Colour Scheme

NOTE: Cables out of Maths CH. 4 Attenuated and Unity Outputs are for Moog Spectravox.
NOTE: Auto-Calibrate DATA then Tune M32/Disting B8 to D3, and tune Dixie II/Plaits to D2
M32 - Green
Disting mkIV - Blue
DixieII - Red
Plaits - Yellow

Maths - Orange
Peaks - Grey
A MIX/Cinnamon - Purple

Polyend Poly/ADDAC200B - Black
Poly CH. 5 Pitch Output/Anything related to Moog Spectravox - Purple Stackcable

Blofeld
A080 - Organella (no changes necessary)
A072 - Meridian (start "Speak" with no Delay then gradually increase to 24, using 1/16 length)

Overview

The modular system covers the Lead (Solo) and Bass lines for the arrangement.
The Lead Line is played by the Mother 32 and ES Disting mkIV set to algo B8 (VCO with Waveshaping)
The Bass Line is played by the DixieII and MI Plaits set to algo 1-1 (Pair of Classic Waveforms)

Gates and Pitches are sent from the Polyend SEQ both directly into the Mother 32 (for Lead voices) and into to Polyend Poly to be routed and multiplied later on.

The pitch tracking for the Lead Line is handled via MIDI directly into the M32's MIDI DIN Input, where as pitch tracking for the Bass Line is converted from MIDI to CV and sent to the second ES Disting mkIV H3 algo (Dual Quantizer) for added stability.

Both of the oscillators used in the Lead Line are filtered using the Ladder filter on the Mother 32 in Lowpass mode.
Both of the oscillators used in the Bass Line are mixed (1 source from Dixie and 2 sources from Plaits) and filtered using the Cinnamon filter in Lowpass mode.

There are envelopes for the Filter Cutoff and VCA CV for both the Lead Line and the Bass Line. The Filter & VCA Envelopes for the Lead Line are handled by MI Peaks set to Expert Mode so that there are 2 unique ADSR envelopes (Output A is for the Filter ENV; Output B is for the Amp ENV). The Filter Cutoff on the Mother 32 is manipulated by BOTH the Peaks Filter Envelope and the MIDI Velocities from the ASSIGN Out. These are sent to the internal VC MIX and the VC MIX CTRL is adjusted via the Keyboard Output on M32 and attenuated by Maths Channel 2. The Filter Envelope for the Bass Line is sent from the Unity Output of Maths Channel 1, where as the Amp Envelope for the Bass Line is sent from the Synthrotek ADSR.

MIDI Velocities were meticulously specified in the Polyend Poly for the Lead Line (as of March 31st, but might add velocities for the comping and Bass Line later on), and they are captured inside the M32 via the ASSIGN Output (set to Option#9: MIDI Velocity).

Mordax DATA is used extensively to monitor Oscillator tunings and Octave distributions.

EDITED May 21st 2019, 05:44

Oh this is ridiculous, I was writing a rather large (okay huge) reply here then when I submitted it I had to login again, and everything is gone... (going backwards didn't solve the problem). I lost several hours since I put quite a bit of efforts in my reply to Ronin1973 and Lugia... hours of "work" gone :-(

I will try to get back to you another time, meanwhile, thank you very much for your kind replies!

I agree. Some serious study in VCV rack would go a long way.

But if the OP is dead-set on getting into Eurorack ASAP... I would recommend a preconfigured system if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.

Several manufacturers like Roland, Pittsburgh Modular, Make Noise, Erica Synths, Doepfer, etc. provide this.

Dealers like Perfect Circuit also offer their own in-house pre-configured systems. The median price is around $2000US. This isn't a bad entry point if you really just want to start wiggling knobs and learn-as-you-go.

Another and much cheaper alternative would be a semi-modular synth (as inexpensive as $300)... and a small skiff for external modules to be populated after you have a handle on the semi-modular.

Each solution has strengths and weaknesses and I'm not advocating any of them as being the best way to go. But they are better than your current plans.

