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since you already have marbles, try creating some short looping sequences with deja vu and use that to control params on the BS. If you use the same clock for both you can get a lot of variation in your sequences. just by way of example, i currently use a Marbles and an XAOC Moskwa II (with expander). I send the Moskwa clock out to marbles, and then the X outs back to Moskwa to manipulate transposition, random amount, overall pitch range, etc.

seems cool! i’ve got an XPO in the mail currently and am quite looking forward to it. I also currently own an x-pan and at first they seem like they’d match up well, but it occurred to me that x-pan is really for mixing and panning four MONO sources. how are you using it with XPO? it is difficult to tell from the video with the patch cables in the way. I suppose you could patch two L signals to the first input and two R to the second and hard-pan them. or the mono outs to the mono ins on x-pan and one of the stereo outs to the aux?

Here in the US, Patchwerks has become my favorite, with a tie between Control, Control Voltage, and Detroit Modular after that. Also one source I haven't seen mentioned yet is Juno in the UK. They don't have the widest selection but their prices tend to be pretty good on the whole. Unless there is some reason not to support them that I am unaware of, they can be a good option depending on the manufacturer you are looking for.

I had been using the Intellijel 1u Pedal I/O to use some guitar pedals I have as an fx loop, and then recently realized I could just ignore the send and plug my guitar in to the pedal chain and bring it into my rack via the return on the I/O. From there it can go pretty much anywhere. Sending it to Morphagene with a clocked record is pretty fun. It's like playing over a looper but more interesting.

On the output I am just including it with my rack's audio out into my computer's audio interface, so I haven't thought about bringing an amp into the equation yet. Sounds pretty good without one though. I've been considering getting a Strymon Iridium to add to my pedal chain, though since the rack is not dedicated to guitar alone (mixes in with VCOs and the rest) this is probably about as far as I'll go with it.

i've heard people say some good things about it, particularly when used as a matrix mixer. I've come close to picking one up a few times myself but then when i read the manual it gives me a headache trying to imagine remembering how to use the thing...if you haven't read it yet, check it out and then see if it changes your opinion at all https://uhedownloads-heckmannaudiogmb.netdna-ssl.com/manuals/eurorack/cvilization/CVilization-user-guide.pdf

I have a Golden Master and like it quite a bit. I’m sure for some folks it is too heavy-handed since you can kind of just slam it and call it a day. But I do like the way it fattens up the sound, and in a pinch you can use it as a performance tool as well, DJ-style (cut the low end, etc).

MI Rings has 1/2/4 voices I think
-- amethyst

it does but it's not polyphonic in that way. the voice selection impacts how long a strum is allowed to ring out for. up to four notes can overlap before a strum is muted by a new one, but they cannot be played simultaneously as a chord.

makes sense, appreciate the input. thanks!

not strictly related to the tuning, but I have been thinking of getting one of these. As owners, would you recommend it over others (Cs-L, DPO, etc etc)? Anything to know about or consider that isn't apparent from the manual and demos?

this is one of the better outcomes of Waver that i have heard. i picked one up myself feeling really excited over the idea of it, but i’ll admit to not really gelling with it yet. haven’t given up on it, but i don’t feel that i ever really love what i am able to get out of it so far.

any advice? tips?

the guitar pedal ecosystem is really rich so it can be a good way to explore different sounds. personally, and ymmv of course, i found that I liked the sound that came back through them, but not the process of using them. I didn't like the pedals hanging off the rack in a separate path, or how they were less flexible in terms of signal path, or the lack of CV modulation. I ended up moving in-rack for my effects.

In terms of recommendations, Noise Engineering's Versio platform just got a lot more interesting today with the addition of a pretty wild new stereo distortion, and an update to their reverb that uses clocked repeats. Chronoblob V2 is also solid and pretty versatile as a clocked delay that can be stereo or have a feedback loop.

i have a dv and like it a lot, but it can only sort of be a delay at the lowest density setting. it’s mainly good for big washy tails and feedback. the sidechain is a nice touch. i use it on the distortion setting much of the time, and shimmer can be nice as well. it can be reflashed into a proper delay (Imitor Versio). i haven’t tried it but read mixed reviews - too many delay taps seems to be the consensus but of course that is personal taste.

personally i would love to have a mimeophon and think they would go well together. forced to pick one, i might go with the mimeophon just since it seems like it can do more overall. bigger and more expensive though, which is always the dilemma :)

i mostly agree with this except for the "go do something else" part :D i just yank all the cables and start from scratch..

I'd be tempted to make a list of all the types of modules that you don't understand and then ask yourself what do you think they do before looking it up and once you have gone through that exercise go back and ask yourself what you would use it for note down any further questions you have about it, note them down - maybe the only way to answer some is to buy a module - a disting mk4 or ex may be a big help in this regard...

