All Posts

my latest release, made on my rack

http://aphewgoodman.bandcamp.com/album/new-forms-of-dance

It has something to do with me not reading notification emails from the provider.

It's working now. Thanks!
(I don't whether it has something to do with restarting my computer.)

I am working on it. On most browser it should work already again. Sorry that that slipped through :(

Hi. I can't connect to modulargrid from my main computer (Linux Mint running Firefox) because it says there's a certificate timing issue. (I am now connected with an old outdated browser that is more lax on security). Anybody else has this issue?

Thanks very much Lugia for your generous advice, it's much appreciated!
I will look into the ferrite clips. Are there particular ones I should be getting?
When you say wind the card between the "brick" and the cab, what do you mean by that?
I'm unsure where to attach the clips.

I am using a 15V 3.34A power brick (as supplied) for the EP-96 case, which should be plenty of Amps to power both the SV-1 and Voltage Research Laboratory modules?

Thanks also Ronin1973, I will try to eliminate each module one by one.
My modular racks are plugged into separate power points from my mixing desk, so I don't think that should be the problem?

Good point, Ronin...I remember one session in which I had a shortwave receiver in use for a randomish noise layer on a techno track. Heard something odd, though; it sounded like one of my synths. And sure enough, it WAS...my PPG Wave 2.3 was spewing RF up in the 8 MHz range and retransmitting the synth's sound! Naturally, I figured out how to layer that into the track, too...

Feh. You could do loads better with an ARP 2600 for teaching purposes, and that's from experience. Now if you could just GET one somewhere...wonder what the problem with that might be...?

Smooth transaction and fast delivery for a Stereomix Toppobrillo from @maciej83

Okay I did:

Something to consider is also what other things are plugged into the same service that is driving your modular. Is your modular plugged into the same service that you're using to record or listen back?

There is the lengthy process of unplugging all of your modules and then listening to them plugged in one at a time and adding them to the modules marked "safe." If you power on with one module in each rack and there's no whine, then it's probably a module or multiple modules that are causing the noise.

Digital modules, especially those with LED or LCD screens can give off some nice amounts of noise. So work with the purely analog modules first to rule them out.

Bought a Batumi Xaoc devices module from @maciej83
Great guy, good communication, 10/10 reccomend

yep, quite frequently. its a nice little quantizer for the price and the space. isn't perfect, but does the job just fine.

Saw your video on Youtube...
Do you still use the Tune regularly? Is it good with Pam?

If you've watched any of the Youtube vids, I'm pretty sure this is going to be his Instrument.

Sure isn't my idea of a clearly-understandable teaching system. Hopefully this is just an inventory of modules that get pulled and put into separate cabs to teach specific principles.

Have you found any other devices that can be removed with the same effect as when the SV-1 gets pulled? This sounds like two possible issues...

1) The external P/S is outputting HF garbage. Now, some devices react to this and some don't, but overall it's not something you want. The fix there would be to wind the card between the "brick" and the cab through some clip-on ferrites. In this case, you're putting together a blocking choke that won't pass AC effectively, and this cleans up the DC.

2) Something in these builds is causing the problem. However, since ALL of the cabs do this and none of them have any modules in common, this is a bit of a stretch. They DO have the same internals, however...same sort of DC regulators, same sort of busboards, etc. So, again, the suspicions come back to the power supply, but in this case the problem MIGHT be in the cab...so the key here is to beef up the filtering by using ferrites on the DC bus lines in each case.

But what if there's just ONE module in each case that spews rubbish that comes back down its ribbon, you ask? There's a fix there, too: https://www.mouser.com/Passive-Components/EMI-Filters-EMI-Suppression/Ferrites/Ferrite-Clamp-On-Cores/STAR-FLAT-Series/_/N-bw7t7?P=1yyb13v Yeah...clip-on ferrites for ribbon cables. These would suppress crud generated in said module from leaking back down the ribbon and polluting the DC busses.

An even more extreme...but one I've done...pre-emptive solution would be to replace the "line lump" altogether. On my AE system, I use a Tektronix linear power supply instead of a switching wall-wart. And since this IS a linear supply, it doesn't operate at the high frequencies that generate noise and crud. This is actually a simple swap...just find a suitable linear DC supply with the correct voltage and current capacity, connect a power cable with the right connector on one end and a dual banana on the supply end, and fire it up. Linear supplies have the "problem" of being fairly heavy and clunky (no such thing as a linear wall-wart!). Linear supplies ALSO have the benefit of being very low-ripple and variance, and that stability translates into better module stability overall.