EDITED May 20th 2019, 23:03

Hello Ronin1973,

Thank you very much for your answer. Yes that makes sense indeed. So one would need yet another module to get line level input into the Eurorack. It would have been too easy and too nice with just this Link module ;-)

Also, you may not want "hi-fi". For example, if you had an original ARP 2600 displaying all of its sonic capabilities, you'd wind up with damaged speakers and possibly the amp as well...because the ARP 2600 had DC coupled VCAs going right to the output. And passing DC to your speakers WILL wreck them...but you'll be getting everything the 2600 has to offer sonically!

For that matter, once you've dived headlong into electronic music, you'll wind up wondering what "fidelity" is anyway. A lot of inventive work in the various aspects of the field has come out of mistakes, errors, and general screwing around...and NOT trying to achieve some pristine-fidelity result from the instruments and/or processing. The only place you should be concerned with "hi-fi" is when dealing with your DAW's A-D and D-A conversion so that whatever results you got (be that "hi-fi", "lo-fi", "no-fi", or just plain screwed up) are being recorded and reproduced properly. Beyond that, "fidelity" means zilch in a form of music where there's not exactly anything that you're trying to be faithful in reproducing, and in many cases a result that was a pristine "fidelity" result would be utterly useless.

I'm in agreement with Ronin here...this build is all but useless. There's so much stuff missing that would be essential to a modular's operation that I can't even tell exactly where this build is going.

You need to back waaaaay up and study how synthesis works...not just modular, but in general. This build has audio sources...and then it's missing everything forward from that that should be in the audio signal path until you get to the Rainmaker and Audio I/O. The sole modulation source is the Black VC EG...but without filters, VCAs, and so on, that's pretty much useless unless you want to modulate the oscillators to make funny noises. In short, it'll be a rather expensive and unsatisfying not-really-an-instrument.

If you insist on going with modular, you need to understand how it works before doing the musical equivalent of tossing $3k into your fireplace. My suggestion would be to stop messing with MG for a while, and instead get a copy of VCV Rack (https://vcvrack.com/). It's free, it functions more or less identically to a Eurorack system, and it has a very extensive module set. Learn what does what, how, and why...and also why the UNsexy modules in a build are sometimes more important (when taken as a whole) than those really superduper ones with the blinkenlights and twistenknobs. And if you insist on spending money on a physical device, start with a patchable synth that has most of the building blocks you need built in so that you have a proper device to learn on.

This is a problem that actually crops up on here a lot, btw. Right now, you have a lot of people running around going bonkers over modular synths, thinking they're the new essential (sort of like the hysteria over the Roland TB-303 in the mid-90s)...but the fact is that unless you have some real sonic ideas and goals in mind that you know require something other than a bespoke instrument, and unless you also know the tech that makes those ideas and goals possible by having learned them either via a good text on the subject, various software tools like VCV Rack, or hardware that's already taken care of the module selection process, the end result will usually be a lot of money spent on an unworkable system.

The short answer is no. Going from Eurorack level to line level requires attenuation. That can be achieved passively.

Going from line level to Eurorack level requires additional GAIN. You cannot boost a signal's strength passively.

Yes. Lots.

There are no filters. You have only one envelope generator. There are no VCAs. There are no LFOs or utilities. How do you intend on mixing your two different wavetable modules?

The Metropolis can output quantized scales and MIDI from an external source will also be quantized, so why the big Instruo? I don't have a problem with the RainMaker, but it's basically the only thing that'd you find accessible plugging in an external sound source.

Don't take it the wrong way. But I think you've put together a rack without the knowledge of how modular synthesis works. If you were to buy all of these modules, you will spend a lot of money and not get very much use out of it. At this point, you'd be better off buying a copy of Serum and staying inside of the DAW.

Interesting thread!

