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You forgot the teletype in your most difficult rack to operate 😂🤙

Hey all,

I’ve been working on building and completing this rack for a bit of time now, and I am getting quite close!

The 2 main uses are :
1- a basic fm/subtractive voice
2- taking audio from Ableton and processing it

There’s definitely a lot of stuff packed into this and not a huge amount of utilities. That’s because the way I work is very deterministic, so I’ll be working on 1 sound at a time, sequencing from Ableton to Shuttle Control. Could definitely use more lfos/envelopes and probably another couple vcas for sure, but I think I could definitely get by with just this for a while.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPA9rioAhoT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

EDITED Sep 27th 2021, 08:17

This one really takes me to a certain time and place. You’ve definitely captured the vibe of the rave era. Well done as always.
It’s really interesting to watch the progression of your rack as well. You get a lot out of your well curated choice of modules.

The fact that they advise writing with a permanent marker is just stupid imo. Make it so i can erase and write again no?

I setup a simple patch:

1. Pitch cv from Keystep into pitch input of my Instruo Saich.
2. Output of Saich to input 1 of Erica's Quad VCA.
3. VCA output 1 to my outputs.
4. Gate cv from Keystep into gate input of Ceis.
5. CV out of Ceis to cv input of VCA, ceis switched to gate.
6. Set fast attack, medium decay, full sustain and short release but it doesn't behave like it should, there's no note off, notes just keep ringing out.
7. If I swap the input and cv around on the VCA it sort of behaves like a envelope, except with the above settings if I press and hold a note the sustain only lasts a few seconds, and when I release the key it plays the note again...

Ok, so if I go to the Clk In of the Seq quite normally with the output of plaits and then from the CV out from the Seq to the mixer, it should already work?

This is the rack side of a generative/krell patch I did for a recent contest held over on Colin Bender's Discord, and managed to win 2nd place. I wrote some patch notes for it which I'll paste below. It's a hybrid patch, with the core looping cycle done from there. The track was recorded direct from VCV, I don't use a DAW (believe me, I've tried haha) and I know nothing about mastering etc so forgive the sound...

Can't figure out how to get an image of the VCV side of the patch into this post, maybe this will work: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9LBiCZ5u9KydeAxQA
You can find the VCV side of the patch here, if you’d like to play with it yourself. Don’t forget to trigger the Rampages in order of 1,2,3 to get it going: https://patchstorage.com/the-kolin-krell/

Here's the track:

And here's the nerdy notes:
I’ll cover the core of the Krell first, then try to explain the patch according to how the sounds come in when listening to the recording.

Core AD Loop
VCV: Rampage #1 has smooth random voltage fed into its Rise CV on Channel 1. Rampage #2 has different smooth random voltage fed into its Fall CV in Channel 2. Both of these Rampages feed their output into the Rise and Fall CV of Rampage #3 respectively. First two Rampages are set to long Rise/Fall times. Third Rampage has a shorter Rise/Fall time setting – this forms the core looping A/D engine for the patch. The varying cycles will more or less stretch apart, sometimes coming together in a fast sequence of cycles – you can use these moments to build crescendos.

Pitch & Chords
Pitch comes from a S&H triggered by the EOC, which is then quantized to C Minus, then sent to the ChordCV chord generator module from Aaron Static. The chord notes/pitches are then distributed to all of the voices in the VCV patch. Some oscillators like the Vult ones can accept polyphonic, so they get the full chord other oscillators get one of the four single notes

Clock Division and Distribution
VCV: The End of Cycle output on Rampage #3 sets the clock. This signal is used to time the arpeggiators. This signal is also duplicated then fed into a division of 2, before being fed to a clock divider, with divisions into 16, 32, 64 etc sent into a Teleport module for distribution around the VCV patch. The original EOC pulse and rise/fall is sent to another Teleport and then into the Audio 16 where it gets sent to the physical rack to trigger things there.

Drone 2 (DN-1)
Rack: The track begins with a sound from Drone 2 - a Noise Reap Paradox oscillator being fed pitch from a rack-side S&H, triggered by a rack-side Rampage, which is being triggered from VCV by the Core AD’s EOC clock. The rack-side Rampage’s rise and fall is being modulated by two smooth random voltages from Pam’s New Workout. The audio goes from the Paradox through a Joranalogue Compare 2 for loads of freq mangling, modulated by several free running LFOs from an Ochd, which in turn is modulated by smooth random from the SSF Ultra Random Analog module. That audio is then fed into a Rossum Linnaeus thru-zero variable state filter, with its frequency CV modulated by a warping envelope/LFO from a Zadar. The envelope share has a sharp rise in the middle, which creates a sharp, sudden ‘crack’ in the cutoff filter, these moments are there to add some tension throughout the track.

