that explains what's going on.

Also, there's a few decent librarian/editors for the old Yamaha devices. One of the better ones, which is also FREE (100% open source) is Ctrlr...have a look at what they offer at https://ctrlr.org/ Ctrlr's panels allow you to dive into the "guts" of numerous synths, and then to control those via the DAW or via Ctrlr's panels themselves. Since many of the older rack synths are sort of out of vogue right now, they're relatively easy to snag. Plus, Ctrlr has panels for synths that otherwise would be a total annoyance to use, such as the Roland JV1010. And, if you're used to some basic coding, you can whip up your OWN panel in it, with the aid of various SYSEX tables for the synths. No, it's not as comprehensive as a paid package like MIDI Quest, but it can hold its own with the more common instruments and processors out there.

Aha...remembered another one: SYNTHETIC MUSIC SYSTEMS, from the UK, started about 2001. These guys made patchables...but these patchables were assembled in sort of a modular method to build up a sizable system, all 100% rackmountable. I thought this was actually pretty snazzy some years back, but they also went in a different direction to what was coming down the pike at the time, and that probably contributed to their disappearance. Here's a site that looks back at 'em: https://www.cykong.com/Synths/SMS%20MARS+BOB/SMS-MARS+BOB.htm

While there's a lot of modules based on designs of the "classics", there's still a few old manufacturers out there that don't seem to have seen ANY reissue action. So, let's have a look at some of these...and maybe, just maybe, some developer might see fit to put some of these classics back into use.

WAVEMAKERS: http://wavemakers-synth.com/ Wavemakers was a small synth company that came out of the Ann Arbor scene and which only made a handful of systems. However, the sound of these is...well, sort of like what you'd expect from a West Coast synth that's being made to work in East Coast modes. They had an interesting format, also...both full and half-size modules, but implemented rather differently from the Moog half-size paradigm. Wavemakers made a number of modules that would fit here; just have a look at the site above.

TECHNOSAURUS: They came onto the scene perhaps a bit too early, but their designs were pretty amazing. Again, you see some West-meets-East Coast stuff going on here with their oversized modules. One that looked especially tasty was their Octal Subharmonic Oscillator. Technosaurus also offered some small tabletop boxes, too...the Microcon synth, Cyclodon sequencer, and Effexon multieffects box in addition to their Selector range of modules (http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/selector.php). No website anymore, though...that got taken over by some domain squatter, apparently some time after they left the business.

POLYFUSION: While there's claims that these will "eventually" be reissued, that claim's been afoot for years now with no discernable action. Polyfusion was started by some ex-Moog guys in Buffalo, NY and gained a decent popularity in the 1970s for their modular line, with the most famous users probably being Toto. Much of the modules are similar to Moog ones, but with a different form factor and some improvements to the original designs. Interestingly, the original Polyfusion actually still exists, but these days they make industrial process/control systems and medical electronics. It's also worth noting that the still-not-really-operational "new" Polyfusion intends to offer modules in the standard MU format, and not the form factor developed by the original firm.

ARIES: Now, a few Aries designs HAVE been reproduced, notably by Nonlinearcircuits, but not very many. They were a New England-based firm that offered both kit and prebuilt gear, up to full systems. Much of these use fairly basic circuits, but a few things do stand out...and as a rule, these are ones that Nonlinearcircuits are reissuing. Aries modules are also very similar to...

DIGISOUND: A British kit company during the 1980s, the Digisound Series 80 modules offered modular functionality but the stability and goof-proofness of CEM chip topologies. Several makers are either reissuing these in Eurorack, such as Pharmasonic, and others are clearly influenced by the Digisound line. Probably their most notable module is the VCDO, a VCO which uses digital wavetables which can be scanned in banks or across ALL banks, by sending the wavetable selector pulses to shift wavetables. This is the origin, in a sense, of things such as the Blacet Miniwave, etc. Both Digisound and Aries used the same 5U form factor and power requirements, which explains why my Digisound 80 has an Aries Power Supply and output module.

SYNTON: The Fenix is still a highly regarded modular. But like Polyfusion, the parties responsible for the Fenix claim to be reissuing this "real soon now"...as in, probably not really ever. The Synton Fenix was a brilliant system with lots of sonic quirks all their own. It's worth noting, btw, that G-Storm released a VCF module based on the incredible Synton Syrinx formant filter, which is definitely one of the great performance filters...it begs to be tweaked! Synton sort of still exists, and they also seem to be the "umbrella" for Tinrs, but the links for the Fenix on their site just recurse back to the main page. http://synton.nl/

Anyone got more? Post 'em!

EDITED Jun 28th 2021, 02:32

It's not even close to being a pedal, in fact. I can see why someone would want to use it as a very spendy stompbox, but this Buchla stuff belongs where it belongs...not in pedals.

Effective VCA complements sort of REQUIRE different VCAs...since you can't really use an exponential (for audio, primarily) VCA to control modulation signal amplitudes. You've basically got those two types: linear, in which voltage relationships are maintained, and exponential, where the signal follows our psychoacoustic exponential hearing profile. Also, most of the latter tend to be AC-coupled and won't pass a signal below a certain frequency, generally in the subsonic range. Linear VCAs, though, tend to be DC-coupled, which allows modulation and other subsonic signals to be processed by the VCA.

