Straightforward jam. My rack, a drum machine and a tiny bit Una Corda towards the end.

I hope this hasn't already been requested, but I'd love to see negative filtering on module functions. For example, I want to search for Attenuators that aren't Polarizers, so I don't get attenuverters in my searches.

If there's already a way to do that, I can't find it.

It's a kind of a bug. It happens when the mouse hovers over the rack. Move the mouse away from the rack and the keyboard will work again as expected.
-- modulargrid

Gotya - thanks.

I'm a noob myself, but on a similar path / starting point so thought I would chime in. I wanted to build a modular system to get a lot of standard vintage lead and bass sounds and have a lot of control, but then also get really crazy with heavily modulated / textural sounds too.

Of the above rack, I have the Mother 32 and the Blue Lantern Looping Envelope so far, and the rest is just a bare bones plan for future purchases. For lead sounds, having a true fully adjustable ADSR gives you more control than the limited envelope generator the M32 has. Plus, since I want to do some ambient / layered / textural stuff, having a looping envelope with CV input free to modulate things other than the VCA will definitely come in handy.
A second utility VCO, with sine and triangle waves, gives waveforms the M32 doesn't have already. A clean sine wave is often the starting point for ambient sounds.
A "pluck" sound source like Mutable Instruments Rings, or the 2HP Pluck is a popular sound that works well in rhythmic ambient stuff.
The Tides is on my list mainly for the variety of LFO waveforms possible, since it can help create some slow, evolving modulated patches, though there are tons of LFOs to choose from, many with CV control.
Some variant of Clouds is a definite for my planned rack, to mangle and stretch sounds.
Effects like delay and reverb are important if you want to go down the ambient road. I don't have any here because I have that all outboard already.
I actually had a Korg Minilogue and sold it to help fund starting a Modular. Most of the stuff it did that I liked, like brassy pad sounds, can be done so easily in a softsynth like Korg's Mono/Poly vst that's available for $50. I don't miss it that much, especially for leads and arpeggios.

EDITED Aug 27th 2018, 13:36

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I've had to rule out a few modules based on depth. Based on spec, up to 49mm should be OK, but now I'm worried about the asymmetry you mention. I will hold off on ordering any more modules until I get my current orders in hand and test them out in the case.

With the second 60HP case, I have the luxury of adding a few other components, so I'm thinking a VCA with knobs (Erica Synths Polivoks...?) and maybe the Batumi LFO (which I've seen some glowing reviews of), subject, of course, to depth constraints. Another option is to replace some of the Intellijel modules I've sketched out (VCO, Filter, Mult, and Quantizer) with some other ones which could now be wider. I'm open to any inputs on that!

Thanks again,
Derek

Where can you even get this?

The ES-8 needs to come in early on, too...not only so you can start exploring how to integrate Silent Way or Volta into the DAW, but so you can also determine if you want to add an output expander for more CV/gate/trig control as well. So, that and everything left of the RCD. As for an audio interface, since the ES-8 can feed audio at modular levels, you can go with something simpler; my suggestion would be a Happy Nerding Isolator, because with all of this odd interconnection, having transformer isolation on the analog audio outs might be advantageous to help avoid ground loop issues.

Thanks Lugia. Exactly the sort of help I need. I'll take a look at the modules you suggest.

If, like me, the build is going to be a slow one. What order would you recommend getting the individual modules in? I would guess the VCO and Filter would be the first 2 bits to get (after the case and power supply of course!!).

Decent start, I think...but be very careful about module depths with the Moog skiffs. They aren't exactly symmetrical, bottom-wise, and that can restrict the possible choices of modules. Best rule of thumb with those is to stay under 35mm depth (I think you get 40 or so, maximum, in practical terms). Alternately, consider going to a different housing and use the Moogs in a double-tier configuration alongside.

As for the Korg, the only direct interconnection options you have with the modular is via the SYNC ports, which use a positive 'click' sync. This isn't exactly the same as what the Moogs use, which is a positive-going 5V pulse. However, they might still sync nicely via this, given that the threshold value for the Moogs is 3.2V and they react (according to the docs) to anything in that range having a 1msec leading edge. Still, it may make more sense to sync via MIDI clock between the Korg and Moogs, and then use the Moogs to 'translate' trigger/gate functions for the rest of the Eurorack modules. The Korg would also make for a better controller overall, instead of the M32's 'chiclet' keys.

The interface you need, hands down, is an Expert Sleepers ES-8. Eight DC-coupled outputs and four inputs with a USB or Lightpipe interface to the computer. And with this, not only can audio go in and out, but by using ES's Silent Way software (or, on a Mac, also MOTU's Volta) you can also send and receive CV/gate/trigger signals via the same interface to control the modular or, via the inputs, have the computer 'track' the modular's behavior.

