then how about changing the title if you can't delete it?

i'd dare say a little more than with a pure analogue

to me, intellijel's cylonix shapeshifter wavetable oscillator & rossum's z-plane morpheus filter are two of the most awesome modules for sound design and mangling audio. to me, those two modules alone with a metasonix (etc.) tube VCA to grunge the digital tones up would be sicker than a full moog 55 system, but check the demos out for yourself and see if YOU like what they do.

&

ring modulation is an "essential" form of distortion if you want to mangle audio every way possible. according to a review i read that praised the AJH synth ring SM ring modulator, they're not all created equal and that one, along with another name he dropped, were among the warmest sounding. it eats up a lot of space, but i'd say it's worth it if it's the highest quality, or at least in the "top 2" if the other one is even better.

bitcrushing is a unique effect. i'd toss a malgorithm in MY "tone bender" rig

if you're not planning on collection a bunch of specialty filters, intellijel's multi-mode polaris has a lot of analogue tone bending potential from juicy, to fat, to grungy.

to me... some tube grunge is essential. nothing sounds like a whizzed off all tube metasonix S-1000 wretch machine, but their tube VCA can really help thicken digital tones to add nice grunge. their slightly more expensive tube VCF variants might be even better, but i can't abide by an out of place retina burning yellow module mismatching my rack. LOL tube grunge seems underrated amongst modular fans, but as i've always been more of a sampler fan, tubes are essential for taming digititus and give synths the same kind of rocking tones they give guitars. there's a reason why tube preamps, compressors & EQs etc. are the darlings of recording studios.

i'm not sure i fully understand what it does, but from the description i read, pamela's new workout sounds like the mother of all LFO/clock modulators with its LFO "wavetables" (though as you've already seen... shapeshifter has gnarly LFO features too) and best of all programmability & memory. i dropped batumi & quad clock distributor from my play rack because it sounds like pamela covers everything they do & more, except maybe live knob & slider twiddling, but that's not my thing at all. i'd rather modulate in a DAW.

finally. i agree about rings. it adds a really distinctive sound to inputs.

as to effects, as i've always been more studiocentric in my research over the years maybe, other than maybe spring reverbs & distortion, i'd go with outboard effects as you can get A LOT of effects crammed in little multieffects boxes if you're not worried about tempo syncing (still possible with some units i think) and modulation, and there's a lot of really good VSTs too, though i wouldn't use them for analogue emulation, but convolution reverb & pitch shifting? why not?

if nothing else, i hope maybe shapeshifter & morpheus impress you as much as they did me.

at a bare minimum, you'd need expert sleepers if you want to use it for midi, and as far as i know, use that to modulate the rest of your system. so you have your trigger & oscillator (a second would be a good upgrade for thicker tones). then, for a bare bones synthesizer voice, you should have a VCF to shape your tone. if you'd like really flexible one, look for a multi-mode one like intellijel's popular polaris which would add thick, juicy, rubbery, some vocal & even grungy tones to your system. filters are almost more important than oscillators for shaping your voices, so a flexible multimode one is a good choice. if you just want to get started right away and don't care if your tone palette is limited, you might get a combination VCA/VCF like ryo's flexible apature which isn't as flexible as the polaris for filtering, but does offer some VCA distortion potential to your rack along with coveted vactrols which are good for making percussive sounds. finally you need an envelope generator. you could use maths for that and a bunch of other utilities, but a 4 stage ADSR will give you more control over your envelopes and they come in packages as small as 2hp, but a cheap doepfer 8hp would be more comfortable to use. for a small system, a polaris, aparture ADSR combo would be pretty powerful. i'd say that's a bare useable minimum mono synth setup.

it would help a lot though if you had an LFO (some would call an LFO essential), a clock modulator, a noise source, some kind of sequencer, depending on what you're doing, a buffered mult for splitting your patches to different modules, and CV modulation. an intellijel triatt would be good for that as it can double as a mixer which is handy. also, you can get modules, like maths, that do a bunch of different things, but to me, they make things more complicated and it's easier to lose functions because you can't use EVERY function a module does at the same time.

a bare bones system though is control/modulation (midi/sequencer/keyboard), an oscillator, a filter, an envelope generator & and a VCA, but you're limited to what you can do. that's a basic monophonic synthesizer aka "voice".

i did a search for favorites, and only got 4 results for that, and no results for top 5 or top 10, so i figured i'd start a topic to see what everyones favorites are, and maybe gain more insight on the differences between modules of the same type, and maybe just how people are using their favorite "utilities & modulators" if those make lists. everyone is going to have different styles & priorities. my top priority is TONE so probably more than half of my list will be oscillators & filters.

my favorite modules as a rack system

my top 10 favorites list:

1. cyclonix shapeshifter - intellijel - it's a SICK wavetable synth with tons of deep options i can't even fully understand in demo videos, but it makes all kinds of crazy tones and so many things that it's funny watching it blow an expert's mind as he giggles like a little kid on christmas playing with it. it can morph between ANY wavetables (and save a "mixed tone" as a new preset) smootly creating some wild effects including sounding like scratching in one case, it has dedicated wavetables that can be used as "hi-fi LFOs", but also as wavetables and all of its wavetables can serve as LFOs too, it can do FM, it has a SEPARATE wave folder that can be used with other modules, it has a crazy vocoder that goes way beyond the tradition robot voice, has two voices and just does stuff i've never seen or heard ANY synth do