For me, top-down works better than bottom-up. Here is what that means:

In a certain sense, I used my existing vanilla synths and fx as a modular system (on a different level) so far. When stacking synths, that´s similar to combining OSCs. Likewise, building processing chains like (Synth A open filter) -> (delay) -> (Synth B audio in) -> (pedals) and so on. I´d call this quarter-modular in contrast to semi-modular. Or quadrant-modular if you want to be a smart ass :D.

Next stop: Semi-modulars. Opening up the box-internal signal chains at some points, granting more access. A good point to get started and learn, as you don´t have to do everything from scratch, but can gradually grow into things. Just inserting a filter or adding that 2nd and 3rd LFO is pretty easy this way. Buying and learning on an "as needed" basis is more fun to me, as I get instant results I can use in my tracks.

And then of course, the next step is full modular, a.k.a. crack effect.

-- Icon_Detach

I like semi modulars and synth voices. I think everyone should have at least one and they don't have to be expensive. When you have some creative inspiration in modulation, not having to take the time to set up a patch for a basic sound is liberating. When you're in the heat of creativity and just want something to throw down a working bassline, arp, etc... I can get it done and then focus on the details. I like VCOs from Noise Engineering and the Braids line of modules because they can stand on their own with just a trigger and a 1V/Octave source... yet still treat them as you would any traditional module and follow them with filters and VCAs for more wiggling fun.

How do you define hi-fi? You refer to it often. Do you mean hi-fi consumer audio? Record players, amps, speakers, a collection of vinyl, etc... or hi-fidelity musical instruments? What experience do you have with creating music... especially synthesizers? Depending on where you are starting from, you'll have different challenges. My concern is that you're coming from the position of enjoying the playback of great music and now you'd like to create music. Modular is an expensive format to be your entry point into making music. While not impossible, you're stacking the odds against you if you're learning to make music at the component level. It's not a terrific analogy... but it's like buying Formula-1 race car as the vehicle you're learning to drive with.

The worst thing would you be spending a small fortune, getting frustrated and burned out, then walking away from your endeavor. Modular synths are awesome... but then again I have some bias. :) I just want you to have an enjoyable experience. Have a think about where you're at and if you're entering modular a little soon... if you're coming from hifi audio.

There are no wrong decisions and I've assumed a bit in my response. But if you've never programmed a synthesizer before, you're taking on a huge challenge.

Hi, is there anything here missing - something which doesn't fit. I'm looking for wavetable synth with powerful melody shaping possibilities, able to work with external sound sources but also generate sounds from the rack.

I experimented with an API but paused any development because of unclear legal situation with the upcoming EU copyright reform. MG does not provide data dumps. Currently it's possible for unicorn users to get a xml/json of modules and positions in their racks. I did that some time ago on user request but I am not sure if that is used by anyone so maybe that feature will also vanish eventually.

Noted, I won’t do any scraping. Any chance of a one-off data dump? I’m not in any hurry, but it’d be nice to know if this is something which you’re at all open to. I’d be happy to buy a Unicorn account for a year in exchange for the effort ;)

EDITED May 20th 2019, 08:19

No, there is no API and please don't scrape the webpage.
Best, Knut

I checked everything and everything was in a good way :/

A power supply fuse? I'd get inside that cab if I were you and see if there's not something shorted or misplugged on your power bus or module ribbons. That's more likely, given that you got the synth turned on and used it before the fuse popped.

Right...ratcheting is a rapid repetition of a single stage's voltage settings, generally at some fraction of the main clock pulse. Although, I will point out that while that Koma Komplex is a rather spendy device, it has a lot of possible control routings that can give you this result along with many others...particularly if you have a Boolean logic module (or two) in your build. Also, modules such as comparators can be used to output controlling gates in conjunction with using a sequencer row for timing CVs. Given enough logic, clock counters, dividers and multipliers, extra gate/trig sequencers and comparators, you can make even a fairly simple sequencer turn backflips.

Hi Lugia, Mosorensen, All,

Thanks a lot for your feedback and information, very useful, I am already hours busy "processing" your provided information and provided links, very helpful!

