"Top Bunk" for a Moog rack.

Haven't taken the plunge into modular until now. Have stayed in the "semi-modular" end of the pool. Acquired a rack for my two Moog Mother 32's, with 60HP free up top, and thought this is a good time to wade deeper. My goal is to add another VCO, VCA's, EG's, a solid utility, and some things to play around with while doing the ambient/generative thing (but not boxed into that style).

Here's a bit of patching/twisting last night with the two M32's using a patch by A.W. (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/patches/view/33329)

Anyhow, there's a strong likelihood of moving everything into a larger home later, but I want to take my time and...

1: Learn it right
2: Do it right
3. Avoid flashy things I don't need

Buffered mult, because I'm of the understanding that the Mother 32's don't play nicely. On the side: Minitaur (Isn't modular, standalone unit), pedals (Eventide Space, Hall of Fame, Flashback), Logic Pro.

Honest feedback appreciated. I get the basics, but this is my first try with modular.

Well, what you should probably do is to start off by considering what the M32s don't have. And yes, they're missing a good bit. They have no ring modulators, for example. No sample & hold, either. The EGs are three-stage, so no release time constants on the envelopes. No separate VCAs. This is the 'bin' from which you need to calculate what should go in the 60 hp third cab.

Next, what DO the M32s have? VCF, check...and quite good ones, too. VCOs? Hmmm...just one each, actually. LFO, yep. Sequencer, yep. Slew limiter...mmm, kinda, as it's sort of hardwired. Mixing...eh, not multichannel. MIDI, yup. Output stage is there. OK...

Now, consider the first part above, and think about what you want to do. Is this rig for a specific sort of music? More of an open-ended idea? Your comments sort of indicate that the situation's more toward the latter, so...let's go from that. Gimme a bit...

OK...dig this:
ModularGrid Rack
Like you noted: nothing flashy. Instead, this is some extra control-type stuff that augments what the M32s do best, by filling in some of the gaps that the M32s have. The only audio thing in this is (technically, as the added mixer and VCAs are for control signals, optimally) the Intellijel uMod. This gets you a lot closer to the generative-type zone, also, since you have extra LFOs and EGs, S&H, a comparator, Doepfer's weird-but-neat Morph Controller, and a couple of VCSs, which are basically half of a Maths apiece. With the addition of all of this, you can push the M32s around in ways that the stock versions of these simply cannot do.

This is very helpful and makes a lot of sense. I should have mentioned that I already have Maths and Veils (given to me by a friend who has moved from modular to DAW/software) but can understand and work with the layout you've created here.

Earlier today, I found a list of Mother 32 "limitations" from user luketeaford, many of which you mentioned, some that I hadn't realized yet:

  • Bipolar LFO
  • Difficult to slew (I thought: use LPF, but obviously causes issues)
  • No attenuversion (Could use mixer, not sexy)
  • Clock division/multiplication requires special menu
  • Can't operate on any clock signal
  • Immutable duty cycle of square LFO
  • No comparator
  • No sample and hold
  • No logic
  • No envelope modulation

Again, what you've put together here is very helpful and gets me headed in a sensible direction. With Maths and Veils sitting next to me, I'll go over all of this again several times and see what I can come up with.

Much appreciated and thank you.

If you stick to things in the smaller range from companies like 2hp, Ladik, Erica, Zlob, etc, you can still jam a load of functionality into that third tier. Right now, you've got 24 hp to go after the Maths, Veils, and a uZeus go in, but with the very tiny stuff, you can do a lot. One thing to be careful of, however, is module depths; as I recall, the maximum depth on the Moog 60hp boats is not too generous, so you'll have to be very careful with that one limitation.