2. morpheus - rossum electro-music - is to filters what shapeshifter is to wavetables. it can do all kinds of crazy effects you just can't do with regular filters, and unlike the 1st versions of the filter in emu synths, this one has enough processing power to modulate ALL vectors within a "tone cube". technical mumbo jumbo aside, it sounds amazing and totally unique

3. rings - mutable instruments - bridges both oscillator & filter territory by adding "modeled resonance" (eg. materials) as i understand it for a filter that makes resonances that are actually quite pleasing & unique vs. analogue squeal

4. ES3 mKIII - expert sleepers - must be the #4 rated module out of EVERYTHING for a reason. to me, just using it in combination with a DAW/sequencer where i have full control over both sloppy (read funky) timing of every note as well as the ability to capture mod wheel expressions or even hand draw complicated modulations that go way beyond what can be done with analogue sequencers, LFOs & clocks etc.

5. RK2 XS-VCA - metasonix - (tube VCA/distortion) as fat tube warmth to distorted growl to sounds that solid state and especially can't. it turns any rack into a poor man's snarling (unobtanium now?) S-1000 wretch machine to tame those digital oscillators & filters or grunge whatever up. their various bright yellow tube VCFs might do the job even better, but i have issues with mismatched modules. LOL

6. polaris - intellijel (multimode VCF) can do most of what a bunch of other filters can though maybe not as well as specialist filters eg. it might not get as juicy as an ARP or SEM, but it gets juicy enough and can also do chunky, grungy, rubbery, & vocal too. not bad from ONE filter!

7. dual ADSR - intellijel - the CORRECT way to do an envelope generator is with sliders as far as i'm concerned (unless you're doing envelope following)

8. pamela's NEW workout - i admit that i don't fully understant this module, but it sounds like it can do the work of both a batumi quad LFO & a quad clock distributor COMBINED with its 8 outputs & advanced digital modulation INCLUDING being programmable & storing presets! there's some things digital does better. if i'm wrong, i'd love it if someone who understands clock modulators better to explain what a different module like batumi does better, besides live knob & slider twisting maybe

9. Z 3000 smart VCO Mk II - tiptop audio - is an analogue VCO that includes a handy frequency counter that could be used for tuning as well as duophonic sync, plus it includes a waveshaper making it pretty flexible for a VCO

10. SEM - studio electronics - is an oberheim SEM filter clone and does some extra juicy "classy tones" without annoying resonance howling. i like that sound better than overrated moog any day. i like both the "1950s futuristic" look and smaller profile of the studio electronics SEM more, than the SEM 20 V/S/F by bubblesound instruments which is more popular, i'm guessing because people have figured out it sounds better, though i'd like to hear the 2 and other SEM clones duke it out side by side. from what i've read about the doepfer SEM, it isn't the greatest on some settings.

now... what are YOUR favorites, & why?

EDITED Jun 20th 2017, 05:54

Hi everyone. For the last few months I've been looking into building my own modular setup and trying to do some research into what best to invest into module-wise for my sonic needs. I've had a mother 32 for about a year and a half now, and am definitely planning on keeping it, but not putting it into my modular enclosure just because the free 1/4" out is nice and it saves me rack space.

On to the rig. My primary thought is to have my modular be a device that processes audio from external sources (morphagene+external input), modulating and effecting it in a multitude of ways with various clocks, envelopes, LFOs, etc. Additionally, I'm adding a few must-have effects (reverb, echo, waveshaping, filters, Rings) to play with the sounds even more. As the system grows I'll add more VCOs, Random generators, logic, and eventually end up with this rig:

For right now I've planned as my first purchases to be as follows, just to keep it simple (purchased in left to right order):

So I'm looking for your feedback, what do you think of this initial/final setup? any modules I should consider that I haven't considered? any modules that I've listed in my final build that I should look into adding earlier? any redundancies? I tried to include as many flexible modules as I could (Maths, Peaks, 2 Distings, 2 quad VCAs, 2 mults) just so my bases are covered. The only thing I've neglected to add that feels important is a sequencer, but I figured that since my main interest is more signal processing already created sounds/music, sequencing isn't super necessary, and if truly needed, my M32's built in sequencer would cover my bases. Lastly, any recommendations power-wise? I feel like a Super PWR Blue would cover my needs for the larger rig, but I could be very wrong!

Thanks so much for your time!

EDITED Jun 20th 2017, 05:12

EDITED Jun 20th 2017, 01:37

The 1 module is the E950 circuit bent vco by synthesis technology. I plan to combine it with an 0 coast, TE OP-1, assorted Volcas & Pocket Operators. Thinking about Synthrotek Power Lunch, & getting utility stuff from 1u modules. That or the HEK (minus the 1u of course.) I know the case isn't expandable, but I like portability, and limitations.
I'm sure I will eventually get a bigger rack & add VCOs, LPFs, VCAs, LFOs, LPGs, sequencers, clock dividers, euclidian rhombusoidal function generators with buffered multiples etc etc to slew the folded waveforms and ping the vactrols. But for now, just to get that Circuit Bent VCO going, what else do I need? Output module? Expert sleepers? Maths?
Thanks, love the grids.