As for the Moog 104hp skiff, you'll have to be very careful with your depths. A better choice...as well as a potential source for a bigger cab...might be one of Erica's powered ones. Module depths make more sense, plus you have ample power via their OEM supply, which frees up space on the patch panel, and they're rather cost-effective. Stackable, too, via interchangeable end-panels.

Module-wise, this isn't a bad start, but consider something which can mangle incoming audio under CV control. Have a look at MakeNoise's Morphagene and/or Phonogene...great choices for external processing.

I don't, but there should be. It's also worth noting that there's several manufacturers located in either Portugal or Brazil, so some discussion with them might prove fruitful. Check ADDAC System and Club of the Knobs (MU format), both in Portugal along with others, and Vinicius Elektrik/VBrazil and (if they're still in business) EMW in Brazil.

Hi,

Total synth beginner here. I bought a Mother-32 at the Moog factory after taking their tour, and have noodled around with it and watched lots on YouTube over the last year. Now I want to expand and explore, so I ordered a DFAM, two Moog 60HP Eurorack cases (yes, I should have gotten 2x 104HP, but this actually gets me more space for modules), and several modules to start.

Here's my current plan: https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_730184.jpg

All that empty space exists in the top bay because today I ordered that second 60HP Moog case. In fact, I have already ordered everything you see there except the four Intellijel modules. I think I made a cognitive mistake in ordering the Abstract Data 3xVCA as it has no knobs to control the output voltage, only CV inputs, so I'll probably have to get another VCA as well. I have no idea how I will use the MATHS, but apparently I need it, so I ordered it. Growth space is a concern, so that's what drove me to order the narrow 4HP Frequency Central System X Envelope and to design in the 2HP Intellijel buffered mult.

Based on my plan, (a) what mistakes have I already made, and (b) what have I completely overlooked?

(For context, I have a lifelong interest in music, though I've mostly played guitar, sung, and played classical piano as a kid. My original intent in buying the Mother-32 was to get some traditional Moog sounds with a MIDI keyboard and be done. Now I'm liking the ambient stuff and the rhythmic modular stuff I'm hearing on YouTube. I'm not so interested in the more chaotic or abrasive stuff. I also have a Korg Minilogue which I have not explored much, but would like to integrate. I also have a MOD Duo from www.moddevices.com, which will serve as my infinite off-board effects unit, hence the Rosie output module with an "effects loop.")

Thanks for any insights!!

Derek

EDITED Aug 26th 2018, 20:25

After putting this off for many years, I am finally dipping my toe into Eurorack!! I am looking for a system that will allow me to run a short sequence from Logic into it (16 measures) and have it create very musical, atmospheric, ambient, evolving 'noises' from it. I want to record the results back into Logic so the results need to be syncronised and balanced not random noises.

I do realise I haven't put a USB/MIDI/CV interface in my rack as I have no idea what the best thing is to get.

I have no external synths. Everything else I have is ITB. I have a Focusrite Forte audio interface which should be fine to get audio from the modular back into my Mac.

The V1.0 system I have put together will hopefully get me started but i'm am sure there are many things I have done wrong and things that people can suggest I look at. I am not looking to buy the system in one hit. This will take a good 12 months to develop as I want to enjoy the process and get to know each module I purchase before getting another. My plan is also to do a few DIY modules as well.

I plan to buy a 104hp case (something like the Moog one so I can stack up extra units as and when required). The power supply I have chosen seems to be a popular choice but again I am open to other suggestions.

So, have I picked a solid starting point or am I way off? All help and suggestions very gratefully received.

EDITED Aug 26th 2018, 19:53

The option to optimize the rack space is awesome but many times there are modules with expanders that need to go together (i.e. Turing machine with expanders). Is there anyway to stick modules together when optimizing the rack space?

Hi, I'm entering the modular world, and as my english is not very good i would like to know if there is anyone here who speaks Portuguese

Rack principal

Thanks for your feedback Lugia!

This comforts me in my planning. Aside from buying modules new, it's important to have a good build so I can plan ahead and be able to react quickly if a module comes up on second hand!

That's a damn fine build there! All the bases are getting hit with this, and there's even a few quirks that just make SO much sense, like the CV switch (awesome tool for generative work!), plenty of VCAs, lots of break-out-able mixer/attens, little hidden function bits, and so forth. It's a really rich sandbox, usable for most anything, and a great example of what you can jam into a smaller cab with some diligent MG work!

