The 1U is worth getting for the dual INPUT and OUPUTs. The outputs are a nice way of interfacing with the rest of your studio. It takes the question of "can I connect this to that" and puts it to bed. You seem to have a nice budget for gear. So I'd get that and be done with it.

one good reason for spending the bit extra and buying a real mutable module rather than a clone is the fantastic support - I had a button fail on my Marbles - and after emailing mutable it was there, fixed and back in 6 days NL-> FR ->NL

Love this panel.. smooth matte finish, with AFRORACK on one side and the Chicago stars on the other!

Right on. I kinda want to stay away from Behringer, but the price points are tempting. Btw, I have seen some clever powersupply adapters that can make MN table top stuff rackable. Think thats worth a shot or a was of space like my semi's

Forum: link to last post

On the forum index pages click on the date of the latest post. It leads you directly to the latest post: less pagination, less scrolling.

Hi!!

More or less my project is taking form, I had to expand the design with a Intellijel case, the 1U row rocks.

I read here and there and all of you are awesome. Pointing out even the most minimal details even with information of all kind.

Thank to all of you.

EDITED Aug 15th 2021, 18:40

As far as I could read, this has surprisingly never been requested before but would be a big scroll/click saver for forum users: I don't see a way to jump to the last post of a thread on the forum, would it be possible to transform the [time] section of the "Today, [time] by [user] in [Forum Index]" message into a link leading to the last message, similar to what we can see on other forums ?

Great idea, we have that now.

Thanks Garfield! Yeah, I'm trying to keep things shorter right now, establish a mood and then let it pass?

Me too, though thankfully I'm fairly OK with Goat and Sheep cheeses and a bit of good quality mozzarella on a Pizza.

Is it ok to share videos and patch's on this site? Do people support the music side here, or just more technical stuff.?
-- Shadowsaun

Totally OK and welcome to share all that, there's a section of the forum dedicated to that: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/threads/index/8

BTW, what do you @Ronin1973 think of Brains? A good brides clone? I really with MN would sell a rack version of strega...man I want that.
-- Shadowsaun

Brains is more or less a copy of the currently available Mutable Instruments Plaits. And I feel you for the Make Noise Strega, what a beautiful instrument !

Thanks @Lugia I understand this a bit better now. I think I might make a dedicated 'Moog' and 'Roland' rack. the whole setup is very competitive and from the few bits and bats I've bought they sound and work great

A $199 Bode Frequency Shifter!?!?

Two for me please :-)
After shortly reviewing a Cwejman FSH-1 and a Sythesis Technology E560 I opted for the latter. Currently enjoying a Klangbau Köln variety after the E560 quit service. Analog ones are hairy to both design and maintain as it seems. Oskar Sala said his Frequenschieber had to recalibrated (frequently?). Digital ones avoid that problem but sound different.

EDITED Jul 23rd 2021, 11:16

How about Cheese Machine, aka, Racky Raclette? :)
-- wishbonebrewery

Would be great if I wasn't lactose-intolerant - not even kidding

How about Cheese Machine, aka, Racky Raclette? :)

Uhhh...doesn't this violate certain laws of physics or something? https://www.modulargrid.net/e/behringer-bode-frequency-shifter

OK, normally I would object to Uli lifting designs. But NOT HERE. My sole question is "does this really work?" If it does, B.'s managed to put out something for cheap here that pretty much NO ONE could get into for less than a grand! And sure, there's a couple of digitally-based designs that come in in the $400-ish range, but no analog ones anywhere near there...until this. You could even afford TWO for full stereo operation!

If you're wondering why this is a big deal...this isn't a "pitch shifter". Those are invariably digital devices that take an entire sound and move it up or down in pitch. But this is an ANALOG device that doesn't shift the entire sound, it takes a similar tack to a ring modulator and raises/lowers all sonic content by adding or subtracting the "carrier" frequency from the "source". So if you have a sound on a fundamental frequency of, say, 200 Hz and it's got a pretty typical set of partials at the first few harmonics, frequency shifting raises/lowers the fundamental by...well, let's say 100 Hz here. And then the harmonics ALSO shift by that same 100 Hz.

So? OK...let's look at what's going on here arithmetically:

F = 200 Hz
1st = 400
2nd = 600
3rd = 800
4th = 1 kHz
5th = 1.2
6th = 1.4

That's the normal harmonic arrangement. Now, let's shift that by 100 Hz up...

