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I am in the middle of making an 84hp 6u rack using the Doepfer DIY Kit and Laser Cut Acrylic.

I plan to have a rig that is good for soundscapes/ambient (melodic). I plan to use the OP-Z to send CV and Clock in some cases; it will for now, be a bit of a brain. I (like many) love granular sounds and want to use this along with there stereotypical soft chimes and plucks that many get nowadays.

As a guitarist with some pedals (delay, reverb etc) I would like to be able to utilise these. I have included I/O and Ears to get both audio from the OP-Z (I an run a drum track from that for now - panned left and right into the InAmp, and then around the rack, Ears for other inputs). I wonder if there is a specific send/return module that I should consider to use the pedals?

I have put together the following proposed modules:

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1144642.jpg

I would welcome criticism, along with any guidance as to 'what to get first' that will be usable with the kit described above. I have included a Marbles clone but had looked at the Chance too - I haven't formed a strong opinion on this yet...

Do I need Maths... everyone has Maths...

Thanks!

EDIT: struggling to understand how to insert a screenshot, sorry!

EDITED Mar 3rd 2020, 16:22

Lovely little module.
Just a heads up: if you use it for audio, it doesn’t fully close.

OK...MG's screenshot function seems to be smokin' rocks again, so let's see if this sucker posts properly...

Yeeeahhhh...it's being pretty hateful. At least there IS a link there...

OK, what I did here was to trash a lot of redundancies and whittle the functionality a bit from your prior iteration so that I could drop more RAW POWER into my redux. MIDI interface and sequencer were dropped in favor of a Squarp Hermod, which has both and which does way more. Tempi was dropped in favor of a Pam's; you might want the extra two channels of trig sequencing. Zadar instead of the dual ADSR and the Erica EG/LFO, Quad VCA instead of the discrete dual VCAs...you lose two, but gain some extra mixing capability for either audio or CV (or both, given that you can split out VCAs in it).

Listen I/O was scrapped, and I separated the audio in and outs into separate modules, both located where they should be. You'll also notice that the Happy Nerding OUT has a separate stereo input, which you can use to put the Mimeophon in parallel routing, instead of having to route everything thru it and control the result with the wet/dry control. The Doepfer A-119 also now gives you an envelope follower...very useful for incoming audio, as you can now use the incoming amplitude as a dynamic contour (or most anything else CV-wise). Buffered mult, yep...normally, I'd say keep this OUT, but in this case the build IS moving into the turf where this is needed. And WHY...well, that's next to it: Squarp's new 4-channel sample player module. Then the other new device is a 6-in stereo mixer, with CV over either level (your dedicated audio VCAs) or panning.

Layout was regrouped, and the functions were split between rows: audio UP, CV/mod DOWN.

...and the cherry on the cake: I managed to mash it down another $300, even with all of the hi-octane additions. :-) So, how's that?

EDITED Mar 3rd 2020, 02:59

Kind of hard to go wrong with Arturia's various sequencers, really. There's a bunch of that laying around in my studio: Microbrute, Microfreak, a pair of BSPs, Keystep, and a Keystep Pro which should be here in a couple of months. They do those things RIGHT.

It's not bad, but I'd suggest looking into some modules that can "read" CV states and output gates...comparators, discriminators, that sort of thing. Along with that, you'd probably want to expand the Boolean logic capabilities to make better use of those new gate signals...would allow for a lot of "conditional state" behavior within the generative process, adding to the potential complexity. Also, add a few more linear VCAs so that you can better automate the CV/mod level processes.

So far, so good...now, how would you do this in stereo? Spatial activity is also a very useful thing to have going on in generative processes.

The more i learn about the mb2s the more i think i made the good choice :)
Very cool.

Yes! It's awesome.

So, what I often do is use the pitch + gate sequence to drive my Minibrute's voice. Then I use channel 3 to control the gate of a second VCO and channel 4 to control its pitch. However, if I just want to use the same gate (to create multi-voice chords), I'll split the gate channel out to two additional VCO's and then use channel 3 and channel 4 as pitch sequencers for those oscillators. You could also do the opposite and use channel 3 and 4 as additional gate channels to create drum rhythms (which don't need a pitch sequence).

