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Hi Sislte & Family,

Wow, nice dirty sound indeed! I love this demo video and sound, some real fun sounds and nice overview video of your rack!

Looks like the entire family is involved in the goodies :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

The track is my first experimentation with Moog DFAM and my custom eurorack system.

The video is a tribute of the 1993 experimental movie "Engineering Red" (Конструктор красного цвета) directed by Andrey I from which I take some footage parts and mixed with performance eurorack modular visuals.

never stop modular experimentation

Patch notes:
- Drums: DFAM (kick + snare), Pico Drum (hit-hats)
- Sequencer: Beatstep Pro (lead, hats, snare)
- Main Voice: DPO
- Bass: DFAM
- FX and ambient voices: Loquelic Iteritas through QPAS and micro clouds, morphagene custom reel, Telharmonic, DPO final through Echophon
- reverb: Erb-verb
- Main modulation: Clep Diaz
- additional modulations: Maths, Function, Wooglebug, micro o_C, Pressure Points, rené

Feedback and comments welcome

EDITED Jun 14th 2020, 20:00

toodee is spot on here. This is one of those examples where modular is NOT the solution.

While it seems like modular is the Royal Road to raw sonic power, it's often the case that one can cobble up something in modular that doesn't work as well as an off the shelf patchable and which also winds up costing considerably more than that not-as-sexy solution. Small systems are especially prone to this problem, notably ones in which users try and populate very small cabs. But the REAL use for those, tbh, is to allow for expanding existing systems with a few specific modules. Think a Maths might beef up your MS-20 mini? That's what those minicases are for. But when you house a voice module in one, add the cost of the cab, one or two possibly (or not) useful additional modules, you often find that all that's happened is that you've replicated the functionality of an existing off-the-shelf solution for sometimes twice the money. Not good.

Here's a suggestion...when doing a build on MG, I'll start off TOO big, then start reducing the setup until I've arrived at a minimum for what result I'm looking for. But at the same time, if you can keep reducing things to the point where you're arriving at a result that's comparable to (but more expensive than) an off the shelf device, go with the off-the-shelf device. You'll often find that the same amount of money spent on the modular will get you MORE power from those, since the cost of one modular solution can often come in at twice (or worse) the amount of similar patchables, etc.

Sent some Model:Cycles into the RK2 (and one output to Synthrotek DIRT Filter). Filthy suff!

It's also a cool filter. The Dot looks very interesting.

Chris Mayer discusses this in his "feeding the monster" videos. It depends on what signal a mixer accepts, this varyes from one mixer to the next.

EDITED Jun 14th 2020, 18:39

Hi !

Don't take this the wrong way but this rack is essentially a much less capable and more expensive version of the desktop Manther. I quickly read the product page for the desktop version and it seems it's capable of randomizing its sequences, amongst many other features that are missing from the above rack, so if your goal is 'only' to get the sound of Manther and random sequences while playing nice with the rest of your Elektron-based setup, I'd say the desktop version would be better suited for that rather than getting a small rack like the one above. Maybe the Elektronauts forum has a thread on the Manther where people share their experiences with Manther + Elektron machines ? You can also get randomness from some sequencers such as Squarp Pyramid paired with any synth of your choice.
I suggest reading this excellent thread before going further: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/3579
Make sure Eurorack is the answer to what you seek before making such investment, it is wonderful on many levels but can also be a sub-par solution for many situations too. For the same money the rack above would cost, you can get a desktop Manther AND a Behringer semi-modular to start playing with patch cables if you also want to do that (and those usually have MIDI I/O so they can play nice with your other stuff).
If you're curious about what Eurorack is and what it offers, the thread I suggest above also offers some perspective on that but there also was another created after which looks at the subject from a different standpoint: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/8681

I hope I was able to offer you some perspective and food for thoughts as my goal is to get you the most for your money ;-)

Have a good one.

D.

A Note to GarfieldModular and Defragmenteur.

I've gone for the Big Knobs and ordered a 103! I've already got a lot of small knobbed modules..... who knows though, if I enjoy the 103 enough, maybe a 104 later.
I've just started playing with the DNIPRO DOT and it looks like it's going to be the perfect companion.

I'm sure I have one of you to blame for big Knobs! ha

Hello,
I have the same question, what's your conclusion ? For instance I still want to use mackie or soundcraft mixer, but i'm not sure how to out signals.
Best.

Thx! Frankenputer is the name of my computer. IT has no case. It's just wires and parts bolted together; therefore, it looks like something Dr. Frankenstein to have made.

