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Hi folks,

I'm new to modular in 2021, but a longtime musician, and familiar with many soft synths.

I've been using Modular Grid and am really liking the rack / module info and the discussion!

In the interest of surfacing and gathering a lot of the best ideas & discussions here, I wanted to ask folks on the forum:

1) what are (up to 5) of your top discussion threads and/or posts on Modular Grid? (Feel free to note your own or other's posts)
2) what is the short description of why you think these threads are great (important, informative, interesting, etc.)?

I'm looking forward to reading some interesting responses. Thanks all!

Nicholas

Expanding upon last night's patch with Vector Space, switched VCO's to two Mother 32's and DPO. This version is completely automated by Rene v2 and Vector Space. Soundstage, MSCL, and SCLPL provide stereo space, compression, and EQ before heading to the Zoom H2N.

Dear community,
I started with Erica's Techno System in mind. Revisited from today's available standpoint of choice of modules see my build below...
Basic idea is to create a simple groove box with some sound variety on it.

Thank You for your help.
Peace

EDITED Mar 17th 2021, 12:04

Yuppers...their prices are also pretty killer, too. Nice utility stuff for not a helluva lot.

Just got myself a Nearness and 2x LPG (why did no one tell me about LPGs before??) and they're pretty sweet. Takaab is impressing for sure.

Heck yeah 🤘🤘 we could use more noise around these parts... and actually I've been thinking about building a noise rack myself 🤔🤔 Hope we hear more from you!

Another useful noise-style maker: Moffenzeef. https://www.modulargrid.net/e/modules/browser?SearchName=&SearchVendor=348&SearchFunction=&SearchSecondaryfunction=&SearchHeight=&SearchTe=&SearchTemethod=max&SearchBuildtype=&SearchLifecycle=&SearchSet=all&SearchMarketplace=&SearchIsmodeled=0&SearchShowothers=0&order=newest&direction=asc Much of their stuff is percussion-type modules, but there's a few "wild cards" in there that buck that trend, plus their "abuse potential" overall is pretty high.

Also, a comparator or two could be useful for screwing around with timing. You can use them to extract gates from modulation signals...say you've got the comparator threshold at around +2V, and there's a slow LFO being fed to it. When the LFO's output exceeds that threshold, the comparator will fire off a gate, and the gate stays on as long as the incoming modulation signal stays above that. Combined with some Boolean logic, these are great (and simple!) ways to add some additional conditional logic behavior to the fray.

Oh wow. Killer.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/takaab-vlh-vco-s-little-helper

Effin' brilliant. In just 2 hp, you get a one and/or two octave suboscillator, four-quadrant modulator, a noise source, and thruput outs for your original oscillator signals. Magic 8-Ball says this could get popular for adding subbass with a minimum of space commitment!

I'm not saying this is a rack I'm going to build, I just thought it was interesting that the top five most popular modules happened to form a fairly coherent system.
-- Gaeel

I wouldn't call it that. Not for a minute. Why would you need eight clock/sequencer outs for a rig that has only one oscillator? How do you intend to do filtering without a filter? What basic function will you be putting the Disting to work on because it otherwise doesn't exist in this build? And do you really intend to manually control all of the audio dynamics with just the Stereo Out level control?

See, this thing might seem neat...but it's not a synthesizer. You're missing numerous capabilities that NEED to be there. And you're missing numerous utility modules and the like that would allow those five modules to REALLY do what they're capable of, to say nothing of missing things that should be in there in the first place, such as VCAs or at least one VCF. What this actually is is something which illustrates one of the bigger problems in modular at present, in my opinion: sexy module syndrome.

That's a term I cooked up to describe builds that contain lots of blinkenlichts und tvistenknobs...but which ONLY have those because the other things the builder in question omitted tend to be really sleepy-looking and don't do anything amazing. And this is something I consider to be a grave mistake, something along the lines of a carmaker leaving out all of the bolts and nuts because...hey, isn't this 500 horsepower V8 under the hood killer? Well...when the car falls apart with you in it and that V8 at full kick, that adjective will be very correct. Omitting necessary utilities and other "boring" modules is equally deadly...at least, to ones' creativity.

