Hello, I'm making Techno Industrial EBM like Phase Fatale and I'm just getting inside this whole eurorack realm and my idea is to make a better waldorf XT/Q synth cuz I'm all about the wavetables.
I was thinking about:
sound source>vca>filter>envelope>lfo>midi to cv> clock divider>and cuz of a low budget the arturia beatstep pro.
any recomandations for making an even stronger synth than the waldorf shik
no specific recommendations, just thoughts:
I don't want to put you off modular, but you almost definitely will not get a more versatile (or whatever you mean by stronger) synth with the list of modules you describe, to achieve this in modular you will probably spend much much more than buying a waldorf or whatever fixed architecture synth you want to 'better'
buy a bigger case than you think you need - mantis is a good size, or the doepfer LC9 - smaller than this and you are paying way more per hp than makes sense
get more vcas than you think you need - a quad cascading vca such as veils is an excellent starting point
utility modules are your friends - they may look uninteresting, but they are the real deal in making modular more flexible(read stronger, if you will) than any fixed architecture synth
by utility modules I mean any and all modules that do not generate a signal (or primarily effect audio), but instead are used to modify, multiply and merge signals - so not a sound source, not a sound modifier, not a modulation source
imo a modular is balanced when at least 30% of the rackspace is taken up by utility modules (and I would not count final stage audio mixers or input/output modules of any kind in this) and at least another 20% is taken up by modulation sources
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities
I have some similar misgivings about this...if there's a restricted budget issue here, then the LAST thing you'd want to do is to try and buy into modular as a solution.
A smarter idea, if you're trying to get to the PPG zone, would actually be to NOT get a Blofeld...but, instead, get a Studiologic Sledge. I have one of these, and while it uses something akin to the PPG digital "oscillator", it ALSO uses the PPG paradigm of having plenty of controls to futz with live. And yes, Waldorf has software that can serve as a "Waveterm"-type solution for programming that digital engine. But the Sledge is actually closer in architecture to the Wave 2.2/2.3 than the Blofeld, since you have the digital generation + analog signal path which includes a true analog VCF. The Sledge DOES take a lot of crap from people on the Interwebz, true...but when you start digging into the "complaints", it becomes pretty apparent that the users bellyaching about the Sledge never really had to deal with a PPG setup.
Another potential solution to consider: the Modal Argon-8. I have one of these as well, and while some complain about the short keyboard, the synthesis engine inside the Argon-8 is VERY robust, also including their take on the analog signal path. It behaves a bit differently from the PPG engine, but not so much so that you're utterly lost from the moment you turn the synth on. And again, ample realtime controls.
There's also the ASM Hydrasynth, which I bailed on in favor of the Argon-8. This wasn't due to a technical issue, however, but an email exchange with one of ASM's "minions" who opted to rip me a new one for even ASKING about the delivery date to Sweetwater, where I'd already paid for one. After that outburst, which STILL didn't contain the information I was trying to find out, I told my sales engineer there to drop the Hydrasynth and sign me up with an Argon-8 BECAUSE...when I asked Modal much the same thing that I did ASM, I got a cordial reply which actually contained a delivery window and some hints about the upcoming 2.0 firmware. Comparatively, dealing with ASM made me feel as if I was dealing with some sort of lunatic cult...contacting their China ops only yielded a typical "Engrish" form reply, and then that guy stateside. I don't buy things from people who behave that way, even if they might have the "superior" product. But then, your mileage may vary; hopefully Glen Darcey has beaten that rep of his with an ugly stick...because even Sweetwater knew who that ASM guy was and also knew about his shitty attitude.
And lastly, the Korg whatever-the-hell wavetable thing. I have a Wavestation A/D, and a definite lack of interest in anything Korg's up to after the "limited" ARP 2600 shitshow (and other lesser poo-flings on their part before and after that), so I don't really need a retread of something they've already done. And I can get at the A/D's "guts" via M4L, so...yeah. Maybe someday Korg will get back to putting out amazing things...instead of oddly-colored versions of something else they sell for over half less minus the goofy color schemes. I ain't holding MY breath, tho...
