Thread: first Rack

my initial thoughts upon observing this rack:

https://www.google.com/imgres?q=i%20think%20we%27re%20gonna%20have%20to%20kill%20this%20guy&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Flookaside.instagram.com%2Fseo%2Fgoogle_widget%2Fcrawler%2F%3Fmedia_id%3D3269620136493737926&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fp%2FC1gBjIQrjHh%2F&docid=PJFuDQ860nWO0M&tbnid=9L4d-3ZRACyeOM&vet=12ahUKEwjYp5zkqr-VAxXkVUEAHTOPLpsQnPAOegQIORAA..i&w=320&h=261&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwjYp5zkqr-VAxXkVUEAHTOPLpsQnPAOegQIORAA

what if you could change, Uli Behringer?
it's Moog-er, isn't it? isn't it Moog-er?

but in all seriousness, this is an intervention. i think you've fallen into some of the pitfalls i have when i started out-a severe lack of financial awareness, a debilitatingly limited understanding of signal flow, and a misguided reverence for influential and/or trendy modules of times past. Money, Ignorance, Youtube; these are the three demons you must slay in order to succeed in modular synthesis and build a substantial system.

A Substantial System? What's That?
it's a concept i just named, but has been in my head for a while now. in my point of view, a "substantial system" is a eurorack system that justifies its expenses and the extra complexities of its use over a fully featured, hard-wired keyboard synth, or even a plugin synth on your computer, and which you ACTUALLY FIND FUN TO USE OVER ONE. far too many people rush headfirst into modular without an understanding of what system they want to build. as a result, they end up losing money and become fustrated with music tech, which nobody in the community wants!

i'd suggest you set aside some time to read through this, because i have quite a few years of experience and i'm going to be jotting down a lot here. let's-a-go...

Part 1: Money

let's start with the most pressing of these three demons, Money. modular synthesis is the infamously expensive form of synthesis it is because every part is being manufactured individually and thus must sell for more to make a profit, or the modules are being made by a small boutique brand that must charge dearly to make a living. the rack you have made calls for a whopping five clones of mutable instruments modules(uPlaits x2, Pachinko-a very complex module based on Marbles, uRings, and Typhoon, a cloned Clouds). these modules have high build quality, and carry a hefty brand tax oweing to the reverence placed on Emile Gilet's modules(we'll get to this later), and just one uPlaits is going to set you back nearly €250-if you can even find them in stock. all those modules combined are going to take you on a Journey Beyond 1,000 Euros before we consider the whole synth voice and the hefty sequencer on the bottom deck, which, apart from serving no purpose with the plaits clones upstairs, are only going to launch further ill-fated mining expeditions into your wallet. what with their being "the complete package" and taking up so much rackspace respectively, it's another €500! and this is all before we consider the eurorack case itself...

so your rack is a lost cause before it's even built. we're spoiled for choice in modules these days, but as alluring as it might be to shoot for the fanciest, coolest looking or most Xtreem modules you see, it's ultimately far too much money to spend to build a substantial system. but all hope is not lost! I reccomend you go trawling the used market for modules, which you can find for really good prices. there's ebay, reverb, and modulargrid has its own marketplace where you can sort by region, price, and even modifications! you'll also want to be getting more modest modules than these all-singing, all-dancing ones. it's a general rule of thumb that modules that are not feature packed and that take up a medium amout of rackspace will be the cheapest-of course, the less space it uses up, the more value for money it posseses.

this concludes part one. it's far too late here, so i'll do Ignorance and Youtube in the morning. Goodnight!