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Mmmmm WMD! Mucho £$£$£, though I guess more than comparable to both bits of the Hexmix+Hexpander.

Ukugene ;-)
-- wishbonebrewery

Ha ha! Congratulations. You win the prize for best pun of the week. :)

-- ModLifeCrisis

In normal times we get a local Ukulele group to come and play in the brewery bar at Christmas, fingers crossed for a normal Christmas this year. They are loads of fun :)

Quick thoughts:

1) Echophon is no longer in production, so you'll probably want to look for a Mimeophon instead
2) Surface has a lot of detractors, so I'd suggest looking at Plaits as a comparison which folks claim can do really good dub chords
3) PNW + Batumi + Octosource might be overkill in a rack this size, especially without some attenuators
4) So, yes you could use some attenuators/offsets, as well as logic modules, utilities, etc. Your rack would be considerably spiced up if you dropped in some Ladik modules, c.f. 4 step sequencers, sub octave processor, comparators, any of his LFOs, transposers or something like a Cold Mac
5) A Links and a Kinks would do a lot of work here (as they generally do)
6) You could use some sub-mixers for CV and audio both (Links would help but you'll want more)
7) You have a lot of larger modules here, which is ok to an extent, but if I were you I'd look at removing one or two of them (probably Voltage Block but I'm not an expert on it)

My 2 cents

EDITED Apr 27th 2021, 17:39

Sadly, it appears that a user called @gridless didn't send the item (Tallin) I bought from him despite claiming he had on 17 March.
He appears to have booked a Track & Trace service from Netherlands, but according to the website, the package has not yet been delivered to them. That was 40 days ago on 17 March.
He claimed that he HAD sent the package and asked me to tell him when it arrives.
I have waiting for over a month just to give the time for the supposed package to arrive. Noting.
I wrote several times to ask for clarification and provide a tracking number, but I received no response.
Until this is clarified, I wouldn't buy from gridless.
Unfortuantely, it was Pyapal F&F so I can't claim the money back.
I left him a downvote on his profile.
If anything changes, I'll update this post.

EDITED Apr 27th 2021, 15:10

Thanks everyone, super helpful!

I think I'll make the leap for the coupe. Also will save the hassle of tracking down all the components individually and I think I'll save a few hundred bucks so maybe I can put that toward something down the road. Jim, your piggy bank concept is a great perspective too.

Thanks again and be seeing you guys around with more soon...

Very nice ModLifeCrisis, thanks for sharing.
How long did it take you, all in all?
-- wiggler55550

Hi, do you mean to make the video? Too long! I'm amazed by how long filming takes me. I'm using the most basic of basic equipment - an iPhone taped to a mic stand. The hardest thing is to get the framing right. It's a lot easier playing the ukulele. But in answer to your question - probably half a day, maybe a little more. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing it, but at the moment it is giving my brain something to munge on so I'll carry on. :)

-- ModLifeCrisis

In the video it looks to me like all you see is what ever happened.
It looks casual in a good way, not produced. I like that.
The mark of quality I guess ;-)
So keep them coming.

EDITED Apr 27th 2021, 11:19

Hi ModLifeCrisis,

Interesting one and nice to watch your video. Especially the beginning I like, quite funny while you patching the patch cables, nice touch!

Yes indeed, this part of the forum is meant for your videos and sounds ;-) Thank you very much for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular

Hi Garfield. Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. And glad too that I found the right place on this forum for my videos. :)

:), nice and calm!

Lovely
-- jingo

Thanks.

Ukugene ;-)
-- wishbonebrewery

Ha ha! Congratulations. You win the prize for best pun of the week. :)

Very nice ModLifeCrisis, thanks for sharing.
How long did it take you, all in all?
-- wiggler55550

Hi, do you mean to make the video? Too long! I'm amazed by how long filming takes me. I'm using the most basic of basic equipment - an iPhone taped to a mic stand. The hardest thing is to get the framing right. It's a lot easier playing the ukulele. But in answer to your question - probably half a day, maybe a little more. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing it, but at the moment it is giving my brain something to munge on so I'll carry on. :)

And the point of me telling you that is that I often look back and think I could have probably stopped at a mantis - but I wouldn't then have discovered video synthesis or DIY

-- JimHowell1970

;-))

boombipbass -- Larry Van Doorn, shufflephunk@hotmail.com -- is a fraud! I have a similar experience, only I paid for a module which he shipped to me broken and unusable (and with unoriginal knobs, and without power cable -- he advertised it as "As new"). When I messaged him the module was broken, he said "I dont accept returns" and has not answered messages since. A total asshole.
-- markylorenzen

damn, i found this post to late :(. Larry Van Doorn, shufflephunk@hotmail.com , @larrydekat aka @boombipbass sold me a future retro trax and Send me Nothing but some dead tracking a few weeks ago. all requests for my module, tracking or a solution have been ignored for weeks now...
@larrydekat still has the future retro module up for offer among others.