I see a lot of these "beauty case" (using Dieter's term there) builds. They invariably fall into two camps:

1) The builder manages to get an entire synth in there...but in the process, they've made it impossible to adjust one knob without bumping into two others, provided they can get their fingers into/out of the giant patchcord snarl now living on the control panel.

2) Builds like the thing above, where you get less than half a synthesizer for your half a case.

In short, this is no way to proceed, especially NOT for a starting synthesist. Please don't encourage this trend.

May have to work on a new track to submit. Thanks again for supporting the MG community.

Keep an eye out for the X1L3 Shard or Schlappi Engineering Interstellar Radio!
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/other-unknown-x1l3-shard
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/schlappi-engineering-interstellar-radio

silent way is an optional extra
-- JimHowell1970

Hah...so it is. Although...you'd think that Expert Sleepers would toss a copy in with modules that use it. Would definitely be a plus for them, as having the total package on hand would likely get more users interested in this sort of control method.

Could this be also made from other material other than aluminium?
-- zuggamasta

I dunno...I like the metal enclosure. One nice thing about them is that they provide some shielding to keep other sorts of electronic crud from getting into the modular from the backside (where there's plenty of unshielded wires, interference-susceptible bits, etc). Just add a ground wire to the cab(s) and run that to your studio's main star-grounding point.

Thanks Jim! I decided to get a used Ears for now then perhaps build a Microphonie kit.

I have a collection of kalimbas, weird drums, and my wife just made me a clay drum that's pretty cool. I found a small Korg contact mic that's meant for guitar tuning that I can clamp onto things. I'll deal with the drum pads down the road.

Thx!!

I'm a fan of small cases honestly, focus can help you learn a lot! Plus this could be a fun travel rack 🤔

EDITED Mar 3rd 2021, 00:09

I'm looking at the nw2s:io (balanced).
My only fear is how quiet the output is?
I have an Erika Synth Black Output 2, and I do not find it specially quiet.

Thanks,
JM

it's a miracle...

awesome guys,thanks,the ES-9 will fit my needs perfectly

Finished my first rig only last week after a couple of years so I used OBS and Openshot editor to make a little demo.

Basically I'm just noodling around with some random, incoherent patching but I enjoy the hell out of wrestling the noise with my filters.
It took a few years but all in all I'm delighted with my set-up being capable of switching from those sharp, harsh frequencies to slow and foreboding soundscapes in a moment and the depth of it. Especially happy with my ADDAC Power Starvation for some spastic fun.

Ideas for my next case are a Plague Bearer (obligatory but haven't found any for sale in Europe), Jupiter Storm and Hadron Collider, a MI Clouds for an extra layer of FX and a Vector Space for added control and complexity. Any suggestions are welcome though.

Row 1, 2, 4: Have
Row 3: Want

I'm not saying this is a rack I'm going to build, I just thought it was interesting that the top five most popular modules happened to form a fairly coherent system.
Like, if you were to pick five modules at random, chances are you'd get 3 filters, a clock divider and a mixer or something like that, I just think it's pretty neat that this system is more useable than I would have expected

I'm putting together an acid compilation due out in April. This is a completely free, just for fun type of deal. Last time I did one of these it came out pretty well. The goal for me is essentially just to talk to other artists and put together a rad digital mixtape. Hit me up if you want to jump in on it.

Here is the last one I did:
https://communitymodularelectronic.bandcamp.com/album/303-acid-exploration-comp-cme-013

look at logic modules, clock dividers and trigger combiners (switched multiples are also good for this!) then and/or things like grids and numeric/zularic repetitor

Thanks everyone for the tips, I'll take a look at these modules. I think with the latest firmware the nerdseq can generate complex envelopes and the two sample tracks can act as oscillators too.
I was also thinking about the various ways to trigger the sampler, I could buy the 16 triggers expander for the nerdseq but I also wanted to hear some opinions about alternatives that require less drum programming (I like programming drums but I 'm curious about using other methods as well).

why????

it's a very limited overly constrained beauty case

not a bad collection of modules as a starter set - there's a sound source, a modulation source, a sound modifier, something to it play with and a way to listen - but NO SPACE to expand into once you get bored (and you will do quickly)

also where are the vcas? hint they are in lots of ways the single most important modules/functions in a modular and there is only 1 in this rack embedded in plaits!!!!!

forget the horrifically expensive case and get a tiptop mantis or doepfer LC9 case and get the modules YOU want not what intellijel point you towards with their in built functions in the case

these cases are great for pulling a few modules from a significantly larger rack to focus on for a day or 2 - or make a video (see youtube & instagram influencers for reference) - but as starter cases, in my opinion and a lot of others, they absolutely suck!!

more research needed - much, much more!!!

