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Okay, ty for all the help again :). The Mantis seems to fit the bill more. The Ic9 is a bit low on power for the modules i want.

What additional modulation and utilities do you recommend? In the long run Im going to either have 2x intel 7u 104hp cases or a 15u 104hp case from Case From Lake possibly along with the intel 7u 104hp case that I already own. Im kind of on the fence here since the two intel cases would cost about the same as the CFL but are portable and shiny :)

what are you trying to do?
what sort of music?
how will you control this?
how will you listen to this?
how much is your budget? start up and long term
do you think you are missing something - is this just a "I have no clue and threw these in here and I am lost post"?
or is it just a hunch that you have missed something and you can't spot it?
have you bought any of this yet?
what other equipment do you have? that you want/need to interface with this?

I wrote this and then clicked on the rack to see if I could offer any immediate advice based on the actual modules in the rack - and the link does not match - please look for @Lugia's description of how to fix this - it's in the top few posts somewhere - I think you just have to refresh and save the correct page so that the in screenshot is updated

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 17:14

the 2 I particularly like that you can buy are doepfer lc9 and tiptop mantis

both are mid priced
both are a decent size
both have decent power - good enough for video - so at audio rates very quiet
if you want a more power hungry modules get the mantis
if you want a lot of lower powered modules get the lc9

the pittsburgh modular structure cases are ok but I know nothing about the quality of their power solutions - they are 'reasonably' priced and people like them - they use different sized screws iirc than the usual m3 - iirc they are 40-4(? a us size) and there are no knurlies, if this makes a difference

choose the case around the modules

Thank you Jim for this great piece of Advice.
I will just put disting in next and after that some sort of vc mixer or cascaded vca like the a-135-2.

All the Best and many thanks to all of you guys.

I'm in agreement with @Lugia here

more modulation and more utilities needed

as Lugia said one way is to create more space by taking (imo) the top row from metopolix up to and including data plus the m303 possibly more, into a separate case - 104hp would be nice wouldn't it - too match the other cases but I wouldn't bother with a 1u row - they are imo too expensive for what they are

the other alternative is to strip out all the modulation and utilities and then work out what you really need to support what you have and is it possible to fit that it - it's quite likely that you either end up back at the extra case or having to remove a voice (simultaneously creating space for more modulation and utilities and slightly reducing the need for them)

i have been looking into prices on different cases and atm, i am leaning towards Pittsburgh Modular Structure EP series. The doepfer lc9 also looks very good. I really like how it seems to be stackable.

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 16:55

it's an interesting concept...

regarding starting very small, I wouldn't personally, at least regarding case

by the time you have an es9 in the rack you have taken quite a lot of space already and when you add some decent modulation sources, some performance controllers and the utilities that you need/want to support all this - you will be around the same as a regular starter case - 84-104hp/6u - possibly with a little room for expansion

small cases are relatively expensive - especially ones with 1u rows - so unless you are smitten by their cuteness, as so many are I would forgo these - also you pay a lot for power and any utilities/functions that are often encouraging you to buy specific modules to get them to work - which there is nothing wrong with but particularly in this case you are not looking to use midi or audio i/o from the case

aim to buy something like a mantis or doepfer lc9

but start with the modules you actually want and need - paying attention to these points and then putting the case around them seems like a much better solution to me - remember you don't have too fill a case in one go!

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 16:26

if you can't decide if you have enough or need more of something the simple and probably best answer is to postpone that decision until you can actually make it

buy a one or a couple of extra modules now and then work out what you need from playing with it

it's even easier if you buy the disting now - set it up as the modules you may think you want - it has vcas and quite a few different utilities, alng with quite a few other things - all of which are 'decent' or better fr what they are - and have a play, get used to using those algos (use favourites to simplify the module) and if you find yourself using disting as a vca then get a vca, or whatever

particularly if this happens for vcas - get more channels - a triple or quad cascading vca for example

if you think you need a mixer early on again get the cascading vca - its a vc-mixer!!! and it's vcas

the other great modules I have that work like this are maths and stages - they do what they do on the surface and then you can program them to do many many other things - i don't know about a stages illustrated manual, but the maths illustrated manual is a phenomenal learning tool - read it even if you don't have a maths or want a maths - you may need one afterwards

This is the third time I'm writing the response now and I'm starting to feel a bit pissed off, so excuse this abbreviated response. I thoroughly read your Post and studied your suggested build and am really thankful you took the time and effort to respond!