It could control the extra vco and the mb2s vco(s) simultaneously with an different sequence ?
That's a lot of space saved :)

EDITED Mar 2nd 2020, 22:02

Just jumping in with a quick comment (don't have the time atm to do a full rundown) but I wanted to make sure you knew that the Minibrute 2s actually has three completely independent sequencer channel outs. The first has two outs (pitch + gate), while the other two each have a single out (either pitch OR gate OR generic voltage). With that in mind, I'm not sure you need the metropolis unless there's a fourth gate/pitch you need that you can't generate or derive from elsewhere.

Hey Lugia, I was hoping for your comment...always a positive criticism. I reflected all day about your words...there was something about the system was not convincing me as much. Frankly is the x-time I came across the idea of making my modular, and this time I really don't want to leave all again.

I tried to rebuild part of the system according to your thoughts...it was lacking vcas so I inserted some mini doepfer modules, they are all cost effective and I assume they do their job well. Again, I add more EGs (Erica and Quadra) and substituted the higly cost ADDAC mixer with a cheap Doepfer real stereo mixer.

As you can see the whole cost of the system decreased a bit, but obviously not by 1500 dollars as you said. I trust you when you say that a system should be run for years and years...if is possible I don't want to keep changing modules, so is better to take correct solution from the start.

What can you say now? It can be a step ahead? Could you please suggest something? I'm a bit depressed right now and I hope in a positive response. Despite rush is always not good I hope to perform the system as soon as possible.

Thanks again,

Marco

Glad it wasn't just me. I threw together a board of a bunch of Donner Pedals, sorted by input dimensions.

Donner mis-match

If you look at the two on the left (or the two on the right), they have exactly the same size, are cropped well, but wildly different sizes.

Seems to be a bigger issue than just getting the pedal dimensions right or cropping.

-- HoboPelican

Sometimes the machines rebel and the automatism does not work. So see the note from further up:

So if the autocrop does not work uploaded PNGs that were edited with an external software indeed give the best results.

I have reworked the pictures, your pedalboard looks good now.

Here's an example from me :
https://www.modulargrid.net/p/pedalboards/view/899593

(sorry must have deleted the old one)

The model feT on the left was my old (and now unnecessary) attempt at adding the pedal, with the 93 x 116 mm dimensions of the Hammond 1590BB. Next to it is a pedal with a 118mm height that's clearly completely different, and next to that is someone else's attempt at a model feT, with 148mm height that's still not as tall as the 118mm of the Sea Machine in the middle.
-- jacobstoker

The Model feT image was a PNG, with a surrounding transparent surface.
See note from further up:

if you upload a PNG there is no auto image processing involved.
So if the autocrop does not work uploaded PNGs that were edited with an external software indeed give the best results.

I have corrected all pictures of your pedals. Everything should fit now.

Maybe something like that but i'm sure there are possible improvements.
The sequencer would be used by the graphic vco.

EDITED Mar 4th 2020, 10:33

We now have 150Gb more space. Will see how long that goes. It does not sound much but daily backups must still be manageable.
Performance looks good here.

I am seeing slow loading of Racks for the past 24 hours. I am also seeing errors when I attempt to make a screenshot. Is anyone seeing the same issues?
-- studiobysbox

Thanks for reporting.

As for the speed, it's probably yet more Chinese and/or Indonesian spammers trying to get into MG.
-- Lugia

This time the reason is quite simple: the filesystem ran out of space from the million screenshots. Cache files and screenshots can not be generated anymore.
I am looking to free some space or buy more webspace from unicorn money. Maybe we will have a little downtime...

Hello,
Here my first attempt to carefully start a Rackbrute6U (+ a minibrute2S.)
My musical synth tastes are very various, for instance : Tangerine Dream, Depeche Mode, Infected Mushroom, Perturbator.