Then there's the Veils and the Intellijel Quad VCA. These are DC-coupled...but have a curve control that lets them work on a smooth continuum between linear and exponential response. Far as I'm concerned, these (and designs based on the Veils topology) are the "standard" as long as you have the space for them. Now, you see me (and others) using the Happy Nerding 3xVCA for modulation VCAs...and these are perfect for that in terms of space needed (6 hp) vs amenities offered (three linear VCAs) as you probably won't use those for audio. So when you have an obvious application that requires something other than that sweepable curve, sure, use different VCAs.

Ol' Drex, hm? Well, lessee...

Amazingly enough, Drexciya (and some other Detroit producers from the same general period of time; Derrick May comes to mind immediately) actually used a good chunk of DIGITAL synths. One ubiquitous one would have to be the 4-op Yamaha FM synths, with the DX100 being popular there due to the ease of transport. The Korg M1 is also in there, too, as well as Casio's CZ-101.

When putting together Detroit-style tracks, it's important to remember that that scene utilized loads of "we pay you"-grade pawnshop and used gear due to the cheapness and ease of obtainability up into the mid-1990s. You see a similar situation in the Chicago scene as well, which is how the TB-303 wound up being a desirable track. When Larry Heard cooked up "Washing Machine" in 1987 with that little box, it succeeded because he used it "wrong"...not as a bass source, but for all of that squelching and weirdness, and this was still during the tail-end of the period where the TB-303 was considered to be Roland's most massive mistake up to that point.

I can name that flaw in two words: "envelope generators". Maths can do that, but using Maths as an EG is sort of like having a Bugatti Veyron...but only using it to go thru the McDonalds drive-thru. Same goes for the Stages. These are 100% part of the basics of synthesis, and you can't really get the best results out of this without several EGs. So, I'd suggest filling 18 of those 20 hp with a Quadrax and its Qx expander. This gives you four two/three stage EGs which can also be looped as LFOs, plus the Qx allows a lot of triggers you don't normally find on the panel to be used...and not just with the Quadrax, but those "End of..." pulses can fire plenty of other events.

Plus, Maths + Quadrax/Qx = MAD modulation capabilities when tandemmed.

You could also get this done with a switching mult...something like the Doepfer A-182-1 comes to mind. This gives you two passive mult busses as well as a center "disconnected" position. EMW also makes a switch matrix along these same lines, albeit in a 4 x 4 matrix (plus a couple of regular passives).

OK...well, I don't think there's anything for me to say, aside of this one point:

If a manufacturer gives a specification, there's probably a reason for it. Yes, you probably can jam 89 hp worth of modules into each row of a Rackbrute. You might NOT want to do that, however, and I think I know why Arturia's spec is what it is: heat.

I learned the basics of synthesis on an ARP 2600, way back when. And one thing I'd always found odd back then was all of the air-gap between the synth and its case...at least, at first. But the first time I ever had to calibrate it, everything snapped into place...because analog circuits are VERY susceptible to problems resulting from heat buildup. Interestingly, every iteration of the ARP 2600 that I've used, from rev.2 thru rev.4, and even on Behringer's 2600, has SOME sort of ventilation to keep the circuitry stable.

When you're dealing with power components, these generate quite a bit of heat simply because of what they're being asked to do. And that heat can build up inside the case, causing instabilities (like, say, VCOs that don't stay in tune) that are annoying. But if it were just a case of making a synth work in a wonky manner, I wouldn't sweat it (much). But it's not.

Heat also causes damage over time, especially with electronic components that are generating heat. Those components require some level of ventilation, otherwise the heat buildup within the case...as well as the on/off cycling that takes the synth from room temp to whatever it would be under load and back down again...will take literal years off of the lifespan of the gear. Yeah, 1 hp doesn't sound like much, but if you put that entire 1 hp "in" as a gap along the left end, where the P/S is, this WILL provide quite a bit of ventilation for the supply module. The lower row provides an "inlet" for cool air, and the hot air will simply rise out of the 1 hp slot next to the module. And yes, I know that some people argue that the panels in a modular provide some heat-sink-type behavior...and they do, which is why the lower-temp modules use that to dissipate their heat loads to some degree. But the major heat source is the power components...which also includes heat generated by current flow in the busboards and DC rail wiring, and that has to get out in some other way.

Plus, if your power module pops (which could easily result in a catastrophic failure in some P/S designs...as in modular go "pop!") and Arturia finds that you had 89 hp per row while they specced 88 instead, they could argue that you've voided your warranty, provided this were to happen while the cab was still covered. Those guys know what they're doing...and that's why I pay attention when I'm dealing with any sort of sizable heat source that's part of a musical device.

It's actually more doable than you might think. Remember, back in the interstice between disco and rave (ie: 1979-86), there was actually a great deal of crossover there, and as the rave scene got up some momentum into the early 1990s, you still had that going on to some extent. And even if you go back to the beginnings of industrial, you had proto-techno there as well; a couple of good suggestions for reference would be Throbbing Gristle's "AB7A" () or Cabaret Voltaire's "Do Right" (). Check all the swirly, slushy whirling going on in the first track, and you'll see what I mean on a very simple level (and yes, there ARE even deeper things along those lines).