In Short:
Depth is not an Issue with my Case I built the Case to fit a flight case and it's not shallow in any sense of the word.
Though I was already expecting that someone would take to the BBD since it's quite specific and large for such a small case, Yet I'm quite partial to that Module.

As you so fittingly stated, your suggestion is just MoAR all over and a lot more intricate than what I had planned out so far. I'm quite happy to see plaits, LXD and disting make an appearance, since I'm pretty much sold on those. That being said building out the system as per your suggestion really is out of the question for me at the moment, I'd rather grow into the hobby a bit more naturally than pretty much start from scratch at this point. It just makes more sense to me that way.

That being said I would really appreciate your opinion on a few specific things:
Firstly aforementioned BBD, although I might be stubborn on that one I admit.
Secondly what's your opinion on the last two suggestions posted in the Thread, should I rather go Troux' route or should I go with the second mixer and stick with my last suggestion? I find it really hard to decide if I have enough utility and VCA's. Maybe I should swap the mini Mixer for two attenuverters or Offsets. Any help on that front would be much appreciated.
I know this might be much to ask of an experienced user who probably feels the build is a bit boring and inefficient the way it is. Anyhow I hope you can share some thoughts.

Again sorry for not going into detail that much, hope my reasoning is still fairly understandable..
Thank you again for your time and effort I'm really grateful for any suggestions.

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 14:32

Umm, maybe you ask Dannysound to register as manufacturer at MG?
-- wiggler55550

I already asked ModularGrid, because that's what we're supposed to do as users.

Dannysound already has more than enough modules on MG to qualify without having to ask them to come here and make the request themselves, especially seeing as there is a community of users here, like me, who own modules of theirs and have a vested interest in seeing the information represented correctly.

@ Lugia, that's actually a really good idea. and i can also start very small that way, and if i end up wanting more out of the modular later i can simply expand.

Strange I had a 2nd quad vca in there at one point. I guess I took it out to make room for something else.
I have expanded the rack to include two intellijel 7u cases but had to put the 2x1u into a different rack because of the 4 row limit on MG.
How are things looking now? Any gaps you see with this modified config?

Umm, maybe you ask Dannysound to register as manufacturer at MG?

module unavailability is just something you get used to - it's worse thanks too covid, but it's still not unusual to have to wait for the module you want

Buy the important modules that you want
Work out what modules you need to support them and go from there

Might be an idea to post a starting rack to see if anything is missing

and remember there's nothing wrong with substituting module A with module B if you can't find module A and module B will do most (or all) of what module A does - either as a stop gap or permanently

there are no wrong paths in your modular journey - some are just more expensive than others

Yep, this is my intermediary goal but I will buy a few first and then see how I feel about them. Some are more important to me than others and some are simply not available atm (the Clank Chaos) ...

Thanks for all the advice, I found it very useful!

For as long as possible, my plan is to maintain a utility-heavy rig with:
1. no custom voices, just raw oscillators and noise
2. no FSU modules (like granular processing)
3. no samples
4. no traditional note sequencers longer than five steps
5. no screens

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 17:17

I recently contacted Thonk about a Dannysound MM VCA module. Thonk replied, indicating that they are just the retailer, not the manufacturer. All Dannysound modules should be listed with Dannysound as the manufacturer, not Thonk.

I don't have the authority to add manufacturers to the master list, but I would be happy to edit the Dannysound modules once someone does add the manufacturer in.

