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I have both, but I got the FX Aid XL first, great fx module use it all the time, so much so that I wanted a dedicated reverb to get more use out of the FX Aid. I mean I also have a clouds clone and use that as reverb. I am always on the lookout for a good reverb, have my eyes on Death by Audio Rooms Reverb and then I can try the other modes of the Versio platform.

In short: You can never have enough reverb, the FX Aid is great lots of algo's to try. I got this first and a dedicated reverb when I wanted use other algo's in FX Aid and not lose a reverb (love the lofi junky algo). Don't forget pedals these are a great add to any modular system. The NE Versio platform is great, the distortion option would be a great add to any Dark Ambient (if you have any reverb even clouds/disting would be a great combo)

The only thing I wish for the Versio would be a front panel usb mount as it stinks having to unrack the module everytime you want to switch modes.

This might be a contender (though I have personally enjoyed the FX Aid XL)?
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/noise-engineering-desmodus-versio

im in the need of a good reverb module for that Dark Ambient vibe,any suggestions?

Loving that, great sweeping / ping-ponging stereo :)

This is my first comment on someone else's rack so maybe take it with a pinch of salt!

I think Pam's a a nice choice here because I'm assuming you intend to use it to modulate the BIA to extract all them sounds, right? Plus you can self-patch it for 2 layers of modulation. You could maybe shave a few HP with a more narrow 8HP Plaits clone and get a 2HP Turing and wouldn't you need the 2HP left over for a mixer?

EDITED Aug 30th 2021, 13:15

Got it. Cheers!!!

How can I upload my rack screenshot to this conversation?
-- CostasP

Just copy and paste the URL from your rack page.

How can I upload my rack screenshot to this conversation?
-- CostasP

Simply paste the link of your rack :

EDITED Aug 30th 2021, 11:53

How can I upload my rack screenshot to this conversation?

Hi everyone.
This is my first post on the forum.
I'm new to modular synthesis and fairly new to synthesizers, as I come from a bass guitar background. Been in some bands over the years.
The last 8 years I'm experimenting and recording my music at home. Mostly electro punk-ish and ambient stuff.. My DAW is used only for recording/mixing my demos.
I'm also rehearsing with a fellow drummer. I use an affordable and sturdy small set-up for this, so I can transport with safety. A Polyend Tracker for samples and sequencing a MAM mb33 which I use for basslines with a Zoom ms60b. And a Microbrute + zoom ms50g for leads and fills.
I also have a Dreadbox NYX v2 which I'm only using at home (I love it but those little switches seem so sensitive to carry in a case) with a Keystep, a Boss looper and a Zoom ms70cdr pedal, for some ambient stuff and sampling sounds and phrases on the Tracker.

In short, I'd like to add an 84hp rack of modulators and cv modifiers to the NYX. Don't care much about osc and filters, at the moment. I really like the looks and can afford Doepfer stuff. Please tell me what you think of my rack planning so far.

Thank you all in advance. I have learnt a lot by this forum already.

EDITED Aug 30th 2021, 18:54

Ah, that's nice. It sounds like a conversation between oscillators. :)
Are you sequencing from the Sinfonion? Also, that Ventris reverb sounds incredible. I had never heard of that pedal until now.
Thanks for sharing!

Hello All,

Please find in the below link my first recording from my new studio setup. I was testing some Doepfer modules as well as I was testing the Intellijel Dixie 2+ module. 1 + 1 = Doepfer Meets Dixie ;-)

The Dixie 2+ can be heard in about the first 40 seconds, followed then by some 'stuff' from the Doepfer A-110-1 module with some supporting modules.

Strange this MP3 version on Soundcloud does have a few irritating clicks/ticks that were not there in the master wav file... weird... I have no explanation for that. Even at home the MP3 version seems to be all right... Hmm... also on other performers hearing clicks, perhaps Soundcloud have currently some issues, no idea, let's hope this is just temporarily.

Used external effects here: Delay (Electro-Harmonix Grand Canyon), Reverb (Source Audio Ventris Dual Reverb), Leslie (Neo Instruments Ventilator II) and some mild compression and touch up by SPL (Stereo Vitalizer Mk2-T).

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

Edit: Improvement on the above text and adding details on the effects.

EDITED Aug 30th 2021, 00:53

Modular is actually a fantastic platform for me. I can remember way back when and Reason 3.0 was brand new, the whole concept of CV control was showed to me at a demo. I invested in Reason, and used it for quite a while. Over the years I have owned a bunch of groove boxes, dabbled with DAW's and other things. I never really stuck with anything once I figured out the workflow. I have discovered my enjoyment(kink?) is the process of exploration and trying new things through experimentation. I find the modular allows me to scratch that itch. There is a near infinite number of possibilities with modular. It really is open ended and I can always add a new module or two and it opens many more possibilities for me to explore.
I also an a computer engineer for my day job, and I really don't like sitting in front of the computer to make music.