P1 & P2
Rack: The second sound that appears in the track are two percussion type noises coming from a Noise Engineering BIA and a MI Plaits. The fast triggers are extracted from the aforementioned Ochd using a Ladik Deviator (slope detector). The triggers are crazy fast sometimes so they’re being spaced apart by feeding the trigger into a Turing machine with a Pulses expansion, then taking pulses 1/2 to the BIA and pulses 4/7 to the Plaits. Same signal from the Ladik clocks a Voltage Block that is then used to modulate various parameters in the BIA and Plaits. These percussion sounds then get sent to VCV for reverb via Valley’s Plateau, and each one gets a different flange effect from the Vahalla Supermassive plugin.

Lead Voice
VCV: After a short while, a higher pitched voice fades in. This is a drone that I call the lead because it has no envelope and is not triggered by any clock division. It comes direct from the Krell looping A/D on Rampage #3 (to get the patch moving, you have to trigger the three Rampages manually, so Drone 1 starts to fade in once its AD gets triggered this way).
The Lead Voice is made up of several oscillators, some of which get their own reverb/fx, one with a randomized vibrato and other modulations, some get the full chord, some single notes, to get some kinds of progression moving around. One oscillator, the Basal from Vult, gets the full chord. They all go through a sub-mixer into a single filter & a VCA that’s fed the Rise & Fall from the core loop.

Drone 1 (DN-1)
VCV: This voice is triggered on every 8th division from the Krell EOC but runs through the Branches probability module. You’ll hear this come in at a higher pitch around 1:49 into the track. The drone runs through another Rampage with a very slow fall time, which works with a slow flange and z-massive size reverb from Vahalla to create super long tails, so multiple notes will play while the VCA is open, sounding a bit to me, like an electric guitar.

ARPs 1 & 2
VCV: At around 2:48, the Krell cycles finally start to crash into each other, which starts to trigger the Arpeggios. These get their signals direct from Rampage #3’s EOC, then placed through two signal delays to get them to feel like they’re trickling off the core rise and falls. First Arp is pitched high via a Chirp, with a snappy envelope and low pass gate - same for the other Arp but with a lower pitch, slower envelope and added echo. I wanted the Arps to occupy some of the highs and add interest to help prevent the patch from stagnating.

Drone 3 (DN-3)
Rack: This is the Acid Rain Chainsaw oscillator, freq modulated a little by the Ochd, running through a long envelope from Zadar, triggered by the start of the Fall segment on the rack-side Rampage. It just plays a fixed note.

Cel-1
VCV: Around 4:40 the first Supercell granular voice/effect comes in. It’s triggered at 32 or 64, which was divided by 2 before, so more like 64 or 128 EOCs (If I’m getting that right). It first gets the chord into the Bleak oscillator, which is set to polyphonic, then the signal is turned monophonic via the Orbit module so it can go into the Supercell granulator, which then has a nice loud volume in the mix and lingers for a long time, so acts like a crescendo moment.

Cel-2
VCV: Similar set up to the Cel-1 but pitched lower, and triggers at the same time, so it comes in under the Cel-1 for more oomph.

Cel-3
VCV: This is the big one! Or at least makes Cel-2 the big one, by taking a copy of the chord then passing it through a high pass filter with its own Chronoblob big echo. The envelope that opens this up is made slower than the Cel-2 and the whole thing is triggered x2 longer than Cel 1&2 so you’ll only hear it once or twice in a 15-20 min timeframe, I think.

Arranging
Most of the arranging is programmed with clock divisions to spread out the Krell cycles. The moments when the cycles come together tightly really speeds up the divisions and helps bring in the crescendo moment and activates the Arp trickle sounds. The only things I did in the recording was manually trigger the three Rampages to get it going, then at around 14 minutes, then after the final crescendo, when it started to calm down a bit, turn off the cycle switches on the Rampages and wait for the patch to slow to a halt in its own time before fading down.

Plugins
There are loads of VCV Host modules all over the patch, using various algorithms from the Vahalla Supermassive plugin - which is free. The entire mix is also put through the Rysy filter from Felt.