Went way further on this...and found some issues, most notably with the BBD module and a couple of others, all of which have depths of 60mm or worse. So instead of continuing with the same line of thought here, I opted to get a bit divergent and show what you can get to when you eliminate the Doepfer-primary constraint.

Yeah, pretty different, alright. For one thing, the layout is now properly consolidated, with audio on top (except for the FX send/return module) and control on the bottom.

Top row: This starts with the A-119. Then instead of the full-sized Plaits, I went with Antumbra's 6 hp clone. That then opened up more real estate, and so I chucked the Doepfer VCO in favor of a very satisfying double VCO from Noise Reap, their Paradox. This is sort of the "poor man's complex VCO"...the VCOs can influence each other via FM, internal regeneration, etc. Between that and the Plaits clone, I'd say that your sound generation is dealt with. I moved the Quad VCA/Mixer by these, which now lets you have CV over VCO levels going to the filters. And as for the filters, there's a neat complement there...the G-Storm Delta VCF is cloned from Korg's Delta (and Poly-61, plus a couple other Korg polysynths around that time) and gives you LP and BP functions with a smooth, paddy feel. The OTHER VCF, however, is a Nyle Steiner design, notorious for its strident and sometimes brutal lead voice capabilities. LxD is after that, meaning you could easily LPG the VCF outputs if desired, in addition to the "normal" LPG uses. Then I took this into full stereo via the Happy Nerding Panmix Jr., which then feeds to a Befaco OUT, providing isolated 1/4" outputs, headphone preamp (with a CUE input!) and master level control.

Bottom row: Disting, Doepfer Noise/S&H, and then Maths. After that, there's an Antumbra Dual VCA, a clone of 1/2 of a Veils, then a Shakmat Sumdif adder/subtractor, and a Tenderfoot 3-in attenuverting mixer...all three of these are intended to work together to alter/modify/mangle modulation signals, which makes much more out of the Maths and Quadrax than they have in of themselves. Next is the aforementioned Quadrax, with its Qx expander, and then Malekko's SND/RTN, which gives you CV over wet-dry balance to an external effects box.

The result is about $500-ish more, but also fixes your +12V rail issue by lowering the draw by about 140 mA. Plus, it has M0AR all over it...more VCOs, more VCAs, more filtering, more modulation, more manipulation potential. And compared to where this started, this is a HUGE upgrade in terms of functionality and sonic capability. All part of the fun that is Eurorack...there's ALWAYS other options out there!

One other idea...

If the point here is to have something that works with Ableton, this sounds like a capital reason to build a build that's actually a VST controller. No voicing, just various modulation and CV generation modules which use the ES-9 as the "front door" to CV Tools, from which you can use the various Suite widgets and voodoo to pipe the incoming signals to VSTis and VSTs. This will 100% result in something which can make those plugins do things that...well, they're not exactly meant to do. That way, you get the ease of having your voicing under Ableton, but the trickery that makes the voicing do all the odd flips and leaps is very hands-on, as wanted.

And of course, you can save the voicing and Ableton routings, while letting the analog end of this be the "wild card" instrument. Has potential, I think...

Yep, the Vector is HUGE...but then, it's clearly the "core" of the system, and even the build layout is set up to reflect this.

There's not much in the way of issues here. About the only thing I can suggest would be to lose the LINK2 and Links and use the space for a Happy Nerding 3xVCA, which would give you VCA control over the VCO mixing. Also, you could add VCA level control to the Doepfer A-138s by yanking the A-138n and replacing it with two 2hp VCAs, which would give you the requisite four VCAs as your mixer's "front end".

And I get it re: the quantizer...by having a second quantizer with definable scales, you can then feed it a clock from the sequencer AND modulation signals. By constraining the scales to match what the Vector's internal quantizers are set for, you can generate psuedorandom contrapuntal patterns from keying the extra quantizer via the Vector and feeding LFOs, envelopes, etc to the quantizer's CV input. A very sneaky and low-power method for complementing the Vector, to be sure!