Hi Farkas,

He, he, I am hesitating about the Drum 3P, I have zero experience with drums. On the other hand it's tempting... if I am going to get one, I need to get some kind of experience with it first, then, once I can produce some sounds out of it, will demo it here. Let's see how that goes :-)

Regarding the VC340, pity the keys aren't of good quality, once I visit my local dealer again, I hope they have this one for testing purposes available so I can test it before I might want to buy it. Have a good start of the week and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Wisbonebrewery,

Thanks a lot for the details of your patch, interesting! Can't wait for your next jam :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Anubiz,

That's a great video with nice lighting! Thanks a lot for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Any other recommendations on power (routing, protection, conditioning etc) folks?

EDITED Feb 27th 2023, 06:55

Yep, More Vocoder please :)
-- wishbonebrewery

As you wish. :)

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

EDITED Sep 2nd 2021, 11:52

@Lugia,

I love VCV Rack and I used it a lot before buying a modular system. I still use it on occasion to try new items out now that Instruo has placed copies of their expensive yet amazing modules on it. I used it and the videos on YT and picked up the book Patch and Tweak when I got into it. Now that I have half a monster case and 14u case full, have more than enough modules to keep learning and creating music.

Made me think of Aphex Twin. Nice job =]

Nice work, and I'm loving your Blank panels :)

Yep, More Vocoder please :)

Thanks... I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet. I'm sort of talking about getting a micro Ornament & Crime so I can set Chords to play through the Chainsaw properly, either that or Maybe a Robaux 3PT as I just found that will let you output 3 finger chords from one input.

This is a beautiful journey. Well done.
Man, you're going to make me re-buy the Chainsaw eventually. You get great results from it.

Current state of affairs:
I will get a second 84hp row.

I already own:

• Pams New workout
• Plonk
• Links & Kinks
• Joranalogue Mix 3
• Befaco out V3

I already played with this setup and it's really nice. I like both the plonk and the pams although it made me realise I don't want to have too much devices with menu diving. They're both very easy to operate but it's a lot of turning and clicking with that main encoder button. I think it's ok for a few modules but it's better to keep it limited.

I'm about to order:

• Marbles
• Plaits
• Maths
• FX aid (massive banks of effects)
• Also a filter but not sure which one yet. Lugia's idea of taking the A-106-1 xtreme in combo with the bad comrade seems like a good idea but I'm not sure I can get my hands on the bad comrade. I might just go with the Doepfer A-106-5 for starts and maybe upgrade later (or maybe the wasp, but as for now I like the sound of the A-106-5 better)
• Second 19" 84hp rack

What I'm about to order is open for debate, but I think it's all modules I can't really go wrong with. Let me know if you think the opposite.

At one point I might get the Disting EX for its multifunctionality. And the ES-9 as an interface (although might go with something simpler not sure yet to what degree I want to integrate my rack with my daw/vcv-rack).

So apart from the Plonk and the Doefper filter and if you remove the currently optional modules on the right side of the second row, there is still around 60HP left that can be used there:

• At one point I might want to get a proper (pair?) of oscillators the work in combo (or separatly) but I'm not sure which ones yet. I reached out for the gravitational waves but it's kinda difficult and expensive to get in Europe due to import taxes. So I'm thinking maybe two smaller ones instead of a dual or another dual (from Instruo maybe?) ?
• Should I add some simple ADSR generator (maybe with a looping function?) or is this somhow covered with the maths?
• A sequencer?

Are there other major things missing or that could be optimized?

Hey, thanks for listening Garfield. Believe it or not, slower styles with a new wave or Boards of Canada feel are what I write more often than anything else. The techno and improv stuff is just quick and fun (for me). I get lazy and don't finish structuring a lot of songs, so these improvisation things force me to put something out in the world while I work on other stuff.
That Nord Drum 3P looks amazing. Unfortunately, no. I don't have one. You'll have to share some of your experiments when you get one. :)
The only issue I can find with the VC340 is that the keys feel kind of cheap, but they still feel better than my old Arp Omni. Just a minor concern. Otherwise, the sound is pretty phenomenal.
Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Thanks @GarfieldModular Yeah I think I got a bit crazy on the Rebach filter started clipping the recording or something, it didn't sound quite that bad while I was playing it.
I get 3 parts out of the Acidrain Chainsaw via the ST Modular SVCA, the main Stereo outs fom the SVCA go to Mimeophon and then onto Monsoon Clouds, then I take the extra outs from the SVCA and split them to the Patching Panda Punch before hitting either the Omsonic FLF or the Rebach VCF-AB, Triggers for these going to the Punch come from the Robaux LL8.
Marbles controls the whole show, Mimeophon is clocked from Pams, Mimeophon clock the Pitches side of Marbles.