Really like the smooth shifting of timbres in this track. Keep up the good work!

I just had the module list sorted by most popular and noticed the top row of modules seem to produce a fairly well-rounded system, and it comes out to 62hp.
I remembered Intellijel make a 62hp palette case, so here's what a system with the top 5 modules, top 1U modules (almost*) would look like.

I think it's pretty neat that it has a voice, FX, utils, sequencing and modulation. No real redundancies, and nothing really missing. Seems to me like a legit instrument you could jam out on. What do you think?

Would like to see someone build this system and give it a spin!

* Skipped the buff mult 1U for space, besides there's a mult in the case

EDITED Mar 2nd 2021, 13:47

The case is pedged for 74 $. With a cheap flyingbus PSU you would end up below 180$. which i think is quite low cost.

EDITED Mar 2nd 2021, 08:28

silent way is an optional extra

50mm is good if you have a flying bus board. But don't even think about getting one of the proper (small) boards inside this. The Befaco skiff is also 5cm deep but the backside of the case doubles as bus board. This takes away 1cm at every position of the 14 power connectors on the board

Not sure how low cost it really is with added power, but I like the looks. Could this be also made from other material other than aluminium?

Thanks Lugia, a very interesting and detailed reply!

Most of those modules are not familiar to me. But after 60+ minutes and 2+ beers during review time, I think I'm getting the general idea and module layout.

A lot to think about -- I appreciate your + Jim's responses! End of day here. I'll add to this thread or others if additional ideas / questions come up. Thanks!

Hmmm...reminds me of the sort of thing Teenage Engineering did with their semi-modular cabs, although in THIS case you wind up with something useful. I do wish it had more depth, though...50 mm is good, something more like 60 mm would be better so that it'll fit a few depth "outliers".

If the objective is to get the audio back into the DAW with the least hassle, yes, go with the ES-9. It'll also open up some possibilities for controlling the modular via the DAW IF you can get Reaper to speak proper CV/gate/trig/clock outputs. I would presume that the ES-9 comes with a copy of Silent Way, though, so the big question isn't so much whether the ES-9 will work, but whether Reaper and Silent Way can play nice with each other.

My take on the dual ADSR issue would be to check into Doepfer's basic but space-economic Dual ADSR...fits into 8 hp, and you lose the looping switches, but you don't usually loop ADSRs anyway. I'm also not jazzed by using a Rosie as the final mixer...it's more akin to a DJ mixer's output stage, and while that might work in some cases, this probably isn't going to be one of them. Lastly, don't fall into the "drums in a small build" trap here...these sorts of cabs do NOT have the space for a complement of drum modules AND the rest of the stuff. Use a proper drum machine instead, and lock it up to the DAW's MIDI clock.

Definitely need a VCF, though...but that sort of depends on what you're trying to do musically. Some are fine for all purposes, but others are more specific to certain styles. Also, make sure to keep the layout in some sort of order that makes signal routing sense, such as keeping the audio modules together and in a flow that tends to go VCO-VCF-VCA for ease of use.

Well, if the build is supposed to be in a 3 x 84 A-100 cab, then...

Following on from some of Jim's suggestions (notably the voice division), here we've got THIS:

Top row: This is "voicing". An A-119 provides an external audio input with envelope following. Then a buffered mult (six VCOs, so...yeah, it's needed) followed by a Ladik Gated Slew Limiter for portamento. Voice 1 (or more) consists of a Doepfer Quad VCO feeding a Veils clone, with a Doepfer Mini Stereo Mixer after that to spatialize the VCOs before they hit the Ikarie, a stereo VCF from Bastl. Voice two(ish) is built from a pair of Noise Reap VCOs in the Paradox, then these feed to an Intellijel Bifold before hitting either a WMD Overseer stereo VCF or a pair of LPGs in the Make Noise LxD. Or you can use both, making the LxD function as just a dual opto VCA.