Hi Jingo,

Oh wow! That's a lovely ambient track. Not sure about you, but it calms me down very efficiently, so peaceful yet intriguing, yes really nice done :-) I love that high... what is it? feedback sound around 0:45, great effect :-)

Thank you very much for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

the simple answer is to go slowly - it is not a race to fill the rack - it is a journey
buy the absolute minimum of this that you think you need in order to make sounds
I think you will want filter(s) and other effects
2 sound sources is as many as I would want in this size case, Morphagene would take you up to 3
I would go up to a standard 84 hp or 104hp case to make more space

Superb! Love it! :)

Hope to hear more of this relaxed music of yours!
Best,
jingo

Bought a Qu-Bit Mixology from @bj_gzp, super fast shipping. Module arrived in good conditions, no flaws. Many thanks!

Ok this is my preliminary version:

I'm thinking if I need more sound sources, might get a morphagene as soon as I have the $$$ but it's 500$ so it would add a lot on top.

Nice one @jingo, thanks for sharing, and hoping we all keep the calm going 🧘
-- troux

Hey @troux,
thanks a lot :) and have a nice Sunday!

Best,
jingo

Nice one @jingo, thanks for sharing, and hoping we all keep the calm going 🧘

I would love to be able to sort by avg rating on Modules

Hello again :),

today I silently went to my modular and turned some knobs... I think this time I will pursue my ambient tries further... Normally all my ambient tries end in some squelchy acid desaster ;)...
Maybe I getting calmer now...

Best,
jingo

That’s also a great Idea it seems!
definetely an Option, 3 , potentially 4 even, Oscillators, 2 with Bus Acess+ keeping the Bus Accces as a mult at the cost of loosing a filter/vca. Wow I‘ll really have to think this through carefully. Amperage seems to be somewhat pushing it but should still work.
This is another variation of the Rack in my last Post.
Thank you again for your time and opinion!

Maybe someone else can chime in and share their 2cents. To me the Last 2 (and maybe this one?) seem like valid options, but take it into somewhat different directions.

(edit: seems the picture didn‘t update I swapped links for disting)

EDITED Apr 18th 2021, 13:50

Looks like we were posting at about the same time, so I'll add one point: in my experience the Disting is only menu dive-y when you want it to do something new. Most of the time you pick a mode and it might stay in that for weeks while you try different things out. I'm not a salesman so I'll leave it at that lol but imho it's worth adding here.

Honestly that sounds like a really smart and reasonable approach, and so far it sounds like you're making good decisions. Selling modules that aren't working out or that are taking up too much space can be a good idea sometimes, but I took another crack at this assuming you kept everything you have right now:

Basically, I've swapped one of the LPGs from your planned build for a Disting and a 4HP VCO by Doepfer (that can also function as an LFO). Ultimately there's no right or wrong in modular, but the Disting does a ton and can really help you figure out the direction you want to go with your modular. Want to make generative? It's a quantizer. Want an interesting voice? It has tons of VCO algorithms. Want to play samples? It does that too. Want to record on the fly? Yep, it's got a recording mode.

Anyway, hopefully this has been some useful perspective, and looking forward to hearing some of your tunes!

Well this might not seem like much of a change, but at least I‘ve been able to fit a little more utility in here with links and an additional Low Pass Gate with the LXD.
Thanks troux for stating you Opinion!
There‘s still no disting, no Analog Filter and only one Offset Generator/dedicated Attenuator.
Maybe I‘ll miss the disting, I don‘t know yet but the disting seems a bit menu divey at times and I‘m not sure if that wouldn‘t kill my creativity..
As Per the dedicated Filter I actually really like the Doepfer 101-2 in dedicated Low Pass mode. The attenuators however.. hope that doesn‘t break the build, yet I can always upgrade later.
This now feels like something I‘d actually want to Play with + some space to actually play with knobs. (Note this build also pushes the Meanwhell PSU I use about as much as I‘m comfortable with, using about 90% of the -12V power rail when warmed up.)
If there’s any more Input I‘d be really thankful.