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 22:05

ugh! the graphics ar sooooo busy it makes it hard yo even see the knobs, like camouflage, but i guess if you like a colorful rack, that's your biz. even the STANDARD grey version would drive me nuts for neither matching silver or black, but that's me. otherwise, i like juicy ARPs way more than bad 70s sci-fi moogs

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 19:46

WOW! i actually helped someone, and i'm NOOB! i just know about it because it's in one or both top 100 lists and is in my fantasy rack. the measure & sync features are pretty handy, but you have to know your frequency to notes conversions, or at least 440Hz = A4

Can someone assist me buying a PSU for cv.ocd?

It's supposed to be:

"9-12V DC via a 2.1mm barrel plug with negative centre pin"

I've found some of these, but what confuses is me that the wattage of different PSUs fitting into this range waries quite a bit.

OR... you could get a tiptop audio smart VCO MkII and have a nice analogue VCO that can both measure & sync to frequencies?

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tiptop-audio-z3000-smart-vco-mkii
-- bubblefunk

Ah yes, I forgot about that, thanks

Completed, the first rack...now to see what I can do with it.

update:

i dropped some of the mults, the dual ring mod, the doepfer moog filter, the black VCO expander and swapped the big erica filter to make room for the smaller polivoks, move the wasp filter & mixer down to the black row, add a stero panner and swap in the AJH synth diode filter and mixer with ring mod as it's supposed to be one of "the best" sounding ring mods even if it's a space hog, but it adds mixing flexibility.

i try to use the best sounding modules. i know the bubblesound SEM 20 is more popular than the studio electronics SEM, but i didn't hear it make any better tone than the SE which takes less space up. i might drop the sample & hold to make room for the bubblesound after hearing a demo that turned me off to S&H. i THOUGHT it's how joe walsh got that twangy juice harp sound in the bridge of life's been good, but the online demo made S&H sound like an annoying variation of annoying random voltage. metallic twang? cool! non-melodic tonal babbling? not!

there's a module specific case for it that you can mount it in as an external stand alone voice i believe. it would have openings that don't block the midi. otherwise, you'll have to top mount it and hack your case.

yeah... there's the case in that video. you should be able to order it separate though you'll probably have to pay more than its worth.

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 03:44

OR... you could get a tiptop audio smart VCO MkII and have a nice analogue VCO that can both measure & sync to frequencies?

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tiptop-audio-z3000-smart-vco-mkii

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 02:19

i'm just learning the deeper nuts & bolts of modular synthesis to supplement my decades old understanding of normalled synths. i was always more into the sound mangling potential of sampling, being an early art of noise fan, but have since come to the conclusion that a lot of the re-synthesis they did was likely samples of analogue effects. not only that, sampling just doesn't sound as thick & juicy as analogue unless you maybe run your sounds through magical VCFs & tubes.

i'm having real trouble though with the artificial limitations of analogue modules that mostly still only do the same things they've done since the 50s with the possible exceptions of clock syncing & digital wavetables (not counting MIDI as a modular thing) no matter how many patch cords you use, to me, modular analogue still sounds like modular analogue, just being driven by slightly different sequencers (which totally lack loose & sloppy FUNK BTW [and COWBELL!] as far as i'm concerned)

what seems like OBVIOUS features that at least ONE designer should put in their modules just never happen, so i'm going to share my idea of a "much needed modulator"

OK... start with the beginning of a sound... analogue SUCKS at attacks which are a major part of a sound's quality. all analogue can do, really, is change the attack rate. as far back as at least the early 90s, i remember reading an EXCELLENT idea about sample editing, in keyboard mag i think, that would have been great for synthesis... using sampled attacks... plucked, strummed, blown, bowed, iron, steel, rubber, wood, balloon, plosives etc. to add complexity to sounds. it's a great idea... why didn't anyone take it up? a great module would have a massive "wavetable" of attacks and materials eg. a woodblock being hit by metal, plastic, wood, rubber & urethane sticks & mallets. personally, i LOVE the fat thump sound of finger snapping a balloon or a basketball hitting a wood floor. besides onboard attacks, have sample memory where a user can create his own attacks, or download more.

this is a TRIGGER based module BTW

besides using SPECIFIC attacks, ADSR SUCKS!!! what if you want a downward dropping then upwards CURVED envelope for whoops & scratches or wobbles etc.? ADSR is so last century! the only way to PROPERLY animate envelopes is to be a modwheel slinging robot, or to draw them in a sequencer. why not make a module where you can use preset "wavetables" of various effects or even draw your own & i'm not talking about erica's "hey... let's draw sawtooths & other geometrics" module that's a very limited step in the right direction.