The big question I have at this point, though, is what sort of cab should this go in? The form factor here is 2 x 104...but there's a power supply there, while the most commonly-used 2 x 104 is Tiptop's Mantis...which is already powered and doesn't need this.

Decided to have a bash at this, then got a surprise when checking the rack values. The Arturia Rackbrute 6U isn't 89 hp wide, it's 88. See the page at Arturia's site here: https://www.arturia.com/products/hardware-synths/rackbrute-6u/overview The copy there states that the cab has 176 hp totalled (including the 5 hp taken up by the P/S), which is 2 x 88. I already had a build completed in the original cab, then had to go back and change several things. Nevertheless, this came out pretty good, I think.

I opted to fill out the cab with a proper build. In the process, you'll find that several modules from the original version are now missing. And much of the trouble stemmed from the module sizes vs. functionality issue that always rears its head in smaller cabs. This is a pretty common problem, inasmuch as users want their builds to do everything imaginable...but they want that in something small, like this. So the automatic response I (and others here) have is to eject modules from these that just don't offer enough functionality for their size; this is what happened to the Contour, in fact, since it makes little sense to occupy 8 hp with just ONE envelope generator when 8 hp = 11% of a row in a Rackbrute. That's a poor use of space. Anyway...

The top row contains all of the audio, the modulation/control is on the bottom, flow in the top row is left-to-right, with the modulation and control modules feeding their signals from below.

Top row: There are now TWO Plaits. When doing a build, you really need a PAIR of oscillators. For one thing, it's a quick and dirty way to get two voices. But more often, you'll want to use these together for detunings, adding different waveforms, etc. The thing in between them is an Erica PICO ring modulator, which has its own internal sine generator, making it easy to apply ring modulation without resorting to using the other Plaits merely for a carrier. After this is a Zlob Vinucvrsal VCA, which gives you six linear, DC-coupled VCAs that can be broken out separately (which is what the configuration here is potentially set up for, if needed) for panning. And you don't necessarily have to use all six for audio; you can just as easily break out one or two of the VCAs from the module's internal mixbus if you need an extra or two for modulation levels (even though the mod row has two VCAs of its own...always best to have extra VCAs). Post-VCAs, you can see an Omsonic panning module with six inputs, and a stereo pair out. This lets you set up stereo placement for your signals pre-VCF.

The VCF is a stereo state-variable from Olivella that I've been a bit impressed with as of late. It contains an internal stereo "spatializer" as well, which can allow you to CV-control width, which can go from hardpanned L-R, to mono, to an inverse channelization (ie: R-L from an L-R input). After that is another VCA pair, a dual VCA from After Later based on the Veils circuit topology. Then there's your Typhoon, and after that is a very neat output module that also contains a second ganged stereo input...so if you want to shift back and forth between a signal processed via the Typhoon, then to just the VCF's outputs (or anything in between) as desired. It's also got your headphone preamp, plus your ganged stereo output level, and transformer isolation on the 1/4" outs to keep DC out of your system AND to help reduce noise, crud, and ground loops. And as a fringe benefit, you can even hit the transformers a little bit hard and get some nice "big iron" saturation for a touch of warmth.

Bottom row: Went all in on the MIDI interface and put in an Expert Sleepers FH-2, which can handle MIDI via USB from either your DAW or a class-compliant controller...so if you've got a Keystep or such laying around, you can tie it in right there. Then Pam's, Kinks (dropped the Links...the build's too small for mults, so I'd suggest using inline passive "widgets" instead)...and then this weird as hell thing from Clank that is a SIX CHANNEL "Aleatoric Brain". Think the "Turing Machine" sequencer on 'roids, with a wacky joystick interface, and the ability to store and loop various fragments, etc resulting from using it. Best to look this one up to see all of the mayhem it can cause. Disting EX is next, situated near the middle for convenience, then an Eowave Zone B.F. mkii gives you a pair of syncable wavetable LFOs. After that, the amazing 20 hp that is Maths, which is one of those exceptions to the "keep it small" rubric. It's that useful, really. Following Maths, you then have a Frap 321 for tampering with modulation signal behavior in a number of ways, and another After Later dual VCA specifically for modulation control duties. Then for four envelopes, a Xaoc Zadar + the Nin expander.

This isn't too bad. It'll make for a more-than-ample starter modular, plus it also has the ability to work with chance-determined melodic patterns (and a lot of other stuff) via the Clank Chaos. 2 x 104 would've made for a better fit, admittedly, but I think this 2 x 88 came out pretty decent.

Now that's a hella beautiful build! Layout's different from what I prefer, but the bases are all covered here.

And that brings up a point: it DOES take time to create the "perfect build". Five years? Yeah, I could see that...

Going back and looking at Synthrotek's site and the warnings that Firefox pops up on it, it shows that the site contains "unsecured content". The certs for transactions might be secure, but my concern is that there's elements there that clearly are not and which could, in theory, be used as part of a backdooring scheme. Very sloppy in this day and age to put up a commerce website that's not 100% nailed down.