EDITED May 17th 2021, 08:33

it's a journey not a race

if you really like the System Coupe get that

and then when you realise that you are missing something you need or particularly want - get that

and if there's not enough rack space get a second case or just a bigger one take the modules out of the system coupe case and put them in the bigger case - maybe the system coupe case becomes a control skiff in the future!

total outlay now - System Coupe, however much that is - if you can find a used one then even better

total outlay in the future - who knows - but does it really matter? maybe a few hundred here and there - maybe more, maybe less.. it really depends on you and your needs and your level of self control...

if you are 'on a budget' & we all are to some extent or other, get a separate piggy bank or savings account and throw money in if and when you have spare

it's also a good way of sticking cash aside for the next case too if you follow the start small grow slow method - take the cost of your case per hp and multiply it by the number of hp of the new module and put that in the piggy bank each time you buy a module - when the case is full so is the piggy bank and the next case is paid for - without thinking about it

EDITED Apr 27th 2021, 00:26

why everyone recommends bigger cases to start with is that buying the bigger case saves you the expense of the smaller case and stops you having to worry for a longer period of time that you are running out of space, especially if you follow the other golden rule - "start small grow slow"

oddly though this does seem to be a decent fit for the size and spec

I started with a smallish case 6u/72hp and after 6 months when I only had 12hp free I decided I wanted Maths - not instead of anything but as well as everything else - so I bought a mantis and moved everything into that - and it was great - but when the mantis was full - 6 months later - I still had the smaller case as over-spill - I now have 6 cases and it's about 4 years later - luckily I have quite a lot of free space and probably won't run out til the end of this year maybe next - and my GAS seems to have massively reduced - I'm not really that interested in newer modules and especially nothing overly complicated or flashy - I have expensive modules

And the point of me telling you that is that I often look back and think I could have probably stopped at a mantis - but I wouldn't then have discovered video synthesis or DIY

Hey guys Im trying to put together a modular rig aimed at more ambient, dubby sounds. I have a dfam and a mother 32 already but really want to dip my toes into the modular world. Thanks

@the-erc sounds good you found what works for you which is key.
-- sacguy71

Well I have not actually got the Vortices etc yet, so I can't be sure that it actually works. I'm holding off since I don't need a eurorack mixer in my "studio" set up, and the live show is still some time away.

I can only agree in the Kickall -- it sounds good! The only thing I don't like about it, which seems to a general thing with Befaco, is having the sockets at the top and bottom of the module.

@the-erc sounds good you found what works for you which is key. I like the Befaco ST mixer my buddy has that I checked out this weekend for a small eurorack mixer. Also was impressed with his Befaco Kickall bass drum. Befaco makes great stuff and can do DIY if so inclined as well.

Dangit I wasn't thinking about that at all!! But it's a good point for @Lorenzzz94 too, make sure you check the depth of all your modules here to make sure they fit.

4) a Disting MK4...
-- troux

ISTR the Disting is too deep to fit in one of these palette cases. There's a Mylarmelodies video where he's got in held in with tape!

We were discussing mixers for live performance in another thread and the solution I settled on was SSF Vortices + as many 2hp mixers as you need for sends. The other option I entertained was chaining a Doepfer A-138n into an A-135s. You don't get voltage control over pan though.

There are also a few Ladik modules that almost worked for me, but came in one channel short for my rig. With neither space nor budget constraints I would probably have gone for the Hexmix-Hexpander combo. Even without the Hexpander, having mutes and EQ on the channels is a draw for the Hexmix. (Shame the midband isn't sweepable!)

EDITED Apr 26th 2021, 22:08

Dave Jones is excellent, but I'm pretty happy with the vpmd Zero. I had a Mordax Data and it was absolutely overkill for my purposes, so I sold it on. Pretty sure the Zero fits your budge better than than the DJ.

Agreed with @stolmine, if this is what you're thinking I'd probably go with the System Coupe (it does a ton and yes it looks awesome) and then once you find you've mastered that consider supplementing it with another rack or skiff.