I feel what I need to do is disconnect all my percussion or make a point of not using it, it was sort of my fear when starting to buy percussion modules that everything I do would have beats in it, my percussion row will eventually become separate so i can completely avoid it.

Here is my rack. My goals are to 1) get it into a more performance oriented layout. I have tried to put much of the knobs/sliders I would tweak at the bottom. 2) make melodic/minimal techno and some ambient, when the mood strikes. I have a Pittsburgh modular structure 344 case. I own these modules except the endorphin.es shuttle control which has been ordered already. I plan on pulling the Tukra out, it’s a great module but not what I ultimately wanted. I have a beatstep pro. I have decided I want to sequence drums using samples on my Polyend tracker. This would interface with the shuttle control to enable midi to cv control of the modular. I feel like I am lacking in envelopes/modulation. Let me know what you think and might change out. I love the distortion of the retro mechanical fuzz but it takes up a lot of rack space. I have used the feedback oscillator to generate noise, but that was before I grabbed the Furthurrrr generator. I basically use microcell as a granular looper, and I feel like there might be a better replacement for it. I guess I will see what y’all say and go from there. This rack has been developing over the past couple years.
I should add I have a few external synths I use occasionally and process them in the modular as well.

EDITED Aug 29th 2021, 03:23

This module just keeps getting better and better and is quickly becoming one of my favourite utility modules. Im expecting great things from disting in the future, however, left a few comments on youtube on some of their videos ermmm ...... the guys @ expert sleepers are yet to wake up on the true potential of these pressing matters.

EDITED Aug 29th 2021, 02:55

a great solution to integrate my module to my daw, would love more, if this module could just, find a silent way to become a ghost audio card in the background of my daw = integration heaven,

now, im aware another one of his modules may do the trick, somewhat, still nice to feed audio back.

I Own One, I Love It, So Raw, Such Power,

If only there was a way to have all my banks on the sd , and yes you guessed it backup of single tweaked presets in a nice organised fashion via micro sd, a setting with no distortion.

My IME Experience Would Be Complete;

EDITED Aug 29th 2021, 02:41

such a cool module, do wish i could have all my banks handy, organised filesystem @ easy access transfer via micro sd , ability to back up my single pre-sets to sd, that i may have spent a few hours tweaking. still great work IME

oh almost forgot, ability to run 2 different effects, in such a small unit, a nice addition, guess the fv1 chip isn't strong enough, maybe 1 day there will be multiple in's and out's, still running 2 effects possible ?

Hi Farkas,

Are you crazy? ;-) This is totally my thing, sounds great, he, he, indeed a bit of Depeche Mode feeling here but that's totally fine, I love this jam. Nicely done! What I admire is that you are able to cover "several areas of music styles" and that capability shines through here. I am glad this time it ain't Techno ;-)

It's also nice you remembered that I mentioned the Behringer VC340, coincidentally I was thinking last night about that one again. After this jam, I am going to put up the priority of the VC340 in my wish list, slowly it's about time. One other thing I like to consider/get before I go for the VC340, which is the drum synthesizer Drum 3P from Clavia Nord. Any chance you got that one and can demo it in one of your jams? ;-)

The usage, near the end of the jam, of the VC340 is very nice, very subtle, great! :-) Gives me a good appetite for this vocoder.

Thank you very much for this great jam, I hope to hear more from your vocoder and kind regards, Garfield.

Im thinking really cool, then, i realized, no variable clock, kind of limits the module, don't get me wrong , i love the sleek small design of the module , variable clock just feels like an important factor.

EDITED Aug 29th 2021, 02:11

Hi Wishbonebrewery,

This is a lovely jam, that synthesizer sound you got here is just beautiful! How did you manage to get a beautiful sound like that?

Ha, ha, around 7:50 there was a little glitch ;-) But nicely repaired and you got out strong there, lovely!

Great stuff and good work here, thank you very much for sharing this with us and kind regards, Garfield.

