Mr. Phil Ter

would recommend dreadbox chromatic over these. Cre8audio modules tend to be cheap quality and are the only modules that I ever had that stopped functioning. Cre8audio tried to blame the 5v rail on my tip top bus board which has been rock solid for everything else even other modules that use 5v.

Expect more of this, btw...I saw some scuttlebutt on YT about a new oscillator from these guys.

Frankly, I'm 100% down...if you said I could have a free VCO, and you offered me a choice between one of their new ones and a Behringer Brains, I'd take the Behringer. At least Uli's stuff tends to be somewhat (to very, actually) reliable; Cre8's modules aren't winning them any big fans in that aspect, and I'd rather have to swallow my pride and question my own ethics rather than having a smoking hole in a rig and a related smoking hole in my wallet.

EDITED Jul 14th 2021, 02:19

yes, they send him the modules for free and then he reviews them. I think these people are called 'influencers'. I recall they did the same with the nifty case and modules and after reviewing them he spray painted over their logo and kept the case.

and I'd rather have to swallow my pride and question my own ethics rather than having a smoking hole in a rig and a related smoking hole in my wallet.

@Lugia

These modules are a collaboration with Pittsburgh Modular. I watched Richard Nicol's demo of these modules last night, and I was extremely impressed. For $99, this filter does a lot. And I doubt Richard would put his company's name on the line without extensive testing.

I understand that their initial roll-out of the Chips and Cellz has given plenty of reasons to be skeptical, but I have had both of them in my modular for over a year now and they still work as expected to this day. I don't have any need for the new Cr8/Pittsburgh modules, but I wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying them, especially if someone is looking for a low-cost entryway into modular that doesn't involve the controversial and ethical trappings of Behringer's low-cost alternatives.

EDITED Jul 14th 2021, 17:05

if someone is looking for a low-cost entryway into modular that doesn't involve the controversial and ethical trappings of Behringer's low-cost alternatives.

At least with Behringer, you are still getting the know how of Moog, Roland, Intellijel and Mutable Instruments in the modules they are putting out. Controversy and ethics aside that's still a better shout than putting your lot in with Cre8audio and a guy who is obviously not making enough money from his own brand. More fool him.

I am ok with big brands like Behringer, I buy through Amazon UK. If the module stops working, I simply raise the issue with Amazon and I have no hassle returns within the 12 month guarantee period.

Also the Doepfer oscillators and filters and better in terms of quality than Cre8audio stuff and as I mentioned before, if you want to go down a cheaper multifunctional route then Dreadbox chromatic modules are excellent. I get that some people don't like big bad Behringer but there are many other low cost alternatives out there. Ladik, takaab etc

If any newbies are reading this, my guess is one day you will want to sell your cre8audio modules and I can tell you right now your resale value will be at best half price. The brands I have mentioned above will resell quickly on the second hand market and generally do ok in terms of holding their value.

My take on this is that if you want both "cheap" and "reliable" modules that have a good rep, you might want to have a look at Noise Reap's stuff. Ugly and functional appearance, but VERY interesting sonic capabilities. The Paradox, for example, is pretty nuts for only $120...it's pretty close to West Coast complex oscillator turf and other things that'll cost dearly, with crossmod FM and VCO self-modulation.

I mean, I don’t exactly disagree with either of you as far as other companies that make great modules. I’m just not exactly ready to write off cre8audio as a manufacturer because their very first 2 modules to hit production were not $300 quality at a $99 pricepoint. Especially since their entire point was to get people “up and running” immediately in a compact, cost-effective package. I doubt longevity is on anyone’s mind who purchases them. It certainly wasn’t an expectation of mine when I first got them. I didn’t expect them to even last this long.

Just seems like an odd take to me. Especially going as far as to speak to the future readers of this thread and steer them away from a module before literally any evidence of their quality is understood, in either direction.

Dreadbox is a great company. My first (and only, now sold) semi-modular was an NYX and it was great.

Noise Reap also. I had the swiss army mixer in my niftycase within a few weeks of getting the Nifty.

I just genuinely don’t understand why you would condemn a product or it’s producer so strongly without any concept as to the actual module in question and whether it represents an improvement in quality, no change, or a degredation. All of which are quite possible, surely.

