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Thanks for sharing!

I'll receive the Befaco Stmix this week so between that, the Cloaks and the external mixer I should be nearly covered in terms of routing the semi-modulars and the modular signals.

I found out that headphones level is hotter that line level, so my second option with ALM HPO is not relevant. And then I found this module that does exactly what I need for 2HP so it's on my watchlist now.

And yes, I can always expand... I'll try to keep it this compact for now but it's already iching :)
I had a look at your other racks @halbroome, the Endless Processor looks like a really nice tool!

This looks interesting. I'd need two of those to attenuate the 2 stereo channels of the rack, though. And if I read correctly, it makes a good combination with Wavefonix's Clock Divider, but isn't one in itself.

So if I sum it up, to reach line level between my rack and the mixer, I have 4 solutions:
- dedicated output module (like Befaco Out V3) → takes a lot of room for a set & forget module
- headphones output (ALM HPO) + Y cable to split L and R signals before the mixer → is it a valid solution? (EDIT: nope)
- passive attenuators (like Doepfer A-183-1) → out of rack possible but may be difficult to find the right amount of attenuation?
- guitar pedal → out of rack but still needs some room and power

What is your take on this, how do you attenuate your output signal?

EDITED Feb 15th, 10:38

@halbroome Yeah, I confess that I do not use my semimodulars nearly as much now that I have stepped into the modular world. But they sound nice so for now I keep them, I just need to work how to properly include them in a patch.

I have nothing against guitar pedals, but the space on my desk is a bit limited so I try to keep things compact. The Signal Blender seems really useful and not too expensive though, so I may give it some thought. Thanks!

@GunnarWaage Just to be sure I understand, you're advising I make the signal go through passive attenuators if I don't use a dedicated output module? So that would be audio signal → VCA → passive att → mixer, instead of audio signal → VCA → line output module → mixer. So you're advising against using a small headphones output module (ALM HPO) and a Y 'TRS → 2x TS' cable to plug into the mixer?

Thanks for your time and your reply, I appreciate it :)

Yes, I use an external non-modular mixer: the one that was included with the Mother 32 / DFAM bundle. It has 4 inputs, so for now I'm OK with it.

When I don't output stereo balanced signal from the rack, the DFAM, Mother 32, Subharmonicon and Modular Rack each go into a mono input of the mixer.
And when I output stereo balanced signal from the rack, 2 of the semimodulars go into the mono inputs of the mixer, the remaining semimodular is routed to the modular rack, which then goes to a stereo input of the mixer. So it would be more comfortable to have an additional input in the mixer, yes.

I was looking for a cheap mixer with more inputs so the Mix8 could do the job , thanks!

Right now I don't use a DAW, nor record what I do, I plan on getting to it once I'm satisfied of the sounds I make. I already had the Scarlet Focusrite in mind for the mixer / PC connection. I digged a bit on mixers that can be plugged into the PC but the ones I found are quite expensive, so I'll wait.

As for the listening part, I use a pair of Hercules monitors :)

Do you use an external mixer unit? I found that helps immensely to bring everything together, and 1/4 cables are the way
to go.

I love the possibilities with Eurorack!
-- halbroome

I currently use the mixer that was provided with the Moog Sound Studio (4 mono or 2 stereo), but I was planning on doing some in-rack mixing too (using the VCA Out on the Moog to get modular level). Why are 1/4 cables "the way to go"?

In connection to the output module, if you are thinking to take multible channels to a mixer outside the rack, then youll probably want attenuators.

So 26 euros for a triple attenuator like this
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/thonk-at-at-at
-- GunnarWaage

Yeah, I planned to add some attenuators to my rack, currently the 3x MIA is my choice (but could be replaced by Frap Tools 321, still hesitating).

I love my Intellijel Audio I/O:

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-audio-i-o-2023

which can both input and output in just 10 hp. The Ochd - expansion combo rocks! Highly recommended.
-- halbroome

For now I don't see the use of a "line in" module, but thanks for the suggestion!
And thanks for confirming that the Ochd Expander is cool :)

this is why we use an output module that will adjust to the line level required
-- Sweelinck

Coming back to the "line out" module, I did a little bit more research. Space is crucial and I would want this module to take as little room as possible. Do you all think that an ALM HPO coupled with a Y cable TRS → 2x TS would do the trick for a stereo output? Or would it be better to have a proper L + R output module (Happy Nerding Isolator or Befaco Out V3, for example)?