I bought a module from @euxine and it was a great deal. I can totally recommend him as a seller! :)

So...
I have changed the setup I'm aiming for quite a lot :

I already have the mantis case and the following modules :
Doepfer A-119 to input other synths. This will eventually be removed once I have some sound sources in the rack.
Erica Synths Black Hole DSP & Pico RND.
MI Veils.
Intellijel Triatt.

Any advice / opinions on this version? The hardware I have so far (cf first post) still holds.

Thank you you expert knob twiddlers!

EDITED Aug 25th 2018, 10:50

My first attempt at modular synth design - please be gentle with me. Any constructive criticism will be welcome.

Okay nevermind. Someone went in and updated the Audio Mixer's info, and now the cropping is worse again. Tried reverting to the working version and updating the info, but no luck. Can't do the "remove and start over" trick because it is now not just in my rack.

EDITED Aug 23rd 2018, 17:44

Whoa, this looks ace! Love FM synthesis, can't wait to sell something and acquire this :]

I have all my setups for both My Modular and My Pedalboard set to "Private".
But if you click my user name, you see the following:
"This User has 2 modules in his collection. Pamela's NEW Workout and Quadratt."
shouldn't it just say "Private"? or "This guys hiding everything!" And not show any modules. And why these two out of all the others? Thanks!

After a lot of trial and error I realized the one that was really far off just needed to be removed and added again from scratch. Seems like graphics are cached server-side in some way that went funky.

Both are still cropping tightly on the top and bottom, though.

I'm assuming this has been answered before, but I'm unable to locate any helpful information.

Just added my first two modules -- new Audio Mixer and Output (Eurorack) from Noise Reap. Both of the module graphics show up just fine when you're looking at the info, but in the rack output gets snipped a little on the top and bottom, and Audio Mixer gets really badly cropped.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I'd like to know! Also, if anyone wants to jump in and fix whatever I did, that's cool too.

Thanks!

Hi, just read your posts on reddit..is this your real eurorack?
Are happy with the ambient sound with this setup?

...and a partridge in a pear tree???

I'm certain it's something super obvious that I've missed but I've open my patch pages little makes sense, it's like the scale between the image of the module layer underneath has changed from that of the layer containing knob/patch cables. Hence little making sense. I'm even wondering of the module order gets changed, based on one of the images.
Is there something I'm missing to fix this?
Thankfully I screen grabbed one of them...does everyone one do this as a matter o fact for all saved shots?

i think mine died last night. i haven't been able to verify it's getting power yet, but once i do, any other tips? i read these guys can have a volatile end.

in-fucking-credible

Hi Cy!
No, I don't use another alias. We spoke very briefly on Soundcloud a while ago and I didn't have the time to listen to your music and watch your videos. I just recently started using Eurorack and have been asking a bunch of people questions about Eurorack, in order to understand what sounds you can produce with what combination of modules. So I listened to one of your uploads and then noticed that there is a link to a video in the description. So, I gave it a look and it made me better understand what is going on, very interesting!

If you would like to listen to my creations, I can recommend two tracks, that I have uploaded lately and where I made extensive use of Eurorack: Minimal Musical Discourse:

and Modulated Atomic Space:

If you happen to listen to my uploads, please bear in mind that the audio is quite dynamic, so you might wanna turn up the volume quite a bit in order to hear everything properly. If you do listen, please feel free to leave a comment of constructive criticism, since this is what I need to get better: other people who are professionals and who can point out any discrepancies in my uploads.

Keep up the good work and let the music flow!

Cheers
Oleg

EDITED Aug 21st 2018, 08:03

Did you attempt to reach Chris Muir by telephone? He does have that listed on the site's main page...

Hi, does anyone know how to get one ? The ear drill Company does not reply unfortunately.
I really like to buy one or exchange with other module.

Hello, Mrs_Audio_Boy.
Thanks ! A bit too much... I'm starting to be on a deadlock. Too much possibilities repels the first draft...
Do i know you under another alias ? I would be curious to hear your own music, if you could gimme a link...
See you,
Cy.

Sold my MI Plaits to @patr. Picked it up in person, a very nice guy. Definitely recommended.

In Chrome 68.0.3440.106 I find that if I'm in a rack view and click on any module, keystrokes are no longer accepted by the browser window. Can't reply to posts, can't hit F5 to refresh, can't hit F12 to bring up the dev console.
-- Oldstench

It's a kind of a bug. It happens when the mouse hovers over the rack. Move the mouse away from the rack and the keyboard will work again as expected.

In Chrome 68.0.3440.106 I find that if I'm in a rack view and click on any module, keystrokes are no longer accepted by the browser window. Can't reply to posts, can't hit F5 to refresh, can't hit F12 to bring up the dev console.

Here's a recent rundown of the live rig at Superbooth. There are some differences, but this gives you a good idea of how he's using it live.