use the same idea to modulate pitch too for boings (on top of a "twang attack" would be sick), scratches & bass wobbles etc. you can do this sort of stuff hard syncing to an advanced LFO & gate combo, i guess, but then you're artificially confined to having your notes fit perfect timing (i DESPISE quantization soooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!) when you should be able to trigger your modulations per note creating new SOUNDS. i'm all about sounds. that's why i was drawn to sampling & not synthesis. the only limits you have with sampling are the sounds available and your imagination at creating new ones. on top of that, you should be able to modulate your modulations eg. do dubstep bass wobbles ON THE FLY, morph between envelope effects, eg, animate your scratches by modulating "envelope" speed, including dub style echo effects and so on. i'm surprised for that matter, no one's invented a dubstep synthesizer VST for doing a variety of pitch & wobble effects live and that the stanndard is still hand drawing with "ancient" ableton "live" (ironic name) you should be able to do the same kinds of modulations you can do on a computer with a rack module. it's OK to put digital modules in your racks now!

basically, the simplest way to describe the module i'm talking about is one that ANIMATES sounds by offering sampled attacks, COMPLEX amplitude AND (separate) pitch envelopes with the ability to add and edit sounds & curves... heck... why not let your module IMPORT curves etc. you draw in your DAW & ableton?! MIDI protocol was designed for that kind of thing. it would be a note/pitch modulator for whatever VCO you're using, then process the sound's envelope as a VCA (envelope generator)/ mixer. you could even break it up into TWO modules i guess... attack/pitch mod & amplitude mod.. even... cough cough cough*, integrate VCF modulation. i DESPISE filter sweeps personally, but you could add a 3rd dimension of "complex envelope generation" for that too... along with modulate by velocity & do the crossfade thing samplers do. LFOs would be a natural extension of the concept in "loop mode", and even there, again, you could add modulation where you LFO speeds up & slows down to the beat, but without having to be locked into it in "trigger mode"

someone could even take these ideas even further and create an entire synth voice with wavetables & samples, but really, it's just be nice to be able to modulate "boring old ADSR/LFO/portamento modular" with a little more precision and variety.

analogue needs the kind of modulation that gives sounds attacks with teeth (or wet noodles) and sounds that BOUNCE without having to patch a dozen modules that break the concept down into "micro-functions" that are hobbled to a robotic kraftwerk/techno beat.

what do you think? it's something worth creating a buzz about until someone does it? have any dream features you'd like to add like "complex switching" (whatever that would be... i'm really weak at understanding complex utilities & patches)

if anyone builds one of these... you owe me a module!

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 02:15

i'd be interested to hear if anyone's made a "wavetable" like CV modulator you could use to TRIGGER pitch & envelopes with & break out of "hard syncing your advanced LFO to tempo & ADSR" straightjackes and create sounds that boing, ahhhh-whoop, scratch & wobble. i'm not really into anything i hear coming out of the most complex this modulates that patches i've heard as they only operate at the bar level and not the note level.

along similar lines, i still haven't heard of anyone, even digitally as a VST, make a module for dubstep style bass wobbles. it'd be nice to be able to modulate wobbles LIVE and have them be fat analogue tones at that instead of those bright digital ones that DON'T sound like bass at all unless you have a real subwoofer that moves air like headphones don't.

as to what DOES exist, i originally had a batumi + expander & quad clock distributor in my play rack, but from what i was able to glean from the description for pamela's NEW workout, it sounds like it does everything they can and so much more with PRESET MEMORIES, but, maybe someone might prefer knobs & sliders for live performance.

while it's a wavetable oscillator/effects unit, and a pretty sick one at that too, i know you can at least generate complex wavetable LFOs out of intellijel's cylonix shapeshifter and use the LFOs as oscillators as well as use the oscillators for LFOs too.

i hope to learn some interesting stuff out of this thread and as the CV:OCD is new to me, i'm going to check it out and see if it does any kinds of modulation that sound interesting to me.

OH! OK... it's midi to CV, like the #4 rated of ALL eurorack modules expert sleepers ES3 MkII & its associated expanders. yeah... it seems like the BEST way to modulate a rack is through MIDI where you aren't squeezed to death by perfect timing straightjackets and can record, edit & save modulations at whatever the ppqn limits of your sequencer are. i'm just learning about the nuts & bolts of modular and as far as i know, hand drawing or capturing mod wheel performances are the best way to take control of a rack's modulation & break out of its LFO/ADSR/portamento box.

really, someone should make a digital module that lets you draw your CVs that you can TRIGGER along with non ADSR curves for its onboard VCA(s) along with sync to midi/clock or tap tempo (LFO mode?) and maybe have a "morph mode" where you could do dubstep wobbles or even modulate cough cough cough filters and do sweeps. why would anyone want to do THAT?!