Ya, that’s the only one I’ve been able to find. Looks awesome but expensive :(

Everything in Eurorack is supposed to be 1V/8va scaling, so yeah, you can sequence a Plaits with most any Eurorack CV sequencer along with a bunch of outboard controllers/sequencers.

Yup. Have a look at SOMA's Pulsar-23. https://somasynths.com/pulsar-23/

Are there any multi-voice semi modular drum machines?

Hello,

is it possible to run the Pico Seq from EricaSynth only with the MI Plaits?

Thanks in advance

I grew up building model airplanes and cars from scratch using kits and glue as well as puzzles and Radio Shack electronics kits to make noises and projects. Eurorack and modular is like an erector/lego set for building music/sound design blocks and the hands on factor appeals greatly to me instead of having an all in one synth box that creates music. Now for travel, my Elektron Analog4 does the job quickly and easily compared to hauling a large case of modular gear around or if I just want to whip out a quick and dirty music track. I am getting into sampler/granular synthesis and picked up Mutable Instruments Beads module (Clouds v2) recently and really having a blast with Plaits into Beads into Rings and using Marbles for LFO/randomness stuff.

vactrols aren't massively expensive - they are compared to a lot of op amps - but not compared to 2614s that are in many vcas etc these days (mutable use them extensively for example) or to stm32 etc chips (MCUs) - there are some restrictions due to what they are made from (they're not RoHs compiant for example) but it can be done reasonably cheaply - look at the dplpg, for example - 2 vactrols and reasonably priced

one point to note is that vactrols are all (as far as I know) through hole - which does add to the cost, especially if the rest is smd based - adds more work that is probably done by hand, compared to smd which will be done by a robot!

at retail prices in uk vactrols are roughly between £3 and £8 + vat - 2164s are about £3 + vat iirc and stms can be over £10 + vat and most mutable modules (built in france) are in the £180-300 price bracket

the 200 series, which the tta/buchla modules are, never had the preset-programmability, that was only in the later 200e series - which are eye wateringly expensive and still being manufactured by BUSA

i suspect the tta/buchla modules will almost definitely be manufactured in thailand where tta are now based - so labour cost is way lower than BUSA - as I think they are actually built in USA - and I'm pretty sure they will be mostly smd based as it's quicker and cheaper for pick'n'place manufacturing - and only the vactrols, panel furniture and finishing will be done by hand

I think the buchla/tta modules are a fantastic development

great for eurorack users - add a bit of authentic buchla for not much cash!

I kept looking at the 208c - but I'm pretty sure I'll just get some of these instead - much more fun and interesting to buy a module every so often than to save up and buy a 208C - 200 is much easier to find (even repeatedly) than nearly 3k in one go!

the only people who seem to object to them are existing buchla users - and the main argument is this is not what Don wanted - true, but in his lifetime the b-company were not making cheap ass clones of everything and anything they could lay their grubby little hands on - faced with that or this I think Don would have (if he were alive today) have gone with licencing over the alternative due to it, being the lesser of 2 evils...

Hi Glitched0xff,

If you are a diyer you can buy many St Modular panel/pcb set here:
https://www.3u-shop.de/

There is no 0hp module in this shop but maybe if you ask you can find some clue to buy them somewhere else.
Riccardo is very cool.

If you want built modules you can ask RTFM, a modulargrid member.
Pro builder from Italia.

Cheers

EDITED Sep 17th 2021, 11:23

Ok- I've had both Seek and Stepper. I also live in Chicago and grew up on ACID House since the age of 8. Always have been seeking Acid and somehow ended up playing live shows with my Euroracks at 41. I use the Stepper and M303 for that sound after trying countless sequencers. The Stepper hands-down is the show killer. Its got "live", "song" and "detach" modes! The Seek is fun but lacks these. Do the Stepper. The slide is adjustable as well.
-- robotmanmachine

I now have a Stepper and my very first impression is super positive. it's so easy to use and there are plenty of useful features.
I'll place it next to my 2 seeks, lets see what happens.

thanks

I don't have a Ceis but I'm interested to know how it Steps through?

I had assumed from looking at it when thinking about buying one that the only Steps are the Gates generated that come from the A.D.S.R points and that the actual envelope that is made simply flows like you would expect from any ADSR module.

You will get a different effect depending on whether you are sending it a Trigger or a Gate, the length of gate corresponding to the SUSTAIN section as the level that the sound holds while the key is pressed, even my A-R envelopes (PipSlope) respect the Gate length versus sending it a simple Clock or Trigger.