And Jim has a very good point: MAKE SURE your transaction traffic is ALWAYS secure. Check for "https" and NOT simply "http".

Interestingly, the last new module design they have on their (clearly unsecured!!!) website is from early 2020, which is a big switch from their prior consistent introduction of new modules. I can surmise a guess as to why they might seem to be MIA, though, but I'm not going to get political on MG.

My suggestion would be to get in touch with Rat King directly instead via their website at http://ratkingmodular.com/ . You might also find some useful fixes in their own assembly directions, which might or might not be the same as the ones Synthrotek provides. Good luck!

That Maths/Quadrax combo is no accident, either! They're fantastic modules to bounce off of each other. With the addition of the Qx expander, also, you then open up wild cascading envelope/LFO behavior...and you can use the various "End Of..." outputs to fire things back on the Maths, too. Or, hell, send the Maths on into audio frequency and then use it as some mutant VCO with the Quadrax doing the modulation. Loads of possibilities with those...

VCAs, for starters. Right now, you have no way other than manual control to impose an "envelope" on your sounds. That's the sort of thing that's pretty much a "fatal error" in most builds.

Your biggest problem here is, in fact, the Cre8 cab itself. I know you see loads of single-row "beauty case" builds on YouTube, but it's worth noting that those usually fall into two camps:

1) The build is a very specialized device that's not suitable as an all-around modular system. Or...

2) The build HAS everything, including absolutely no space for your fingers whatsoever.

Neither of these are of much use, really. What I would suggest is to strongly consider a larger cab to accommodate a much larger (and far more comprehensive) module complement so that you DO have a proper system. As for the Cre8 case...keep it, as I think you'll find that it can work nicely as a cab for your controller setup. It already has its Cells module, after all, and having the oscillator there, then adding a better controller would make that a little bit like the old ARP 2600's 3620 keyboard with its auxiliary modules and extra expression controls.

Hmmm...it occurs to me that you could also arrive at a "matrix-ish" result with a Frap 321 in place of the Shades. The fit's the same, too. Not a "true" matrix, sure, but it's in the general ballpark.

I can see another use for these as well: tuning while live. If they self-amplify, you should be able to use an attenuator cord to hook it directly to a VCO output, then when you suspect tuning issues, just plug it into a different waveform and hold the speaker up to your ear for adjustments. Given that you've got some volume with these (apparently), this should be sufficient to let you hear the VCO against the PA so that you can correct things. This would be very useful for synthesists who don't have mixers with a CUE function.

If the objective is "mix glue", then most anything that can warm up a signal will actually work. This is another reason I really like Happy Nerding's Isolator...it has actual "iron" in there, and if you push it a little it'll add some nice euphonious distortion. That, in addition to the fact that it's also very useful to keep crud from leaking into the modular via the outputs.

OK...given that Plaits, Marbles, and Beads are already in-hand, I started with those, then kept filling...

The thing that bugs me, though, is the cab itself. Generative tends to require MUCH more room in the case, since you need a lot more modules that can work with random and psuedorandom activity. So I stuck with the ambient direction here...

Top row: All audio: 2 x Plaits (because 1 VCO is nice, and 2 VCOs allows detuning, which is even NICER), then Veils for control over which VCO outputs are being routed to the VCF. Went with the QPAS for that, because you can either feed the inputs in stereo (as in, with both Plaits post-VCAs) or mono, since the QPAS can "stereoize". After the QPAS is a dual VCA clone of the Veils VCA to control levels over the post-VCF feed to the Warps. Warps is for even further stereo reprocessing, then you hit the Beads for all of the granular stuff. Last thing there is your stereo output, with a ganged stereo level control.

Bottom row: Not audio, and this is where the space issues start. Pam's, then a Noise Rainbow2 for random signals for various modules to work with. Kinks is after this, and very useful here with its more basic submodules. After that, Maths, then the Shades and a 3x VCA for tampering with modulation behavior and levels. And last, a Quadrax and its Qx expander.

But with the space limitations I've mentioned, there are a LOT of modules that are useful for generative work that simply don't have room here. Various stochastic sequencers, comparators for "reading" mod signals to generate gates, Boolean logic that can, if desired, cause massive changes to the patch behavior, and so on. Fact is, a triple-row cab would make lots more sense here due to this. Without those, well...it's a decent modular for most anything, actually, but you just won't have the space resources for the real generative "meat".

I think EG can cope just fine without the usual groups harping on about credit, proper licensing and general good taste or big, bad, tuff posturing about killing people based on statements/philosophy over action (I sincerely have no idea what the last commenters are rambling about, but some sources might help*. Preferably something more credible than social media gossip)
-- jingram

You ask, we deliver. From a news article about industry lawsuits on Reverb at https://reverb.com/news/the-true-stories-behind-6-famous-gear-lawsuits

"Behringer Gets Taken To Court Several Times Over

Behringer makes no bones about the fact that it clones other company's designs, capitalizing on cheap labor and parts costs in China and Southeast Asia to offer gear at door–busting low prices. Just recently, Behringer announced its clone of the Minimoog Model D at about a tenth of the price of Moog’s own recently announced reproduction.