One other point: if you push ANY power supply to a point near its current load maximum, it'll start to act goofy. This is because of what happens when you turn the synth on: current inrush loads can, for a very brief interval, spike OVER the typical operating current draw before dropping to nominal levels. The end result, over time, is that components in the power system start to wear prematurely...or in worst-case scenarios, they fail spectacularly (and often destructively!). Let's take the last cab, for example. In this case, the operating current is 755 mA on the +12 and 600 mA on the -12.

My rule of thumb...based on experience...is that typical solid-state circuits can inrush to at worst about 1/3rd higher than the operating current. So unless the P/S for that cab can output at least 1 A on the +12 and 800 mA on the -12, problems can develop. OPTIMALLY, you want to overspec your current capacity as much as is practically possible, but holding to that "+ 1/3" figure seems to afford the right level of protection for solid-state. And since I don't see anything with tubes here...in which case you might actually want the capability to supply DOUBLE the operating current for those milliseconds when they first light up...you're pretty safe with that guideline.

More than likely, your solution will be several of these. I'd start with the ferrites, though, since they're relatively cheap and easy enough to deal with (unless you need to put them on your internal DC busses, in which case a little "surgery" might be needed). Also...DO NOT neglect your signal lines when applying noise mitigation! They're just as capable of bringing crud into a modular as the power system! If this continues, consider some isolated/balanced output modules (if possible) instead of the typical attenuated output sorts, as the balancing transformer can cancel out anything coming back up the audio lines at the point where they connect to the modular. If you can't use a module (like in the dual Pitt cab), then get an Ebtech Hum Eliminator...because they work on loads more than just hum.

One additional thought which you may or may not already know: Note that the power module can only be placed in the upper left corner if you are standing the rack vertically.

For what it’s worth, be mindful of the space adjacent to the power module. You can only place very shallow modules within 4 hp or so of that location, with the Quad Envelope manual saying it is 26mm deep (not counting connector placement, which can create problems even for the most shallow of modules there.)

This is definitely one of the things I’m least happy with regarding the Rackbrute, along with its angle adjustment being more limited than you’d assume (and actually more limited than what is shown in the manual!) :/

I have three different cases from Pittsburgh Modular, all of which are giving off a high-pitched whine.
Does anyone know how I can get rid of this?
Is it a power brick issue?

Here are the cases with modules in place at the moment:

The Pittsburgh Modular Voltage Research Laboratory is especially noisy beside the Lifeforms SV-1.
When I take out the VRL and only have the SV-1 in there, it is silent.

It's really frustrating to have such loud interference in the signal, after having spent a fortune on this equipment.
Any tips or solutions would be greatly appreciated.

I did not know this thread existed, so I am playing catchup!

I have had lovely, mutually respectful, kind, thoughtful and overall very good experiences with @Drakhe (sadly no longer with us - may he rest in sonic bliss), @SuperNiCd, @gfcalvi, @vantablack, @benrecords, @aphew_goodman, @Slocap, @Jonjonjon and @nepohlazen - all very good people and pleasure to trade with :))

I hope you are all safe and healthy!

Lots of love
Kel Xx

EDITED Apr 16th 2020, 12:20

fast shipping from @Draazith, was a pleasure !

EDITED Apr 16th 2020, 11:46

Sold a module to @SamuelD: everything went smoothly, excellent communication.

I am fully aware that there are already many chat rooms for modular syntehsizers.
Not being content with Discord or Slack I have created another chat room for modular synthesizers, synthesizers, or any form of musicianship.

If you are like me and prefer free software, or just so happen to have an account on the Matrix chat network, feel free to join me in #musicians:whomst.online

Ah, yeah, it'll do that. You need to pull up the "Screenshot" and see if THAT is the right image. If not, go back to the rack view and hit "refresh" in your browser, THEN recheck the screenshot. Once it and the rack view are the same, you're golden.

it looks very similar to my system
but i have the ADDAC Monster 7 rows + 1 row in addition

molemuc
molemuc_addac_8_rows_2020_April

and this is not the end ;-)

At first I wanna thank you for your ideas.

I bought the Braids & Clouds before they disappeared from the market. To me they sounded good (live and via YouTube) and were pretty versatile, don't you think so?

Regarding the mutliples I will follow your advice. All other modules were just ides, so I would be really curious what you would change if this was your rack! I am totally open minded. As I also have the Minibrute and the Grandmother I already have some firepower (At least I am almost sure I do not need another analog oscillator).

So here is the changed rack:

It still shows the old one???

EDITED Apr 15th 2020, 09:36

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely check out the MISO that sounds cool. Yeah I kinda felt between the storm, lubadh, and chronoblob2 I had perhaps too many effects (especially considering the things the distings can do).