F = 300 Hz
1st = 500
2nd = 700
3rd = 900
4th = 1.1 kHz
5th = 1.3
6th = 1.5

Math-wise, this doesn't look all that different. But remember: pitch scales in a LOGARITHMIC relationship, as do the harmonics. Here's what's REALLY supposed to happen to a 300 Hz signal:

F = 300 Hz
1st = 600
2nd = 900
3rd = 1.2 kHz
4th = 1.5
5th = 1.8
6th = 2.1

So if you look back at the shifted version, you'll notice that NONE of the harmonics are following their normal overtone relationships. This results in some extraordinarily wild FM-ish clangers, bizarre modulations, and so on. Ring mod, but on a LOT of 'roids, and you can either shift up OR down...not both at the same time like a typical ring mod does. These devices are, accordingly, rather hard to engineer, which is why frequency shifters are normally very spendy things that not everyone's had the pleasure of encountering. But....well, here we are! And if Uli is to be believed (yeah, a stretch, I know), ANYONE can afford one of these now. Truly wild times we're in...

Perhaps indeed a transformer that separates the power from the power supply is the best solution if you have unbalanced power, isn't it?

Yep...that's the only way TO obtain balanced power from unbalanced mains, in fact. As opposed to power supplies, there's no balanced power solution that doesn't involve a huge transformer of some sort.

Do you know by any chance if the power is unbalanced in Canada too?
-- GarfieldModular

It is...it's worth noting, in fact, that part of Canada's grid interconnects with the NE USA's in the east, and there's other interconnections further west along the border. When we had a severe geomagnetic event about 20-ish years back, the multistate power failure that resulted started in Quebec from the storm overloading their transmission lines with inductive currents.

Hi Lugia,

Ha, ha, yes a Faraday shield under the floor is something that definitely might help :-) Keeps everything else off from that area :-)

Perhaps indeed a transformer that separates the power from the power supply is the best solution if you have unbalanced power, isn't it?

Well, I feel sorry for you and everyone else who lives in an area where only unbalanced power is available :-( I guess you might get used to it, but it gives you a bit more struggle to keep things nicely and especially easily grounded.

Do you know by any chance if the power is unbalanced in Canada too? Thank you and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Baltergeist,

That's a lovely short track. I had the feeling I was walking somewhere in a forest, listening to birds, natural sounds, just so natural and so relaxing. Pity the track is so short, well I solve that problem by pressing the play button again ;-)

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

@hexcrank and @Ronin1973

Thankyou much appreciated. I also have 1u space in my Intellijel case and was thinking of getting the 1U line output module but
then wondered if it was just a simple attenuator. I have asked mosaic the question on Facebook but no response so far.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/mosaic-line-output-black-panel

@toodee - be quiet

Thank you for the consistent advise. I'm pretty sure I'm making a noob mistake, but its ok, I welcome the growing pains! I like the semi stuff because it works with no patching. So my focus will be on modulation and sequencing more than synth design on these. The other goodies should cover that base. When they do not, I will put out the semi's and put them back in there cheep, powered case and grow that way.

I got the case today, and man is it a thing of beauty. Is it ok to share videos and patch's on this site? Do people support the music side here, or just more technical stuff.? BTW, what do you @Ronin1973 think of Brains? A good brides clone? I really wish MN would sell a rack version of strega...man I want that.

EDITED Jul 23rd 2021, 14:56

would appreciate someone replying to this as I don't want to ruin my expensive UAD Apollo by pumping in modular levels of audio.
-- greenfly

The Apollo should be able to handle it. Eurorack level is around 10V. If it doesn't have the headroom it'll just distort. If we were talking 100V then I'd be cautious.

If you're worried, buy a line level output module that converts synth level to line level. I don't think you have a lot of room left in your case. But you could easily swap out your expert sleepers modules for a line level output module and just pop in the expert sleepers modules when you need them.

There's nothing wrong with Behringer when it comes to synths and modules. Some of their business practices I find abhorrent. But the quality of their synth stuff is good.

If you're going to rack all of those synths, then just get a couple of the large Behringer cases. There's no point in spending a lot of money on your case if you're going to fill it with semi-modular synths.