My very first goal is to be able to get some space/alien/experimental sounds. (So more on the side of Tangerine Dream , Pink Floyd, etc ... i love the old progressive bands weird sounds.)
So i plan to add a Multi Effect (DSP2 ?), Rings (?) and some utility modules which i think will always be useful
Am i on the right way ? Is the DSP2 versatile enough ?

Then my second, future, goal will be to add a VCO, maybe an Erica Synths Graphic VCO (+a sequencer+filter+LFO, etc. ... maybe a random module ?)
My third goal will probably about adding a sampler ... if there is enough space remaining. But this is another story...

I will take all the necessary time to avoid bad moves. It may take months or even a couple of years, there is no hurry. My goal is also to avoid overflowing the Rackbrute 6U so i need versatile modules.

EDITED Mar 4th 2020, 18:29

I’m new to modular, but not to synths.
Now i wish to accomplish something that’s not possible with my desktop instruments. Generative ambient music (like everybody else :-)
I have not bought anything yet so feel free to criticize my plans in a brutal way ;-)
I have read a lot of comments here at MG and hope I have got a basic understanding of what I need for generative patching but I know I have a lot more to learn.
Which of my suggested modules can I skip and which modules that I do not have in my rack is essential for generative patching.

Thank you for your constructive criticism.

Fixing the screenshots: the transfer of your rack data into a pure graphic file can be a little dicey on MG. What's necessary is to pull up a screenshot of the rack in question, then refresh it. For some reason, MG likes to "lock" on certain build stages, and by hitting reload you can "thwack" it into putting the proper result in place. Once refreshed (and this really should be a "must do" every time you're prepping a screenshot), then everything displays as it should.

As for the speed, it's probably yet more Chinese and/or Indonesian spammers trying to get into MG. There was a massive problem with that until the REcaptcha was implemented, but my bet is that MG's still on a list of "sites you can use as a text-based toilet for your bullshit" in the spam community, ergo sometimes you might see something like an accidental DDOS attack going on occasionally. Just wait...it'll ease up.

Well, it doesn't look great and make a lot of sense to ME! How do you expect to control amplitudes with no VCAs? True, the Quintet has them...but that module's probably going to be quite busy with audio duties, leaving no linear, DC-coupled VCAs to control amplitudes over mod signals via envelopes, LFOs, etc.

Definitely a "sexy" build...but in my book, that's not a good thing. Frankly, I would start over with your basic essentials, but the second time around, add more utility things...VCAs, more envelopes (I tend to view the Maths as an insanely-complex LFO, which is the sort of thing it does very well), and simpler things that are overcomplicated here (like using a $500 mixer as your audio VCAs when the fact is that it can't output stereo, ergo no real need for a stereo out even with the Mimeophon, etc). Really, really ask yourself "Do I truly need this in here?" and don't be afraid to be utterly brutal when making these considerations. Fact is, you could probably cut about $1500-2000 OUT of the cost on this by avoiding the bells-n-whistles modules and simply patching what you want out of "primitives".

Here's a nice rule of thumb to follow: price of module / hp count of module = cost per hp of a given module. Keeping this simple formula in mind when choosing modules, along with the other criteria in use, will go a long way to avoiding superfluous stuff in a build. Try and keep that figure under $25/hp, and you're golden...but when you look at some of what's here, well...the ADDAC 802, f'rinstance, comes in at $41.58/hp. Unless there's a very specific reason for including modules that are that costly, this is something you might want to keep in check, as it leads to both "sexy module syndrome" and the horror of cost-spiraling.

Remember: this is a process. Creating a build like this takes time and diligent pruning at the setup, which MG makes easier and relatively painless. But it still doesn't erase the fact that coming up with an effective modular that'll be usable for years actually takes quite a long time and a lot of work. And a lot of study; don't be fooled by the snazzy looks, what you need to be concerned with is BEHIND the panels.

Actually, anything that outputs a constant beat can be used as a clock if you have something which can extract that audio and convert it into clock pulses. All you'd need is a very tight bandpass filter (as in 1/10th octave or tighter) and the conversion tool of choice (I use a Truetone Time Bandit myself), and you could lock your DAW (or most anything else) to some ancient 1960s drum machine or even beats on prerecorded audio. Been doing variations on this for years, and it works pretty well.

