Finally i fill my case !!!

Hello guys and girls...

finally fill my case last fall, really loving the freedom and capabilities of this beast...of course its not perfect but fine for the moment...how do think about a second case guys...do you build it around a full system on its own or you can add missing stuff random???

this is my actual case...

the answer is yes...

both are valid options

personally I went for adding what I though was missing - and rearranging over time so that I have a more structured system - something vaguely like the layout of a 2600 - although at the moment I have a subset in the living room which I use - 3 cases (2 for audio and 1 for video) - I may shift this round soon

currently I'm at 8 cases approx 1800hp - with maybe 300hp free spread throughout - some of which is diy backlog (which I should really get round to)

but saying that I know of lots of people who set up each case as an individual instrument...

basically what works for you works for you...

EDITED Jun 18th 2022, 22:20

Thanks Jim....1800 hp omg....

modular is hard as Crack !!!!!!

of course i realised that utilities are ace...need an extra quad att and a pamela to sync to my hermod....love sync lfo wish to get more mult to copy signal actually have 2 intellijel 4 hub...

this is what i think of

Uhmm...no. You have a very small build, and you want to drop two sets of buffered mults in there? Bad choice; in a build of this size, AVOIDING mults is what's needed. Also, the only time that buffering is really useful is when CV scaling is critical, as in VCO pitches...but only when you've got 4-5 or more destinations for that CV. As for audio, just use the same sort of inline mults or stackcables you typically use for multing in small builds like this. Also, why two QuadrATTs? In this build, one should be fine.

Other examples: if you've got an Ornament and Crime, why have the expensive AF ADDAC quantizer? Yeah, sure, you lose a couple of O&_c channels that way, but that's why it has so many. And four VCAs is just not enough; let's say you need amplitude control of each of your VCOs. But then, you also want VCAs post-VCF on some patches, or you'll want them in front of a manual mixer, plus there needs to be a couple of linear VCAs to manipulate your modulation amplitudes. Four ain't gonna cut it, basically.

If I were you, I'd rip into this and get VERY critical, for starters. Question what you've created here and how you can use it smoothly; without good ergonomics, ANY instrument turns into a total PITA. Ask if you really, REALLY need certain modules in here, or are they taking up space that something USEFUL might go into? It's basically the same thing I would do back in the undergrad days, going over and over and OVER vocal rep stuff because practice is how things get done RIGHT. The same practice principle applies here as well. I would also suggest snagging a copy (free!) of VCV Rack to test out some of what I'm saying here...build a voice row with VCAs at the right steps on the audio chain, and then one without. See what works, what doesn't, and so on. This is how you avoid mistaken purchases while, at the same time, saving yourself a buttload of money by knowing what works and what doesn't BEFORE pulling the trigger on the Magic Plastic.

without good ergonomics, ANY instrument turns into a total PITA.

It's something I failed to understand for a long time, that programmability is not the only asset of a good rack, but ergonomics (eg. having attenuators normalled to internal voltage, manual gates, wide(r) modules and so on were super important) too

(As for the quantizer, I love the o_c quantizer but the keyboard on the ADDAC makes a big difference to me!)

OK...well, here's what I came up with:

I went in a rather different direction here. There's a lot of "West Coast" stuff in here, most notably the presence of the Buchla 281t, Maths, and the Minimix. Of those, only the Maths isn't a Buchla design...but it IS based on Serge's DUSG. On 'roids.

TILES: Changed this a lot: stereo input (connects to two of the Intellijel cab's 1/4" jacks), a Temps Utile (which is why the Pam's is gone), Intellijel's Noise Tools utility, the O_&c, a stereo VCA to control output levels, and the stereo out (connects to the other two 1/4" jacks). 100% function now.

MIDDLE: All voice. The little black thing on the left is one of Konstant Labs' PWRchekrs, lets you monitor the health of your DC rails. Then a Xaoc Odessa (massive complex oscillator) with the Hel expander (lets you feed five CVs into the Odessa for...yep...basic polyphony, at least at this stage). A pair of G-Storm VCAs after that controls levels from the Odessa or the external input (or both), then...since by now, we're really dealing with a stereo out on the Odessa (ie: odd and even harmonics...although, it can also run in mono via the "Mix" jack), I dropped in one of Dave Rossum's very pliable VCFs. The Linneaus has some very interesting capabilities, such as having through-zero modulation and loads of timbral control. Two more VCAs deal with the Linneaus' output, then the feed goes to the Data Bender. The Data Bender then feeds a pair of VCAs in the Neutron Sound quad VCA before going to the Minimix. That mixer has three (one fixed level) stereo inputs, four mono ins, two of which have CVable panning. The Sarajewo delay is there at the end so that you can drop it in across several different mixing points.

BOTTOM: Scales, Shifty, then a very useful 6 hp from SSF that contains loads of utility submodules, such as voltage summing, a comparator, inverter, 2 to 1 switch, and so on. Batumi/Poti for your four LFOs, then Maths, then the little brown thing is Frap's 321, which makes for an excellent modulation alteration device along with the dual VCAs after it. And then the 281t...which you can use for 2 or 3-stage envelopes, or you can set it up in one of its quadrature modes as another complex function generator like Maths. And that's possible because there's four "proper" EGs after it, along with the quad control expander (useful if you start to explore the Odessa's poly capabilities).

Now THAT is a fine piece of gear. Soundwise, it's going to hover in a nifty "weird zone" somewhere between German-style wavetable synthesis, West Coast, and just plain effin' trippy. Loads of potential, too!

thanks a lot for this wonderfull sketch Lugia...

looks amazing...i have some video to check on youtube for those modules !!!!!

odesea was on my list but i was thinking that generate 3 from joranalogue is similar with fund, odd, even its already in my actual case...anyway maybe they can talk to each other really welll....

Nah...the Generate3 is more akin to something like Doepfer's A-110-6, where you're dealing with an analog oscillator with a big assortment of modulation inputs. The Odessa is a VERY different critter. Instead of basic VCO topology, you'd be dealing with an FPGA-driven additive engine with the potential of outputting 2500 harmonics (which shocks the hell out of me; I thought that the Synclavier II was the big dawg with 128 partials back in the day!). And with the Hel expander (and it's in there) you can have FIVE VOICES coming out of the Odessa and feed 'em all through the next VCA set to the Linneaus in glorious stereo. The Generate3 absolutely cannot compete with that feature set, and I didn't even get super-deep into all of the Odessa voodoo.

Also, with this, you'll want a controller/sequencer that can take advantage of that voicing scheme...with the best bet there being an Arturia Keystep Pro. It's also flexible enough that you can use it with loads of other devices, too.