Yeah I've been drooling over modules for awhile then with the corona-bucks coming in (in the USA) got a bit of seed money to start this exciting but dangerous habit. Yeah I am trying to figure out how to mix the different signals. Right now with my limited set up I am using the quad VCA as a mixer. But once I have more reason to use VCAs I will refigure out how to mix things down. I will cross that bridge when I get there.

I more meant, that it looks like according to this that the Storm is a direct copy of the microcell that was undercut in price massively at release (though that is allowed based on Creative Commons license). Source: https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=217247&start=25 Here the microcell maker seemed a bit peeved and I felt bad that I bought a copy without knowing.

Thanks, again!

Actually, the Mutable Instruments modules are open source projects. Yes, that also means that Mutable doesn't get paid from the clones...but it DOES mean that when Mutable takes them out of production, there's still ways to acquire that same circuitry, even if the panels and form factor might be different.

The only "hole" I see here is that there's no dedicated method for manipulating CV and modulation signals...mixing, inverting, etc. But the rest of the choices are very solid...which means there's going to be a problem in trying to jam that functionality in. My choice for what should go would be the Chronoblob2, which would open 12 hp. This would make two very good CV manipulators possible: the 4ms SISM and Tiptop's MISO. Both of these allow DC-coupled mixing, but also inversion, various CV arithmetic functions, etc, and having those will really blow open your control possibilities. Plus, if you still insist on having the delay line in there, the MISO would allow for a 2hp Delay; if you locate this on the very end of a row, it'll still be easy enough to manipulate.

But if tandemmed with the 0-Coast, this is a pretty damn good build. Presumably, you'd sum your audio back down to the 0-Coast's output to get the levels down to line. Looks like you did your homework here!

Hey everyone,

I am starting to dip my toes into Eurorack as my quarantine new hobby/exploration. About a year ago I got an Make Noise 0-coast and more recently a Moog Grandmother to start seeing how I liked it. Turns out I enjoy the patching and noise exploration side of things. So far music I've been making has been wonky noise, dark techno-ish, experimental things but that's mostly because I don't have a full grip. Eventually I would like to figure out making generative ambient while also enjoying dark music.
In the last week I got a Pamela's New Workout, Storm (Clouds expanded clone... I learned this company copied the design from another... sorry other company!), quad vca, maths, and Rene v2. I've been using the 0coast and grandmother oscillators and other functions. But below is how I envision building it but I would love some feedback.

Anyways, do I have any glaring holes (apart from drums/percussion- I will likely explore that once I have a solid effects and synth voice oscillator system)?

Thanks!

Hi Kel,

You are welcome and I am glad to hear that things run well. So it looks like it was worthwhile mentioning it here in this forum :-)

I wish you good luck and I look forwarding in hearing from you as soon as your second album is ready! :-D

Kind regards, Garfield.

Oh, good...those are the ones that are an utter PITA, people drop 'em into builds because the listings can't be made to show they're discontinued and all that...

The thing that immediately jumps out at me is the excess of mults. You've got an Intelljel buffered mult, a Mutable Links, and an Erica Mix/Split. That's 10 hp of mults in a build that only has 176 hp in it to start with! Now, I know that the idea here is to crosswire several synths, but this is overkill; you can accomplish much of this with inline mults, and keep just the Links for a single buffered mult and the crossmix capabilities. Then I'd suggest dropping in a 6 hp something such as an Intellijel TriplATT or a Happy Nerding 3xMIA to allow you to mix/invert your CV and mod signals. That would be way more versatile than just multing things, because you'd then have more tweakable control over those non-audio signals. And good onya for making sure to put the MScale in to deal with the interfacing issues inherent between "normal" Eurorack and Moog's take on it.

Otherwise, this is actually a fairly solid build, given the space constraints. I would've chosen different modules, but the architecture I'd go for would be fairly close to what you've created here, save for that one issue above.

Thank you very much for your kind words - it means a lot to me that you took the time to listen to my weird music :)))

Actually I am getting a lot of very good feedback from many different people and quite a lot of sales too - so I am feeling really quite flattered at the moment! And goodness knows the cash helps at the moment, got nothing else coming in at all.

Feel free to ask me questions, if I can help you on your musical journey I will - you might not be light years away after all ;)

Same goes for anyone :)

I am working on more music, probably something quite different, maybe... not sure how it's going to turn out yet!