As for an additional clock or modules to modify clocking, yeah, you DO want those. Let's say, for example, that you want an event to hit every other measure on beat 3. Your track is in 4/4, you can easily get a quarter-note pulse, your sequencer has 16 steps, and your loops are 4 measures. You COULD tie up a sequencer channel to do this, true...but the more efficient solution would be to use something like an EMW Pulse Counter. Send the quarter-note pulses in, send a pulse from steps 1 and 9 to the Reset function, and take your specific trigger pulse out of step 7 for...well, most anything. Or send your clock gates into one side of an AND gate, and then the output of a comparator to the other, and set the comparator so that as long as the note CV coming out of the sequencer is over a certain pitch, the AND gate will pass your pulses on to another sequencer ONLY when the "high state" is present both from the comparator AND clock. Neat way to add a tessitura line on your sequence line AND have the machine do it so you can twiddle with something else.

...and so on....

Yes, same issue here.

This all makes a lot of sense and looks great to me! Now, I would start with the first core modules, maybe build one complete voice and experiment how much you can get out of that and then slowly build into your drum voice and your second voice. It can feel overwhelmingly slow, but I'm glad I did this because it gave me time to learn what interfaces and patterns I really enjoyed and which ones I disliked, things I couldn't have anticipated.

I am seeing slow loading of Racks for the past 24 hours. I am also seeing errors when I attempt to make a screenshot. Is anyone seeing the same issues?

Dear Esmooov,

Thanks for your fast and complete response. I agree with a lot of your observations and so I changed a bit the configuration. The first project was lacking the modulation sources so I added the Batumi (it was a module I was already looking for). Regarding the need of a more hands on quantizer I think I'll conserve the Tubbutec Utune. There're two main reasons: the first is that I'm looking for microtonal sequences (quantizing the ones coming from the Ultra Random Analog?) and the second is that it represents my only bridge with my other midi instruments (computer included). I read through the Tubbutec site that it can act also like a Cv to Midi converter and this is a really cool feature for me.

Second point: If compared with all the other medium size modules, there was really to many space occupied by the Metropolis. Clearly speaking, I adore Roland style melodies...that's the reason why I have put it inside the system...but I have to say that I could be interested also in something different. I've just seen a lot of videos of Qu - Bit Bloom, it is an interesting module...maybe is lacking a bit the intuitivity of the Metropolis but, in the other hand, It seems more un-schematic for experimentation. So, as you can see, I inserted both the Bloom and the Euclidean Circles (another modulo I was already looking for).

The last change I made is the 4ms audio interface that could support stereo signal I/O. This interface, in my opinion, is a good solution to process the stereo sources which come out of the Mimeophon. Another point, if I read well, is that could process two mono (or obviously 1 stereo) sources coming inside the system...this feature, as I initially explained, was another task of my system.

What do you think now? Is it look like a complete system?

Thanks again,

Marco

EDITED Mar 1st 2020, 17:07

Thanks for your thoughts! Remember that I would use the Rack together with the Minibrute 2 (which already has LFOs, two Osc's, a sequencer, a clock etc.), so the addition of an additional clock/sequencer wouldn't be THAT important. But this is why the DFAM would be so interesting: It has a sequencer, could act as a drum module/filter module/osc-module. On the used market, the DFAMS are around 400-450 Euros. But are there any alternatives to the DFAM - something that can act as a rhythm-/drum-module?
Thanks for the other tips about the input modules!

First up, unless you intended to spend a total of $750+ on the DFAM, take it out of the cab. Yes, that difference IS an average of the cost of the Eurorack recasing versus keeping it in its already-existing and already-powered case. Convenience is good, yes, but that's some expensive convenience. Also...if you put it back, you could theoretically go to a smaller/more portable Eurorack case for the remaining purposes. And given what Eurorack cases COST...