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 01:17

well i don't know about FM, but as far as i know, intellijel's $500 cylonix shapeshifter is the SICKEST wavetable oscillator in the world as it goes beyond simple crosstable morphing into stuff i can't understand, but that sounds insane.

https://www.modulargrid.net/img/imagecache/600x586_3196.jpg

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-cylonix-shapeshifter

i was wowed by the variety of vocoder sounds it can do and the funky scratching effect it did morphing between two presets. i would build an entire system around JUST that rack.

mutable instruments has a lot of wavetable type modules. braids is popular and the one i liked best, not so much clouds, but only because i'm not into ambience & pads, but they have a pretty wide variety of interesting non-analogue modules you should check out for yourself. i also like rings which is kind of a "resonance modelling" VCF, but is also considered a modulator.

finally, the other wavetable oscillator i liked the sound of was synthesis technology's E340 cloud generator for its percussive type sounds & atariesque "kuzo" sounds

while NOT a wavetable synth, but ACTUAL 4 operator FM, you should check rack hogging akamie's castle out too. my eyes glazed over at the complexity of the concept, though i liked the tones, and was put at ease by another demo that essentially said "i don't know what it's doing... no-one does, just twist knobs & see what happens" LOL i can wrap my head around that.

intellijel's cylonix CYCLEBOX is also interesting, but nowhere near as much as the cylonix shapeshifter i was confusing it with. one other bonus of the shapeshifter is that it comes with an INDEPENDENT wave folder you can process other VCOs with and it has some wavetable LFOs that can also serve as oscillators and vice versus.

in trying to learn more about the nuts & bolts of modular synthesis, i've seen triangle core VCOs being a hot topic keyword and haven't been able to keyword search anything that explains WHY. i've checked youtube demos for intellijel's super popular dixie II+ out and didn't hear anything different than a standard VCO, or even digital ones doing standard sawtooth, sine or square waves so there must be something i'm missing as it seems more like marketing hype than some revolutionary way to get new & exciting tones like you can with a wavetable VCO.

what's the big deal about triangle core VCOs? i can hear a lot more variation between VCFs

well, if you want to work entirely "analogue", then you REALLY need to look into sequencers and probably clocks too to give your modules automation that you could do filter sweeps over etc. or backing while you play.

i would think it'd be A LOT better to buy a separate synth if you want to do polyphonic as it would get expensive building a system with multiple VCOs and VCFs that you can't fully match. you could get a 4 voice dave smiths instruments Mopho x4 for just $1,000 and i think with modules being even cheaper, a $500 korg polyphonic, or work your way up to more expensive prophets including the "ultimate" OB6 as from what i've read, oberheims have a much fatter sound than prophets.

not only would a separate polyphonic be cheaper, but you could get PROGRAMMABILITY you can't get from modular and potentially a sequencer and midi-CV so you can communicate directly with your modular rack. it'd take a lot of research to pick a poly that suits your tastes, needs & budget, or a separate thread asking about the pros & cons.

it wouldn't hurt for you to have an external drum machine from a cheaper one using sampled sounds up to an all analogue "808" type kit. personally, i'd be inclined to go the sampled route there as you're more likely to be straightjacketed by a step sequencer where you can play beats with looser timing on a sequencer you can record live on and turn the quantization up for looser beats where you can, for example, lag a high-hat. as with a separate polyphonic, which might have its own "high res" sequencer, you can save patterns and songs and probably tempos too on your drum machine and then sync your modular's clock to your MIDI gear.

while your pre-programmed beats and melodies are playing on your beatbox & poly, then you could do all of your modular type stuff over that with your rack, or even process audio from your other gear. i've heard some interesting effects running drum loops through a synth and distorting them in various ways.

as to headphone amps, there are modules for that you could put in your rack. you could TRY jacking into your VCA or mixer, but i think you'd need more juice to drive headphones. i'm not sure. then, there'd be the "left channel only" issue as your jacks are going to put mono out. you'd probably need some kind of stereo to mono adapter jack for that. if you were using external polys & drum machines etc., you'd likely run everything through an external mixer which would have both line outs and a headphone jack. little mixers are cheap, and some even come with effects.

as to maths... i'll leave THAT to you. it's a very powerful & popular module, but i personally hate it because it's so complicated. i'd rather break all of its functions, at least the ones i'd actually use, down into easier to understand individual modules that maybe do their specific tasks even better with additional control eg. an ADSR envelope generator offers more control than a maths could for that function. it's a more expensive rack hogging way to do things, but the route i'd prefer.

anyways, i hope MAYBE this helps you plan YOUR system and/or gives you ideas more than it takes you away from your goals 7 style.

as to interfacing with ableton, expert sleepers' ES3-Mk III MIDI to CV converter is the #4 rated of ALL eurorack modules, so i'm guessing it's not shabby, plus ES offers a bunch of different expanders as well as dedicated VST software for controlling the modules, both in a slimmed down freeware version, and a more powerful one you have to buy.

and for doing clock modulation & LFOs in your rack, little "pamela's NEW workout" looks like a really powerful PROGRAMMABLE clocking module to modulate your rack with and sync your hardware sequencer with. i had originally put a batumi 4x LFO & quad clock distributor in my play rack, but it sounds like pamela can do what both of those can with her 8 outputs and MORE with her swing tempo, advanced LFO shapes & memory, but then again, MAYBE batumi & quad clock are better for live synthesis because of their knobs & sliders. i'm actually new to all this and trying to learn what i can. i understand midi, DAW sequencers & studio gear better having read keyboard & mixmag since the 80s and am only now digging into modular, so don't take my opinions on modular as expert advice by any stretch.