(Edit Links is now replaced by disting, check further down the Thread)

EDITED Apr 19th 2021, 14:40

Thanks for your Feedback!
Really appreciated. I get the point about being open to other manufacturers Modules, The only real reasons for me to go with Doepfer initially was #1 save some money Since I‘m located in Germany and Modules are cheap on the used Market #2 to keep it simple, there’s so many Manufacturers out there it‘s easy to be overwhelmed by so many cool Modules.
Sadly I will have to stick with a few things for now since I already bought them and don‘t really want to reinvest before sorting out some basic purchases first.
Links and Kinks definitely seem like a great addition especially and the alm O/Ax2. Sadly I already oen both the a-183 and the Buffered Multiple...
Same thing with the hpo, the Alm would definitely suffice but i Already bought the Doepfer Headphone Amp.
I am a guitar Player and Engineer first and foremost, thats why I went with a lot of 6,5mm TS/TRS Modules since it makes interfacing a breeze, especially live. I also have some great Effects Pedals that I want to Interface with the synth in the Studio thats why the A138, seemed convenient. Maybe I should really consider buying the rosie and losing the Headphone amp and Crossfader..
I will include a copy of the Rack that actually shows the Modules I already bought.

Looking at this I made a few changes, mostly swapping out larger Doepfer modules with smaller alternatives that do the same thing or more. Take a look:

Quick thoughts:

1) Links and Kinks are great and open up a lot of modulation space, and a Links in particular is definitely better than a double buffered mult in the same space.
2) O/a/x2 does twice what the Doepfer attenuator does for about the same price.
3) Same with the Dual XFade and it's also smaller (though it doesn't have FX send, you could swap with a Rosie instead potentially)
4) Shakmat SumDif can act as a Buffered Mult and also do cool math and Mid/Side processing.
5) I snuck in a Ladik filter as having an oldschool analogue filter is always nice.
6) Shrunk your headphone module into the HPO since you already have a mixer.
7) Swapped one of the Doepfer LPGs for a Takaab to give you some more options and different character.
8) Fit the disting back in.

Overall I think you'd have a lot of fun with the racks you've shared here, but I'd encourage you to be open to modules other than Doepfer to help spice things up and pack some extra functionality in.

Edit:
I played with what I already have this morning. I quickly realized sed that I probably will need another Mixer. Thus I decided that focussing on some Essentials would probably be more sensical than having a Disting, which does a lot but I don‘t think it outvalues a simple Mixer here.
Also I‘ve really been Thinking about getting a more Complex Oscillator rather than buying a second A110-2. sadly most other Manufacturers Modules don‘t use the CV/Gate Bus, so I can effectively drop the Bus Access. Sadly that looses me a Buffered Multiple for CV and Gate Signals...
However that would mean I have room to fit Plaits, which I already know and love from VCV-Rack.

Any Thoughts?
Would be much appreciated.

Bump?

Thanks again guys, this is suepr helpfull. What i want the most out of the rack, is the ability to make slow evolving ambient melodies, drones and textures. Also to step away from VST*s. I want to be more hands on, but no need for it to be stand alone. I will start over with the build, and take all of this feedback into consideration.

Thanks for having a look Jim!

Scales is in there mainly because I love it. I've got a long way to go to learn Vector thoroughly... I'll keep in mind I might remove Scales later on if I get to covering all related functions with Vector.

Layout: yes indeed, cables everywhere. Swapping some of Row 2&3 -- a good idea for my next case rearrangement.

Thanks! NG

Jim, you're right, SWN can do multiple voices and would pair decently with Harmonaig from that standpoint.

That said, (and in line with my comments above) I'm personally underwhelmed with SWN vs. alternatives, esp. for a small to mid-size build. Hence, for anyone interested in that specific module, I recommend taking a close look at SWN via its supporting software and manual before committing to it.

