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Looks like it sold quickly.

One just popped up for sale on Reverb in the last hour. Hope you can grab it!

@Cangore:

-- re: MIDI options, there's a lot on this thread https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/10312 where I was recently reviewing what would be best for me on this front. I settled on ES-3&6 to go round trip to the DAW via ADAT (letting me keep using my main interface in Windows) plus a CVThing for more basic MIDI tasks including sending MIDI to grooveboxes, etc. IMO the "what I/O is best?" really depends on your setup and objectives. But you'll find a lot of food for thought in that thread, surely. Net net, IMO Befaco and ES have some very solid options covering a variety of use-cases, and I think there's a lot of good options for MIDI in.

-- FX Aid XL, I've heard great things about and would get one if I didn't already have some good enough solutions. I think its a very solid option, esp. for small builds.

-- this small a build, I can't personally make sense of, but if it works for you, then great!! BTW Lugia is great helping improve racks, esp. small / dense ones, so I hope there'll be a chance of getting some of his feedback for you before your rig is more finalized.

And yes, I'd also like to hear what this sounds like when you have a chance to post!

EDITED Sep 7th 2021, 00:47

Very cool, thanks for the comments above guys!

A few module notes I'm compiling from recent investigations (compiled here for my reference and anybody else interested!):

-- Pamela's New Workout (PNW) is SO capable that it may preclude the need for other related modules OR it may make sense to get a 2nd PNW instead of some other modules. For example my Doepfer A160 modules don't do anything a PNW can't do (I think!) and the three of those cost more than a 2nd PNW would; wish I'd figured that out months ago. Anyway, food for thought: the answer to a lot of these types of questions might be "get a PNW or a 2nd PNW if you need that many channels"

-- There are a few brands that carry a lot of relevant modules for this domain: Ladik, EMW, Noise Engineering, and NonLinear Circuits (NLC). A few of these are discussed below:

++Some Ladik modules of interest include J110 Derivator & J120 Comparator for getting gates out of general signal (audio or CV); U-031 Gate to Trigger Converter and S-185 Gatsby Gatemaker for going gate to trigger or trigger to gate; S-195 Microdelay or U-090 Clock/Reset Corrector to give micro-offsets to correct for signals that may be too overlapping (such as when trying to synchronize clock/reset signals needed across multiple devices). S-195 or U-190 I may need if running a big patch with a lot synch'ed; we'll see.

++of EMW modules, Pulse Counter and VC Trigger Source stand out as options

++Noise Engineering has a LOT to offer in this domain, however much of it already overlaps with stuff I already have. Worth checking out though if you have fewer clock/gate modules and are looking for additional interesting pieces

++NLC has quite a lot of interesting modules in this domain https://www.nonlinearcircuits.com/modules?tag=Logic%2FGates If I didn't already have clock dividers / PNW I would consider NLC's. Most interesting to me next from NLC are 8-Bit Cypher and Divine CMOS. But I am waiting on an order placed 2 weeks ago for Squid Axon and Neuron. I'll need to wrap my head around those. Safe to say, if I wanted a bunch more "make a fun mess with gates" capabilities, additional NLC modules would be a likely go to.

++ aside from those main brands with lots to offer in this domain, there are other interesting offerings from ADDAC (their clock), Shakmat, Ornament & Crime (and its variants) and a few others

I'll probably circle back in the next day or two with a few more comments on musical applications (not so module focussed), AND I need to spend more time reviewing the video and comments above. Thanks for all the comments, its a big help!

EDITED Sep 6th 2021, 22:11

Hi everybody,
I wanted to get MN Pressure Points as part of my first rack but it seems to be unavailable everywhere.
Does anybody know if it will be available again sometime in the near future or will it possibly not come back at all?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Jo

Hello everyone, can you show a beginner a few patch ideas of this rack?

Thanks and greetings

Wow this is a surprisingly cool "tiny build". I'd love to play with this machine too!

Sadly no, not yet,
I‘ve been mostly enjoying in quiet and haven‘t come around to recording anything yet. But I‘ll make sure to post about it when I get around to!

Great suggestions, thank you :)

I can't help you on your questions unfortunately, but I'm super curious of how this sounds.
Do you happen to have some records of it?

