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@Pomodoro, I'd want more than just the MMF for filtering (unless I'm missing something), otherwise looks like a pretty interesting and fun rack.

Intellijel Dixie II+ is a pretty solid VCO/LFO and only 40mm.

I lol'ed at the original, and I lol'ed even more at your post @GarfieldModular 😂

EDITED Aug 17th 2020, 00:03

As cliched (and HP expensive) as it sounds, I'd want to add a Maths in a smaller system like this. Will open up a lot of possibilities and can be a standin module for a lot of functions while you learn the basics, also does envelopes very well imho. You have limited space, and it is a big module, but I keep being surprised at how much I enjoy working with it and how much I learn from it.

Welcome @overand!

Nice @jimhowell1970, just gave you a follow!

Looking pretty sharp @mog00!

Some thoughts from a relative noobie, but I'd probably swap the Links for an Ochd, I like a lot of potential modulation sources and Ochd's ratios are really nice even if you only use a few outs, this would let you use the Maths in some more interesting ways too. If I was going to pick a different filter I'd choose a Polaris, I like the sound a lot more than the new Ripples, it's more playable, and it has a lot more features. You'd have 2hp to fill there which is a lot less than 4 but might still give you some interesting options.

On another note @JimHowell1970 I hope we see some video work from you one day, that rack looks incredible!

Nice one @farkas! Good balance musically and between the instruments, excellent craft work like all your other pieces lately. I think I can feel the late 90s influence again too, maybe a pinch of Fly Pan Am or Stereolab in the vocals. Keep it up!

I think some of this convo ignores that people mostly get into modular cause it's cool and fun. I have aspirations to actually make music with my gear but I kind of think most people just want to make noise for themselves, or that they're at least happy with that, and hell if nothing I make ever gets any attention I'd still be fine with it, I'm having a blast, and in ways I never did with digital. The only real question from my POV is "Can you afford it?" and if so I say fire away. Just one noob's two cents...

Nice @mowse, I can see how you'd be moving in this direction with your rack. What do you think of the quad effects path question? That felt like the hardest part to me (which is why I went with the Picos since they're so small and cheap) but I kind of think you'd have to lean into it to really do this well.

This is a pretty interesting question @jamesallisters. I'm definitely not the best qualified to answer on the forum, but I went ahead and put together a rack (based on yours) to think about how I'd tackle this problem.

My theory (though I'd love to hear what others think) is that I'd want:
1) a ton of modulation: so I added the Ochd, the 4ms Quad Lfo, and the WORNG Vector Space, this in turn would make me want
2) a lot of VCAs: so I added the 4ms VCA Matrix
3) a quad effects path, so I added two Erica Synths Pico DSPs which are each stereo, and the Qu-Bit Tone
4) a ton of potential voices, so the Quad Morphing VCO and the Chord
5) something to fill in all the gaps that are missing, so a Disting EX which can be used in dual mode
6) one more inverter just in case, and
7) some way to manually control quad panning, so the Planar 2.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'd suggest you buy this rack exactly, but hopefully there's some useful ideas in there!

I have some initial thoughts @jamesallisters but first off I'm curious what you actually want to do within quadraphonic space. Is it an open playground for you (i.e. you're not sure yet or you want to try everything you can imagine) or is it something that you want to accomplish particular goals within (e.g. making Ryoji Ikeda jealous of your cool rotating notch effects)? You say "It is meant to allow for organic and real-time weaving of controlled/generative ambient and the textures of speech and/or field recordings." but that's not necessarily something that requires quadraphony, so if you plan to make it a focus it'd help to understand the goals a bit more.

Nice list. I'm curious what is your favorite @defragmenteur if you had to pick just one?

Rad @nkozi, thank you for the tip!

Nice to hear that @nkozi, I'm gonna have to get one when they're back in stock.

No immediate thoughts @nkozi other than that your rack looks pretty nice, and I'm curious about the Crow. How do you like it so far?

"Thanks mate:)the pitch on the E352 is called tv/oct right??" think so yes.

I can see it's a little unclear, so the idea I'm suggesting with the Maths, is that you use something like TipTop stackcables (seen here http://tiptopaudio.com/stackcable/) and patch the right side function output into, let's say, the E352 CV X, but also into the left side rise or fall or both (it's in between) of the Maths function generator. This means that as the right side function proceeds it will change the behavior of the left side. If you then feed the left function out into let's say E352 CV Y, but also into the right side rise or fall or both, the two functions will be controlling each others behavior in a weird feedback loop, while also controlling different aspects of your oscillator. Attenuverters and offset will let you adjust the range of that feedback and how wild or unpredictable it might get.

One simple idea: SQ-1 slowly into 352 pitch, have the Maths controlling two of CV X, Y, or Z, in cycle mode on both sides, but with each function out stacked into an attenuverter/offset that then feeds back into the other, so that they can slowly respond to and control each other.

EDITED Jul 24th 2020, 16:57

I can imagine! I really want a Subharmonicon or a Mother32 but probably need a DFAM more than either since I don't have any drums atm.

PNW definitely rules @rossduncan, I need to figure out all the different modes, it does so much!

@farkas that looks pretty sick, gonna have to check out some vids.

Welcome @humanoid01, happy moding!

Nice one @wishbonebrewery!