This doesn't seem like it has much of an advantage over the default System Coupe. It definitely won't look as nice! Pam's can accomplish essentially everything that Marbles can (and potentially more given the inter-channel logic and variety of waveshapes) if you're willing to do the work with the encoder. The hands on experience of using Marbles is the only plus to this IMO. I totally get why that would be attractive for someone who is new, though. With some patience you could use the CV ins on Pam's with the Quaid for interesting high level automation.

You might just consider getting a larger case if you want to come up with your own rack, it'll be cheaper than expanding in the future from a 3U 84hp.

EDITED Apr 26th 2021, 17:53

I would get the WMD Performance mixer if you have the budget. That is the mixer on my wish list as the ones I have thus far like Befaco Hexmix, Intellijel Mixup, and XAOC Devices Praga are so-so and not that great for larger modular drum setups. Well Befaco is great but needs the expansion add on to be great.

Very nice ModLifeCrisis, thanks for sharing.
How long did it take you, all in all?

Hey first post here and totally new to modular.

Really love what I'm seeing from the ALM folks and am pretty tempted to jump in on the System Coupe which looks like it has a lot of potential and a good start point out of the box for a newbie Want something that I can make tunes without needing MIDI or external sources. Hopefully everything from jungle to IDM to ambient stuff.

...But then again kind of tempted to build out something more custom? And got a recommendation for the Marbles to have something else to generate melodies.

So started sketching something out similar to the coupe but making some swaps and going up to 104HP. Megaslope for two Pip slopes. They don't make the Milton outside the system so I put in the Triplat instead, same for the MCF but I can't quite figure out a replacement, would love to swap for MUM 8 but its 1 hp to big.

Anyway, would love to hear any and all feedback! Very excited to get into this world.

Chris

Hi ModLifeCrisis,

Interesting one and nice to watch your video. Especially the beginning I like, quite funny while you patching the patch cables, nice touch!

Yes indeed, this part of the forum is meant for your videos and sounds ;-) Thank you very much for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Ukugene ;-)

Lovely :)

:), nice and calm!

Lovely

Thanks a lot :)

@Garfield: it's a filter resonance sweep into lots of reverb :)...

Best,
jingo

You're going to get some suggestions to get a bigger rack but I personally think this is an ok starting point, and you'd probably learn a lot (before you break down and do in fact get a bigger rack down the road). My one comment would be that I don't really see the need for the Lapsus Os here, you already have two attenuators on the Maths and that's 10HP you could instead use for other things, e.g.

1) a mini Marbles clone
2) a Turing Machine, either a 2HP TM or a mini Thonk one, alongside some extra modulation c.f. an Ochd, a Ladik Harmonic or Folding LFO, etc
3) another analog oscillator in small form factor like a Doepfer Precision VCO (4HP) plus some mixing or extra modulation as above
4) a Disting MK4 plus some combination of the above which'll let you try out a ton of new things and open up the possibilities for the rack a lot

EDITED Apr 25th 2021, 16:51

I've just realised I may have been posting my videos in the wrong section - Patches, which seems to be for pictures of how to patch up the modular and comments about it. I'm sorry about this. I've posted my latest video here instead. Seems to be a better place for it.

Hi everyone, this is my first post here, I hope it's appropriate.
I'm relatively new to modular and I'd be interested in getting some feedback on an Intellijel case I've been thinking about.
My idea is to have a compact modular to midi control via my Elektron Digitakt, comprising a granular synth, some modulation and a single analogue voice to play bass/do some sound design with.

I'd like to know if I missed some important module or things could be done in a more efficient way to achieve similar results.
I'm open to your suggestions :)
Have a nice day

hahahaha

:(

a blank panel

Hi, I moved stasis leak on another rack of effects, granular synth, utilities ecc that I'll build.
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/image/1554719.jpg
With 4 hp I covered with Links that I use to control stages in adsr and quadrax which modulate respectively vco and vcf.
With the last 2 hp I think to add another tuner to regulate also the second vco of complex. In mixer usually I add also the vco of werkstatt.
What do you think of the idea on the two hp?
Thanks
FB

Pan Law, everything is better cooked in a Cast Iron Pan ;-)

I filled the current Gap with a Happy Nerding 4x Stereo Mix (for some more channels) and a Doepfer A138sv, there may be another A138sv on the horizon just for setting the positions of percussion. The more i read up the more I am drawn to the Befaco Hexmix and Hexpander.

Cheers for taking the time to put all that together.