Behringer has given the same treatment to products by Boss, Tech 21, Electro–Harmonix, Mackie, Line 6, and more. As mentioned in a comprehensive Create Digital Music post about Behringer’s lawsuits from 2009, the company even cloned Apple’s home page.

That Create Digital Music post gives the most comprehensive and digestible rundown of Behringer’s legal troubles out there. But to summarize:

In 1997, Mackie sued Behringer and its US distributor Samson over cloning its mixers. Mackie won the suit that year, but in 1999 a judge ruled that even though Behringer’s circuit boards were plagiarized, circuit board design is not covered by US copyright law. This basically freed Behringer to clone as it wished. When Mackie released its Onyx line a few years later, Behringer released its Xenyx mixers.

Savvy about the circuit board ruling, Roland took Behringer to court in 2005 for copying the look of its Boss pedals, claiming that Behringer was creating brand confusion. Behringer and Roland settled out of court, and the look of Behringer’s cheaper cloned pedals changed quickly. But the settlement didn’t stop Behringer from copying the look of Line 6’s pedals.

In the Gearslutz thread where founder Uli Behringer announced his plans to manufacture his Model D clone, he offered an alternate story about the Roland debacle and also provided some links to information about the Mackie suit (to a Gearslutz post defending Behringer) and a lawsuit with Peavey that Behringer won.

Cloning, though, has been the company’s bread and butter for much of its tenure as a topseller in the gear business.

Behringer tends to offer two defenses of the cloning. In the post linking to information about the Peavey and Mackie suits, Behringer offers several other links to court briefs about other musical instrument companies infringing copyright. Behringer’s defense there seems to be, more or less, that everyone does it, so why shouldn’t Behringer.

Then in another post in that Gearslutz thread, Behringer offers his more common defense, that his company is trying to get cheap gear into the hands of working musicians.

Whether it’s that noble mission or a cold, calculated market play, Behringer is evidently proud to continue the practice.

Now this isn’t to say that Behringer exclusively clones other company’s products and sells them for less. The company’s new Deepmind 12 poly synth is an all original design, and a praised one to boot. Perhaps the success of something like this will nudge the company into relying more heavily on original designs, like Peavey’s evolution in the 1980s. Or maybe it won’t."

Nuff said, I think. And they didn't even mention the flap between Uli and dbx, which is egregious to the point of total comedy.

Thanks Lugia, I am powering over the supplied USB cable, I bet that is the the problem! I will give that a try!
-- MontanaScotty

Yep...that's approach #1, definitely. Your computer is basically a cesspool of random RF garbage on the inside, and it looks like the USB port is OK with letting that spew on down the cable.

So, approach #2 would be to use a USB cable that has a ferrite choke (it'll look like an inline "lump"), and put that choke near the computer when you reattach the USB cable, if possible. Ferrites are used in a lot of situations to eradicate noise that might move along a cable, as they effectively trap crud in higher frequencies and/or RF garbage from getting into other devices where they can cause trouble. If you MUST use USB for power, that is...otherwise, get a beefy and QUIET wallwart. Or if you have a LOT of DC-powered stuff that uses the same voltage (like 9V for stompboxes, for example), get a LINEAR power supply and then something like this: https://mfjenterprises.com/collections/power-accessories/products/mfj-1116 to serve as a DC bus hookup for those devices. This is actually rather similar to how I power my AE modular, which uses a hefty linear Tektronix supply to provide its operating DC.

Another idea, also...get a couple hundred feet of 16ga insulated wire and set up a "star ground". In my studio, this is as easy as interconnecting the various racks with a little snip of wire; your setup might require a bit more work. But the idea here is to set up a hardwired ground network that connects up to your mixer, and then making sure that the mixer is ALSO properly grounded. Done right, this not only helps with noise, but can also kill ground-loops as long as the chassis grounds are the same as the circuit grounds. When you have the star ground set up, a diagram of it should look as if everything branches off of that single mixer ground in sort of a "star" arrangement, with only that one connection point at the end of ground lines that make their way through your setup.

Hmmmm...sounds like since Uli's bunch did such a great job with the 2600 that they think it's time for Yet Another Uli Fiasco.

There's a big difference between resurrecting a 50 year old classic that's been out of production for decades, and coming up with a Walmart-priced VCO based on present-day Open Source tech that they only tacitly credit. While, yes, there's small manufacturers doing clones of the Mutable modules, these people aren't operating on the scale of Behringer. Losing credit for several dozen downsized clones is one thing, but losing credit for a module that might sell in the many thousands of units is quite tragic.

Uli should stick to gluing corks to stompboxes. At least with that, he's only really harming himself.

Have you tried a different wallwart supply? This sounds like a switching supply issue, because switching supplies tend to spew RF garbage when they're either in the process of failing, are being overtaxed by too much of a current draw, or just have sucky design in general. My bet is on #3, actually...find something with the right plug polarity and voltage but DOUBLE the available amperage. Fact is, there's a whole lotta processing going on in that box, and it might actually be overdrawing even Korg's own OEM wart!

...and even if that's not the issue, that bigger P/S will still be useful somewhere. But that's where I would start.

EDITED Jun 18th 2021, 01:54

Thanks Lugia!