Hey joesh,
I wanted to share my opinion on Stages vs Maths, since that's a decision I also made not that long ago.
I went with Stages and it's a lovely module. however I also have an additional Analog function Generator in my Rack. [...]. It's weird to describe but it really drools with the Mutable Instruments way of doing stuff.
I love it, but you might not.

All the Best
Chris
-- Cangore

Hi Chris, that's great thanks.

I guess when it comes to Maths vs Alternative, it seems I'll probably have to make a decision, and then just try it. As most people, it's not really the idea of not having Maths, more the idea of trying something else. I have to admit Falistri looks very interesting from what I've seen when watching reviews and demos. However, apart from Mod Wiggler discussions, which some seem very positive concerning Stages, I was intrigued to understand that you can loop your 6 waves to use as LFOs, or envelopes, and more (it seems). In comparison Falistri only has 2 loop-able possibilities (please correct me if I'm wrong)? But, on the other hand, there seems to be other features which make Falistri very tempting.

Anyhow, I guess the search goes on for what fits best where. So, I'll probably make a plunge next week and order some - or most of the modules - up on the rack and see how it works out. I just have to decide on a suitable case, preferably powered, and then press ..... buy!

I thought this review/tutorial (which I'm sure you all know) seemed to put the alternative Maths problem into context:

just bought a twisted electrons octopus cv sequencer(not something i had planned)and dont know if it will be any good for Dark Ambient????

Hey joesh,
I wanted to share my opinion on Stages vs Maths, since that's a decision I also made not that long ago.
I went with Stages and it's a lovely module. however I also have an additional Analog function Generator in my Rack. which I'd be tempted to say is like one half of Maths, but that's not the case (I also have shades from MI for attenuverters offsets and mixing, that plus a single function Generator is a lot more like half a maths and suddenly takes up 12HP). One difference between the Function Generator that is hard to Grasp and describe for me is the immediacy. Stages is digital at heart and if you want to clock it or something it will take a few clocks to settle into a steady rhythm sometimes, sometimes there's artefacts, etc., there's a few times I've found myself wishing it would be more "playable" more "immediate". However I think that the possibilities with that module are almost endless but I recon it's a very different mindset to the Rampage, Maths, Doepfer A-171-2, Falistri, Delta-V and alike. It's a means to an End, very versatile but at the same time intentionally limited and focused. It's weird to describe but it really drools with the Mutable Instruments way of doing stuff.
I love it, but you might not.

All the Best
Chris

Thanks.

Do you plan a 32 channel cv interface?😁

Cheers
-- klodifokan

Absolutely! As I mentioned above I would like to have it at least 16 which could be extended to 32. I love polyphony I'll need that. :)

EDITED Sep 6th 2021, 11:07

My favorites that aren't already included here are the Noise Engineering Zularic Repetitor for some off-time/"polymetric" gates and the Low Gain Electronics Short Bus v3 for manual control of fills and gate sequence switching between different sound sources. NE also has the interesting but discontinued Confundo Funkitis that I have thought about tracking down.

Thanks.

Do you plan a 32 channel cv interface?😁

Cheers

Let me start this of by stating that, yes, this is not a Music Easel, it will never be and I wholeheartedly understand that.
Anyhow I really dug the Name and I feel there are a few similarities in form-factor and functionality.

So I'm starting to feel very confident about this built, this morning I had some time to sit down with the system again and it's so very inspiring and sounds great to me, yet I wanted to get some final Input before filling the case to the brim. And even though the consensus around here probably is that this case is too small, for what I'm trying to do I feel it's just right.
The Intention always was to have a very flexible single Voice. obviously this is a modular and it can do more if you push it, but I was looking for a singular Instrument that inspires me to come up with something on my other stuff, not to have a groove box in modular format.

So this is where I'm currently at:

I recently bought a Digitakt which I enjoy so much that I really want to Integrate it with this little Setup. I have previously stated that I mostly use the Doepfer LFO as a Clock, which hasn't changed so I figured I might as well substitute it for a midi interface and get my clock from that, also the Digitakt obviously features great LFO's and CC sequencing so that would make up for the loss probably.

I also recently threw out the Deeper A-112 Random which I never really got along with in favour of the ladik comparator which imho gives me more functionality when it comes to rhythm and the external input.