Sequencers cover such a broad range of devices and modules. Some are very complex... which is good when you really have something complex in mind. But can be frustratingly tedious to program. So something simpler might be awesome to get immediate results from. But again, its simplicity means a lack of additional features. Neither is better or worse... just different. Sometimes you just need a hand-saw and sometimes you need an entire table-saw... to try and make an analogy out of it.

The biggest thing you'll want to worry about is getting your sequencers to play nicely with each other when sync'ing them together. Okay... here's where you get into trouble. One sequencer has to be the master that every other sequencer gets its timing from. They also have to have a way of starting together, so one sequencer has to send out a reset trigger to every other sequencer when play starts or your sequencers might be out of sync and not playing when you'd like them to. Another issue is HOW your sequencer interprets clocks (timing triggers). A trigger is a short square wave. Some sequencers use the leading edge of the square for timing, some use the falling edge. This can be problematic and lead to issues, especially concerning triggers that initiate the reset. So before bringing a new sequencer home... you might want to make sure it'll play well with everyone else or at least buy from some place with an easy return policy.

EDITED Jul 22nd 2021, 17:40

Both Ornament and Crime as well as the Disting are kinda scary for me. I feel like it's easy to get lost in those while scrolling through tons of different functions. As much as I love my Pams the scrolling and setting up feels tedious at times. The Disting might be something I am willing to look into but for the sequencer, I really like the "simplicity" modules like the Digitalis have to offer (Every button to alter the sequence is right there/ simple led illustration). At first, I was even looking at something like a bunch of XAOC Tirana's (I really like the aesthetic of XAOC modules) but 6TE per 4 steps single sequence is rough when space is an issue.

Regarding the Sono Abitus, I am not quite sure if I understand what it has to offer. From my understanding, it is just a bunch of outputs, right? I mean everything the rack produces is mono anyway so every output on the Abitus is giving me the same signal. So it is like 5 outputs with one having an extra volume Knob?
-- 9xpad

I'll start from the last comment. Rack space (measured in HP) is critical, especially when you're trying to put together a skiff (small case like the Nifty). So saving 2HP is going to be worthwhile. Plus the Sono Abitus has more features than the Doepfer. A simple headphone out is nice. But the Sono anso has line-outputs. Synth level is a lot hotter than line-level. So if you try to record the outputs of your Eurorack to your DAW or something else, you might run into level issues. So, no you're not getting just an extra volume knob.

As far as menu diving, the O&C isn't too bad (I own one). I also own the Digitalis. It's fun. But it's not very exacting. The sequencer in O&C offers pitch CV tied to gate. The gate can even be a full ADSR envelope. You trade the immediacy of the Digitalis for the versatility of O&C. When you're in a skiff... well... them's the ropes.

Oh... and there's a guy on Youtube that's the master of real-time Eurorack skiff-ing, Ricky Tinez. He uses a Digitalis in his rig and a Steppy. It works for him. But everyone is different.
https://www.youtube.com/c/RickyTinez/featured

EDITED Jul 22nd 2021, 17:20

Plaits is basically its own synth voice. You can dial in attack, decay, quantizing, etc from it. The same with Braids.

I think a couple of envelope generators would be nice and should fit well within a $500 budget... unless you go with something a ton of features.

A multi-function module would keep you busy for a while. Expert Sleepers Disting EX, Maths, Ornaments & Crime, would be nice choices. The Disting would give you the most features. Maths is great for envelopes and other modulations/utilities, O&C is great for CV modulations but doesn't do audio rate (like reverb, delay, etc.).

It's a bit of a broken record. But I'd go with the Disting EX. If you have $500 and that's all you'll have for a while, it'll give you the most bang for the buck... it can even do filtering. Plus you'll get $150 back in change.

Thanks dudes. Have bought the very impressive Joranalogue Filter 8. I think that will keep me busy for quite some time.
-- rs6134x

You're welcome. I also have an Intellijel Morgasmatron. That's my general workhorse. It has two identical multimode filters (some of the effects like overdrive and phase flip are unique to each filter).

It takes up more space, is more expensive, and only one mode of filtering is available at a time through a single output per filter. I find it to be the yang to the Filter 8's ying. Having both of those seems to cover all of my filter wishlist. I also have a Roland dual filter. I love the Roland chirp but I don't particularly like their modular unit.