Hello there. I found interest in modular synths due to the fact that I could'nt find anything that would allow me to create rather random melodies. so I came up with the idea of a small modular synth that I can pair with my stuff from Elektron.

I don't know if I'd actually need the SYNC module, or if I could just send the clock from my Model:Samples or Cycles into the CLK IN of the Varigate. Also I'm not sure if I'd be able to get sound out of this system with my chosen modules, as I don't see how the Manther Growl would connect to the intellijel Outs.

Basically I want to use the external clock from my Model:Samples or Cycles to set the tempo and then have the Varigate 4+ to control the Manther Growl. The sound would then need to go into my mixer.

Any help is apreciated.

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the details on that bass. Wow, I am a bit jealous. Once and a while I hear some interesting stuff about Pittsburgh but where I live in Germany most of the dealers let go the Pittsburgh brand, no idea why but it means I can't try it out and even just buying it blind is getting difficult since you barely can get it... pity my modular life has to be some longer without Pittsburgh I am afraid.

Have a good weekend and kind regards, Garfield.

Thanks Kel!

Hi Carl,

That's very nice indeed! I tried to reply to you yesterday already but for some weird reasons I couldn't send posts/replies; hopefully that works now again.

I admire that almost crystal and clear sound you got there! At almost exactly 1:00 there kicks in some quite deep sound, what's that? I mean how did you manage to make that?

I look forward in hearing more from you and kind regards, Garfield Modular.
-- GarfieldModular

Thanks ! The bass is made with the Pittsburgh Oscillator V2, into a Lider for suboctave, and filtered out with the Pittsburgh Modular FLTR. Glad ya dig it!

Hi Mowse,

Bloody Nora! This is some nice & heavy exciting music, I like it quite a bit :-)

If every time when you clean up something in your setup something like this nice comes out of it, then please keep on cleaning up your setup ;-)

Thanks a lot for sharing and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Funbun,

Wow, a complete album, well done!

Does Frankenputer means anything (sorry my English isn't very good) or is it a name? He, he, you are pulling all the registers there with this track :-) Of your... I guess AE modular system, right? Nice!

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

Hi Carl,

That's very nice indeed! I tried to reply to you yesterday already but for some weird reasons I couldn't send posts/replies; hopefully that works now again.

I admire that almost crystal and clear sound you got there! At almost exactly 1:00 there kicks in some quite deep sound, what's that? I mean how did you manage to make that?

I look forward in hearing more from you and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Plenty of problems here...starting with the placement of that Row30. NEVER put a power device anywhere near an audio module. This is the easiest way for noise to get into your audio path. Also, consider getting a different power brick; inputting 19V into a module whose max is 20V is probably overtaxing the Row30.

EDIT: Got interrupted...also, you might want to add a ferrite to the DC line into the Row30 if it doesn't have one already. Cheap switching supplies such as ones found in OEM bricks often spew garbage down the DC line. In a lot of devices, this isn't an issue...but with a modular synth, you can have so many different analog and digital circuits crammed together in a tiny box that, once some RF or other such crud gets in, it'll interfere with loads of these and numerous noise generation points can emerge.

One other suggestion might be to get rid of the brick altogether. On my AE system, I use a Tektronix LINEAR supply. These aren't subject to generating anywhere near the amount of crud a cheap switching supply typically puts out. The unit I use is a PS282, which is more than capable of powering that 160-space mutha with ZERO need for ferrites, etc etc. And mine was even calibrated by the seller (Valuetronics, up in the Chicago burbs) prior to sale, so it's 100% in factory spec...for only $100-ish. Plus, unlike a lot of linear supplies, this TEK is portable...it's about the size of a lunchbox, and even has a carry handle for convenience! With this thing on the AE, all of the VCOs stand right at attention, there's little to nothing atypical as far as noise goes, and the stability is...well, the ripple scopes out at something ridiculously low, essentially negligible, so that modular runs rock-solid.

EDITED Jun 13th 2020, 22:29

https://postimg.cc/PLTd77Dw

Make sure to avoid transactions with @PinPinKula. I paid them a deposit to build a couple of modules over 9 weeks ago, and all my attempts to find out when they will be ready have been met with rudeness and now silence. They originally told me it would be a 2-week turnaround. I don't mind waiting and was polite in all my emails. However, after 8 weeks I asked if they would pay my deposit back and they now seem to be ignoring me. It's such a shame a few bad apples try to ruin this otherwise positive community.