Next, Clouds. No. Discontinued years ago...so if you have to have the original, your only bet is the used market. A much better choice would be any of the Clouds clone versions built by third parties such as Codex Modulex, Michigan Synth Works, Tall Dog, et al. These also tend to be smaller, have expanded functions (see the Monsoon), or both.

Magneto. Not a bad choice, but it's big, and this build is small. If you go to a smaller Clouds clone, though, this might not be a problem. 4ms's Dual Looping Delay might be a better fit, however, at 20 hp and a few different tricks up its sleeve. Note also that both the Magneto and the DLD have insert points in their feedback paths, which allow you to add [INSERT FUN DEVICE HERE] into the feedback loop to alter subsequent repeats. So you might consider a VCF for this purpose. Even wackier, you could choose a VCF that also has an insert, this time in the resonance path...Doepfer's A-106-1 (a variant of the Korg MS-20 VCF set) comes to mind here. Then you can add another something into ITS insert...maybe a reverb...which screws with how the resonance behavior performs.

You need an input with an envelope follower for the Rhodes input to get the level up to modular levels and to provide amplitude tracking for anything else that might want it; Doepfer's A-119 would be perfect here, as would Sputnik's EF-Preamp (which also allows different input impedances). Then you'll also want modulation sources (another reason to remove the DFAM!) to screw around with the behavior of all of this. Lastly, you might consider some clock modulation modules/Boolean logic to mess with timing behavior between everything that needs a clock, such as the DFAM.

One other point: the reissued Model D has only instrument and line level audio I/O, so this will also have to be boosted/cut in order to get the levels from these up/down. Check Ladik's listings for suitable and cost-effective level conversion preamps.

I enjoyed an uncomplicated sell to @nosp thank you!

Bought Erbe-verb from @fungophil. Nice contacts, quick delivery and well packed! Recommended seller!

Hi!

Modular newbie here. I'm a professional (jazz-)musician and am very interested in electronic music and building a modular synth. The kind of music I want to do with it? Hard to tell (yet) - perhaps something that resembles closely to Nils Frahm. I currently own a Minimoog Model D (reissue), a Nord Stage 3, two Fender Rhodes (stage and suitcase) and a Wurlitzer 200a. For the electronic project I'm planning, the modular system should fulfill the following things:

• cost below 2000 USD
• should be portable and a all-in-one-package (with integrated keys, a rack, of course the modules, an Eurorack-mixer and effects like delay and reverb. No external effects or no external mixing console).

What attracts me is the Arturia Minibrute 2 (for bass-sequences) with the Rackbrute 6U, the Moog DFAM for rhythmic sequences, the Strymon Magneto (I have the Strymon Volante on another Board for my Fender Rhodes - fantastic pedal!) and perhaps something ambient-ish like the Clouds. What do I need if I want to mangle the Fender Rhodes and the Minimoog through the Modular Synth and use it with its filters as well with the Magneto? A mixer? Is the Rosie enough for my purposes (if I want to use the Magneto as an end-of-chain-effect/Sum-effect)?
It would look like this (plus the Arturia Minibrute 2):

Thanks for your input!
Peter

Looking for this. Offer up to 400E or trade for listed modules on the marketplace (Quadrax, AFG, Mungo, O|D, OTO).
Thanks!

EDITED Feb 29th 2020, 18:01

Hi Marco,

What an interesting build! Let's break this down. Currently you have:

Sound Sources (4.5) - Mangrove, Twin Waves, Erica Drum, Mimeophon, [URA kinda?]
VCAs/LPGs (7) - DPLPG [2], ADDAC802[5]
Envelope Generators (4) - Maths [2], A140 [2]
Attenuators (12) - Levit8[8], Maths[4]
Mixers (4) - Levit8, Maths, Mix4, ADDAC802
Filters (2) - Sisters, Polaris
LFOs (6) - Maths (2), Twin Waves (2), Modbox (2)
Clock Modulator (2) - Tempi, Metropolis
Sequencer (2) - Metropolis, Trax
Random (3) - NSE, RND, URA
Quantizer (1) - uTune
Effects (1) - Mimeophon