Regarding the Doepfer A-160-5, I saw this module as well as the A-160-2, these modules are certainly interesting however I don't think it can do what I want however I might need one of these modules for other purposes later on.

The links to muffwiggler are very useful, provides a lot of information and it... he, he... it gives me a good feeling that I realise that I am not the only one here on this planet that's struggling to find a sequencer that suits one well, looks like it's a big & difficult job to find the "perfect" match regarding a sequencer.

The doudoroff.com/sequencers/ link is fantastic, thank you! It gave me some ideas of sequencers I didn't know about yet, on the other hand it confirmed a little bit of what I was afraid... there aren't many sequencers that have this repeat option, especially in combination with availability and reasonable price.

The Koma Elektronik - Komplex Sequencer is certainly a nice one, but it's not modular and the price is "nice" too...

Two modules might be interesting but I guess they aren't released yet and thus we have to wait for them to become available to see if it would fit ones "specifications" and that are: Erica Synths Black Sequencer and Endorphin.es Ground Control, both sounds interesting and I can't wait for them to become available!

Oh yes, just for my understanding (and please correct me if I am wrong), repeat is rather repeating the same tone at the number of times it has been set to and in the same tempo of the entire sequence, where ratcheting is rather very fast (as fast as possible?) repeat the same tone to the number of times set and not necessarily in the same tempo as the sequence itself. Right?

To summarise: A sequencer with direct knobs/sliders without menu stuff (or just a simple menu might be still okay), with repeat option and a reasonable price seems not to exist, if one put on top of that yet another requirement: "Chainable" (and even forgetting the price) then to me it looks like that I might need to look on another planet for such devices, perhaps a hole in the market for some manufacturers lurking here around on the forums? ;-)

Thanks Lugia,
Yesterday night after played for an hour,
i had a fuse who was burned ... That's why I asked it :/
I don't really know whats happened.

Anyway, thanks you :)

No, that's fine. While you should always have extra current capacity in a power supply (mainly due to inrush current values on power-up), your total module draws are pretty much within the "safe" figures to avoid an overload.

Awesome thank you so much! I get it now....the signal from the Loquilic goes into channel 1 of the mixer....then the mult is being used to feed that signal into the 12db and 6db of the LXD....and the Zularic hits the LXD / the LXD is the gate.

The Zularic Repetitor is a trigger sequencer. It takes a clock signal and output different patterns of beats.
The Loquilic is an oscillator, just makes a fixed tone, so to get it to make pulses of sound it's plugged into the LXD through that mixer. The signal is being multed to the 2x channels of LxD so that two different drum sounds can be made from the same oscillator.
The LXD is a low pass gate acting on the oscillator, the top and bottom channels sound a little different, and it's being struck by the gates from the Zularic, this makes like a little drum sound each time the gate excites the LXD.

Howdy everybody!

I have been watching this minimal rack video on Youtube and am just fascinated by all the pattern variation this guy is getting! Hoping someone can please help me out and explain the overall signal flow, in particular how the Make Noise LxD and the multiples on that mixer is interacting with everything else. Note quite sure why the guy patches from the multiple to the 12db and and 6db on the LxD? I get how the pulse is feeding the beat on the Zularic Repetitor, and how the Loquelic Iteritas is modulating the signal....then I get kind of confused. Also, if anyone has any suggestions on an alternative way to achieve the same result, I am open ears as I would really like to build something around this idea. Many thanks!

Here is the link for the video by the way:

Good afternoon!

Interesting setup you have going on here; has given me some things to think about as I am planning my build. One thing I have noticed is you do not have much in terms of a clock source. Have you thought about adding something from 4ms, Pams workout, or a Make Noise Wogglebug? Perhaps Make Noise Tempi? Clock dividers are fun! :)

Also as I recall the Midi module you have there is discontinued. If you have a source for one that's cool (Im sure you can find one secondhand somewhere), otherwise if I were you, perhaps consider Mutant Brain, uMidi from Intellijel, Doepher A-190-3, or maybe Pittsburgh Midi 3. Thinking about it more, you can probably pull off having your Midi module also be your clock generator too, in which case you may not need something like a Wogglebug or Tempi while starting out (on the fence about that idea).