EDITED Sep 17th 2021, 07:04

Hi everyone,

If anyone here owns one, is there a way to set up the envelope so that it doesnt 'step' through the ADSR, so it performs like a tradional ADSR for say pads etc. I've read the manual and tried every configuraton I can think of, perhaps it's not designed that way?

Cheers
.J.

I created this rack "Processing Vocals with Eurorack (Perfect Circuit: 08/05/2021" for anyone inspired by the excellent Perfect Circuit video "Singing Into Synthesizers! Techniques and Concepts for Performing With Vocalists!" I used the gear list provided in the description, and paused the video a lot, trying to figure out where everything went (including some confusing silver/black panel options and one "gap"). I placed the "Satellite Controller Pods" on the bottom row to keep everything in the same rack.

There is a great writeup as well by Jacob of Perfect Circuit https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/katrina-cain-eurorack

Hoping Jacob will create a "patch map" on how he connected everything!
Cheers.

Mat, if you're going to consider the Rene, you also should seriously consider pairing it with the Tempi. The Tempi has some "backplane connections" with the Rene that kick up the sequencer's functionality.

Also, I'm not buying Buchla USA's explanation regarding the vactrols. There's plenty of modules on here which use them that DON'T cost an arm and a leg and maybe also your other leg, too. My guess with the 200e modules is that the circuitry for the patch memory as well as the extensive signal processing and other hidden digital gewgaws are the real cost drivers, and not a simple component (that's NOT a chip, so scarcity doesn't apply here) that's an off the shelf item. Maybe Don had the right idea, but the execution of that idea shot the 200e modules off the feasibility charts for most musicians. So I applaud Tiptop's efforts here...we NEED a Buchla that anyone can afford.

Yeah, that's actually him. In fact, Richard routinely posts updates to his live rig on here, and I definitely recommend anyone who needs some new perspectives on what to use and how to use it to have a look at his designs.

Also, the OP might want to drop Xaoc a line and ask them directly. My bet is that if there's a ROM update capability on the Zadar, there might also be other methods for blowing new voltage curves into the module.

I agree...but I think what we saw with the 2600FS followed by the 2600M was indicative of something not exactly right with Korg. Consider: some time before the 2600 fiasco, one of Korg's lead designers (the one responsible for the Volca designs) bailed on his employer and went over to...yup...Uli and his Tribe. I've also heard of some other shuffling of personnel over there, and given the usual loyalty shown by employees to established companies like Korg over in Japan, hearing about anyone jumping ship to go to another firm is VERY unusual, indeed.

I also feel a LOT LESS jinky about my B.2600 now, too. In the email exchange with Dina Pearlman, she mentioned that "...the (ARP) Foundation is not about promoting any brand, but it is bringing awareness that other companies are still making 2600s among other instruments." And yes, she cited Behringer as one of those companies...so apparently, they're 100% down with Uli's reissue. They did mention that they'd not had any direct interaction with Behringer, but also noted that they'd be glad to have them on board with the Foundation as well. As far as I'm concerned, that brings any concerns about Uli and IP theft by his firm to a halt regarding the B.2600 AND the 2500 modules as well. The ARP Foundation is apparently down with any and ALL efforts to keep Alan R.'s contributions to electronic music alive, so if they're good with this, I'm good with it as well, and we probably ought to snag these synths in the end as they really, really, REALLY are the true "rev.5" as they appear to be.

The FS version, according to a Korg UK rep who got cornered over this issue, was not necessarily "intended" for us avg. peons to buy. They actually intended them to go to certain "influencers" and whatever was left over was slotted for retail. Two things immediately went horribly wrong...
-- Lugia

Thanks for the explanation, makes sense.

What a waste!... I had briefly followed that Korg Arp release when I saw it come up in Sweetwater, but as the pre-orders immediately filled and I didn't have $ to put to it anyway, I thought "oh well, later or never." It really stinks they didn't just do a great job and make enough units to meet a reasonable chunk of market demand.

The FS version, according to a Korg UK rep who got cornered over this issue, was not necessarily "intended" for us avg. peons to buy. They actually intended them to go to certain "influencers" and whatever was left over was slotted for retail. Two things immediately went horribly wrong, though. One of those was J-M. Jarre's mention of it around a month out from the proper release date at NAMM. The other was a wildly off-base estimation of the market interest in this 50 year old synth. So what happened was a PR catastrophe, made even worse by Korg's claims regarding the "road case" (cheap and flimsy...hardly something you'd want as a "premium" for your "limited edition" 2600), the constantly shifting numbers of the "limited" run, odd issues regarding unit QC, and a general inability by Korg to provide any retailers with ANY information that might clarify what in the hell was going on. So it's not just users who got honked off at Korg over this, you had their main retailers gnashing their teeth as well.