To me this reads as supporting full voice synth voices and one (2-channel) drum voice, which sounds like what you're after. Sweet! However, there are a few small questions that I would ask. None of these are big and you've done a great job. Just a few things to consider:

• You say that you are focused on melody creation and to that end you have the Metropolis and the various noise/random sources going into the uTune, but I'm curious how you came to these modules specifically. The Metropolis is a nice sequencer (if not a little large), but the uTune is a somewhat specific quantizer for people who need its microtonal features. It's pretty menu-heavy and I wonder if a more general quantizer like the Intellijel Scales, might not be a better and more versatile choice. If you don't mind menus, and Ornament and Crime would offer a lot more quantizing more (and more) in a similar footprint.

• You have 2-3 voices and a drum machine, but the Metropolis can only output 1 pitch and 1 gate. I suppose the Trax is there to serve as a second sequencer, but I just want to bring up the idea of something modules like the Rene or the Qu-bit Bloom which have a few more outputs and might be more musically interesting. You could even combine a smaller, conventional sequencer with something weird like the Bloom. You have enough space between your two sequencers that, unless you absolutely need the Roland-style sequencer, you have a lot of perhaps deeper options. You might even consider replacing the Trax with a Euclidean Circles (which gives you 6 whole channels of hand-on gates). I always find that I need more gates than I expect, especially if I'm working with drums. (Remember, a main reason for spending as much space on the Erica as you have is that it has two channels, which means double the inputs, double the shaping)

One final note on sequencers: if you replace your quantizer with something more fully featured like the o_c or the Scales, you get a sequencer(s) there, too.

• The only thing this rack feels light on is modulation. Other than your Modbox, you are looking at Maths + one of your oscillators in LFO mode. Just like you can never have too many VCAs, I feel like the same is true with LFOs. In addition to modulating a parameter, they are great to modulate a VCA to add extra life/variation to some other modulation/envelope/gate/etc. I'd consider going up to at least a quad lfo (like Batumi). Maths is great in a pinch, but remember that Maths is also your third and fourth envelope (and you have three full voices in this rack). The Mimeophon really gobbles modulation and often wants as much as you can throw at it,

• You might want to slightly tweak your random plan. You have 14hp of dedicated random/noise/sh modules. Given the small number of non-random modulators, I'd consider scaling down to, perhaps, a Wogglebug or a Turing Machine (great for melodies). Then, you can expand your LFO to a quad that, perhaps, has a random LFO. I think you'll appreciate that extra flexibility.

Those are the main things I would think about. Hope this was at all helpful.

Best,
E

Dear Guys,

I've just made my first Euro project but, before buying, I need a judgement from some experts. This system should be focused on producing melodies and, in the second hand, on integrating some mono sources from my studio synths. Am I really missing something? Is there any module you want to substitute with something else?

Thanks for all your messages. From my past posts you've always encourage me to keep finding better solution. Did I get to a
congruous solution?

Best,

Marco

Bought a SSF Quad Atten from @jandybala - recommended seller!

We just uploaded the first two walk-through videos. More are coming in the next days
cheers!

EDITED Mar 11th 2020, 01:14

Hi,

If I want to trigger 16 Midi Instruments with 32 step each. Would this work or did I miss any modules?

Except...there ARE some "rare birds" in pedal-land that are definitely pedals, but they don't have the footswitches. One is sitting just a foot away from me right now, in fact: the Korg X-911 "guitar synth". I've seen it used like that, with a guitar or other instrument played monophonically...and I've also seen (and used) it as a patchable processing device, with numerous patchpoints for synth functions AND additional footswitches.
-- Lugia

The Korg X-911 is an interesting case, and I think it's a good case of being viewable among the non-pedals when the checkbox to exclude pedals from the current view is checked.

I agree, there's stuff in there that's not supposed to be. But it takes a bit of care to pull things out of MG that people have in use in their builds. Even so, the pedals category could use a tad of careful cleaning.
-- Lugia

I'm not suggesting we take anything out, but rather to view the non-pedals display separately when looking through the Pedals section. Actually, I want to add more non-pedals, like standalone sequencers and samplers.