Middle row: Modulation sources. A Doepfer S&H/Noise module starts at left, then a dual Tides clone from Tesseract handles the slow modulation. Maths is next, then the MISO allows you to screw with mixing/inverting/scrambling the modulation signals over the whole row. A 3xVCA then provides amplitude control over the modulation when needed. Two EGs after this...one is Intellijel's Quadrax (with the Qx), and the other is a dual ADSR from Doepfer.

Bottom row: Timing/sequencing/output. A Konstant Labs PWRchekr lets you keep tabs on your DC rails. I then went with a Temps Utile for the master clock and subsequencing. After this are a number of modules for screwing with timing: Doepfer Clock Divider, Ladik Dual Probabilistic Skipper, Ladik Dual Pulse Delay, Doepfer Boolean Logic, and a WMD Tool Box. Following that is an Erica Pico SEQ2, a four-step CV sequencer that can be used in numerous ways along side the 8-step Qu-bit Octone, which also has internal quantizing. The Shakmat Sum/Dif then allows you to add/subtract CV levels...also quite useful with the SEQ2. Following that, we get into a couple of effects processors: a Tiptop ECHOZ stereo delay, and Happy Nerding's multiFX FX Aid XL. Four more VCAs in another Veils clone provides audio level control to the Listen Four Quarters's inputs. That mixer has two stereo ins, two pannable mono ins, and balanced 1/4" outs in addition to a headphone preamp.

This build is more about providing many potential routings than a simple "it does this", however. It's just as suitable for outright experimentation as it is for "mission-specific" patches; in fact, with the amount of modulation/clocking potential here, you could even steer this into generative territory with very little in the way of underimplementation issues. But considering that this has as many as THREE potential CV/gate sequencers (one's hiding in the Temps Utile), six VCOs, stereo OR mono routings...well, you'll have some real trouble trying to exhaust this sucker's capabilities. Note, also, that the VCFs both feature cutoff controls that have ample room for live tweaking even with the general density of the overall build. Should keep you busy for a hot minute...

Hi Gabor,

Wow, this is a fantastic experimental jam. I love it, those weird but very nice and interesting sounds. The way you control them and engineer them towards my ears, fantastic! :-D

Looks like the Theremin is your best friend ;-) Thanks a lot for sharing and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Mowse,

Fantastic usage of the effects, I love this! Very interesting way of creating music. I wouldn't mind more of this kind of music :-)

Thanks a lot for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi TumeniKnobs,

Oh that's a great jam! Lovely voices you are using here. By the way, how did you manage to do the drums & percussion?

Thanks a lot for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Anyone have any experience with these modules, I am looking for a multi operator fm voice and have narrowed it down to these two. What I like about the quad operator is the matrix mixer vs the fixed algorithm of Akemie. Opinions welcome. I am also looking at pairing this with a new addition of Marbles as a primary modulation source, but am open to other random trigger/cv modulation source.

I have Beads and Mimeophon, no experience with DV. Anyway, they're very different modules. If I had to go for one, I'd say Beads, but it'd be better to make room for both :)

in that case - a large matrix mixer (doepfer or nlc), kinks and another quad cascading vca would be a good start + the sampler and ensemble oscillator - maybe an fx aid xl

no adsr is fine - but maybe you could consider stages - lots of envelope possibilities and a few other useful functions!

Thats certainly interesting, great price for a simple case and something that is lacking in the world of Eurorack.

Thanks, obviously I'm asking for advice considering the space available with a new case not just the remaining hp on this one.

Might interest some of you:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brggr/fold-case-low-cost-aluminum-eurorack-case

I'd go for a small matrix mixer and kinks
or just get the new case - in preparation for the assimilator
then buy utilities...

You don't have room for it but looking at your rack the first thing that comes to mind for me is an Akemie's Castle. Beautiful beautiful module that's very different from analog oscillators but really hits the dreamy vibe you've mentioned, as well as some more experimental sounds. One of my favs.

2 music thing mikrophonies - what ears is based upon - and diy so you can hack at them as much as you'd like to get what you want

it's definitely one of the easiest ways - if there is more than enough i/o and you don't already have an audio interface and you have spare rack space then it's probably a good buy for you