Worked out a noise floor issue and cleaned up my monitoring environment. Felt like having some fun with Rossum-Electro Trident.

Patch is just Trident -> QPAS -> Clouds with tons of modulation. Backed up by a kick from BIA.

EDITED Jun 13th 2020, 04:21

Take a listen!
https://blackwarriorlures.bandcamp.com/album/cantus-fluminis-music-of-the-river

Very nice!!

Incredibly powerful combination for sure!!

Owned one for a couple months now, agree with it being a great value. Sounds nice!

EDITED Jun 12th 2020, 18:27

It's pretty fantastic. Midi in and out, plus Launchpad support, sampling, nice amount of channels.
The firmware gets updated fairly often, always adding new stuff to it. Granted it's a different approach, hence the tracker format/notating vertically, but it does help to already have some exposure to any other type of tracker.

I've had a NerdSeq for a couple years now, and no complaints at all.

Just got into the Westlicht Performer and the STT16+, love them so far:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBOeGBcBuil/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

-Carl
Planet Zaxxon

EDITED Jun 12th 2020, 17:59

@protomski bought a rainmaker from me, money transfer was in that second he said he wants to buy it, conversation with him was top notch, sadly he had to wait for nearly two weeks for delivery though I shipped asap, DHL said it is CoronaVirus guilt, whatever...
totaly recommend trading with him! :)

You have an adapter with an output of 19V, I would think that 12V would be better. You should get advice on this from 4ms before you turn your rack on again.

Read this: https://aisynthesis.com/eurorack-power-guide/

EDITED Jun 13th 2020, 02:13

Simply judging by the specs you should be fine. What kind of noise do you get? Does it appear in every patch or only in certain combinations? For example, do you have a high noise floor already when patching only Rings to the Audio I/O? Try disconnecting all modules from the bus board/flying bus cable and reconnect one by one, starting with the Audio I/O. At which point does the noise appear?

The A-199 can add a lot of noise to the audio path. Try placing the springs somewhere else, make sure both the springs and the cables aren't too close to other electrical circuits. Try replacing the RCA cable with one that's better shielded.

I don't have the A-106-1 but a lot of MS-20 style filters can be rather noisy (by design).
But of course, the AC adapter might well be the culprit.

Thanks, @farkas!

I am wondering if I am pushing this power supply too hard. I have always gotten some unwanted noise that I am trying to diminish. I bought the AC adapter from amazon with an input of 100-240V - 1.8A 50/60Hz and output of 19V-4.74A. Is my problem there? Or somewhere else. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Actually I have a Crave doing something similar

Quite a bit of bang for the buck. I like the idea.
Keeping with the theme I'd consider a Behringer Rhythm Designer RD-8 Analog Drum Machine outside the rack to send through those midi in's for some sequencing power. Have fun.

Hi Quantamiid,

Welcome to Eurorack! What I am going to write next is not to discourage you but I think we need to be realistic here, okay?

The case is far too small, consider the Intellijel 2*104 HP + 1 U instead, that's small enough. What you have here is microscopic and you will much sooner (than later) outgrow this extremely small casing.

Do you have everything to start making sounds? That depends on how you look at that question. If you want to hear something coming out of your speakers, yes, most probably you manage to do that. Is it going to be fun after a while...? Mwaahhh, I doubt that...

Not sure how much experience you have in synthesizers in common, especially the common setup and also depending on how much external gear you already have, but assuming you have nothing else just going to have this rack then it's far too less. For a classic, simple setup consider at least this here:

2 VCOs (Plaits is nice but get another one too), 2 EGs, 1 or 2 LFOs, 1 or 2 filters (the Wasp filter A-124 is indeed a nice one), dual VCA (or two single VCAs) - preferable those that have linear as well as exponential functionality so the Tallinn you choose might be just right, one or two effects modules (I see you got there already something so that might be fine) and then we haven't talked yet about utility modules... and... that's just to get started and build up some experience, etcetera, after that you want more to explore further, etcetera and then... indeed you need a bigger rack again ;-) It's actually very simple: You just can't have enough HP-space...

Oh and please do keep in mind no matter what you are going to do, a Eurorack is going to be expensive, so you need to be prepared for that and do lots of reading and checking on the different modules, on the basic principles and once done that, you have to ask yourself what you want to do with the Eurorack? What kind of sounds or music you want to make and how are you going to realise that with what kind of modules? Nobody said this comes on in easy ;-) So the pre-work for getting ready to get started with Eurorack is quite substantial, please don't under estimate that.