Thank you again :))

Kel

EDITED Apr 14th 2020, 19:30

During the last 11 months I have gradually built my rack as a complement to my Minibrute 2S.
The advice I have got in this forum has been invaluable. Thanks!
Now I will ”close” my rack and fill the remaining 19 HP with some more modules.
I am most into generative ambient stuff and think I have enough of utility modules.
But I need some more sound generating/manipulating sources and it is hard to make a choice.
My present ocillators: Minibrutes two VCO, Plaits, 2hp Pluck and Erica Synths Pico VCO.
One module I am thinking of is a Clouds clone like Monsoon.
Another choice could be som kind of complex oscillator as I like my Plaits very much.
But I am also considering a chord module like Chord v2 from Qu-Bit Electronix.
I would be very glad If I can get some advice how to beef up my ambient patches.

EDITED Apr 15th 2020, 08:08

Sorry, I was talking about Braids and Clouds!

Which two, though? Your build has FIVE Mutable modules in it...

Hi Kel_,

Wow! Not just one track, no-hoo! Straight away you surprise us with one complete album and a total of 13 tracks! Well done! The first track hit me directly and overwhelmed me with the professional level of music I am listening at.

While I am writing this message to you, I continue listen at your album. It sounds indeed like you put lots of work into this and I think it's pretty fruitful. He, he, I just hear now a lot of stereo effects in your "Kall To Answer". A nice of mixture of track-lengths you are using too. I discover a lot of creativity in your work that I admire; I am light-years away from what you are able to do here!

Sorry, I have no time left to write more messages, I have a more important matter at hand right now... continue listening at your album that is ;-)

Thank you very much for sharing and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Hey everyone,

First post and my very first LP release - finally!! It has only taken me 30+ years!!

I never do self promotion like this, but I am told I have to change my ways if I ever want to have any hope of selling, so here I am :)

https://kel-audio.bandcamp.com

Hope you enjoy it - I am pretty proud of it :))

Any purchases very, very welcome in these challenging times!

Feel free to ask me any questions about how I made it, kit used etc. I will do my best to answer :)

Be safe & stay healthy!

Lots of love
Kel

experiment with a lot of different things but mostly more ambient style, crazy chords, and endless randomnesss to experiment with. I already have a mother-32 and DFAM

also will the main picture in the first post update if i make changes?

And also would a marbles be better than the chance in ur opinion?

EDITED Apr 15th 2020, 15:28

Thanks for your take lovscho,

For this small rack I think I can use external splitters instad of mults, that saves some space. I agree on the LFOs and ADSR thing though. I'll see if I can manage with the Zadar and the Batumi, otherwise I guess I'll have to replace the Morphagene with some other modules.

I also try to figure out a nice setup with the Minibrute.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/8536

At first site your setup is simple and I am almost sure anything can help to improve the versatility of the Minibrute. I think multiples, an Expert Sleepers Distinc, LFOs and ADSRs are things you can never have enough of

EDITED Apr 13th 2020, 16:07

Dear fellows,

I am also in the process of setting up a little Eurorack setup to compliment my Minibrute, DFAM and Grandmother, but flexible enough to work with only one of them if needed. I already own the the two modules of Mutable Instruments.

My music will be versatile, but based on deep house and ambient/chill.

Hope for your support!

EDITED Apr 14th 2020, 09:27

+1 for klavis twin waves and a woggle bug V1 would be nice also

Hi Ingsock. What kind of music/sound are you hoping to perform with this rack?

One more interesting thing...

what do you think about the Vermona random rhythm?

Thanks, very interesting stuff.

But I think the Mito does exactly what i need, unfortunately it is hard to get.
One more question: i see it has global shuffle, is it also possible to add shuffle to each channel separtely?
In other words with which module can i control the cv to get slight variations?
Do i need the DEVIANT as well or is it possible with other modules, too?
Thanks for your help

plan to go with the intijell 7U performace case 104hp.
A second set of eyes would really help

Also after a year i still kinda have no clue what im doin, so Here Goes!

thx in advance

EDITED Apr 16th 2020, 20:52

Maybe you can look into something like the MI Grids or the Eucledian Circles. Mylarmelodies has an interesting video about Eurorack drumming:

Also you may want to check out how he is using switched multiples:

Adding something like this into your workflow may allow yo to achieve what you need, or at least give you some ideas of what kind of modules can work for you.

EDITED Apr 11th 2020, 19:52

oh, thanks! Looks pretty cool, really like the Moffenzeef stuff. Gonna check that out.
By the way thanks for the tip you gave me for the Pique ;-)
Do you have any other advice for good modulation of the cv inputs?

My rack is shown an old version, strange, here is the current:

Look into the Moffenzeef Mito for on the fly clock division and rhythm adjustment. It’s a fun module.