hope this helps though

well, as you're looking to get MULTIPLE filters, i'm going to IGNORE your $250 limit, insist you buy one less filter, and get the CRAZIEST filter of them all x10 at $500, the z-plane digital morpheus!

do you know of ANY filter that sounds even SLIGHTLY like that? some of those tones are bite your head off and blow your speakers "digital sharp", but it can do some thicker stuff too. the point is it won't be competing with any other filter(s) you own covering the same territory.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/rossum-electro-music-morpheus

it is a virtual synthesizer within itself. how could you exclude it over arbitrary budget restraints getting two cheaper filters that merely distort sound in slightly different flavors when the morpheus does CRAZY things, the very thing you're seeking, like EVERY analogue filter COMBINED can't do. morpheus is batshee hearing LITERAL (as in vocal resonant) voices where other filters might just get a little whizzed off.

if you just got a morpheus and the VERY VERY flexible intellijel polaris, you could cover MOST of the meat & potatoes sounds of other analogue filters including juicy, crunchy, rubbery, chunky, & fuzzy, if not as extreme as SPECIFIC filters that only excel at one or two of those things like juicy ARP & SEMs, chunky moogs or whizzed off wasps & polivoks AND the polaris is $230... well within your budget.

stretching your budget AGAIN... NOTHING sounds as whizzed off as an all tube metasonix rack. i would imagine that their tube $350-$400 VCFs are a big part of their truly unique sound. i INSIST on a metasonix tube VCA in my imaginary rack for grunging things up and fattening up digital VCOs and the digital morpheus filter. it's a slightly different take than yours, but based on flexibility in tone. i'd be inclined to get a metasonix VCF myself if only they came in silver and not that mismatching yellow.

seriously though... the morpheus filter is crazier than a bunch of other filters, metasonix vomits lava and another really out there filter YOU might like, but that isn't my particular cup of tea is the 4ms spectral multiband resonant filter at another "get IT instead of 2 x $250 filters price of $475" 4ms spectral resonant filter
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/4ms-company-spectral-multiband-resonant-filter
especially if you want to do harmonic, polyphonic type things or get weird sounds modulating audio. it's kind of "1 trick pony" for my tastes, but it really does its own thing too. if you TRULY want unique, that's #2 on my "weird filters" list.

an all tube Metasonix Wretch S-1000 though is CRAZY... it's like a drunk polivoks figting an angry swarm of wasps underwater. it just OOZES the kind of attitude i think you're looking for and that impresses me too, true... it's expensive at around $2600 & kind of unpredictable, but yeah... it's a polivoks/wasp on acid and i bet you could capture A LOT of that tone with just an eye offending yellow VCF, which i think is their most popular module. nothing ever sounds as analogue as tubes. i'd call a tube distortion pre-amp/VCA the bare minimum for ANY rack, especially with digital oscillators and/or filters.

hey... happy to complicate the heck out of your mission! LOL

EDITED Jun 19th 2017, 08:45

Full Width layout

The rack browser and module browser now have a full width layout which adapts to the browser window size. I think it makes sense to better use the space on bigger screens.

Small changes to the search form

• Advanced Search is gone. I think nobody used the standard search anyway.
• Small improvements of the search form layout (it is now a flexbox)

I feel your pain. At least the modules with discontinued in the title are correctly tagged as discontinued.
To prevent the reverts in the future I have put a red alert label to discontinued modules in the module browser. Maybe that will help.

Here is the link for the final build goal:

Hello,
This is my first rack and probably trying to do too much I'm sure. My interests are ambient, slow evolving type tracks. I would like to have the ability to create some melodic lines and rhythmic possibilities. Things I currently have are the Bastl Quattro Figaro, Bastl Tromsø, Make Noise STO. I do plan to go very slowly and add a piece or two at a time and sit and learn what they can do. Thanks for any advice about what I have here.

Made this chunky bit for Signal Expo Berlin

this is the 3rd fucking time I've had to change this on the Doepfer a-126. Can an admin step in and tell these motherfuckers to stop reverting the name update to remove "(discontinued)" and pay attention to the goddamn field that is there for that exact purpose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sidelined:
* Braids (16hp)
* SVVCF (14hp)
* LoFi Junkie (10hp)
* Meadowphysics (6hp)
* O/A/x2 (4hp)
* O'Tool+ (8hp)
~1500/58hp total

Sell:
* Morphing Terrarium
* Ornament & Crime
* Frames

EDITED Jun 21st 2017, 22:59

Ditching:
* Ornament & Crime
* Morphing Terrarium
* Ripples

Hi there.. so, the drums are being sequenced by the Malekko Varigate 8 & Tiptop Audio Circadian Rhythm.
Cheers :)

-- sunfalls

thx! I wanted to know what is generating the sounds and also if they are filtered maybe via the warps or something?
-- wiggler128228

All the the sound sources you see in the case here on mgrid are my percussive voices. I've turned my entire 12u into a drum machine! Thats its focus. As well the effects & filters in the case are processing the drums.