I might also be missing something here, how are you planning to mix down to to your headphone module? The VCA right to the Make Noise? A mixer module of some kind may be handy, such as Doepher A-138s Mini Stereo mixer. Another VCA could also give you some more to work with.

Noticed you also have quite a few modules from Mannequins. Have you ever taken a look at their little looper module W/ ?

Looking at this setup overall, I would also be on the fence on having the dual ADSR. As your main voice Atlantis already has an ADSR, you could consider dropping the additional ADSR which opens up some space for a filter, LFO, more VCA, or a mixer etc etc. It is very possible I am overlooking a must have aspect of your workflow where the additional ADSR makes sense. :)

Final thought: You can also consider getting a clone Plaits. There are a few makers out there that have a 6hp Plaits clone. You could then squeeze in the W/ if that strikes your fancy, or maybe some modules from 2hp or some Erica Pico modules?

EDITED May 19th 2019, 20:13

Couldn't make it this time so I'm interested what you guys have seen. Do tell!

Greetings,

I’d like to do some silly neural net experimentation with eurorack module data, inspired by Janelle Shane’s https://aiweirdness.com — i.e. train a neural net at least on module names, maybe on names and descriptions, then let it come up with new ones and see if they’re any weirder than existing modules.

Is there some sort of internal API which would let me easily get lists of module names, manufacturers and descriptions in one go? I found https://www.modulargrid.net/e/modules/find/page:2 which would be easy to scrape, but there are no descriptions. A data dump of the whole module DB table as a CSV file would also be fine, if an admin would be willing to go to the effort of exporting one and sending it to me.

Many thanks,
Barnaby

Hey guys,
I'm trying to build a rack for BOC-ish and other ambient noises.
https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/screenshots/rack706096.jpg?ts=1558268094
I've tried to design this to be as versatile as possible, so that it won't feel too limited. I'm a total noob, so I have no practical experience, but I've tried to think of all the utilities one might need. currently I have a digitakt that will be used as main sequencer, as well as providing drums and samples, however, I've found the melodic sequencing to be a little tedious and uninspiring. is a eurorack sequencer something i should invest in? another problem is i don't have any way to mix the digitakt and modular together without a computer, and that's what I'm trying to get away from. i'd love to hear your opinions, as I don't have to many people that talk to me about this stuff.

EDITED May 19th 2019, 12:15

It's a pleasure. I think the key thing to take away from it all is that ACL know what they're doing and the quality is top notch.

"Sequencers" is a big topic. There are many types of sequencers and very different uses and strong opinions (Metropolis and Tirana II are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum). This has been debated extensively at Muffwiggler, and I can recommend reading through the threads over there.

A quick search gave the following places to start (but there are many others):

http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=216839

http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=161153

http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=180779

There is also an extensive comparison of sequencers here:

http://doudoroff.com/sequencers/

EDITED May 19th 2019, 06:04

The thing you're looking for here isn't a sequencer...it's a clock multiplier, and the function you're talking about is "ratcheting". Have a look at Doepfer's A-160-5. That module can output multiple clock pulses based on an incoming clock, and the amount of repetitions can be voltage-controlled. Now, as to how to get it to work...that's going to vary from sequencer to sequencer that you use it with. By and large, though, you're looking at clock modulation and logic functions when you're talking about something of this sort. In some cases, you might be able to trigger the ratcheting from a stage pulse. Others might require something a bit more elaborate with some logic gating. It all more or less depends on which sequencer seems like a good fit for you...and once you sort that out, then the next step will be figuring out how clocking should work for you and all of the related fun with that.

I am looking for a sequencer with a repeat option, the obvious one is the Metropolis from Intellijel that has a repeat option (i.e. at one step it can repeats itself up till 8 times, configurable from 1 till 8 times). I am actually really impressed by what the Metropolis can (or what I believe it can since the lack on experience here from my side ;-) ).