Speaking of external Input I substituted the the Doepfer A-119 for ears. mainly because of the manual Gate functionality and the contact mic (also size). So now I can always use the thing, even when nothing is connected to it's Input.

One thing I also discovered by throwing disting into the upper row is: I really want reverb and effects for this thing, I've always been a sucker for verb on Guitar and that doesn't seem to change with synths.

So here's what I'm planning for:

please give me some honest opinions, especially if you think there's better Options regarding effects and the Midi Interface.
I know that FH-2 would be great, but I'd like to keep it a little more immediate and to my surprise ever since I got the Digitakt I don't really feel like expanding the modular, so that benefit would be pointless.

PS: Am I the only one around here that loves the combination of Tides V2 and a basic Analog OSC for a Voice to death? That can't be. Please share the love if you see the benefits of that setup, maybe there's something to learn.

EDITED Sep 6th 2021, 10:32

what important or interesting musical use cases for gate/trig are not covered with the setup above?

I'll talk only about my experience so consider that my racks are probably much smaller, and my music isn't good 😊 My first approach to eurorack was almost exclusively rhythm based. I bought and used extensively most of the modules in your second row. And to me, it resulted in a pretty uninspiring configuration. Note that I didn't have a lot of other modulators to make my sounds interesting, but more generally I don't think rhythmical beauty of a piece comes from that much clock complexity. Most interesting rhythms I found were created by other synthesis methods.

If I remember correctly, this video has been pretty helpful on that matter:

That being said, if I had to produce dance music, play live or just be effective in rhythm patterns and transitions, I think your rack would handle 99% of what I'd want!

Hope it helps 👋

Looks good to me! I love the Gate Delay too.

Hemisphere has a dual slope detector applet called Trending (https://github.com/Chysn/O_C-HemisphereSuite/wiki/Trending) that could be super interesting here. It will probably also give you an offset/inverter in another applet but I don't know the suite really well yet.

The deep thought could be interesting too. As of my favourite clock modifier, I'd say something like the Time Wizard: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/shakmat-modular-time-wizard but this is only from watching their intro video.

Hi Klodifokan,

The module I'm using is my own development. It's running a sw that communicates with the iPad.
The iPad sends over the data through a TCP/IP socket (WiFi) as a CV sequence that the module stores in its memory and plays it back with a given tempo.

Hi,
This is really great.
What kind of midi/cv interface are you using?
The box behind the iPad.

Cheers

How about this? --

The Line In is at the far left, then there's a quad random voltage source (great with drums + filtering), a gate/trigger translator (useful for changing one to the other, plus you have the ability to define gate lengths...important for the:), Xodes Boolean gates tile (logic is an essential for rhythmic work), an Apex 4ROBOTS, which is a multifunction device similar to the Disting, but with a few differences, and then the LPF.

FYI, you might want to un-set the "private" setting on that build. Makes it easier to copy for reworking.

EDITED Sep 6th 2021, 01:16

Thanks Lugia, I’ll do some more research on those modules you mentioned.

Not sure if you didn’t see them, I do have Compare2 and Coherence in my lineup (row1 right). But some simpler comparators may make sense to add to those, and/or some discriminators. I don’t own any Ladik stuff yet; several of their gate/logic modules might make good additions.

I’ve also been interested in EMW modules (like their counter) but think those have been unavailable for a while? Pulse Counter and VC Trigger Source stand out as options.

As I think about this more, I find it’s not only a question of “what other modules” but also a question “what important or interesting musical use cases for gate/trig are not covered with the setup above”?

Thanks for your ideas and comments!

EDITED Sep 6th 2021, 01:28

They're quality, and one of the better starter cabs out there. Expandable, too...Tiptop makes a "hinge" that you can use to put a second Mantis together with the first. Check it out: https://tiptopaudio.com/mantis/

And while they ARE made of plastic overall, they use metal rails for module mounting, so no real difference there.

Definitely some "hellz yeah" stuff in there, notably the Bytom and the Malekko Gate Delay. My suggestion would be some "pick-off" modules such as comparators (window comparators, especially), discriminators and the like.