But once all done that, extended the budget a bit for at least a larger case, then you should be fine to get started. Till then, I do think you have to do a bit more homework ;-)

Still try to enjoy all this, also the pre-investigation phase, all the reading& checking and then bang! Go for it! Good luck and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

I made my own racks to fit in my studio but the layout is exactly as you see here.

A little grumble:

I haven't worked since March...

...and I am getting squeezed for a few bucks on a module I'm trying to sell!

Digging my heels in now... no more discounts or lowball offers.

If you can afford to buy modules right now you are doing really well.

I've swapped a few things, to try and keep myself occupied and sane, but not investing.

I will be listing more in days to come.

Thank you for listening :)

I found that it will not work with 12v, it requires 15v for full functionality (e.g., touch plates are erratic at best with just 12v)

Oh interesting, that's a lot of functionality for what I am guessing isn't, comparatively, much outlay!

Which case did you put them in?

Got any photos?

hello im new to eurorack but have been really interested in getting into it for years now.. what do you guys think of this set up? do i have everything i need to start making sounds? constructive criticism welcomed. thanks

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1235039.jpg

You just won’t be able to control different parameters of your pedals via CV (which is the fun of modular). You may find that bothersome, or you may not. Once you get started, you will know what you need next. That’s why it’s a good idea to start a little slow so you don’t waste time and money on modules you don’t really need.

I love Eno and Fripp too!
I'm actually a guitarist first and am planning my modular set up to complement my guitar and pedals set up.
My pedal board consists of loopers, delays, reverbs and more unusual things like the Count to 5, Tensor and Blooper pedals.
I was thinking of sending the modular to these via Rosie... would that work?
I'll definitely look into the Winter Modular Eloquencer sequencer.

Thanks again!

I like Eno’s albums with Robert Fripp a lot, so I would probably want some kind of modular delay unit like the Mimeophon, Magneto, or something similar to add some crazy texture. My next purchase is going to be the Winter Modular Eloquencer sequencer. It might be worthwhile to look at that before you buy Hermod. They’re both powerful, just different.
Have fun!

Built and working :D

Thanks for your help!

That rack looks great and I can see so many possibilities with it (love the Sloth and Disting).
If I was to get a slighter larger case is there anything you think I am desperately missing?

I think I'd like to eventually get the Hermod as I like that fact I could save sequences.
Is there anything similar but in a smaller size?

Once again, thanks so much for your help.

Hi Caroline. You will want something for triggers/gates to compliment the Voltage Block. You might want to consider replacing one of the Voltage Blocks with a Pamela’s New Workout and/or a Varigate. It would probably be a good idea to replace the mixer with a quad VCA too.
What kind of music are you making?
Have fun and good luck!

So I made this rack a while ago and I already have Clouds and the 4ms row power. I chose these modules because they were the ones the caught my interest the most. Would appreciate some feedback on my setup, thanks!

The Endorphin.es Milky Way is 6hp and 30mm. You may want to check that one out.

Not really. 2hp verb is a great stereo reverb in, well, 2hp. Not sure if there's a 2hp stereo delay. Pico DSP does both in 3hp but is only mono in.

I'll look into the other VCOs. The first 1U module on the left is the Intellijel Midi 1U. It has outputs for a clock (and at a 1/16 rate), pitch, gate, trigger, cc, mod wheel, velocity, run, and reset. I was thinking that I would use the 4 4-out mults I have (the 2x4 part of the Palette and the 2x4 module) for the gate, pitch, clock, and have a 4th one as patch-dependent. The velocity out I would connect to the 1U VCA (which is the sole reason for the VCA in the first place) which would be the last module in the chain before I send it on out using the Line Out 1U module. I would use this with an Arturia Keylab midi keyboard or one of my other synths that have a midi out. I go back and forth with adding the Dnipro Modular Dot sequencer. If I were to add the Dot module, I would replace the Behringer VCO with a smaller sized VCO (probably a duplicate of the other VCO I currently have in there). I like the idea of having a sequencer but I don't think I would get a ton of value out of one for the kind of sound I would use this synth for.

I didn't know of the Deepmind but now that I have been looking into it I am strongly considering buying it

Thanks, @savagemessiah. Out of curiosity, do you know of any other 4HP modules that offer at least stereo reverb and delay?

I've got an FX AID in a palette and I didn't have to do anything weird to make it fit. It was very close so keep in mind that the tolerances of the metal folding used for eurorack cases are such that there's a slim chance it won't fit for you, though.