This is great advice. I’ve started putting a lot more energy into this and on top of sketching here in modular grid i’ve been poking around in miRack (VCV rack fork for iOS) to put some of that learning into practice. Sometimes it doesn’t really come into focus until I see/hear what is happening.

I hear you on the mantis! Will definitely look hard at it. Backpack option is cool.

Again, appreciate the thoughtful remarks. Lots to think about! Very glad to have had this conversation before just going for it.

I'd forego the Lofi Junky altogether and go with a Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water (for my money it's pretty much the most musical effects pedal on the market). You can also combine delay and reverb in one pedal with the EQD Avalanche Run and save some room on your pedal board. For a small case, the suggestion of Pamela's New Workout is excellent. My $0.02, which is probably worth more like 1/2 a penny.
-- baltergeist

killer tip on the Shallow Water! Did not know of this. Thank you 🙏

Hey thanks to both of you for the really thoughtful input! I tried to address common concerns up front (“how will this be sequenced”) etc, but even so all of this is super great.

Some thoughts/responses:
- i was not aware of the Shallow Water, that pedal looks awesome! My thinking with the original setup was that the bass shouldn’t be sent through the same fix chain as the lead because delay and reverb on bass can be muddy and gross so having the lo fi junky as a later stage effect seemed to make sense. but i like this idea a lot
- however! the ADDAC pedal i/o is a really solid choice that i also wasn’t aware of and since it has two sends i could have multiple fix loops for different signals which is great
- i actually initially had Veils in here because i really liked the cascading aspect of it but also did recognize the amount of space it took.

thanks for the great tips and reality checks around Pams and the rest. i love how flexible this all is but also it twists my brain up a bit trying to put it together. but in a good way, which is why its so much fun to think about.

Since I have the pedal board already I have been trying to resist adding fx to the rack itself, but I can see where it might still be worth it, particularly to be able to route fx sends in complex ways. maybe this can be accomplished with a couple mixer units and some sends. So it’s a good call out to be able to mix like crazy and focus on that ability to route signals. attenuators and rectifiers i am still learning about so I have some reading to do there!

On the stereo front, I’m split on that. In terms of live performance most club PAs at the level I am at are mono anyway so stereo is a bit pointless. But for studio recording and of course headphone jamming it cant be beat.

in terms of going bigger on the rack, i’ve looked seriously into both the intellijel 7u 104hp and the make noise 7u 104hp. people seem to not like the power supply on the latter but the bus looks like it could be really helpful for a project like this where lots of mixing and modulation is key.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and take it seriously with your thoughts :)

EDITED Aug 27th 2020, 03:18

(pre any of this, just want to say thanks for all the attention given to newbie rack builds. not sure what i would do without this site or community)

Thinking MBV if kevin shields had a synth vibes crossed with Alessandro Cortini’s “scappa” in a small footprint. I’m shooting for two voices, bass and lead. Lead will go out through a pedal board that I already have leftover from my power pop/shoegazer days and all will be summed into the filter and lo-fi junky.

Scappa ->

Part of the reason the small case is appealing (aside from cost) is the pedal board itself adds a fair amount of footprint and I’m shooting for something i could lug to a gig eventually.

I am 100% sure I am missing something here. My gut is that the sloths could be replaced with something more useful but what?? I love the idea of it so much.

Rack:

Pedals (not in any order, just some of what i have to represent available effects):

Setup notes:
- Arturia keystep for sequencing
- keystep pitch cv to buffer 1
- keystep gate to buffer 2
- buffer 1 to plaits and hold of noise tools
- use slow cycle from noise tools OR sloths to trigger hold
- hold out to STO (creating harmony and/or bass line)
- STO to optimix 1
- Plaits to optomix 2
- buffer 2 (gate) to TipTop EG
- TipTop eg can be used to affect Optimix 2 (plaits/lead)
- Optimix 2 out to guitar pedal send (1u)
- pedal send mix to Duatt A
- Optimix 1 out to Duatt B
- Duatt sum to Ripples
- Ripples out to Lo Fi junky
- Lo Fi junky out to headphones
- sloths and noise tools pink/white for random ish across rack

This seems to me like it could work. My concerns are:
- do i need another EG? if the bass can be drone-ish, LPG can be handled manually like a mixer as long as i can ride it
- would be nice to add a slight rhythmic element here. i considered swapping the sloths for a 4hp version and then a pico drum to sidechain the Optomix
- Ripples is my only filter but Lo Fi Junky has some of its own internal filtering/compression/modulation so for that tape-y sound, it seems like a good fit

Open to any and all feedback, and very much appreciated. if i were going for a bigger rack (considered, but worried about space and cost) i’d add a qu-bit bloom for sequencing and drop the keystep. I like random and generative stuff, but more when it is constrained within established boundaries and just gives some extra life to something I have already prescribed.

Thanks!

EDITED Aug 25th 2020, 21:43