Comparators send a gate out when a given voltage threshold is reached. But window comparators are MUCH more complex, as they support several comparator circuits behind one panel. They're called that because they have two or more thresholds, creating a "window" range between them. The Frederick Haer biomed units I use offer gates on "below bottom threshold", "window" and "over second threshold", in addition to trigger pulses on crossing the thresholds, and you see a few (like Joranalogue's) that work in that same area of complex outputs. Feed 'em something periodic like an LFO, and you'll get repeating gate patterns off of the comparator.

Discriminators are a bit rarer. Ladik has a brilliant one that outputs a gate depending on the movement of CV...rising, falling, steady...and there's also minimum/maximum modules that output the appropriate voltage level between several incoming CVs.

Also, don't neglect inverters here. They're how you get NAND and NOR functions out of typical Boolean gates; some Boolean modules have this already, but when you've got those inverters busy, a couple more can ALSO be of use.

Drum oriented portable case I am about to finish, these are picks from my own collection of modules.
I'm a bit struggling with the 1U row, loving Mosaic though.
What should I do with that 1U row further?
Something like this perhaps? I've seen it in several cases on YT.
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/ritual-electronics-guillotine

A 1U row can be a real asset in a travel case, I wish more developers would concern them with this.

I would love to hear experiences here, that would help a lot.

Double OCTAVE Jump
LFO clocking Sequencer, Tempo input in (single clock advance mode)
LFO Tri -> TEMPO

Octave Jump 1
LFO set to Square, VCO MOD AMT (LFO/ FREQ) tuned to an Octave

Octave Jump 2
Gate Output -> Mix 2
VC Mix -> VCO Lin FM
VC Mix knob tuned to an Octave (Can flip VCO MOD AMT Destination to Pulse width to make it easier to tune)

NOTES
- Long Decay Time to hear both octave jumps, shortening takes away the octave jumps
- Filter MOD switch to LFO to hear just the Hi or LO notes with the different polarity engaged
- Sustain switch can be either way to get a different result
- VCA mode can be turned on

Just "finished" the the DFAM style track(s). It's outputing 3 CVs: Trigger, Pitch and velocity. I tried to patch in a way that it sounds like a real DFAM. Check it out:

Here we go, I just needed a bit of a nudge to use the DannySound Timbre ;-)

Cheers guys :)

Ahh, OK.... The closest I get to Buchla is the DannySound Timbre being fed a Sine or Triangle wave. I've just been playing with it to make a slightly acid line letting the envelope tweak the Timbre. I keep meaning to use a very slow LFO to try make a very long evolving note, and I've made a beefy Kick sound from it feeding it from the ADDAC103.
I must experiment more.

EDITED Sep 5th 2021, 08:37

If the criteria for the build is that it needs to be powered and portable, I would recommend looking at a Tiptop Mantis.
-- Lugia

Thanks Luigi, that's quite a coincidence, I had indeed looked at the TipTop cases - I'd seen someone talking about them somewhere, I'll definitely look into that as a serious possibility.

Hi TumeniKnobs,

Thanks a lot for your details on the Subsequent 37. Pity that the presets seem not to fit however glad to hear that the rest of it sounds great :-) Full size keys... oh-ooooh, another thing on my ever growing wish list ;-) Thank you and kind regards, Garfield.

Hello Everyone,

Is anyone of you going this year to the Superbooth? I finally decide to go and bought the tickets online and booked a hotel in Berlin. I will be there on Thursday and Friday, the late afternoons and most likely the evenings. You can recognise me by wearing a Garfield T-shirt if the weather isn't too cold.

Is it a nice idea to meet a few of us here on modulargrid.net in real, at the Superbooth talk about our fantastic hobby? :-)

If you prefer more a one to one meeting, just send me a private message and we will take it from there. I hope to meet you in Berlin and I look forward to my very first visit to the Superbooth, yeah! :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Garfield - I love the Subsequent 37! But not without some effort. The mod section requires some practice to manage. And this is very subjective, but I didn’t like a lot of the presets so I ended up replacing most of them with 3rd party presets. That completely transformed it into my favorite synth in my studio. Hook up a delay and a reverb and you are in synth heaven! It’s keys are full size. Cheers.