@Lugia, thanks for the ideas above! Since my Vector+Expander can run multiple lanes of sequencing, it would seem I already have enough "source signal" to feed the type of signal flow you're indicating above. Cool -- I don't absolutely have to buy another sequencer unit to dig into this line of exploration.... still I'll probably want to add at least a Rene2 when I can get my hands on one!

Other forum folks, do you have anything to add to the discussion / ideas / suggestions re: multiple sequencers?

I too learned something, so also a good day. Though if I ever buy a Diggy-Takt, I shall name it a digitakt :)
Lucky for me i can pronounce Elektron :)
-- wishbonebrewery

Did you notice that the (super nice) guy in the video pronounces his name like "Jenk" but it's written Cenk ?

And of course, we are all free to name our machines as we like, my Digitakt (when I had one) was named Michel. BTW, I'm still looking for an official name for my rack, currently I'm looking at

• Blinkenlichten Syndicate
• Plink Plong Brrrzwhit Noise Machine
• Michel and Michel

But any idea is welcome

Do some research on the 1010 Music Bitbox V2. It can slice samples. Here's a link to a tutorial.

would appreciate someone replying to this as I don't want to ruin my expensive UAD Apollo by pumping in modular levels of audio.
-- greenfly

Seems like an opportune time to remind yourself that this website is not your personal free customer service, but rather a place where people come to have fun and help each other. A simple "thank you" might go a long way, but YMMV I suppose...

its fine man jeez

would appreciate someone replying to this as I don't want to ruin my expensive UAD Apollo by pumping in modular levels of audio.

Thanks dudes. Have bought the very impressive Joranalogue Filter 8. I think that will keep me busy for quite some time.

I can only see modules on the right.
-- abstractrhythms

Same here.

Context: Pairing with some outboard synths (Digitone, Digitakt), had initially planned to sequence and clock from the Digitakt.
-- toiletfingers

What do you hope this setup will achieve, supplement the existing gear with modulation (you'd need a CV to MIDI converter, most likely), create a completevoice with Plaits, something else I'm not seeing ? What do you mean by initially planned, did that change and if so, why ?

I have about $500 to spend before I have to pump the brakes for awhile, trying to figure out what makes the most sense to gain maximum enjoyment from my case until I can afford to further expand.

I know I need a filter, an envelope, really attracted to Pam's because it does quite a bit that I think would bring the rest of the case to life. Rings is also attractive to me but I know there are other things I would probably benefit from acquiring first.
-- toiletfingers

Most likely not the answer you're expecting but I'd say that with that kind of cash, I'd probably be looking at an Analog Four Mk1 in 2nd hand, a very capable 4 voice analog synth, with the sequencing paradigm you already know from the Digitone and CV outs too if you want to integrate that with Eurorack... Now if you already have some modular gear and you're only looking for a filter + EG with a $500 budget, maybe the Intellijel offering could be interesting, say a Quadrax and a Polaris in 2nd hand ?
Also, what do you hope Pam's or Rings would bring to your setup ?

I feel like there's just not enough we know about what you want to do to be able to answer efficiently...

Hi,

I can only see modules on the right.

The Poly2 is a nice module which I also have on my list. As it's not that cheap, question is, do you really need it from the very beginning? What MIDI capabilities are you looking for?
The maestro is also a very nice module. What is the main purpose are you going for it? What do you want to achieve with it?

Ciao

EDITED Jul 22nd 2021, 07:46

I too learned something, so also a good day. Though if I ever buy a Diggy-Takt, I shall name it a digitakt :)
Lucky for me i can pronounce Elektron :)

Another nice feature of the Filter-8 is that you can also use it as a quadrature generator. This comes in handy for autopanning functions, phase shift (the Filter-8 also makes a good filter core for phase shifting!), "training" modulation, and the like.

Well, when I was running balanced power in the studio many years ago, the principle that we use here for that is to have a balancing transformer divide the "hot" leg into two legs of half-voltage with inverse phases. The equipment doesn't mind (in nearly all cases...but I know there's a few devices that don't like this) as a rule, and by doing that inversion, you wipe all of the noise that might be lurking on the AC thanks to phase cancellation. Also, the transformer helps to provide a more solid ground because there's no "neutral" for AC to sneak back onto in situations like this.