I really want a data @baltergeist but they're sold out everywhere :,(

@humanoid01 take a look at page 19 of the manual for the Beatstep, it has pitch, velocity, and gate outputs for connecting to your synth and a USB port for your computer. One potential example for your rack would be Pitch to Plaits V/Oct, Gate to a Batumi oscillator Reset/Sync to retrigger it then onto a VCA modulating the Plaits output (using Batumi here since I don't see an envelope generator), and velocity to another VCA to control amplitude. I don't have a Beatstep though so I'm making this up from looking at it. Anyway, you can review the manual here: http://downloads.arturia.com/products/beatstep-pro/manual/BeatStepPro_Manual_1_0_0_EN.pdf

Keystep @GarfieldModular, still pretty nice feature wise but I don't know all the comparisons.

Good list @GarfieldModular.

I meant to tell you that I got a Keystep recently and it's pretty nice. I'm just scratching the surface but I can tell it's going to be a useful one.

One common theme when looking at starter systems is the need for more utilities, and for a better balance. As a newcomer myself I can say though that it's a bit challenging at times as there's a handful that always come up (Links, Kinks, Maths) but I feel like a nice comprehensive list would really help people to better understand the importance of these, the proper weight they should have in a rack, and how you as a newcomer will benefit from them. So I thought I'd throw this question out there: what would your top utility suggestion be in a new system, excluding the tried and true favorites above. I can even start it off by saying the secret Utility MVP in my racks so far has been the Intellijel Quad VCA (thank you @farkas again!), the cascading functions in particular are just sooooooo useful.

Anyway, curious what other people might think or have to share about this topic!

Nice one @mowse, really dug the voice intro at 4:50 or so, well done and very artful!

Nice to know, thanks!

They are nice, but we need more

@GarfieldModular, I actually meant to tell you, I was thinking of this as a "Garfield Patch" in my head since there's a lot of tonal and dynamic variation going on, and I'm basically just responding to that and tweaking a few knobs, "no notes into the system" as you say! Somehow it did get somewhere though, I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you as always for giving it a listen!

Nice rig and really well structured, kudos.

Made a new one:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/akemies-drone

Definitely my favorite so far with my new rigs, long again (as always), ochd => Akemie => Zadar + VCA => Polaris => Mimeophon => Rings => Clouds, fairly simple patch-wise but with some nice variation going on (imho!). Sadly the second take was the best but it didn't record. That said I'm happy with it anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Good one @farkas, everything's feeling super integrated, it's pretty impressive.

Thank you as always for the kind words @GarfieldModular, and kudos on the poetry, today's metaphor had me cracking up ;p

Thought I'd post a new one, probably too long (that's my signature though lol) but it's fun:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/best-buds

Same rack as above with some extra Serge modules for drone and color, and a Keystep handling arpeggiator duties
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EDITED Jul 11th 2020, 05:02

That's the whole request, would be a nice addition. Thank you!

I think that's what it means to do modular @tirikita, I can relate!

@tirikita I don't have any immediate thoughts on the questions you've asked, but wanted to chime in and say the vision for your project is awesome, I hope you share some tunes back with us!

Looks pretty nice @stegi. How do you like the Telharmonic btw? I kind of want one.

What about an FX Aid (hard to find though) or in the opposite direction an OCHD?

@ecstatic_sutherland I ended up adding some analog oscillators to my rack just to have a few more synthesis techniques available and so I'd have a lot of options to play with, and on top of that so I could have some polyphony. There are a ton of different ways you could approach that though, including other digital oscillators like the Telharmonic or even a second Akemie's Castle.

I haven't used Rings at all so I can't say exactly where it fits in, or Stages either. I would expect the Zadar has potential for more grit and character than Stages, but might be less controllably expressive? And yes, if you do get it I'd get a Nin too.

Out of curiosity how many of these modules do you have so far? I sped into modular pretty quickly so if you're starting from scratch I won't suggest (as is common) that you go slow, but I might suggest you go moderately lol and get about half of what you've picked out here? An Akemie, a nice analog filter (FM synthesis plus a good analog filter is a great combo), and a handful supporting pieces would go a long way right out of the gate and might help with some of the questions you're raising.

EDITED Jul 10th 2020, 04:18

When I put together a similar rack I added an Intellijel Dixie+ which has been incredible, and I'd add another if I wasn't rapidly running out of space. So, I'd suggest an analog oscillator, a Dixie+, an STO, or something in that vein. It's a radically different feel than the Castle but they can compliment each other really well.

To the effects, I haven't quite solved that myself, but it does seem to me like you have a lot already. Echophon + Erbe-Verb + Rings is pretty solid, but perhaps an Erica Synths Black Hole DSP, a 4MS Dual Looping Delay, or a Happy Nerding FX Aid?

Three quick thoughts:

1) What music are you hoping to make here? The answer might be different for techno vs ambient (or both at the same time)
2) I have an Akemie and find that the XAOC Zadar is a fantastic modulation source for it as you can quickly pan through a huge range of sounds and you get four envelopes out of it.
3) This is a ton of support for just one voice (well two with Akemie). Not sure if this is a good suggestion or not but I'd try to fit another voice in there, analog or digital either way.

Keep us updated!

The Phenol looks pretty cool @Lugia, I'll have to dig in and watch some videos. BTW, did you ever get that monster box you'd ordered? I wanna hear some tunes \m/,(> .

Nice to see you share some work @GarfieldModular! I really appreciate the density and voice breadth here (well explained by your patch notes), and the ebb and flow from clusters of notes to reverb-y sustain. It feels a bit 20th century classical at times, and at others the modular part of synthesis really comes through. Well done on an interesting and varied piece ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬

I'm definitely looking forward to it!