So you pick a type and the corresponding CV output(s) and it will be added to the user interface as a track. For example I'm currently working on a type that will mimic the (sequencer) interface of DFAM which I really liked.
-- mudi

Hi Mudi,

That sounds indeed very interesting. Also if it only would be a "few" lines of code to add some sampler functionality that makes it (very) attractive as well I think. That might go perhaps a bit into the style of Elektron, for example the Octatrack.

Okay, good luck with the PoC. Once you have finished your PoC and you decide to continue this, then it would be nice to hear from you again with hopefully interesting details :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Some explanation of above rig:

-- imagine the signal is ultimately going to in rig modules (esp percussion) and / or routed out of the rig via CV Thing / ES modules in lower right. I'm not including any voices in this image above but yes there is plenty for downstream voicing

-- top row above is sources. PNW, Circadian, Trigger Riot give a lot of capability on that end. Followed by 2 comparators to derive gates from CV/audio in my broader rig. A few mults so I can copy any signal for reprocessing / redistribution

-- 2nd row (left) in particular is where I'd love some suggestions. I'm thinking of this as "modifiers" for clock/gate/trig signals. Already we have some Logic, clock divide / multiply units, gate delay, integrator (Bytom) and switches. I'm wondering what else might be great adds?

BTW the above rig is already up and running and it is crazy badass, I love it. I got into modular for complex OSCs like DPO but over time I'm finding the control (CV/gate) possibilities are fantastic. I'll appreciate any suggestions to make this clock/gate/trig setup better, thanks!!

EDITED Sep 5th 2021, 02:51

Hi Steve,

That's a great combination, your Eurorack with that Moog Subsequent 37, what a sound! :-)

Are you happy with the Subsequent 37, I was thinking of that synth too, just wondering, does it has mini keys or full synth keys?

Thank you very much, have a nice Sunday and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi folks,

I've been building out the control portion of my modular rig lately.

For clock / gate / trigs I've basically got this:

I'm wondering what else might play well with these modules? Particularly I'm wondering what your favorite clock/trig/gate modifiers are?

I will add a bit more explanation in a next post.

Thanks!!

Nicholas

Had loads of fun jamming to that track. Thanks to Troux for the collaborative efforts. I used the aforementioned Acid Wiggler patch (tweaked) on the Subsequent 37 and I used the arpeggiator along with a Moog CV pedal to ride the filter cutoff. Cheers!

I think you're overlimiting yourself here. If the criteria for the build is that it needs to be powered and portable, I would recommend looking at a Tiptop Mantis. Very adequate power, great form factor (2 x 104), and you can even get a custom gigbag for it from Tiptop. Trying to do what you want in 1 x 84 hp is just going to be an exercise in frustration, if the modules you're thinking about are any clue.

Complex oscillators...OK, they begin with Don Buchla and his dual waveform generators for the Buchla 100 system, and gradually evolved into something like this: https://www.modulargrid.net/u/buchla-model-259 But Buchla is hella expensive, so of course there's complex oscillators in Eurorack that get you there for cheaper. And they're very useful, because you can generate a lot of FM or AM timbres in a pairing like that...or you can use the two sections as individual VCOs, plus a whole lot of other craziness (complex oscillators as LFOs are pure madness!). The upshot is, if you've got a build that has space for them, they're primo...you really only need ONE per voice, actually, as they've got a well-deserved rep for timbral complexity that goes beyond all but the better digital oscillators.

hey hey... now there's a bit of collaboration :) Cool.

@wishbonebrewery, per your request @TumeniKnobs put together a sick lead for this 🤘, check it out:

Eurorack meets a Moog Sub37!

EDITED Sep 4th 2021, 20:48

I'm making a sci fi video game and want a really nice background track for it so I think a modular would work great for this. I have used vcv rack for a long time and I finally want the real deal. Do you have any recommendations for a good modular for this purpose under 1.3k usd? Or should I just buy an AEmodular?

I wouldn't get too attached to the idea of losing the Mini2s...fact is, that's an excellent performance sequencer, has the awesome Steiner-Parker Synthacon VCF
-- Lugia

You’re right, man. The 2s, as well as a lot of other arturia products, are just killer for the price. I still haven’t explored it as deeply as I should have, since I’ve been concentrating on the subharmonicon, my digitakt, and the keystep pro. I just kind of wish the arturia stuff had fancier knobs and handles. The subharmonicon is a machine that does a lot less, but I’ve been using it much more, just because it has a luxurious feel to it.