I think Cre8Audio get a hard time over their stuff…

I fancied playing with modular and with the NiftyBundle I got a case and some OKish modules to start building on for £222

Yes, I'm going to run out of space with only 84hp, and yes I'm going to need to replace Chipz and Cellzs sooner or later but as a place to start it's been great and very cost effective

Just seems like an odd take to me. Especially going as far as to speak to the future readers of this thread and steer them away from a module before literally any evidence of their quality is understood, in either direction.

Just speaking from personal experience of my dealings with them when there were problems with their modules. I quite clearly got the impression that they were preying on my naivety about Eurorack and stated at one point in the discussions that a lighting bolt may have caused a momentary power surge on the 5v rail causing their modules to burn out which is really odd as none of my other modules were affected. They play the clowns as part of their marketing strategy but the reality is that is who they are and its a shame the guy from Pittsburg Modular is associating himself with them. They probably roped him into their scam to improve their credibility factor and its something they are really pushing through the shills on youtube they've recruited.

Others may have had a great experience like Andy and I'm happy for him but I can only base my assessment on first hand dealings with them. Hope that clarifies.

As for the nifty case, I have it and still use it but in hindsight, I think a Moog or Behringer skiff would have been better to create a larger more complete system than what 84hp allows. Behringer have recently been asking for some feedback on their cases and modules in terms of price and competiveness and I reckon we will see a drop in prices for cases in the near future. I recently did some calculations with power and 3 skiffs with brackets and the combined cost wasn't far off an Intellijel pallete or tip top mantis which I fed back to them. Once I can get cheaper Behringer skiffs with power, I will be getting rid of the nifty case.

I am a bit more familiar with Eurorack now given the experience I had. I learnt that companies like Noise Engineering draw power from the 12v rail for any 5v requirements but had the forethought to include a jumper on their module so users can make an informed decision about how power is being consumed. I learnt that Mutable have regulators in their older modules that take care of the 5v requirements and eventually decided to abandon use of the 5v rail altogether. Cre8audio simply didn't make similar design considerations in their modules which I guess is why they have the moniker 'cheap and cheerful'.

EDITED Jul 15th 2021, 19:32

@greenfly

I quite clearly got the impression that they were preying on my naivety about Eurorack and stated at one point in the discussions that a lighting bolt may have caused a momentary power surge on the 5v rail causing their modules to burn out which is really odd as none of my other modules were affected.

That def sucks.

They play the clowns as part of their marketing strategy but the reality is that is who they are and its a shame the guy from Pittsburg Modular is associating himself with them. They probably roped him into their scam to improve their credibility factor and its something they are really pushing through the shills on youtube they've recruited.

This feel a bit presumptuous and a little unfair. I will say that I also had issues with my first power board also. Bought it in June of last year. The -12v rail only provided -3v. This was the response I got 1 day later:

Hi [merzky_shoom],

Thanks for reaching out and sorry to hear about this issue.

It sounds like a component on the power supply may have failed or has been damaged. Was this happening from initial purchase or suddenly? If suddenly, please provide a little more detail ie. modules used, describe what happened when it failed, and anything else you think might prove useful.

Regardless, we can quickly send you a replacment board that can easily be installed (a nut and a screw). We will provide video instructions as well.

Please send us your shipping address and answers to the questions above so that we make sure that we're fully treating the issue.

Thanks much!

All the best,

Al

2 days later the board was shipped. I'm sorry to hear that you had a different experience. I did "upgrade" to a Behringer Eurorack GO, and it's good value for sure... but the case is almost full and I'm not 100% confident that it's the most dependable solution for the $4000 worth of modules that are sitting in it. My hope is to properly upgrade my case before end of October.

Not trying to take away from your perspective or personal experience, I've just had a couple of very good customer service experiences with them. The other involving feature requests and what-not.

And at least one of their founders was working with a previous Modular manufacturer before splitting off to create Cre8Audio, so IMO it isn't likely they just popped up out of nowhere and said, "Here's a market we can take advantage of"

EDITED Jul 15th 2021, 19:48