IMO in a larger modular rig the SWN may make sense and play well with other modules; in a smaller modular rig, SWN would generally not beat my wavetable software. If I'm way off base about SWN and it is truly "the bees knees," I would love to see some videos of people getting it to smoke! It is a module I wanted to love, but I'm not there yet.

probably solid advice from @nickgreenberg there - I have never played with a SWN, but I had the impression that it could take polyphonic v/oct and so play chords, or is that the xoac odessa? could be getting confused

so I would check that out too if i were you

i also agree with the comment about harmonaig too - unless you have 3 or 4 (or more) v/oct consumers to drive (or you intend to get them in a reasonably short time frame) then you are possibly better off with something else

This is fantastic. Reminds me of the best stuff from Biosphere, which is to say the best of ambient music.

the scales seems a bit superfluous - considering the vector sequencer has quantizing built in

possibly better to swap the 2 bottom rows - but it's not going to make a lot of difference - cables get everywhere

"Anyone, anyone, Bueller?"

BTW Vector, newly installed, is a beast. Takes up a lot of HP for this build BUT is very powerful and shockingly easy to use, at least it justifies the HP expenditure IMO.

This layout creates a lot of cables crossing my sequencer; how did I not catch that ahead of time? Not ideal but not terrible either, not so much a problem I want to rearrange without a much better layout idea to replace it.

This 3rd rack design seems pretty decent to me BUT I wanted to check around for a few other opinions. Thanks!

EDITED Apr 17th 2021, 20:19

@Varde

A couple more tips for you:

-- what's the focus (e.g. most desired use case) for your Eurorack? The draft above, I see drums, I see complex sequencing, I see sample manipulation, I see multi-voice harmony (Harmonaig), I see a digital wavetable oscillator (SWN, which may not be too much an advantage over software wavetable, depending on the use case). A big, expensive, well designed rack can do several things BUT smaller case, less experience makes it hard to do several things well. Hence I suggest you get more clear what role you most want your Eurorack to play, and focus on that first.

-- there are a couple "no regrets" modules I see in your build: IMO those include Pamela's NW, Stages, Quadra, Ochd, FX Aid XL. Those will give you clocking, a good range of CV, and a small but powerful FX unit. Of course you need something that makes a sound, just pick your preferred sound source. Then MOST of the other units I suggest you put in a "next / later" category after you log a good # of hours on your base rig.

-- I look at SWN and Harmonaig and think "hmm..." as in you may have much better options. I own SWN and it is one of my least favorite modules. I had high hopes for it, BUT just don't love it. It does not navigate arbitrarily in 3 dimensions -- much to my surprise, and confirmed by email with 4ms support; it does navigate in 2 dimensions, but instead of the 3rd dimension being freely controllable, you have to index through all waves end to end. So its not really x/y/z control, it is x/y/all control, if that makes sense. Also the included wavetables with SWN are not stellar for my taste; I would need to make my own wavetables. All told, if you're really interested in SWN, I suggest you download the free wavetable editor software for SWN and play around in that, it will give you a very good idea of the kinds of sounds you can get. SWN is also not cheap. SO there's a ton of other very interesting OSCs you could get instead (or before) such as DPO, Cs-L, FSS OSC2, etc. Harmonaig I've looked at, it is not for me, AND since it drives 4 voices, I can't personally make sense of having it in a small rack.

-- last, I do think it's important to have instruments that are inspiring and deep. If we don't think XYZ instrument is cool, fascinating, beautiful, challenging, etc., we won't come back to it again and again, won't put in hours to learn it. So as you edit what your rack plan is, consider what is the inspiring direction for it to go, do have a couple of those key modules included, and get those enough support modules (utilities etc.) so they can really "shine".

Modular is super deep, relatively expensive, and IMO there's probably no way to get into it without making some mistakes, wasting some $s and time, and going down some rabbit holes. Asking questions on MG, and taking the feedback into consideration, is a great way make the pathway a bit smoother. Jim, Lugia and others here give really helpful pointers. If, after some more thought, you put up a 2nd version rack, I'm sure you'll get some feedback to help assess if your design has improved or not.

Cheers and good luck!