As for star grounds...they're not exactly THE mains ground line, which is what your codes refer to. Instead, this is more of a "noise ground"...it helps to kill stray induced garbage that's creeping around rackrails, gear chassis, etc. by creating a "universal ground plane" for the audio so that crud goes right to a single groundpoint that's designed to handle that garbage...this is usually a groundpoint on the mixer, which my Topaz 24 and FIVE both have. Years ago, I also had a Faraday shield under the floor of the studio that also connected to the mixer ground to catch e-smog creeping up from lower floors, and that was a very effective countermeasure at that time.

Worked out a few things...

OK...first up, the large amount of Blinds modules didn't seem to be all that sensible. The only real place you'd want polarization would be for the modulation section (inverse audio doesn't sound different, but inverted modulation signals are VERY useful), and in that case, I opted for a Frap 321 for the mix/invert/offset/etc functions (does most everything the Samara + Blinds does, and a few other things) there to save hp and then paired that with another 6 hp module, Happy Nerding's 3xVCA, which gives you three linear VCAs for modulation level control. But anyway...

Everything was relocated to groupings to make patching faster and more intuitive. The VCO group, VCFs, supporting modules, and the Beads/Data Bender went on the top row, with a left-to-right signal flow. Middle row is all of your modulation, and as noted, I made some changes there for the modulation processing. I was also able to add the Quadrax's Qx expander and a Zadar + Nin by removing excess Blinds. At the end, you have your fixed-level mixing/splitting (Links) and VCAs for the mixer (ALL of it...hence the Vnicvsal VCA, which gives you a VCA for each mixer input).

The bottom row has the various control functions, to which I added a dual clock delay for some flam/offset behavior out of your clocking, and a Varigate 4+ so that your Voltage Block now has some extra functions, including sixteen memory slots for Voltage Block sequences. And the last change is that little white bit on the left end of the middle, which is a Konstant Labs PWRchekr, which keeps tabs on your DC rail health with visual problem indicators.

Basically, the module choices were pretty spot-on, save for the excess of Blinds and the excess buffered mults. And by tossing the superfluous stuff, I managed to mash in a lot of extra functionality that was missing...such as four more EGs, VCAs for the entire Listen Four ins, and straightening out the modulation modifiers. I wasn't 100% satisfied with how the bottom row laid out, but for now, it's not set up particularly badly.

Thanks for that, didn't notice.

Here is, I believe, the final form.

Hi YunYun,

Glad to hear that you still stay with us :-) I can't wait for your next track! Kind regards, Garfield.

Then today was a good day, every day should be a learning day in my opinion.

-- toodee

I work in the academic world, so I agree wholeheartedly.

I learned something new today. :)
-- farkas

Then today was a good day, every day should be a learning day in my opinion. In fact, that's probably why I love modular so much, there's always something new to explore :-)

I learned something new today. :)

Both Ornament and Crime as well as the Disting are kinda scary for me. I feel like it's easy to get lost in those while scrolling through tons of different functions. As much as I love my Pams the scrolling and setting up feels tedious at times. The Disting might be something I am willing to look into but for the sequencer, I really like the "simplicity" modules like the Digitalis have to offer (Every button to alter the sequence is right there/ simple led illustration). At first, I was even looking at something like a bunch of XAOC Tirana's (I really like the aesthetic of XAOC modules) but 6TE per 4 steps single sequence is rough when space is an issue.

Regarding the Sono Abitus, I am not quite sure if I understand what it has to offer. From my understanding, it is just a bunch of outputs, right? I mean everything the rack produces is mono anyway so every output on the Abitus is giving me the same signal. So it is like 5 outputs with one having an extra volume Knob?

I’m guessing that it’s due to the fact that the correct pronunciation according to the people who produce it is exactly that, probably because it’s Swedish and all that ;-)

Digital is an English word, Digitakt is a Swedish one.

Plaits is pronounced wrong mostly by non-native English speakers mostly I suppose… Well, I hope :-)

Swear to god I was just wondering the same thing last night. Was watching a video and every time the guy said "Diggy-takt" I wanted to scream. Haha

How do you pronounce 'Digital'? Obvs everyone pronounces it Diggy-Tal cos we're all a bunch of numpties?! eh!

So why does everyone on 'the Internet Tubes' pronounce Digitakt wrong?

And don't even get me started on Mutable Instruments Plates.... Oh, sorry I meant Plaits (Pl@ts) its an AT sound ffs! You don't fecking Plate your hair do you? Maybe you do, if you do, just plate that hair up and carry on.

;-) xx