DeltaV can do CV too .It quite a clever module. As per the Cosmotronic blurb :
"Without anything patched into the VCA’s input, the module produces variable cv, an envelope set by the attack, decay and shape knobs. "

Right...I thought that it also made a better fit as the VCAs for the modulation row, since it's already got 2 or 3-stage EGs for the VCAs. Plus, it also functions as an independent mod generator in of itself. Very useful module!

If i took the WoggleBug out (i have other racks i could use it in) how do you think that gap should be filled?
I think something like a zlob diode chaos + a 2hp S+H would give me some wiggly cv...
and then have 11HP left for something....(or 10HP. i dont mind leaving 1hp for ventilation )
but what?
-- mamonu

Actually, the Wogglebug's a very good fit here. It'll allow you to inject chaotic modulation aspects into your otherwise-normal modulation sources. You can easily use the Dreadbox's onboard mixing for this sort of thing, as it's placed well here for that.

Seriously, I wouldn't change any of the module complement here. On that aspect, you really nailed it. The only "flaw" I see here is a lack of an output module...which, if you're in part of the world where balanced power is the norm, might not be all that necessary as long as you've got a mixer that can handle synth-level signals at its input pres.

Actually, I think this might be a stronger end-result:

Notice that it retains a proper touchplate controller now, with a LOT of functions that were missing (like sequencing). Plus, this is a beefier controller than the usual LEM 218. Then for the open slot that left, I put in a 257e which gives you some CV processing as well as a trio of slope generators that can act as a more complex modulation source. This seems to me to be a lot more solid, especially if you were to add Northern Light's O&c card for the cardslot.

The module complement isn't too bad, although I would've wanted to see some sort of slope generator in the modulation row.

All I did here was to alter the layout and make it more coherent. Except for the LxD, all of the audio is now in the upper row, modulation/control in the bottom. This should be a lot easier to patch since everything's now set up to flow left-right as well. Seems a lot more solid like this...although I would've liked the "utility strip" on the top instead of the bottom, but it looks like Dreadbox didn't allow for that in this design.

EDITED Jun 17th 2021, 00:27

It depends. If you're talking about basic mixers, the sort that get used for summing, these MUST BE in the build.

As for using external mixers at synthesizer signal levels for your outputs, this can be a problem, particularly if you're aiming to send synth-level signals into an A-D converter that's expecting to see standard pro-level (ie: 1.4Vrms @ 0VU) signals. These are almost certain to overload. There are analog mixers that CAN handle these sorts of levels, but the rationale for using present-day performance mixers in a modular setup is that you can automate many different aspects of your mix via modulation signals. Before these got more common, I would say that mixing via a small outboard mixer with the preamp gains rolled WAAAY back would be the right move...but when things like the Stereomix2, etc now exist, they're 100% the right way to go.

Yeah, when I do a rebuild, I do have to settle on some sort of cab to stick it all in. And those Case From Lake cabs are really attractive on a number of levels, so I've been concentrating in that direction as of late, especially when people appear to want something more substantial than a Mantis (awesome tho they are!). My aim here is to come up with a divergent idea with these, which hopefully then jog posters' minds about things they'd NOT entertained as being part of their build. Plus, it's always helpful for people to see a possible goal, even if their end result might be different.

Add me to the "DON'T" column where these mini cabs are concerned. They exist for very specific types of builds...say, if you want to add a modular modulation setup to an existing synth with the proper I/O. But they 100% SUUUUUUUCK for building a proper modular synth. Since you only have at most about 60 hp to play with, you can either build

1) a really disappointing modular with a lot of the necessary control functions missing, or

2) a really disappointing modular that DOES have all of the necessary control functions, but unless you've got fingers that are the diameter of chopsticks, you're going to have a VERY bad time controlling/adjusting things.

I know that there's a Certain Synth Retailer that does a lot of these minicab builds for YouTube demos. And sure, they tout 'em up real good. But in case you've not noticed, look again...by the time the demo clip is done, after some 10-20 minutes, they've exhausted the possibilities for those builds. And with a well-implemented modular system, that should either NEVER happen, or you'll be old, grey and wrinkly by the time it does.

I would strongly suggest deleting this build, for starters. Instead of trying again immediately, though, get a copy of VCV Rack if you don't have one. Explore that, and you'll eventually start to notice that getting really incredible results hinges on matters of scale and not having one or two specific modules in a "beauty case". Give VCV a real thrashing, get a much better idea of what's needed and WHY, and THEN come back to trying builds here once you're armed with a much clearer vision of what needs to be in them, and therefore, what sort of build size you're REALLY needing. It'll help you avoid some very expensive mistakes! https://vcvrack.com/

Ripped into this...since the aim was to make a creative device for granular and wavetable synthesis, but there was an awful lot wrong with the implementation, I jumped in and came up with a little something that goes in one of Case From Lake's 3 x 104 cabs (see https://reverb.com/item/36194432-9u-eurorack-case-powered-84-or-104-hp-desktop-synth-modular-synthesizer).

OK...so, let's have a look at this thing...