Reverb.com listings

I now we have a lot of ads already but I think this one makes sense:
Reverb.com is a commercial place to buy and sell used gear. They offer some kind of buyer protection, which ModularGrid does not. Their listings for used Eurorack modules are now integrated in the ModularGrid marketplace list and can be searched and filtered like the normal offers.
Any commercial Reverb brand new offers are filtered because the MG marketplace should remain exclusively for used modules traded by private people.
There is no tracking Javascript so they cannot follow you around and you can disable all Reverb offers with a new fancy sliding button.
If you buy something on their site through a ModularGrid link, we will get a revenue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM , look it up on your favorite porn site.... i feel really bad though, hope everybody is ok.... see you at church

ive had good experience purchasing from @Chris_Da_Break and @krikor as well as @tsiri , @vytis and @vitocaccia. thanks to you all!

EDITED Aug 18th 2018, 08:41

Is it really that bad?! I get loads of fun from this setup already!
I'm very new to this (as you can tell) and I hunger for knowledge from all sources.
Why scrap it and start over?
On some forums small is the way to go, on others it's get everything you can (or can't) afford!
The intent is to have fun and learn something new every day along the way!
I know it will grow eventually (if my wife lets me), thats why I bought the core modules first so I can build around it.
(Maybe that was silly?!?)
(Maybe the GAS got to me early?!?)
(Fool and his money???)
Anyway, I've started now...

I'll definitely get a mixer, a couple of filters and VCA's and another modulation source. Any in particular would you recommend?
Oh, the Eloquencer stays because I love it!

I've found over the years of dealing with 'hybrid' control systems that if you have something that works as a manual control, then implement it as a manual control. Plus, if you're not sending envelope CVs over the ES-8 setup, that frees up a channel or two to send something else, like a cross-rhythmed trigger or a counterpoint CV. So, I would suggest leaving the ES-8 in place specifically for sending clock, CV, and gate/triggers only, but also using the ES-8's return inputs to have Silent Way (or whatever is doing the CV/gate sends) track activity on the modular. That way, you can have the software reacting to actions generated by the synth, setting up a control feedback loop. For doing more complex things, generative work...this is very useful. As for the rest, envelopes, LFOs, and so on, these really work better as 'hands-on' control devices so you can live-tweak these parameters instead of being 100% locked into what the computer says to do. With that, you get variation, and variation is key to making music 'human'.

Hallo,

I want to buy ES-8 or ES-3. I want to use that for sending make noise DPO, mutable PLAITS to VCA and ADSR by reaktor 6 and from Expert Sleepers, GATE, PITCH, LFO to modules. To full setup I want to buy audio interface Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 or Motu Ultralite mk4 or maybe other which you will recommend.

1. Im wondering if the latency will be not a problem to send quick ADSR and VCA ?
2. Maybe better way is to buy hardware modules ADSR and VCA and sending only GATE, PITCH, LFO?
3. What do You think about my setup do You have better solution to control DPO and PLAITS?

Thank You for help and greetings,

Maciej Siekierski

fun with Morphagene firmware options:

v157

vsop 1
inop 1
omod 1
gnsm 1
rsop 1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlcHqstgZ3G/?taken-by=sunfallsmusic

Linear VCAs, perhaps as a VCA mixer. A couple more VCOs. More modulation sources. One or two more complex VCFs. An output module. I'd remove the Eloquencer, since you don't exactly need eight channels of CV/gate in this simple a system. Add a mult or two. Some clock modulation to mess with the various clocks. Maybe a multichannel switch to 'chain' Eloquencer channels into longer sequences.

But ultimately, I'd scrap it altogether and start over in a larger case, given what the intent of the build seems to be. The core modules here really need more ancillary devices to make them really 'jump', and right now, you've not got the space to really add to this to the extent that those core modules need. I'd suggest stepping up to 3 x 104 hp, or even something like Erica's triple 126 hp powered skiff rig as long as you're mindful of the module depths. It's far better to start with a larger form factor and then pare that back if you find it to be too big than it is to start too small and then try and stay in that size and shoehorn the crap out of the build.

Disting mk4:
Waveshaper algorithm
Pamela:
clk in: sync out SQ-1
output1: /4 to reset nexus every 8 bar square LFO
output2: X8 16th notes clock for nexus Square LFO
output3: X1.3 or 2.6 Decay
output4: /5 sine LFO
Maths:
Trig channel1: GateA SQ-1
EOC channel4: sync SQ-1
Quad VCA:
In3: cvA SQ-1
E340:
1v/oct: cvB SQ-1

EDITED Aug 22nd 2018, 18:57

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_712881.jpg

What would you add to this to make it complete? Anything goes!!