However... it's 34 units wide and it's price causes me quite some tears in my eyes when I am honest. So my question is, are there any other sequencers that have this "repeat" option (without the need of going deep in a menu's structure)?

The only other module I found so far that comes close to it or at least hast a repeat function as well is the Xaoc Devices Tirana II module that can repeats one step up till 4 times and one module is a 4 steps sequencer (it's chainable!). I haven't found a slide function though (the Metropolis has).

Does anyone know any other sequencer that has this "repeat" functionallity? Or anyone that was perhaps in the luxurious position two had both, the Metropolis and the Tirana modules and can give here perhaps some experience values of these modules?

The strong point for Tirana II for me is, it's chainable (as far as I am aware the Metropolis isn't or is it?), so if you have unendless money and you take one row as a maximum for a sequencer then with a 168 width row, one could theoretically go up till: 168 TE / 6 TE = 28 modules * 4 steps = 112 steps sequencer ;-) I am joking of course, that's not really realistic because 28 modules would be about Euro 5320 and for that money most of us would buy other things ;-) But 8 or 16 steps might be realistic. At least for the money of one Metropolis one can buy at least 3 Tiranas II and have thus a 12 step sequencer (instead of the 8 step Metropolis).

The Metropolis on the other hand has more options, more settings can be changed and even saved and loaded, that's all not possible with the Tirana II, therefore my question: is there any other sequencer that's affordable and has this repeat option?

As always, your opinion, feedback and experiences is very much appreciated, thank you!

Thank you cosmic94, I will keep an eye on that Discrete Core Ladder module.

Hi there,
I’m new in this world and I would like to know if something wrong with this :
I bought an doepfer p9 psu3 case
Wich is
+2000ma +12v
+1200ma -12v
4000 ma +5v

Currently,
My configuration is
1520 mA +12V
| 838 mA -12V
| 0 mA 5V

Does it feet or am I wrong ?
For me, I can understand this :
My configuration consume :
1520/2000 +12v
838/1200 -12v
0/4000 +5

Thanks for your help

Depth in search results

If you sort by depth the actual module depth is displayed in the module boxes beside the HP info.
Modules without an assigned depth will be excluded from the result.
-- modulargrid

Woo-hoo!!! A very welcome change, especially with all of the 40mm-and-less-type cabs hitting the market these days.

A quick chime about the ACL Discrete Core Ladder and Stefan's support in general:

The module is a lovely sounding filter - my favourite in fact! It's very well thought out with a 3 channel mixer, 2 frequency cv inputs, resonance cv, outputs for 6, 12, 18 and 24 db/oct slopes, bass boost and a two feedback circuits to get either the classic ladder taper as the frequency drops or another that allows you to get the resonance pretty low. The filter takes to overdriving and fm very well. Slamming the inputs at high resonance settings sounds absolutely killer. I picked up the AJH at the same time and ended up sending it back as the ACL ladder could do everything the AJH could and then some.

Speaking with Stefan has been a pleasure too; he's a super cool guy to talk with.

Attention to detail and sonic quality is the name of the game for them and it really shines through playing with the filter. On the whole my experience with ACL has been very positive and I can't recommend trying their modules out enough.

Thank you all very much for your hints & ideas here. For a newbee like me very useful and very interesting. I hope I can be at some point at some help for someone as well. At the moment, I am afraid I am full with questions (see other threads) ;-) So thank you very much for your kind patience too!

The Erica Synths Link module seems to be a simple yet very interesting module to me. Looking at the information on Erica Synths' website, this is a passive module that has 5 inputs (3.5 mm jackets) and attenuates these Eurorack signals into line level signals at 6.3 mm jackets outputs. So far so good and really useful as I believe and already shortly mentioned in another thread.

Though I wonder, since it's a passive module, would it be possible to use this module the other way around as well? Meaning if one would have an incoming line level signal on one of those five 6.3 mm jackets, could you then get it converted to output as a Eurorack signal? Or would this module only work one way, i.e. the way I described at the top of this message? Anyone knows from experience working with this module?