Went in a different direction with this latest (mostly) improv session. Sort of a mid-tempo synth-pop/new wave/mid-period Depeche Mode kind of sound. Too much going on with the patch to explain everything, but mostly the E352 and AJH Minimod oscillators into an Optomix and Patching Panda Punch v3. A little bit of the 4ms DLD, Milky Way, and Clouds. FSS Makrow doing its thing. I finally broke down and picked up a Behringer VC340 vocoder and threw that in towards the end as well (@GarfieldModular I know you were looking for a vocoder a while back. I can confirm that the VC340 is outstanding).
Thanks for your time and have a great weekend. No worries if this isn't your thing. :)

Not sure on having so much hp tied up in both pams and fh-2, if you are looking at midi sequencing you can get envelopes/gates/clocks/cv from fh-2 saving 8 hp, you could pick up a filter and effects.

Its limited and small, but I am assuming that is part of what you are looking for.
-- mog00

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment. It doesn't include the FH-2 but the Disting EX which I think would allow for some sequencing, filtering and effects.

You are right, I wanted something small that would not take up too much space in carry-on luggage.

I do hope to put it together and look forward to seeing what it can do but I am concerned about the depth of the Disting if I were to use a 4MS Pod. Do you have any experience with those?

Thanks!

Thanks for watching :)

Hey Ronin, I got the Palette already + all the 1Us and they do fit! 😊

Hey frow3n,

Could you elaborate on what you mean exactly by generative? Would it be something that "plays itself", or something that adds randomness to what you programmed, or maybe just evolving melodies?

In term of pure generative, it misses the most essential modules I believe :

• A source of pseudo-random gates and voltages (checkout MI Marbles or the Malekko Noisering)
• Dedicated LFOs (you have the Dixie but I'd advise for something that you can clock like the Zadar)
• Comparators (you'll trigger events based on certain conditions met somewhere else)
• Attenuverters (the quad VCA will be full pretty fast and you'll still need to control everything else)
• Utility sequencers (you have 2 huge programmable sequencers but generative music requires multiple, smaller orders of control)
• Gate modulators (eg. logic modules, gate delays)
• Sequential switches
• ....

There's a shit ton of other utilities that would be interesting in a techno live rack.
I think this guy could help. He's built a live techno system and explains how/why in several videos:

And him probably:

To summarise, I 100% agree with mog00: first add all the utilities you can and try things out for yourself.
They're cheap and a lot of fun. Also, you don't have to do generative music for things to be interesting and fun in your rack!

(also take everything I said with a bit of salt because I'm essentially a beginner at eurorack)

EDITED Aug 28th 2021, 08:34

Ronin, thanks for the mentions above, I'll check them out!

An idea to add here, ADDAC405 is a "Relabi Generator;" it is a multi-mixing LFO complex CV and gate source. Hard to describe precisely in a short phrase here, but very reminiscent of what Ronin is discussing above. I NEVER see the ADDAC405 discussed on MG -- thought it is worth a shout out! I love ADDAC stuff!

a few quick follow ups:

-- my longer post yesterday was more along the lines of "cool ideas & prior posts for you to investigate" plus some module types you don't already have, if you wanted to consider a larger and spendier but more capable rig

-- I agree with Ronin and Jim above, it's a great idea to figure out # of voices you'll want from your rig at any one time, and what would be required to support those. If you wanted all your voices out of modular, as Ronin said, that's likely a bigger and more expensive rig

-- the practical, near-term edits I would suggest to your rig above are i) bigger case ii) add Ochd (for more LFOs), Gx (for more lanes from Metropolix), and SISM (for CV control). But it does make sense to go through the exercise Ronin mentioned first, before you commit to any additional modules and HP.

... thought I'd follow up with something more focused and practical (as my earlier post was not as near-term & practical)

Good luck, enjoy!

Not sure on having so much hp tied up in both pams and fh-2, if you are looking at midi sequencing you can get envelopes/gates/clocks/cv from fh-2 saving 8 hp, you could pick up a filter and effects.

Its limited and small, but I am assuming that is part of what you are looking for.

I was fortunate enough to travel again recently but I missed my A100 modular system.

As a result, I thought that I would try to put together a system that I could take on future trips.

What are your thoughts?

great ideas from @Ronin1973 there.,.
the op also mentioned generative - so I'd suggest maybe having a think about how that would fit in as well - usually want more layers of modulation - modulate the modulation.. so there is movement over time - possibly more vcas too for the sme reason

EDITED Aug 27th 2021, 18:48

As far as chaos goes... multiple LFOs that are mixed together in a DC compatible mixer that's capable of attenuverting is great for creating chaos. Switches connected to a randomized sample and hold, switching between different modulation sources can make for nice chaos. Also check out Vector Space from WORNG Electronics. It combines (mixes) CV signals in a unique way that might give you that something different you're looking for.