EDITED Feb 29th 2020, 01:30

Since you're looking for a CP3 clone, is this for MU or Eurorack?

NP...just use stackcables or inline mults, and you're golden.

Except...there ARE some "rare birds" in pedal-land that are definitely pedals, but they don't have the footswitches. One is sitting just a foot away from me right now, in fact: the Korg X-911 "guitar synth". I've seen it used like that, with a guitar or other instrument played monophonically...and I've also seen (and used) it as a patchable processing device, with numerous patchpoints for synth functions AND additional footswitches.

My take on the pedals is that if it's supposed to fit on a pedalboard, and if it's used for processing like a pedal, then it's a pedal. But if it's obviously NOT supposed to be there, then it's not one. F'rinstance, the Alesis IODock...the idea there is that you can load up FX chains in the iPad that it's supposed to dock with, but I'm pretty such the last place you want an iPad sitting would be where your feet are poking around at other switches and pedals. "Recipe for disaster"-sort of scenario, y'know? Similarly, things like a DFAM or a Field Kit are also NOT supposed to sit where your feet are swinging around, unless you like broken knobs, scratched-up graphics, and dented panels. A good case for that would be Pittsburgh's Patch Box...very beefy pedal enclosure, but if you're putting crunchable modules IN it, well...

I agree, there's stuff in there that's not supposed to be. But it takes a bit of care to pull things out of MG that people have in use in their builds. Even so, the pedals category could use a tad of careful cleaning.

EDITED Feb 28th 2020, 22:59

hi and thanks, no...i mean a mixer for vco's.

Hi Robbeattie,

Not sure what you mean? Are you looking for audio interface (input/output) modules? If yes, then you might want to have a look at for example Befaco Output or Intellijel Audio I/O but there are other brands who have audio interface modules too.

Kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Thanks, there are a lot of really good suggestions here.

For the vca, I was actually considering switching out the sinc bucina for the wmd dvca. So I’ll probably go for that since I won’t really be taking advantage of the ping input for the bucina anyway. But I do like how it’s an envelope generator with built in vca. I would go for Doepfer stuff but when I was working on the original palette case build, I realized they had too much depth for the case. So I’ve been avoiding them even though I really like all their stuff.

As for the varigate 8+, I was also thinking it’s a bit ridiculous because I will never need that many gates. But with all the features it has, it’s a tough call. The most important to me are being able to save 100 presets and the delay. Plus it’s 16 steps instead of 8 like the varigate 4+ and has more scales. I could definitely do plenty with just the varigate 4+ though. It’s almost half the price, is way less complicated to use, and much more reasonable for the small setup.

The Data is just there because I really like it haha. The screen is way too nice and also I would like to use it as an additional oscillator or lfo. Also I was planning to use it as the clock and syncing in to the varigate. Then I’ll know for certain about the tempo besides just going by ear with the slider from varigate 4 or knob on the 8. It can put out two separate waveforms as well that can be offset. Being able to actually visibly see what’s going on seems way easier to me too, so it’s another tough call.

And the plan was to double the 2hp mix as the attenuator but another one I was looking at was the SSF quad-atten. If the mix wouldn’t suffice, then I’ll look into a stand-alone attenuator for sure. I’ll definitely look into the Joranalogue Contour or Make Noise Function though. I’ve heard of maths for sure but ironically it always seemed too big. Ignore the varigate 8+ haha. And the BIA is my favorite sounding voice from the noise engineering family. All I was really wanting is drum and bass and it seemed like the perfect thing. I especially like the independent knobs for the inputs. I’m not against the idea of adding an analogue oscillator though. There’s just so many to choose from and with the slim depth of the case, I’ve been ignoring the Doepfer ones but that would be my first choice. I’ve seen the dixie II and Pamela’s new workout that you mentioned and was strongly considering them not long ago. I’ll check out more on those and these other modules you suggested. The Joranalogue Contour new to me so it’s definitely worth a look.

any sound examples of this oscillator? didn't see anything on the site or the ytubes

Hi Loumakesfriends,

I'm also in the first year of my modular experiment, so I thought I'd share some things that I've learned with regards to your set up.