Thank you very much in advance!

Depth in search results

If you sort by depth the actual module depth is displayed in the module boxes beside the HP info.
Modules without an assigned depth will be excluded from the result.
-- modulargrid

EDITED May 18th 2019, 01:32

Thank you Ronin for your feedback. Since I am new to modular synths I was under the impression that at least ACL focusses on a good audio quality level. Before I got interested recently in synthesizers, I kept myself pretty busy with HiFi stuff and to be honest, it is difficult to judge which module might be an interesting one for a good HiFi circuit and which aren't. I just heard that ACL seems to be pretty good if it comes to hifi audio. So that rumour I heard is that correct?

I tested at a local shop the Waldorf Quantum, I was pretty impressed by it and before you shoot me here straight away, please allow me to explain ;-) At that time it wasn't clear yet to me what I wanted, now it's clear to me I want a modular synthesizer system (containing, at a certain stage at least, several synths within that system). Since I discovered that Waldorf has modules for the modular system as well, I was kind of interested and wonder if Waldorf modules can be mixed up with ACL modules to form one or another way one kind of synthesizer within my to be future modular system. Mind that I mean with if Waldorf & ACL can be mixed I mean that from a hifi point of view, are they about equal level if we talk about quality (hifi) audio level. I heard again a rumour that Waldorf might not be up to the level of ACL. Naturally you are welcome to mention other brands that have & concern about high quality audio; naturally the con of that is the usual high prices of the modules. So yet another planned synthesizer within my future modular system would be less focussing on high quality audio more though on functionality and possibilities of the modules themselves.

So to decide for myself (you are right of course, one needs to made up his/her mind: what do you really want with your modular system) which modules from Waldorf & ACL I am interested in, well that's difficult to decide if there is barely nothing to look for and other than the manufacturer's information about it, there isn't much additional information on these both brands' modules. For Waldorf I couldn't find really much on the Internet (youtube for example), for ACL modules a bit more but still not too much to give me a good impression and enough details to decide into which modules I would be interested or not.

I therefore was hoping people could share here their experiences with any of the Waldorf modules except the CMP1 that one doesn't interest me much (there are only 5 if I am not mistaken, so minus the CMP1, the other 4 I am interested in) and though ACL has a few more, not that huge number either. Also just general impressions, pros/cons of both brands modules would interest me, just to give me an impression. Anything at the moment is more than I know now about both brands ;-)

For many other brands, I had already a chance to test several modules (per brand I am interested in) at a local shop nearby I live however Waldorf was not available for testing and for ACL only a few modules that didn't interest me much so far. Okay from ACL currently the two modules that interest me most would be QLFO and the VC Dual Delay, however if there are users who have great (or less great) experiences with other ACL modules such information would be still much appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance for sharing your experiences.

Thank you!

Looks a bit better now

Can someone please fix the image?

You'll have specify exactly WHICH modules you're thinking about acquiring. You'll also have to build-out an entire system from scratch around them if you choose to start your first case with them. Why are they a good decision for you specifically? That's a rhetorical question only you can answer. What are you looking to accomplish and what external gear will your Eurorack case be interfacing with?

Those ACL and Waldorf might be better purchased later on... depending on the modules. Maybe not. It's all going to come down to your needs and what the SPECIFIC modules you want can do for you. A lot of what you get out of a module is determined to what other module(s) it's connected to... so take Youtube videos with a grain of salt. Here are some results you CAN achieve with all the modules that are patched. Take away one of those modules and you might have a completely different sound.

Depth in search results

If you sort by depth the actual module depth is displayed in the module boxes beside the HP info.
Modules without an assigned depth will be excluded from the result.

Eurorack: you're about to spend a ton of money on a style of synthesis you can't really learn much about without spending a ton of money acquiring. There's enough " chicken-and-egg" to make a large brunch crowd full.

