A synth built around the Plinky + Crey Emporium Combobuddies DIY module trio.

Modules from left to right, bottom to top:

  • Clock O'Pawn MkII is a neat little DIY-available clock generator with MIDI sync that outputs regular clock, accents, and 16ths. It can save your settings for later, which can then be loaded by Harlequin's Context through select bus.

  • Harlequin's Context is a DIY-available sleeper powerhouse of CV generation and sequencing. The other Shakmat modules in this rack, besides the filter, can also be sequenced by Harlequin's Context through select bus, no patching required!

  • Combobuddies is a trio of touch-controlled 1u modules that can be mounted in an optional 3u plate that's included in the DIY kit. They have a web app that controls their settings, though I hope it will be downloadable at some point for offline perpetual availability.
    * Bib the spider is a stereo multi-effects with overdrive, multi-tap & sync delay, and reverb (sick).
    * Buzzrito the bee is a stereo swarm oscillator with touch controlled looping timbre control (rad).
    * Blueberry the octopus is a touch programmable 5 note sequencer that is pentatonic by default, but can be reprogrammed to any desired 5 note scale (groovy).

  • Peaks is just Peaks. Will replace with CCTV's Immutable Peaks or another DIY clone if/when I get around to building this.

  • Dual Dagger is a stereo low-pass/high-pass filter that cuts your sound from one or both ends, enabling interesting variable bandpass modulation in addition to normal filter stuff.

  • Omen is a passive dual low pass gate that features two different sounding gates with 3 modes each. The top output is normalled into the bottom input, allowing two LPGs to act independently on the same signal.

  • Griffin's Claws is a recordable CV attenuator, offset, and cascaded mixer with a ton of extra utility features. Its settings can be saved, then loaded manually or by Harlequin's Context through select bus. In this system, Griffin's Claws does a lot of heavy lifting as As of writing this it doesn't have a DIY kit, but here's hoping!

  • Micro Mix is a passive mixer. I'll probably make a DIY passive mixer, but this one is a nice placeholder. Either way, the passive mixer is gonna do some heavy lifting in this rack.

  • G&T turns triggers into gates and gates into triggers. Very useful because Clock O'Pawn MkII only makes triggers from what I can tell in the manual.

  • 1U Dual LIN/EXP VCA does what it says in the name.

  • XY IO adds a 3rd channel to the Stereo Mix 1u.

  • Stereo Mix 1u does what it says in the name.

  • Stereo I/O 1u makes the input and output jacks on the Palette case work, and also provides a headphone output. It acts as a preamp for any external audio I want to send through the circuits.

  • Intellijel Palette case for the 1u row and built-in buffered mults. Notably, Modular Grid says there are 14 modules in the case, but the Palette only has 12 power headers. 3 of the modules are passive and one is just the attached top row of the case. However, each of the Combobuddies is as an independent module and requires its own power supply, which MG doesn't consider, meaning the Palette has exactly enough power headers for this rack!

I hope I can build this one day soon.


Step 1: Spend lots of money buying a palette with all the currently available modules in this system.
Step 2: Spend lots of time and even more money collecting all the Mutable Instruments modules.
Step 3: Write an alarm clock applet for Ornament and Crime that outputs a regular clock signal after a timer, and pauses the clock for 5 minutes when it recieves a trigger.
Step 4: Patch yourself an alarm clock.

Set up Tides, Veils, and Quantum Rainbow 2 to play slowly shifting noise through Ripples and Digiverb to soothe you to sleep. Your new O&C alarm clock applet will wait 8 hours and then clock a sequencer applet from O&C, which will play your alarm voiced by Plaits, Ripples, and Digiverb. You can patch FSR into the alarm clock applet to act as a snooze button on days where you just really don't want to get out of bed.

I'm graduating college this spring, so maybe one day I'll have the money to build an alarm clock as wonderful and silly as this one!


This system features Jonah Senzel's Pet Rock to produce a new gate sequence each day, Instruo Scion to produce random melodies from plants, and Evaton Technologies' RF Nomad to grab radio static that varies depending on your location. With all these modules, you can be sure that whatever music you make will only ever exist once.


I put together this selection of modules in an Intelligel Palette to make the spookiest possible noises in a small package. Scare the shit out of your friends, or even yourself. I probably won't have money to make this anytime soon