1. Your only dedicated VCA is the Sinc and, while that's a great and fun module, you can get twice the VCA/LPG in the same hp with a Make Noise LxD or the 4hp Antenumbra DVCA, for instance. I'm sure you've already heard "you can never have enough VCAs" and it's quite true. You could even consider something like replacing the Sinc and the mixer with an 8hp quad VCA/mixer like the Doepfer A-135-2 Quad VCA. You only have a few sound sources in here, so, most of the time, you could use two channels of the quad for dedicated VCA and two channels for mixing, or three and one. The A-135-2 is nice because it gives you two mix outs: all not VCA-ed signals and all signals.

2. Having the Voltage Block and the Varigate in a system this small seems like overkill. You have far more channels of sequence than you have modules to drive with them. You also don't have a dedicate clock to drive your sequences. I would suggest something like a Pamela's New Workout (clock + divider + lfo + euclidean sequencer) for clock + gate duties and then, maybe something like a Scales (quantizer + sequencer) for pitch sequencing. An alternative set up would be to replace both with a Hermod, which is much-beloved and does it all in 26 hp. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, as you brought up the keystep, my preference would be to shove all pitch sequencing into the fantastic and much less expensive keystep and let's Pam's handle the clocks and gates.

3. DATA is a cool module but this case is too small to spend that much hp on it. Technically, it's another sound source and an oscilloscope is great when learning modular synth, but you can also just patch into VCV rack through an interface or get an outboard oscilloscope and save precious hp.

4. Things missing:

- You don't have any attenuators, dedicated LFOs or envelope generators. These are what makes your synth come alive. A few options would be to get a nice small function generator like Joranalogue Contour or Make Noise Function which can generate envelope or LFOs. Personally, though, I would just get the inevitable Maths, which gives you mixing, attenuation, dual envelopes, dual LFOs, and much more. It's also the best module for teaching modular ideas.
- A conventional oscillator. The BIA is great for perc and basslines and you can push it into lots of weird lead sound directions, but, what I found when I started at a similar place was that I quickly started missing an additional meat + potatoes analog oscillator that could complement the BIA, especially if you are planning to do pitch sequencing. In a case this small, it's hard to beat the classic Dixie II+ which sounds incredible and has tons of modulation options. It also doubles as a second LFO if you're only using the BIA voice.

Sketch:
Here's a sample version based on the feedback above that might be interesting:

Oh I love that idea! Thanks for the suggestion.

hello, new here, and looking for input from other users about what modules are out there, and in reference to a good mixer, ie : moog cp3 mixer and the like

Not bad! The only thing I'd suggest here is to lose the buffered mult, since you only have the Lifeforms VCO and the Joranalogue GENERATE 3 (PiLLs notwithstanding) that needs to be driven by CV. Everything else isn't necessarily "tuning critical", so voltage sag due to overpatching won't be an issue. But conveniently, you could swap that with Intellijel's Digiverb 1U tile, giving you a nice mono reverb in the cab...very useful for percussives.

Should make a nice complement to the 2s!

My feature request: Separate the non-pedals from the Pedals section and create a dedicated section for standalone semi-modular or otherwise patchable hardware.
-- sibilant

I hear you, situation is not ideal. But I am not sure that another patchable hardware universe will improve the situation.
I think many of those Strymon BigSky pedals are placed on tables beside synth gear so there will be a lot of duplicates in the pedal and patchable hardware universe. But maybe it will come, followed by the 19" universe ;)

-- modulargrid

In that case, my alternative feature suggestion for the Pedals section is to implement (1) a boolean checkbox for "no onboard footswitch / jack for remote footswitch only" -- if checked, exclude the true pedals from view, and show only the non-pedals; if not checked, show the non-pedals along with the true pedals.

Furthermore, in the Pedals section, I suggest as a feature (2) "CV modulation" be added to the drop-down menus of primary and secondary functions.

Another smooth transaction with @He_lium