Not sure what I’ll do after filling up the Rackbrute. Maybe, like you said, a setup with another Minibrute. Or, a 6U Rackbrute attached to a 3U… or a fancy intellijel case, or a bigger case for the studio… I’m trying not to fall into the trap of gear acquisition syndrome, but it’s hard. There is a lot of great gear out there…

Of the modules mentioned, I have A-145-4, Quad VCA, 3xMIA, Pam's, and the Out v3, and like them all. One nice feature of the Out is the cue input, which lets you audition sounds being constructed without repatching. I also have 3xVCA, and should have considered Veils as a Quad VCA alternative. As a Maths alternative, I was considering the Cosmotronic Delta-V (which is small) before I went with Falistri. I really like Falistri, but I wanted more than two envelopes, and to be able to use it as one or two oscillators. So I added Quadrax, which is packed with functionality. You are tight on space, so some careful planning is needed, and then availability will be an issue...
-- plragde

Thanks plragde. The space is indeed tight, but at present my thinking is to make it compact, but with interesting functionality, and keeping the price a little under control too.

In the meanwhile, I've started sketching another rack with some of these suggestions in it. I'm looking at the Falistri at present, which looks interesting - when I get a chance to see how it works.

EDITED Sep 4th 2021, 12:46

Hi all,

Sorry to just on to somebody else's thread, but a new user cannot create a new one... (?!)

Anyway, total noob with modular, although I know a little about synthesis, waveforms etc. I starting with literally nothing, but I want a small simple setup to mess with some Berlin style riffs, think Rubycon, Tangram etc. I've just got a Behringer 960 on the way to handle the sequencing, I'll get a small case and power.... I need advice on other modules now. I have a Poly D that the 960 could drive for the moment, but I'd like to build the rack up to be self sufficient. It doesn't need to do an awful lot really, a couple of oscillators should be enough for now. Some delay, a filter of course. What else will I need? Midi conversion, so I can use a regular controller perhaps? I will learn more of course when I plug in and start to mess, but right now, it's all a bit overfacing to say the least.

All advice, examples etc is very much appreciated. Budget is fairly tight at the moment, as much as possible I'd rather keep things cheap and cheerful for the moment and then upgrade as I grow with it.

Many thanks in advance :)
Joe
-- seanet

If I was you, I'd start by going to the My Modular page and try to build something there, then post it here. This way people can help. However, if you ask questions on other people's threads, you'll probably not get the answers you're looking for.

Lastly, one thing you could do to get an idea of where to start (which basic modules to buy etc), you could

1. Take a look at (as an example) an all in one set up, just to see what they have in there. Try Wavefonix w314 to see what Chris has put into his set-up (https://www.wavefonix.com/product-page/w314-modular-synthesizer).
2. Watch one of the many YouTube channels which talk about getting started. Some that are friendly and useful are maybe Molten Modular, or Starsky Carr. There's many more, but those are just some suggestions.

Good luck!

EDITED Sep 4th 2021, 12:32

Of the modules mentioned, I have A-145-4, Quad VCA, 3xMIA, Pam's, and the Out v3, and like them all. One nice feature of the Out is the cue input, which lets you audition sounds being constructed without repatching. I also have 3xVCA, and should have considered Veils as a Quad VCA alternative. As a Maths alternative, I was considering the Cosmotronic Delta-V (which is small) before I went with Falistri. I really like Falistri, but I wanted more than two envelopes, and to be able to use it as one or two oscillators. So I added Quadrax, which is packed with functionality. You are tight on space, so some careful planning is needed, and then availability will be an issue...

Yes, the Quad VCA is a good choice. It has both linear and exponential response curves (for cv and audio, respectively). A lot of folks here like MI Veils for a quad VCA. Similar module in 10hp.
-- farkas

Thanks, just looked Veils over, indeed, it seems a nice alternative - and I see what you mean for the space too.

What's interesting here (the forum), is that you get some nice alternative suggestions, which when you're ordering stuff, can be a very useful if modules are out of stock or simply discontinued.

Yes, the Quad VCA is a good choice. It has both linear and exponential response curves (for cv and audio, respectively). A lot of folks here like MI Veils for a quad VCA. Similar module in 10hp.