hello together. thats my firast post. i´m a beginner from Germany. Looking forward to any recommendations.
kr paul
https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/3154082
first Rack
Welcome!
The most common eurorack beginner mistake is "Oops, all oscillators" and you're in today's lucky 10,000. 2x uPlaits, nRings, a percussion synthesizer, and an integrated synth voice. That's a lot going on all at once, and you don't even have all the utilities to use all of them (1x filter and no VCAs).
Step one is to walk back to a single voice and figure out what you need to make that work. You could just stick with that Doepfer synth voice module, nothing wrong with that, but if you want to part one out yourself, you need:
- VCO
- VCF
- VCA (1x per voice minimum, 2x is pretty close to necessary though)
- Envelope Generators (1x per voice is enough, 2x is pretty common)
- Modulation Sources to keep the sound interesting (somewhere between 1 and 1,000 of these ;) )
- Utilities to adjust those modulation sources (read: More VCAs)
With you being from Germany, you might be able to get a full Doepfer system for cheaper than most, on account of lower shipping prices. Doepfer doesn't make the flashiest modules, but they make extremely solid building blocks. Being fundamentally good but not so flashy means that it's on YOU to learn how to patch interesting. Were I to live vicariously through your wallet, I might recommend something like
- Doepfer A-110-2 (Basic VCO)
- Doepfer A-120, A-124, A106-5...Lots of options for the filter.
- Doepfer A-130-2 (Dual VCA)
- Doepfer A-140-2 (Dual ADSR)
Doepfer has fancier VCOs than the A-110-2, I chose it because it's the cheapest while still being something that can prove useful if you expand to a flashier VCO in the future (a basic VCO feeding the FM input to a fancier VCO is always nice to have). Like I said, there are a lot of opitons for the filter and it's hard to go wrong with your choice here. Your rack has an A-106-5, which is a clone of the Oberheim Synthesizer Expender Module's filter. Did you choose that deliberately because you like the Oberheim SEM, or music made with it? It's not a bad choice, just a curious choice for a first filter. The A-130-2 is a dual VCA, so you can dedicate 1 to your volume envelope and 1 to your VCF envelope. I'm not a huge fan of the A-130-4, because it has a shared gain control for all 4 channels, while the 2 channel version gives each channel its own knob and CV. Sometimes (cough-very often-cough) you wanna turn up the filter envelope amount without changing the volume of the signal. A-140-2 lets you define a separate envelope for volume and filter contours. Only thing I don't like about it is the lack of voltage control, but the A-141-2 (VC ADSR) only has one output for a whole lotta rack space. You can certainly use the same emvelope for amplitude and filter, many classic synths have done that. Or you can get 2x of the 141-2. Or you could break the completely arbitrary "all Doepfer" boundary I've imposed for no reason ;)
For modulation sources, the sky is the limit. THIS is what makes modular synths shine. All of those input ports can have something wiggling the knobs for you, so make sure you have lots of things to do that automatic wiggling! The most common modulation sources are LFOs and envelopes. You've already put 2 envelopes on your Amplitude and Filter. What other inputs might be interesting to wiggle around right at the start of the sound? If you go with a more complex VCO like Plaits, you could put an envelope on one of the timbre inputs. You could modulate pitch to give a little "scoop" or "drop" at the attack of the note. You could modulate your modulation sources! I love putting a high-rate LFO on the filter cutoff frequency, it gives the filter a certain "growl". What if you put that LFO through a VCA, and put an envelope on the CV? Now you get that "VCF Growl" on the attack, but it cleans up for the sustain phase! As you get more modulation sources, you need more utilities to handle them, though. You'll need a good colleciton of VCAs and Mixers to make the full use of them (Note that mixers for CV are often DC-coupled, as opposed to mixers for audio which are usually AC-coupled. Most mixer modules have some way to switch between these two modes, but it may require a little soldering).
im a newbie too...
all i can say is, listen to bassman... i made also this kind of mistakes... first u are afraid to use a lot of money for modules which dont make any sounds and are expensive, just for some modulations... after 1 months or less with this kind of case u made, u will change your mind and u will buy VCA's, LFO's, Envelope generator etc...
my initial thoughts upon observing this rack:
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!
Needs a master clock to feed the sequencer, dividers, and pachinko,
and active multiples to feed those note CVs to more than one module.
Kind of weak on LFOs, and Typhoon reaaly likes modulation.
Maybe give up one of those Plaits?
As cool as that sequencer is, it takes a big bite, but just the seq* running the synth voice,
and maybe that into the typhoon, just that, is a perfect to learn where you might want to go.
You can do a lot with just those pieces (and power)..
*but I'll bet you'll want a quantizer soon....
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good afternoon guys. thanks a lot for the fast and detailed reply.
some remarks: I started modular with the Doepfer Dark Energy and the Dark Time (masterclock). I use them with the ARP2600 and Soma Pulsar23. In addition to it I built this happy ending kit.
Regarding the SEM Filter - yes I like the Sound.
I got one plaits for percussions/drums -> DarkTime. I´m playing the SEM Filter and Fracture with clock divider, marbles and pulsar23 trig. Im playing Rings and Plaits often with a keystep37.
next I will add turing machine (+volts+pulses), vca, quantizer, envelope and lfo (into an empty 48TE case)
the journey is young.