Top row: This is almost all audio, save for the Ladik dual slew limiter at the left end. Starting from the left, you'll find a dual input preamp specifically for feeding external audio to the various sampling-type functions in the rig. Then the dual slew, and after that is Mordax's new GXN granular synthesis/sampling module. Then for wavetables, I put in an Intellijel Shapeshifter. Since these are both stereo-out modules, there's a Veils next and a Doepfer A-138s for spatializing the sources before they're fed to the Rossum Morpheus. That stereo digital filter is a modular version of the "Z-Plane" filter found in some of the later E-Mu Proteus synths, albeit without the "brakes" that E-Mu originally had in there to keep things more or less under control. Then as if that wasn't enough, the Qu-bit Data Bender is a stereo digital audio "buffer" which can be abused in numerous ways to mangle audio prior to feeding that to the mixer in the bottom row.

Middle row: Modulation, except for the effects at the right end. The little white sliver is a Konstant Labs PWRchekr, which is a VERY useful way to both fill 1 hp AND to keep an eye on the health of your DC power busses. Then the Qu-bit Nanorand gives you a bunch of random options ranging from noise, to random outputs, to sample and hold, and the like. The Shifty is a neat little thing that'll probably be useful with the GXN, as it's an analog shift register, a series of cascaded sample-and-hold circuits that store-and-forward CV values that makes for a very effective arpeggiator-ish module and which can allow for a degree of hocketed polyphony. Then the Maths, followed by a Frap 321 for manipulating modulation signals, and a Happy Nerding 3xVCA for linear-response VCAs for controlling modulation levels. Both useful for LFOs and envelopes, a Quadrax is after those, along with its Qx expander for cascading the EGs, etc. Then another expander is after that, the Nin, which is for the Xaoc Zadar quad EG. And while that's it for the modulation, there's still a couple of effects: a Calsynth Monsoon (an expanded variation on Mutable's Clouds) and an Instruo Arbhar, both of which offer a wealth of granular-based transformations.

Bottom row: Control, pretty much. An Erica 1 or 2 voice MIDI interface also allows you to lock up your DAW clock to the clocking environment in the build as well as providing two channels of CV and gate for DAW-controlled sequences. Then next, there's a pile of clock manipulation tools: a Frequency Central High Towers provides four channels of clock division, then the Eowave Swing offers another four channels of delayed pulses. The Ladik Skipper is a dual-channel stochastic pulse skipper, which can be CV controlled to add random dropped notes and/or rests. Then Frequency Central's Reset Simulation provides Boolean logic for tampering with clock behavior. After that, a Xaoc Bytom works as a "diode-OR" summer set for clock pulses. After all of that, then we have the NerdSeq tracker sequencer, which can NOW be used in some much more complex ways thanks to all of the clock manglers. Following it is a Frequency Central effect module, their Stasis Leak, which gives you a CV-controlled stereo reverb, tap-tempo delay, and chorus, and since this uses a mono-in/stereo-out interface, it works perfectly with the FX send/return on the Toppobrillo Stereomix2. That mixer contains VCAs for individual levels, panning, and AUX send levels, plus a CUE bus, headphone preamp, FX send/return loop, mutes per channel, and one or two other surprises. Lastly, since we now have a situation where you'd want to split the Stereomix2's output to one or the other (or BOTH) the Monsoon and Arbhar, I changed out the Befaco output module for Bastl's Ciao!, which gives you a mixable pair of stereo inputs, your balanced outputs, and another headphone preamp (post-mix and post-FX).

So...why is this so much bigger? Well, when you start playing around with these big, complex stereo source and modifier modules, they tend to require a lot more to wring every last bit of strangeness out of them. And that "more" is, naturally, more modulation and control signals. So this got a big kick from a two-row design to three rows so that this can be accomplished effectively. Thanks to Case From Lake's crazy AF prices for their well-powered and well-designed cabs, this isn't so much of a budgetary "hit" as, say, going from a Doepfer A-100 2 x 84 to a 3 x 84 (which would cost $145: from $530 to $675). Plus, it also contains a lot of what Jim mentions above, which also takes space to implement. But at this point, this is a pretty solid rig as it stands here. You might run out of ideas with it eventually...but that's likely to take YEARS, since this is so full of possible uses and/or abuses.

If you don't have the $$$ for two cases, then don't put the DFAM in the cab. It's that simple. It already has power and a housing, ergo it doesn't need one, and by putting it in the Eurorack cab you're not only inflating the cost of the DFAM for no good reason, but you're taking up much of an entire row of the Thon cab that should be filled with modules that need both power and housing. And 60 hp is NOT a trivial amount of space! Same advice applies to the Neutron as well.

Ahhhhh...you tried to defy the MG Kitty! Living dangerously there...

Hmmmm...OK, let's see...if the build from earlier would take two years, and there's a car driving 60 MPH halfway between Cleveland and Chicago, and it's a Wednesday in October, then my hat is actually orange. Oh, wait...

OK, given that the build was double what it ought to be, let's screw with it some. Gonna play "How low can you go"...