As for the "crippleware" issue, that has to do with the 3620's submodule complement. The FS uses a 3620 replica, so no problem there. And Uli's 2600 has those submodules down in the lower left corner of the front panel. But the Korg 2600M omits these in deference to just a basic MIDI I/O, which would be good if the 2600M's controls could be addressed in sysex...but they're not. Now, Korg wants to sell these for $1800, minus the 3620 circuits. Uli charges $650, WITH the 3620 submodules. Sounds like crippleware to me!

Mat, a few comments

-- re: PNW, what you said makes a lot of sense.
-- S&P and DUSG, IMO you might find more inspiring current alternatives, esp. if you decide to save some of your "I want Buchla-ish stuff" for when the new Tiptop/Buchla stuff is available. While I already have a LOT of modular stuff, I might grab a fair amount of the Tiptop/Buchla stuff when available... it may be just too tempting to resist, even if strictly speaking, I already have a fair amount of that functionality in my rack
-- last, I have to say, the "I want Buchla-ish stuff" urge could go a few ways. For me, a loose interpretation of "west coast" (vs "east coast synthesis") is accretive (vs subtractive), vactrols & LPGs (vs other standard filters & VCAs), happy accidents (vs played / programmed), and innovative / complex (vs "traditional / simple"). Which is to say, I find myself happy scratching a "west coast itch" with a variety of modules, some old some new some innovative, but which hit somehow the west-coast vibe and mentality. If you wanted to go in that direction also, it provides a lot more alternatives vs. having to hew closely to a few Buchla clones/offspring.

Good luck!

Really cool ..... where is the program, to build import create you're own envelopes, and plenty space on the device for these things, WHY SO LOCKED DOWN =D
-- Gravitymike

I did a little bit of research. The firmware version 2.0 includes a new bank of shapes called "Glitch & Hold" by Richard Devine. So I think it should be possible to hack the waveshapes if new waveshapes can be added via a firmware update. There's an account on Modular Grid by the name of "RichardDevine". I don't know if this is the same person or not. But a polite DM inquiring might be worthwhile if you're so inclined.

Maybe it does...but the fact is that you can look at it from several feet away and be able to tell the basics of whether it's patched correctly or not.

People rip on Tiptop over these colorful jacks. I don't know why. If you've ever programmed a Serge, Buchla, 2700-series Paia, Ciat-Lonbarde, analog computer of most any sort, etc you NEED those multicolors! Same reasons there apply here, too.
-- Lugia

Aesthetically, I don't like the plastic look about them. I do own a Z-DSP(NS), though. It's nice enough. But I don't know if I'd recommend it. It's pretty huge for what it does.

To follow up on Toodee's reply to my reply... many filters can also be used as sine wave oscillators if their resonance permits. Some can and some can't. But the right filter can double as a simple oscillator.

Smart contact and fine transaction with @Slim
Merci Quentin !

Mat, this build seems pretty solid to me.

The 3 points I have questions about:
-- what will PNW be doing in this setup? It's a great module, but I don't see obvious uses for it here
-- why Scan & Pan vs alternatives or other uses of that HP?
-- why the DUSG? Wogglebug + ER101 + Quadrax + QX already give you a lot of CV for this size a rig, I'm not sure DUSG adds a lot of value alongside your other CV, and it sure takes a lot of HP. If this was my setup, I'd be tempted to put Joranalog Morph 4 where DUSG is. Morph4 is totally different than DUSG, but you could do interesting things in this setup with Morph 4 such as pull several outs from DPO and morph them (at LFO, sequenced or audio rate!) or use it to morph CV that's fed to something else.

Hi Nick,
Those are good questions and thanks for asking them. I can't promise to give definitive (or even coherent) answers but my thinking was as follows...

PNW is in there to supply a clock to the ER101, which as I understand it, doesn't have an internal clock. I could get a clock from the Wogglebug or the Quadrax or the DUSG but I won't be certain of the BPM with any of these, and I thought that might be useful if I wan't to take anything into my DAW. I also imagine myself using it as an LFO and an additional source of random. But, it might be overkill, as you suggest.