Hi there.. so, the drums are being sequenced by the Malekko Varigate 8 & Tiptop Audio Circadian Rhythm.
Cheers :)

-- sunfalls

thx! I wanted to know what is generating the sounds and also if they are filtered maybe via the warps or something?

nice album, thank you for posting.
can you explain please how you did the drums for example in track 3?
-- wiggler128228

Hi there.. so, the drums are being sequenced by the Malekko Varigate 8 & Tiptop Audio Circadian Rhythm.
Cheers :)

EDITED Jun 17th 2017, 00:07

Image handling optimized

• Images are generated with better encoding
• HiDPI/Retina Images are only served to HiDPI capable devices

Everything should feel a tad snappier now.

Need some help filling up that bottom row! Any suggestions? Anything I've missed? The top two rows I already have. I def need an effects module (hence the Make Noise module) and an output/mixer module (hence the Pittsburgh module.)

Any ideas are appreciated.

your pal,

Steve

No more overlapping tags

Finally changed the CSS so that the function tags don't overlap other info in the module browser anymore.

-- modulargrid

Thanks, much appreciated :-)

nice album, thank you for posting.
can you explain please how you did the drums for example in track 3?

a lot of that system is over my head. i'm just learning modular, and would never build a stand alone system without at least a keyboard & i don't get into analogue sequencing or complicated patches, i HATE maths! LOL

the one thing i can say about this rack though is shapeshifter rocks! even if i had one, i doubt i'd ever fully understand it, but the things it can do... WOW!
-- bubblefunk

thanks for chiming in bubblefunk :) modular can be a strange off-putting hurdle. . i must say getting into eurorack and out of the box sequencing completely changed my sonic experience. hope you liked the album release if you had a chance to listen.

Tags don't overlap anymore, sorry it took so long ...

No more overlapping tags

Finally changed the CSS so that the function tags don't overlap other info in the module browser anymore.

Endless Scroll in the Racks browser

The rack browser works now the same way like the module browser. That is you can just scroll down to see every of the 80.000 public Euro racks.

Hello, I'm totally new to eurorack world. This is my first noob rack. Considered I already have a mother 32 do you think this rack could work for ambient/texture sounds? I don't know if I did well to add also an audio out module...I'd like to record into live or logic. Is it ok or am I totally wrong? Thank you for your help

EDITED Jun 15th 2017, 14:54

True, I wouldn't characterize it as 'thick' sounding, but it is pretty versatile, the easy normalled operation is a plus and it's not hard to find a place for it in a mix. I like having the polyphony too, because I like nothing more than nice harmonies and complex chords, but if I understand things correctly the 1m only operates this way with midi - when using the cv jacks I think it's monophonic. Not sure about that yet as I haven't had time to explore the things that Boulanger talks about in his excellent YouTube series on the 1m and using it in cv mode.

I like having the 1m in the rack now because it fits there and saves space on my work surface, at least until I start adding more modules, which I am already itching to do. But I do have a little bit of a problem: when it's in my Tiptop Mantis rack I don't have room to attach any of the midi cables that I have tried to either of the two sets of DINs on the back. No MIDI no poly? So I either have to hack custom cables to break out the midi, use it in mono mode where it should behave like a set of hopefully useful modules, or bounce it from the rack (or get a deeper one) - in which case I'll be looking at a void that's constantly tempting me to fill it with more, expensive modules. Sooner or later the 1M probably won't be in the rack, but I will most likely keep it in the mix. I tend not get rid of gear. It's an adventure.

Any feedback on this rack would be appreciated. Thanks

i hear ya... same here too.

what i would suggest would be to go to the "top 100s"page here:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/modules/evaluationlists

and try to watch youtube demos for both the top 100 rated modules as well as the top 100 used ones. even if you don't watch the videos, the lists can help you create shortlists of "best" (subjective!) VCAs & VCFs etc. as much as i personally can't stand maths... there's a reason it's in both top 100 lists, but you should also go beyond and explore other options.

i was reading a "best filters" thread somewhere, and someone was gaga over the bubblesound SEM filter and there was some talk about oberheim filters. it might be on one of the top 100 lists, or towards the top of the filters list here when you sort by popularity (ANOTHER handy learning tool!) and then when i branched out, i learned about the studio electronics SEM, and liked the way it sounded even juicier than the bubblesound in a demo.

youtube is kind of a hit or miss thing as far as demos go as many of them suck, and you have different people doing different things in them. it's hard to compare the sound of square wave filter sweeps against a filter being used in a "complete mix", but you'll EVENTUALLY learn stuff by accident. there's also a really good modular basics series there by what sounds to be a german guy who explains what modules are and what they do. if nothing else, i learned that function generator really just means envelope generator & LFO, and is NOT some WTF is that category unto itself.