EDIT: OK, I scrunched this somewhat, managed to drop the cost by $700-ish AND added more neat functions:

The top row got changed a lot. But it got even more entertaining. First up, the Bufflide got removed, but this allowed me to add the polyphony adapter for the Xaoc Odessa, which is now the main VCO. This sucker's WAY too complex to explain here; go and have a look at the specs instead. And then, for two more oscillators, I put in the mkii version of Klavis' Twin Waves...very useful devices, as they not only are wavetable VCOs, they also have internal quantization...meaning that you can create single-voice patterns from LFO curves, etc with a bit of patching creativity. I put a replication of the final mixer modules after that so that you can generate a stereo submix of the oscillators to feed to the Olivella stereo SVF, and then this passes to the Beads. So there's still that subtractive aspect there, but now you've got some rather potent digital VCOs to feed it.

Middle row was not spared, either. I put in an Erica Black Modulator v.2 for noise, sample and hold, and an extra LFO. Tides was added for a "slow" modulation source. VCAs, Maths...and then an interesting attenuverter module from ADDAC that can also output sum and difference voltages from thruputted modulation signals. This should allow the modulation aspect to get even MORE complex...while still saving a bit of $$ there. Then I put in the current "do it all" modulator, Intellijel's Quadrax and its Qx expander to allow lots of complex internal and keyed external behavior. And there's still two ADSRs there, courtesy of Doepfer's A-140-2.

Bottom row antics saw me change to an Erica two-voice MIDI interface and the swap of a Temps Utile for the Pam's. Then there's six channels of clock manipulation via a Shakmat Time Wizard. Pulse delays next, then the Boolean logic, and THEN the diode OR for pulse combination. The rest of the row is otherwise unchanged.

It's not the simplest thing to try and "down-budget" from a previous build, but it CAN be done. As mentioned, this shaves about $700 US from the cost that I can see here. But it's approaching a zone where I wouldn't want to cheap it down further, because beyond this point you're likely to see compromises in functionality that would make this less of a teaching/lab tool and more like a personal instrument, and this probably shouldn't go in that direction.

EDITED Jun 14th 2021, 04:41

Fun VCOs? OK...the first one on my list is a double VCO that sortakinda can link the VCOs together in various ways. In a sense, it's the "poor man's Buchla 258": https://www.modulargrid.net/e/noise-reap-paradox

Another great complex-ish dual VCO, with its own onboard ring mod: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/void-modular-gravitational-waves

And then there's this, from Intellijel: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-rubicon-ii

In all of these cases, the VCOs that are part of these modules have ways to crossmodulate, which in the end yields some rather complex spectra. With the right additional modules to get control of these, they'll yield some amazing textures and timbres.

My suggestion would actually be to expand the control capabilities at this point. Instead of a regular Keystep, though, I'd suggest the Keystep Pro. The sequencer is on the order of complexity of the BSP, the keyboard controller feels decent, plus you get some extra controllers in its ribbons. But if the task here is to up the sequencing complexity, I think you'll find the KSP to be just the thing.

And when you expand the modular itself, then you'll already be set up to handle a more complex rig.

P6 isn't a bad idea...it's just that, if you try and build that build above in there + the M32 (seriously, keep that thing in its own cab), you're going to need TWO P6es. Then this comes to $1060 for the pair of those alone, whereas with the LC9, you have the entire teaching rig in one case, and the cab cost is $435. Even if you had Thomann make a flight case for it (via their custom case service), you'd still come in lower with the LC9. But for moving the cab around the department, you won't really find the flight case all that useful.

Super-spiffy Lenco deck there...

I'm also surprised that people aren't jumping all over this as well. However, there does seem to have been this annoying division between DJing and actual live performance with gear that's been afoot since the late 1990s rave scene (or rather, what was left of the rave scene before it got stripmined and turned into "electronica"), which is probably a viable explanation for that.

However, this is actually an OLD trick! Back in the early 1970s, Morton Subotnick composed "Until Spring", which uses tape and the Buchla's comb filter array module to generate multichannel sync. And how that was done was that Subotnick recorded sync pulses that were separated by frequency onto one track, then played the track back through the comb filter to "demodulate" the various pulses into their separate sync streams, then used this to coordinate his "clocked" sequential parts in the work. That's a helluva jump from what was in use as inter-system "sync" at the time, which was mainly centered around VSO sync via a line frequency "lock"; SMPTE was just a glimmer in broadcasters' eyes at that time.

I think the Korg FS 2600s are unobtanium
-- JimHowell1970

Very much so. And the upcoming 2600M isn't the same synth, since it's missing the 3620 modules. Losing the keyboard is a tad inconsequential, but without the extra LFO, clocking, interval latch, etc etc, you've got "crippleware" when compared with either the 2600FS or the B.2600. Yeah, Uli's behavior makes me cringe A LOT, but they did manage to nail that redux.

As for the portability, it's there...an LC9 (or the standard Doepfer ATA cab version, which is more expensive) is really about the size of a curiously-symmetrical attache case. Even without the lid, it'd be a simple thing to transport with just a hefty handle attached (ie: bolted thru) to the top. Plus, no wallwart or brick to deal with, since the Doepfer cabs are internally-powered.

As for appeasing the boss, well...when you present the design above, point out that it was designed by one of Karlheinz Stockhausen's pupils...which would be 100% accurate. Studied with him in 2001 and 2002, and lemme tell you, if you wanted your brain to explode, that was the Express Route!