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Cases come in 2 flavours, Powered and Unpowered, if it powered it doesn't nessesarily take up Rack space, if its unpowered then you'll need to add either Case-Power or a Power Module.

The TipTop uZeus Happy Ending kit is by far the cheapest way to get a Case with power and start building a rack, I also find the uZeus power to be pretty resilliant.

From looking at Synth Shops I figured out what I needed to start with, I tend to read a lot about the subjects I'm interested in and only when I fall short do I ask questions of others who may know more than me. (This is how I do life and business, not just modular)

We all face the simple fact that this forum is secondary to the main function of ModularGrid so activity is very slow on here.
Its no one's fault and you can't blame people for not being here 24/7 or for not knowing how to give advice if they don't have experience of people's module choices.

Have you tried Modwiggler? https://www.modwiggler.com/forum/ there's probably more forum post action over there.

Buy a cheap case, get a few modules and start learning, its that easy, though never cheap!

This was my starter suggestion from a forum post that no one responded to:

That is where I would start if i were to be a beginner, the rest is personal learning and experimantation.

Modular is confusing, but its taught me more about Synth than any software or hardware synth ever has.

There is a book, Patch & Tweak: Exploring Modular Synthesis by Chris Meyer and Kim Bjørn - Very good and an interesting read.

Personally I didn't really listen to people's comments when I started and i went my own path, learned from what I bought, learned from my mistakes, I'm still slowly forging ahead and always find new things to try and learn.
You sometimes don't need a lot but you have to try different ways of using everyting, that is literally the fun I get out of Modular.
Yeah, you get stuck in certain ways of doing things, you'll notice yourself doing that and they realise its time to rethink and do something you weren't expecting.

This is definietly one of my most long-lasting hobbies ;-)

Sounds like a massive expensive module, build your own in VCV.

Sample based maybe, check the ALM Squid Sample.

Nice work.
Any hints of what modules you used?

EDITED Sunday April 06, 14:56

A really good relaxing listen, I do like a bit of static crackle too.

Ahh yeah, good oldfashioned email or a simple website.

Being a business owner I know what the social media landscape is like. Small businesses can't limit their advertising potential by sacking off these terrible platforms. Reading our website stats its very clear that lots have stopped posting on social media but people are still looking at it and that still helps drive sales.

So however nice and politically correct it would be to ditch all the horror socials, for a business its not really an option just yet.
If everyone moves to Bluesky it helps and there is more engegement on there than Twitter now.
Everything my business does is to spread across all platforms then we let natural selection take effect, Threads is dead, activity on Twitter(Bot central) is pathetic along with Instagram. Facebook is still engegement to direct customers.

My ethics say close all the accounts, its just not an option in this modern world, I expect lots of small businesses to feel the same.

Good stuff.

Thanks @Sweelinck

Never had those mushrooms, I think you have to bake them to make them safe or feed your reindeer them and drink it's piss for full Berserker Mode!

EDITED Mar 15th, 15:00

Yep! Quite the right time to ask about it!

With a few years of Modular experience under my belt now and knowing what I know now, this is what I would start out with if I was starting again, I'd pair this with an Arturia Beatstep Pro for sequencing for some instant analogue gratification.
You could save some money with cleaper effects units.

3x Sound sources (2 complete Voices + STO so you have some nice sine waves and some wave folding)
2x Mixers (For mixing your Sound Sources and Percussion)
3x Percussion sources (You can get a good kick out of the ADDAC 103 as well as incidentak percussion)
2x VCA (Small form-factor dual VCA)
1x ADSR (So you have more control if needed and mainly use for the STO)
1x LFO (Everyone's fav LFO)
2x Effects (Delay and Reverb)
1x Power

EDITED Mar 9th, 18:29

I seem to remember Befaco saying that it was in need of a redesign a couple of years or so ago.
That and their ADSR need a little work in my opinion.

If it makes you feel better, you're not the only one haha

I only comment if I feel I have experience of the modules, and in this case its Ochd and Pams so I'm no use to you.

hehe, those long since dead mushrooms that i took photos of years ago.

Cheers

Feeling like I've not stabbed a pattern into the Beatstep for a while for some straight up acid tweaking, so here it is, no frills squelch and squeak!

yep, thats correct.

Sound Source>Filter>VCA
Trigger or Gate>ADSR>out of ADSR into VCA and mult to Filter Cutoff.

Put recordings on Youtube or Soundcloud, you can then link to them here.

ADSR's / Envelopes are indeed a crucial part of modular unless all you want are Drones, imagine playing a pianio key and the length of time you hold it down is the Sustain, when you let go it rings out is the Release. Its a way of seperating notes from oneanother.
The same envelope that is used to control the Volume of the note van also control the Filter Cutoff to animate and give life and movement to that note.
At the moment my Rack/s have up to 7 envelope generators from simple Attack/Decay to ADSR's and also an LPG.

Good stuff, guess its a bit like everything sounds better at 7 or 8 versus being cranked up to 11 all the time.

Nice work.

If it were me, I'd have a really good play with everything you've chosen first. That will show you where you need to go next.
Don't for get things like passive attenuators for calming down LFO's for modulation.

I'm fairly sure you could live without the Output module and the Scope until later in your journey.
I'd really like a scope but I do't want a small one and I don't want to pay for a big one, I'll probably buy an Ebay Oscilloscope cheap at some point and hook that up outside the case.