hope eventually you figure out the system that's exactly right for you. there's plenty of variety of modules to choose from for sure, and it is daunting when you're new to it. there's a lot of cross patching this into that and sequencing the other stuff people do i'd NEVER want to be bothered with. i'm coming at more from the perspective of wanting to cram a room full of basic synthesizers in a little box... a few VCOs and a few VCFs, and you have 100+ possible synth combinations. i'll let everyone else do the funky patching thing.

well... if you already have the 1M, is it capable of producing thick analogue tones out of curiosity? it sounded really digital in the demos i watched. it would at least be a great module to learn on as i forgot just how many features it has. if you already have it... then keep it. it has stuff you can use, like effects, slider envelope generators are the best as far as i'm concerned, and there might be times when you want brighter tones too. besides, it also gives you MIDI too. as toy as it was, i wish i still had my casio SK-1 "sampler". it just had a funky bitcrush tone you can't get out out of 16bit+ pro gear. i lost it after all of the keys started falling out.

one benefit of having a normaled synth voice is that you can work a lot faster on it. one big rack owner was loving his atlantis because he could get stuff done on it faster. there's nothing worse than regretting getting rid of something because what you replaced it with can't do what it could. bright digital tones abound in techno and dubstep.

Thanks for your input, Bubblefunk.

The System 1m is in there because I already own it. Have for a while. It will probably get bumped from the rack when I get to the point where I need the space. It works well as a non-eurorack unit where I can take advantage of its (somewhat limited) polyphony for chords. (And a light show when it goes to sleep.)

Pamelas New Workout and the Shapeshifter both look really interesting. I'm bookmarking those for the future. The information I've gotten here, YouTube and the modular subreddit have been very helpful. I've settled on this as the beginnings of my setup.

The Distings and the Polaris are on backorder, but I started playing with the rest of it for the first time last night. I have got a lot to learn!

Thanks very much for the tips!

I'll look into your recommendations. I'm trying to get my head around everything. Lots to learn before I start physically putting things together.

This is a duplicate of https://www.modulargrid.net/e/other-unknown-poly

ditch the toy system 1m. it looks purdy, but it doesn't fare well in youtube reviews. the knobs are loose, if i remember right, it sounds digital. if you want to get a nice starter, moog mother 32 is in the same price range and is way more popular here, but i'd get an intellijel atlantis instead myself. it has some nice "hidden features" according to the sonic state, i believe, youtube review. and sounds really nice. try checking for demo videos for ANYTHING you put in your rack. if you REALLY want roland tone, get the more expensive 500 series.

while both are space hogs, i just love the tonal insanity of intellijel's shapeshifter wavetable (and so much more!) VCO and rossum's z-plane filter. i'd drop clouds to make room for shapeshifter myself, but from what i recall, clouds tones weren't my cup of tea so it's possible shapeshifter's aren't yours, BUT there's so much variety in what it can do. there's a funny youtube demo for it where the reviewer is freaked out and can't stop laughing & at one point, has a brief conversation with it as it self modulates "meows". it does nice vocoding too.

intellijel polaris filter? CHECK! great little filter that does more variety of tones than almost anything else. a moog filter MIGHT sound chunkier, a SEM, jucier, or a WASP, grungier, but the polaris does all those kinds of tones PLUS even "rare" vocal sounding tones. it's THE filter for a small system. i agree with that.

dixie II+? i know it's popular and there's supposed to be some kind of magic with triangle core VCOs, but i just didn't hear anything special about it in demos. if you didn't want to put a big old shapeshifter in your rack as you #2 VCO, there are smaller wavetable VCOs like erica's black that can do a lot more than dixie and both the mother 32 & atlantis have nice analogue VCOs. it comes down to personal choice, but i just don't get dixie II+ and am looking for an excuse to kick it out of my 4x104 tone bender (arp 2600 with an attitude) play rack.

as to MIDI, expert sleepers' ES3 Mk3 seems to be the most popular MIDI interface, but if you already have clack sources and don't plan on playing your rack via MIDI, then you might want to think about "pamela's new workout". i just learned about it tonight, and it sounds like a programmable, 8 out, clock/LFO monster. i dropped batumi & quad clock from my play rack because new workout sounds like it does more than both units combined including adding swing to your clocks with 256, i think, memory points! that should offer your little rack plenty of "pseudo sequencing"

you MIGHT want to consider makenoise's popular 2 channel optomix VCA whose vactrols are supposed to be good for making percussive noises, but from what i've seen, RYO's aparture VCA is even better as it adds VCF & distortion giving you more tone, especially warming clouds and any other digital oscillators you might use. me? i'd even add a metasonix tube VCA for even chunkier grunge. tonal variety is my priority. noodling? never! LOL

back to analogue filters, i'd get a tiptop Z3000 smart VCO MkII before the dixie because it adds sync for other filers and a waveshaper for more tone, though it eats more space up.

seriously though... if you want to really noodle... here's a steaming bowl of pastabilities for ya...

a lot of that system is over my head. i'm just learning modular, and would never build a stand alone system without at least a keyboard & i don't get into analogue sequencing or complicated patches, i HATE maths! LOL

the one thing i can say about this rack though is shapeshifter rocks! even if i had one, i doubt i'd ever fully understand it, but the things it can do... WOW!