You will make mistakes. You will spend hundreds of dollars on gear you find of little use to you later on as you define your needs. You will then find that there is a use for that gear you wanted to cast off because now you have a better understanding of Eurorack.

Rinse... repeat.

It's an expensive journey that never ends. :)

Looking forward to this.

By the way, there's another typo, it says QuadrIphonic.

The Scarlett would be a good choice for recording. Here are some issues you may encounter: all audio interfaces introduce delay between the time the sound hits the interface until its recorded and played back through the DAW. This is called latency or sometimes referred to as lag. Most mid-range and higher USB interfaces offer the ability to mix the direct sound (your synth) and audio coming from the computer so you can monitor without lag. As long as you're not trying to listen to what you're recording through plug-ins IN your DAW this is an acceptable solution. You can get interfaces with very little delay (practically zero) but the cost goes up substantially.

The other issue is that Eurorack synth level versus line level (the level of operation in mixers and like gear). Synth level is hotter than line level. It's very likely that you can just adjust the input volume on each Scarlett input to compensate. Do your homework if this will work with the Scarlett. Ask around.

If you record each part on its own track (you'll need two inputs for tracks in stereo), you will have them isolated. You can process isolated tracks separately and is the best way to mix/edit your music. If you record everything as one stereo file you are basically stuck with what you have. Any effects (EQ, compression, reverb) is applied to everything in the mix... which is something that you probably don't want.

If you're playing live without a DAW, you'll have to decide if you want/need EQ, compression etc. You'll also need some way to provide them. I don't see too much of this inside of most peoples' racks. But they'll often use an external mixer that has EQ built in. There are several types of EQs and a reason to use each of them if the material requires it. Without getting into a big philosophical, technical diatribe, I wouldn't worry about it in the beginning. If it sounds okay, it is okay. Having EQ, compression will make your live mix better. But if you don't know how to use them properly (for now) it's more trouble than it's worth. The exception would effects like reverb, delay, chorus, distortion, etc. They are very important in defining your synth sounds and shouldn't be overlooked.

Next chapter... SYNC. aka how to lock your Eurorack tempo to your DAW's tempo for overdubbing more parts into the DAW for later mixing/editing. Do a little research and report back. :)

There's a lot to learn from your starting point and no easy way to explain it without you doing a lot of hands-on by yourself. You may... and I say may... want to subscribe to an online course regarding mixing and DAWs since there's so much to explain. You'll also get a better understanding about signal flow between your modules and your DAW.

Hey thanks Ronin1973,

I've been looking around and it looks like something like the Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 would be a good place to start, what do you think?

And if I understood correctly I could plug my gear into the Audio Interface and then to the computer via USB, I wouldn't need the mixer at all. This way I could even record multiple tracks at once using something like Reaper, which looks great by the way, thanks for the suggestion.

Then, having the sound in different tracks would also be easier to equalize, right? let's say I record the mix using Audacity and all I have is one audio file, no tracks and so, could I still equalize it properly? I guess it's more difficult and the results wouldn't be as good.

Anyway, do the same concepts regarding equalization and compression apply when playing live without a DAW? do I need equalization modules and so on? or is it something completely different?

Hello All,

I am new to this forum and I consider (nah rubish... I am pretty sure about it, no consideration needed here ;-) ) to buy a modular synthesizer system, since weeks I am at night for hours checking out on modules, the technic behind it, the websites of the manufacters, etcetera. A lot of fun while planning & checking :-) Can't wait for the moment to buy it however till then I have to be patience...

Currently I am particular interested in ACL modules and Waldorf modules. I couldn't find too many threads yet about modules of these two brands. Is there anyone who likes to share his/her experience with some of those modules? How is the (hifi) audio quality of these modules? The fun/price rate? Any particular cons/pros? Any feedback and/or information on any of ACL and Waldorf modules is very welcome.

Thank you very much in advance and kind regards,

Peter alias GarfieldModular.

leftmost 84hp is what's actually in the current 12U case
everything else is what i still have, but don't plan on selling