This also includes an external KO II and a Keystep Pro.

Finally starting my Eurorack. There were a few things I wanted to keep in mind while making this.

1. Relatively budget, maximum I wanted to spend was $3500, which includes the cost of the case, Keystep Pro, etc.
2. A lot of exploration, texture, and rich 'sound'.
3. I wanted a playground to figure out what sound I like and dislike.

With the KO II, I plan to use for external drums and the occasional sample, and my goal is to trend towards downtempo ambient with deep harmony and musical color.
I would like to hear y'alls thoughts, opinions, what I am lacking, if you think anything will be especially interesting, or if you have any experiences that you think I could benefit from hearing. I am a complete novice, so any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks!

EDITED Yesterday, 23:18

You've got the basics: VCO, VCF, VCA, Envelope Gen, Mixer, a couple mod sources, and a couple FX.

Some thoughts:

That Doepfer Quad VCO is nice and compact, but lacks a lot of control. Notably: It shares the same gain (manual and CV) across all 4 channels. There are situations where this can be useful, but as a first VCA I'd strongly recommend one where all 4 channels are totally independent. MI Veils (or a clone thereof) and Intellijel Quad VCA are great.

You set this up as a 6U case with only 3U full. Is your intent to add mroe modules as you learn more? If so, you may want to invest in a backplane power supply rather than a power module. That one will be fine for the setup you have right now, but if you add many more modules with high power draw, you could exceed its abilities. Plus, flying bus power turns into spaghetti (albeit, hidden spaghetti) fast. I like the Intellijel TPS (Triple Power Supply) boards, they use the 80W version for their 7U 104HP performance cases.

You have one main voice (Plaits) with two main FX modules (FX Aid and Granulita Versio). This is a great use case for a Matrix mixer. Horizontal rows: Voice, FX1, FX2. Vertical columns: FX1 Send, FX2 Send, Mixer Send. This gives you a lot of control over the wet/dry mix, and also gives you the ability to "cross pollinate" the FX. Matrix mixers can be a little arcane, but they're a great tool for the kind of patching that modular synths do better than standalone synths. It may be a little beyond the scope of "My first rack" but I'd at least consider it as an early add-on.

3x MIA is a very cool module. I wonder what your goal for it is? I normally think of it as "a way to combine modulation sources" but you don't have a ton of sources to combine here (Maths and Dixie in LFO mode). There are also ways to patch Maths to do the same job (albeit, Maths only has the equivalent of 1 channel of 3x MIA). Unless you have a specific idea for this module, it may be a good "eventual add-on" with Maths serving the purpose in the meantime.

What is Pam's doing? Again: Great module, but what's the point? If you have a Keystep Pro controlling this setup, I'm not sure what Pam's is adding.

Dear Bassman1805,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. There are definitely some things to consider.

To address the 3x MIA and the Pam's: As far as modulation sources go, part of my decision in including Pam's were the LFO outputs. I know that the module has much more capabilities than just an 8x clock output. I think as far as getting the most value of the module as I can is by using the Pam's in conjunction with the 3x MIA with the range of features. Envelopes, even.

Not only that, but I think the sheer range of features (noneuclidian rhythm stands out to me) will help me to narrow down my musical vision for the future.

Your comment on a matrix mixer makes sense. At this point in my build, I am approaching my budget, and I am fairly happy with my modules otherwise, but I appreciate the advice and I will think on options.

At the moment, there is no intention to expand, but as far as costs go and managing the 'invisible spaghetti' I think a powered case might be a smart option.
Lots to think about...

(Also, got lucky with filling out the first row exactly to 104hp.)
Thank you!

EDITED Today, 17:34