Maybe replace clouds with a Mutable Stages and a WMD SCLPL? Sorry if that sounds a little random. That's just what came to mind as a couple things that would be very useful and different from what else is in the rack.

EDITED Apr 25th 2021, 07:25

Nice one, well done, enjoyed listening to it. Comical and a bit quirky at times :)

more vcas

So here's my latest system. I'm thinking about taking out clouds and replacing it with something(s) but I don't know what. Any suggestions? Thanks!

First up, you've got some discontinued modules in this. That Pitt output module is out of production, and the Tiptop EG has transitioned to another revision. Secondly, you won't need ANY mults in this, as the build is simply too small to give up functional space for something that should be dealt with in this case with inline mults. As for the need for a buffered mult...this only comes up when you're trying to send a scaled CV to so many VCOs that you get voltage sag, which throws the scaling/tuning out of whack. Not enough VCOs here to require that.

The way I see it, you've got two choices here...

First up, start in a bigger case. And I mean REALLY bigger. Then scale this back to a more practical result...but step on up to 2 x 104 or such.

Second option: shrink the modules. Do you actually NEED those large modules, or can you reduce the panel space by substituting other modules, smaller "clone" versions, etc?

In truth, BOTH of these options should be kept in mind while reworking this. Also, if you have a specific musical idea in mind here, look around MG for builds by others doing this...there's quite a few. The general idea you're on is right, but there's a lot of miscues here...such as the O/A/x2. It's $100 for a pair of offset gen/attenuverters. But for $9 more and 2 more hp, you can get Intellijel's Triplatt...which gives you those functions, adds one more attenuverter, then sums all of the inputs via a "breakable" summing bus, plus it also has a couple of "hidden" functions. Since the idea is to always push functionality, it makes far more sense to find those extra 2 hp to put one of THOSE in. But there's several points of that sort where it appears that a bit too much YouTube has crept into the build...and tbh, there's only a handful of YT presenters that I consider to be conversant enough about modular that I would listen to their (unpaid-for!) advice. It's far better to work these issues out here on MG among the "working modular stiffs" instead of watching a presenter with fairly "opaque motives" that might be telling you something based on getting some compensation such as a freebie module, and NOT on actual use and experience.

If you're looking for a mixer to do stereo audio panning, you also want to pay attention to whether or not the mixer supports pan law. Most of the ones I mentioned support it, but notably modules like the Make Noise X-Pan and the Verbos Scan and Pan do not. Without it, the sound will lurch between the channels a bit instead of doing a smooth sounding pan from left to right.

Hello!

I'm wondering if anyone can let me know if there might be anything glaring I'm missing here. Possibly more utilities? I know I should get a buff mult and mixer, but is there anything else that would be recommended? I'm looking to make ambient, sorta shoe gazy, experimental music. Any module suggestions I'd be grateful to receive!!

There's a paucity of mixers offering CV panning on 3 or more channels. The most compact is probably the Verbos (14hp) Scan and Pan, followed by PanMix (16hp), Praga (20hp), Stereomix 2 from Toppobrillo (24hp), Poltergeist (28hp), and finally WMD's 40hp Performance Mixer.

The Verbos is limited in that it has only 2 outputs. The PanMix also has only 2 outs, and you have to choose between VCA and panning on each channel. I think Praga hits the sweet spot with VCAs, independent outs, and CV panning on all 4 channels. It also has 2 aux sends, 2 stereo aux returns, and its expandable.

I think this is one of the biggest holes in the Eurorack module market. I think if Bastl ever upgraded their Quattro Figaro to do 4 channels of CV panning in 10hp they'd sell a ton.

You're very welcome @nickgreenberg.

Conceptually, for the mixer/VCA thing I was thinking about using the 20hp Praga in place of the Quad VCA and A-138s. You'd still have 8 ins and 8 outs with 4 VCAs (with boost), but it'd be more integrated and you'd add CV stereo panning and mute buttons which would get used constantly in performance. (I personally can't live without VC stereo panning.)

Similarly, the Joranalogue Mix 3 would do much of the same mixing as the A138n but you'd be adding a VCA on each mixer channel, and the LEDs and layout on the Mix 3 make it better for performance. (Perhaps you could use a WK1 or WK2 from LPZW in place of Links to free up 2hp.)

EDITED Apr 24th 2021, 23:50

I'll second the Dave Jones O'tool Plus, excellent module.

Hello,

Does anyone know the STG .VCO power consumption specs?

EDITED Apr 24th 2021, 22:33