Scan and Pan - that's there I suppose, because I'm trying to recreate the Buchla Skylab, which has a similar mixer (6 channel I think), with the ability to pan the inputs into a stereo field. It looks like it would be kind of fun to create stereo movement. I think Sputnik do one that is even more similar to the Buchla and other smaller options are available but I haven't researched them. Verbos is a pretty reputable brand I guess, and I see the Scan and Pan as the final point in the audio chain.

DUSG - you might well be right about this. I have asked myself the same question (above in this post if I remember rightly) but I guess there are quite a few other things you can do with it. I have considered swapping it out for Maths, which would give me the advantage of another mixer, attenuation, inverters, more logic possibilities and a smaller hp footprint. I might have to end up doing this because I'm not sure how available the ER101 actually is, so I may need to look at another sequencer - possibly the Rene Mk2, which is bigger.

I have never heard of the Morph4, which looks funzies (as my daughter says). I'll check it out.

And yes, I know what you mean about the TipTop Buchla - I imagine it being as hard to get as Beads - frustrating when you decide on a module and then it is unavailable. First world problems of course and I'm very lucky to have the modules I do have already to play with.

Choices, choices, choices... Sometimes I think I should just get a Buchla Easel or a Make Noise Shared System and be done with it... :) I'm sure I'd have a lot of fun with either.

Regards,
Mat

Hi folks
I buy from famous on line DIY modular shop the Envelope(great and beautiful module) and 0hp EQ from ST modular.
The eq is very intresting 0hp utility that has good quality of filtering and i love all this 0hp workmate particulary when i play with my diy blip&drone machine.
Now i'd like to buy more but I'm from IT and thanks to Brexit the ship from England + tax + duties is prohibitive.
Anybody can suggest a schema for reproduce it?

Thanks
Glitched0xff

Yes, Manis being mono is normal, all Noise Engineering voices are mono I think. You can always "stereo" a signal later, with effects for example.

For LFOs suggested by Ronin, I suggest you start by exploring the Hermod. It's got plenty of functions, one of those is LFO's. Always start looking at modules you already have to achieve a goal you may have, this is how you learn your instrument !

For filter, it's true that Manis has in own integrated LPF and Plaits can definitely be used without a filter especially when you use the trig input thanks to that LPG simulation, but a nice multi-mode filter can expand the sound palette on offer quite well nonetheless. For example, someone put the Dual Dagger from Shakmat Modularon my radar recently, relatively cheap and small but quite powerful it seems, and it can help with mono-to-interesting-stereo duties too.

Jb is quite right about the Blackhole DSP vs FX Aid. The latter is a no-brainer so if space is an issue, you have your solution right there. And in fact, there is also the question of the Black HADSR, 12HP for a single enveloppe is not something I would do in a space limited rack. If you absolutely need ADSR (I found out some time ago that for me, that was coming from habit more than need, I'm very much an AD guy now) you could have a look at Quadigy from Klavis, still ADSR but 4 of them, presets and other niceties, for only 2HP more.

Finally, I suggest going through Math's illustrated manual, a must try in my honest opinion ;-)

I'm going to go ahead and guess: development time/costs. Such an app requires developing a multi-platform application to produce these envelopes as well as expanding on the maintenance menu to add other functions (currently only used for firmware updates) for data upload. Development costs get translated into the final price we pay.

Don't get me wrong, I agree that such function would send Zadar into the heavens, but looks like it wasn't in store for us just yet. Not to worry, there's plenty of interesting waveforms on the existing software and plenty of ways to turn those back on themselves and get what you want... or even better, a happy surprise :-)

@Lugia, what was the problem with 2600FS Limited Edition and later "crippleware?"

Mat, this build seems pretty solid to me.

The 3 points I have questions about:
-- what will PNW be doing in this setup? It's a great module, but I don't see obvious uses for it here
-- why Scan & Pan vs alternatives or other uses of that HP?
-- why the DUSG? Wogglebug + ER101 + Quadrax + QX already give you a lot of CV for this size a rig, I'm not sure DUSG adds a lot of value alongside your other CV, and it sure takes a lot of HP. If this was my setup, I'd be tempted to put Joranalog Morph 4 where DUSG is. Morph4 is totally different than DUSG, but you could do interesting things in this setup with Morph 4 such as pull several outs from DPO and morph them (at LFO, sequenced or audio rate!) or use it to morph CV that's fed to something else.

That's just what I think when looking at this setup and how I normally work. If those modules are good picks for you, no problem.

Last, I should mention I consider 4MS SISM or Tiptop MISO important in any mid to large setup.