Erm, but its nice to be nice.
The UK is vastly more accepting of people whoever they are, do not believe the Right's sensationalist narrative.

Watched a great Documentary the other night, it was called Will & Harper on Netflix, brilliant display of the love of friends and acceptance.

Love Wins.

EDITED Jan 25th, 09:49

Seems like anyone who doesn't conform to the political narrative in America is about to start suffering because of being human, this makes me fearful for people.
Come to the UK, our politics are thankfully still progressive, at least for the moment.

How about here in the UK - https://pushermanproductions.com/product/antumbra-knit-2/

Kits and Built only though.

EDITED Jan 22nd, 18:23

Error Instruments:
Indian Reasonator
SoundScaper

Both modules you could play an entired weird set with.

Rings and noise being the main sound sources, just a little bass from the STO, some Granular acton from Monsoon Clouds too.

EDITED Jan 12th, 12:33

Haha, Thanks, and Harsh, and I don't care about the video.

I've spotted myself doing this, having a good stare at my modular racks on MG, seeing an idea take shape in my head then later patching it up for real?

I thought the snow outside went well with this patch.

Rings into monsoon Clouds
Rings into Veno-Echo
Rings into Mineophon
Filtered and Panned Noise
Marbles for Triggers, 2hp ARP for note CV

EDITED Jan 5th, 11:49

Simply go to the YT page and copy out of the Address bar and paste in here, no fancy tags or anything.

Marbles and Sloths are mostly in control, almost all coming from my Main case. Sloths is acting on the VCAs in SSF Vortices for slow transitions.

Such a lovely peice.

Interesting, maybe not quite for me just yet until I buy my next Case.
Just spotted the Top image is showing a slightly older version, jpg must not have refreshed.

I'm always on the International Spaced Station! haha My usual tripod is in the other room so its actually a lazy camera angle.

Cheers & Merry Christmas

What would you add to my top case? Could be Powered or Passive, I'm planning on adding a Passive Stereo High Pass Filter from Herzlich Labs after the Panmix for the ability to do a filtered drop. I've got MI Kinks in there at the moment but it simply doesn't get used.

Its very much an acid bass box with 303 and 101 sounds, I'm mostly sequencing from the Beatstep Pro and percussion comes from my percussion case:

My basic idea is that these 2 cases can be used together with the Beatstep Pro without my Main Case.

Cheers

EDITED Dec 23rd 2024, 07:50

Patch notes are on the vid.
Just top case and percussion case in action here.

Cheers for listening.

EDITED Dec 21st 2024, 10:19

I wonder if its got Propellerhead Recycle .rex file compatibility?

Thanks @Sweelinck
Nyx, the cat, helped. I should really get a Dreadbox Nyx at some point just because of the name.

New camera angle and the deep bass is from my new Nano Modules Font filter.

Cheers for listening

I think someone more knowing than me could answer that question.
I think there is 'cool' and there is 'stable' so the calibration of the VCO needs to be stable, if you ever DIY build any Modules you may come across 'Tempco' resistors (Temperature Compensation), the ones I've soldered are piggibacked ontop of another component and will vary in resistence depending on the temperature of the other component.

Specifically:
* How long can I keep my rack on in a single session?
For me, as long as the session lasts and I sometimes walk away letting it play to its self

* Should there be a cool-down/rest period between power-on cycles?
Nothing I'm aware of, circuits do like to be kept cool though

* Is there a correct way to turn off a rack (i.e., turn any ongoing signals down, etc.)?
I tend to stop any clocks from running, turn off my amp, turn off my mixer, then turn off my modular cases, do the reverse when turning back on

* What are the best ways to keep the electronics clean?
A soft brush a clean paintbrush, gently vacuum just don't go sucking off any buttons, sliders or knobs. When i reorganise my modules I vacuum out the case to get rid of dust and Cat hair!!!

* Do I need to worry about ventilation or temperature inside the case?
Cool circuits are happy circuits, I need to drill some holes in my main case to aid air flow, some modules do get quite hot

-- HGsynth

EDITED Dec 6th 2024, 07:58

Is that Link safe, not seeing any Modular action in your My Modular?
I'm thinking of others here seeing as its an abstract post to a random link.

EDITED Nov 29th 2024, 07:48

You could look at options from Konstantlab https://www.konstantlab.audio/product-category/power-suppliess/ looks like you need to spend the money you will have saved buying all B'ringer modules hehehe.
In seriouslness though, Konstantlab do some great power solutons, it all depends how much your are comfortable spending.

The one withing I wish the BSP had was a programable step sequencer like a 303 (Press a note it moves a step, press a rest it moves a step etc etc), so you literally program the steps rather than having to stab things in while its playing.

Thanks very much.
Techno / Trance was at its peak in the 90's for me, though things were starting to get too minimal for me as in I do like a bit of Jeff Mills but I can't listen to it for a long time.
Need that acid squelsh!

It needs a tick box to remove Mork modules, thats it.
Unpopular opinion: If they don't make actual modules they shouldn't be listed as a manufacturer.

Thanks @sweelinck
Its a bit chaocic with the modes changing on Plaits but Sloths makes for a nice long cycle of changes as part of the mixed modulation.

Plaits split into Mimeophon, Clouds and Veno-Echo

Lots of mixed modulation, Marbles is vaguely in control!

My Mutable Instruments Veils v1 suddenly started distorting the audio which seems to be on all channels and doesn't matter what source VCO I feed it. Anyone had this? Is there a fix?

Cheers