EDITED Apr 17th 2021, 20:00

Hi Guys,

This is Wavetable Synth with multiple wavetable oscillators (multiple voices, polyphony, unison) - so around 200 individual wavetable oscillators can run. All can be shaped with LFOs, Low Frequency Shapes, Envelopes, etc. Plus MIDI Launchpad for tracks, drum racks, filters (BiQuad, Chebyshev, Ladder), VCOs, VCAs, Ring Modulators, MIDI and CV control etc. All that will also try to load Serum VST presets to give access to hundreds of thousands available sounds.

Bring some dubstep sounds over ambient generative music or just make beautiful EDM track with Eurorack.

Kickstarter limited quantity price should be around $399.

More at: https://1voct.com

Register Kickstarter interest at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1voct/the-centre-eurorack-modular-wavetable-synthesiser

Thanks and have a great day! Enjoy!

Best regards, Duddie

Some demos available at:

MUFF WIGGLER THREAD:
https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=244997

I may be the only regular with a Crow (in fact I have two) so I'll chime in with basically one high level thought. I really like what Crow adds to my racks, but I'm also using it within racks that are 90% tactile, and same with Disting, so: when you are thinking of next steps I'd encourage you to get things with touch control or some knobs, something intuitive and analogue and tactile so that you're getting the other side of Eurorack too and not just doing stuff you could do on a computer. Maybe something like this:

1) From my experience, Maths is the OG bad boy of "turn a knob and something cool happens." It's big and will take up a lot of your space, but it does a ton and either it'll resonate and work or you'll flip it and get decent money back. It also has a fantastic illustrated manual (kudos to @JimHowell1970 for introducing me to this) that will help you work through and understand a ton of analog computing/synthesis concepts. It's a great module and would be a good contrast for you here.
2) STO + Polaris: having a good analog oscillator and filter is pretty fun, sometimes they just sound * so * good and they both have a lot of range across all their controls (Polaris alone has like 64 functional variations I think). Also, they both have big old knobs.
3) Ears has a pressure sensitive contact mic, letting you manually trigger events and control sounds of parameters, and it can also be used for external input.
4) I added the 1U Noise Tools and some VCAs for additional flavors of control and cause you always need a few VCAs.

My 2 cents, fwiw!

Edited to add: I was thinking about this rack and decided the Quadratt might be overkill here so I replaced it with a Duatt and a Zeroscope. Being able to watch your CV is pretty dang cool and can help a lot in the process of learning.

EDITED Apr 18th 2021, 03:28

hey, just entering into the modular world with a vague understanding of everything thats going on...

these are what i've got so far (apart from the 1u and ansible)

• my plan is to hook up crow to ansible for additional outputs via i2c and then use all these to trigger stuff from the disting ex via patching, like in sample playback mode or the poly wavetable algorithm for example - and with aditional lfo's from ochd for modulation and/or as a clock source for crow (this would be my first use case)

my second use case, is to use ansible on its own with a usb-midi keyboard plugged in to trigger the disting ex for a more simplified plug and go situation (rather than writing scripts for crow)

i also plan to add the quadratt 1u utility module to act as a uni or bipolar switch for any addition lfo modulation from ochd if needed (or other stuff i might add)

so first question is can ansible still be plugged into crow via i2c if i want to use it in my second use case?

second question would be what else would people advise i get in terms of utility 1u stuff, like mixer stuff?

im also quite partial to the idea of additional ins and outs to record audio in and send stuff out to pedals

any ideas or inspiration from what i can do with this extremely minimal set up thats not too intensive for a noob (i am also aware the crow and disting have a very steep learning curve and am happy to take time getting used to these before exploring other modules)

hope you guys can help!

EDITED Apr 17th 2021, 11:16

Thank you guys for the feedback, i really appreciate it. I use Abelton 10 suite and would like to be able to send the modules to different channels, instead of recording into 1 channel for all the audio, that's why i chose the ES9. The only modules i am certain on atm is Morphagene, SWN, Harmonaig, Tapo and FX aid. So i should build around those and then find a case.