BTW re trying to emulate a Buchla setup, I watched the Tiptop / Buchla announcements today and it sounds like modules will be released here and there over the next 12 months. Between release dates and getting a module (they're likely to be popular!) it could take a while to get one.

Cheers,

NG

OH, HOLY CRAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

First thing I see right off is a 258...for $200!?!?!?! And the 257's getting reissued!?!?! Good lord...

And with Tiptop running the fabrication (I would presume?), we'll really be seeing these, as opposed to Buchla USA's never-gonna-get-done 100 series reissue.
-- Lugia

I guess one of the ways they’ve kept the price down is the absence of preset management which must make the modules simpler to manufacture. I wonder if they’re using vactrols too, which according to a podcast I listened to with the CEO of Buchla bump the price up. And then I guess they’ll have large production runs. It really is rather exciting news! Having said that, I’m still rather keen on the latest iteration of my next rack but this has thrown a haze of doubt over that …

EDITED Sep 16th 2021, 05:49

OK...dig this post over on KVR: https://www.kvraudio.com/news/alan-r-pearlman-foundation-and-the-record-co-announce-arp-2600-synthposium-event-52817

I find this to be utterly ridiculous. The Alan R. Pearlman foundation's also pushing this "ARPs for All" BS...which consists of having ARP instruments available for free use by ONE SINGLE studio rental company in Boston. But why the Foundation is giving Korg all of this credit is beyond me...after all, THEY were the company that succeeded in making the 2600 UNcool and angering the hell out of people with the "2600FS limited edition stunt" followed later by the "2600M crippleware announcement".

As much as I hatehatehateHATE giving him any credit, the one who's actually accomplishing this is...I can't believe I'm actually saying this...Uli Behringer. What sounds like "ARPs for All"? One not-exactly-a-company who got in deep with Korg for window dressing and fabrication purposes while Korg trashed Alan Pearlman's legacy with their hype and nonsense...or another led by a narcissistic jackass with some janky AF business practices BUT who gave us an affordable (AND COMPLETE!!!!) 2600 as well as the 2500 module line?

This is sort of...well, actually, REALLY weird. Korg is the...bad guys? Uli's...uhmm...on the right side of this? Seriously, I'm expecting the Earth to fall into the Sun at any moment because of the factual imbalance of all of this.

Swapped the VCF303 for my Polaris to see how a different filter sounded and with a bit more modulation capabilities, also trying something new with the MSCL, interesting module 🤔 This is an excerpt from a longer jam but I like the structure of it ok even if it starts out a bit slow, hope you enjoy!

Bundled the last couple tunes I made with this (along with the @TumeniKnobs collaboration) onto a mini EP which you can check out here https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/album/september-acid

Made with:

Maybe it does...but the fact is that you can look at it from several feet away and be able to tell the basics of whether it's patched correctly or not.

People rip on Tiptop over these colorful jacks. I don't know why. If you've ever programmed a Serge, Buchla, 2700-series Paia, Ciat-Lonbarde, analog computer of most any sort, etc you NEED those multicolors! Same reasons there apply here, too.

DFAM is easily detached from its own casing and mounted in eurorack, and since I have free space (at least now!) in my rack it's neatly in the same place as others. True, if the rack gets full I might put it back in its original case.
-- jussilampela

You really should put it back where it belongs. For one thing, you've really kicked the price of the DFAM up by doing this. And given how expensive Eurorack cab space is...well, here's what's going on:

(prices are USD per Perfect Circuit's listings)
The A-100 P9 = $675 w/ 252 total hp
DFAM = $699 and takes up 60 hp. So...

675/252 = $2.68 per hp
2.68 x 60 = $160.80

So the ACTUAL cost of the DFAM, in this configuration, is $859.80...and probably MORE given the import duty on the Moog.

This is why, when you can Eurorack-mount some devices that have cabs and power already, you won't see a lot of us doing that. Eurorack cases are really for things that DON'T have those, simply because the cost-to-benefit ratio isn't really good when you put something like a DFAM in a Eurorack cab. Also, putting something like that in a Eurorack case that also takes up more than half a row really depletes your open space for other proper modules.

OH, HOLY CRAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

First thing I see right off is a 258...for $200!?!?!?! And the 257's getting reissued!?!?! Good lord...

And with Tiptop running the fabrication (I would presume?), we'll really be seeing these, as opposed to Buchla USA's never-gonna-get-done 100 series reissue.

Additional sequencer is more about CV control, there are things that you can do with mangling CV that gets very organic results in eurorack. You can get close with max for Live's Midi lfo in Ableton and mapping them accordingly, but I also spend so much time with computer that it's nice to have something that you can put your finger on!

best,

JL
-- jussilampela

Cool...I got an ornament & crime to try and get some of that 'organic' sequenced mangling going on too
I hear you on the computer time and nice to have something to put your finger on :)

hi, and thanks for the good replies!
Yes, the Black sequencer is an option I've eyed, I like to have something tactile and not too menu driven. And the knobs seem really good, something to grab easily!
Shipping from US (or outside EU) is generally so much slower, and brings customs payments as well, so I'll try to find stuff inside EU.
DFAM is easily detached from its own casing and mounted in eurorack, and since I have free space (at least now!) in my rack it's neatly in the same place as others. True, if the rack gets full I might put it back in its original case.

Additional sequencer is more about CV control, there are things that you can do with mangling CV that gets very organic results in eurorack. You can get close with max for Live's Midi lfo in Ableton and mapping them accordingly, but I also spend so much time with computer that it's nice to have something that you can put your finger on!

best,

JL

Made a video for one of the tracks listed above. Here's the link:

Really cool ..... where is the program, to build import create you're own envelopes, and plenty space on the device for these things, WHY SO LOCKED DOWN =D

so ...... multiple in's multiple outs, ability to monitor its multiple fv1 chips, and replace them, free fx all free, this is an investment not an unfixable toy ....... IT LOOKS LIKE ONE

EDITED Sep 15th 2021, 16:54

I am also using Ableton but have a Beatstep Pro...I've been using the BSP as my primary clock source in my setup (which also includes a Hydrasynth desktop and my Rackbrute 6U. Also more recently integrated iSpark (drum machine) on my iPad with it as well (so I can have drums if I ever go remote...Ableton is on a desktop for me currently)

If I'm not mistaken, that DFAM has its own enclosure? It takes up a HUGE chunk of real estate in your setup. There is a calculation that can be done to demonstrate the extra $ it costs to include that in your setup...maybe you're considering removing it when you fill up more HP on your setup?

Curious as to why you're looking for more sequencing power when you are using Ableton Live and KSP...are you using CV Tools in Ableton? what are you looking to do with adding a sequencer in rack (more just curious than anything since I'm newer to modular).

I'd look at the Erica Synth Black Sequencer. It has 16 encoders on it. I'm assuming that if you have the Metropolis, that you like having sliders/knobs for input. Erica's website lists it at 510 Euros. Erica is based in Europe as well.

Research it and see if it's for you.

Happy Nerding FX Aid XL and 3X VCA
Frap Tools 321
Filter
-- jb61264

I was thinking about that FX Aid XL but is there a point in having it when I already have Erica Synths Black Hole DSP?

What would be the best filter to get right now? Possibly not the cleaniest one, or it doesn't matter?
Frap Tools 321 - is it similar to how Veils work? How can I utilize it in my setup efficiently?

And a very noob question - most voices like Manis Iteritas are mono.. am I right? I'm a total beginner and was a bit surprised that when plugging it (Manis) to Erica's Black Mixer it gives my the mono audio only.

-- Arrus

I'm new to modular as well, but before jumping into anything I did quite a bit of reading/research and asked a lot of questions here and elsewhere. There will be others on MG that are far better at answering your questions than I am :)

With such a small setup (I have a Rackbrute 6U as well)...taking up HP with larger modules like the Black Hole (16HP) when you can use something like FX Aid XL (6HP) makes no sense. You have an extra 10HP to use on other utilities if you switch them out. Not bashing the Black Hole at all (never used it or read any reviews about it)...but with a smaller setup like this, you should focus on smaller modules that give you similar features/functionality. That Hermod sequencer is nice, but you could probably find a smaller HP sequencer that will do what you are wanting. I bought an ornament & crime module that can do some sequencing (and a million other things too) in 8HP but also bought a Beatstep Pro as the main sequencer in my setup (so I'm not taking any HP in my setup for a sequencer).

Filters are really a matter of personal taste...there are many flavors out there...some with a very specific characteristic (Jove by System80 emulates the Roland Jupiter 6) and some which give you a wide variety of potential characteristics (Neutron Flux by Supercritical Synthesizers).

321 is quite different to Veils...I would recommend spending some time reading up on the two to discover what those differences are...Veils is a VCA where 321 is more of a "utility" module.