Pams is very fluid with barely more than one nested menu in most use cases
-- Vegamorph

I also watched more "in-depth" videos about Pam's and, yeah, I must admit that it seems quite easy to get what you want. Plus the euclidian rythms part seem really nice. But (not considering its size which would make me pass on some other modules like the contact mic + looper) I'm afraid it would be partly redundant with Dice/Marbles. I know each one has unique features, but considering the number of voices I have I fear it may be overkill. What do you think?

@Vegamorph Ok, I understand. Right now I only use it at home. I may take it to holidays, but that's not sure so if it happens I'll buy an output module. If I can confirm there is no problem with outputting modular level to my mixer, I'll dedicate the few HPs I have left to something else.

@GunnarWaage Thanks for your advice!

Spectraphon and Quadrantid sound nice, but they are so big compared to the space I have left in my case... I get your point about not 20 different modules all at once. Do you feel that what I plan right now may not be workable?

I'm trying to take it slow (it's hard for me, but the fact that I try to buy all my modules second hand is actually helping me), so as I get the modules progressively I may change my plans for the rest of the case.

I got Maths because it's very often described as a "must have" module, but yes, if I don't get along with it I'll sell it to get simpler modules.

Thanks!

I will look into the Disting and Pam's, then. The matrix mixer seems interesting too!

When I bought my case I didn't know about line level vs. modular level. So I plugged the output of the Cloaks directly into the Moog mixer, and the output of this mixer into the Aux In of my speakers. As you can plug headphones directly into the back of the Moog semimodulars, I guess they output line level audio, and that it's the level that is expected by the mixer. Anyway, the modular level delivered by the Cloaks never caused any audible problem down the line. I hope it didn't cause any hardware damage either, but as the opinions I read about the necessity of an output module were mixed, I didn't give it too much thought. Until your post, that is... So here I am, not knowing if an output module is necessary as long as I keep sending my modular signal to the Moog mixer, or if I can save a few precious HP for something else :)

Thanks for these inputs!

These few comments. Yes, save a place for an output module: Pico is a good compact module but others like Befaco also offer very good solutions. I agree with you regarding the presence of two filters, for a number of reasons including the positioning of voices in the sound spectrum. The 4ms Ensemble Oscillator is one of the best sound sources currently, not to be put in the same category as the Liquid Glitcher which is just a nice gadget.
-- Sweelinck

Currently I output the Out4 of my Cloaks/Veils directly into the small Moog mixer I got with my DFAM / Mother 32. Thus I don't know if I really need an output module. I checked what Befaco had to offer though, and found that the STMIX could be useful. I also removed the second Cloaks to replace it with a more compact Happy Nerding 3x VCA. Do you think my utilities / VCAs needs would be covered with all this?

I also added a 2HP contact mic / preamp because I would like to experiment sticking a piezo on litteraly anything and feeding it to Rings/Resonate, Mimeophon, Loop...

I would suggest a disking mk4 if space is limited. i mean its 86 modules in one. And a Pam's if you want to clock all those oscillators easily.
-- Vegamorph

The menu diving scares me a bit, I must confess. It may be stupid as complex modules with many knobs can be even more complicated to master I guess... Disting is really tempting, I may give it a go and resell it if it doesn't fit. Pam is even scarier to me, and I already use the T2 output of Marbles/Dice, or the clock out from my Moogs to trigger my modules. Do you feel it may not be enough?

Hi all,

I'm currently building my first rack, I use it to make some kind of ambient music, but with a noisy twist.
I also have Moog DFAM, Subharmonicon and Mother 32. So I would like to be able to output the signals of these into my case, but also to play my rack as a stand-alone.

Here is what I have for the moment. I find it nice to begin with, but I would like to add more voices. I also miss some attenuation if I want to ouput the signal from the case to the Moog. And I guess some filter would be a nice addition.

And this is what I'm considering buying next, but I'm having trouble making up my mind:

• Erica Synths Pico Out: don't know if it's necessary as I rarely play with headphones, but would be a plus if I take the case on holidays.
• Happy Nerding 3x MIA, or Frap Tools 321? People seem to like both for different reasons, but can't decide which would be best suited for me.
• 2hp Loop: may be a bit redundant with Mimeophon on "hold", but allows looping up to 5 minutes of sound, so would be great for noisy backgrounds? Any other idea for sound mangling compact module? Maybe an FX Aid?
• Frap Tools 333: large number of mult/mix possibilities. Seems the best option to me.
• DivKid Ochd Expander: for a larger choice of modulation. Any opinions on this?
• Another Cloaks: I guess another voice + stereo output would force me to take this amount of additional VCAs.
• Qpas: I think it's a pretty Moog-esque filter, but the sound shaping possibilities + stereo output attract me to it. Any thoughts?
• Dual Dagger: a second voice would mean the need for a second VCF, I guess, and I'd like a pretty different one from the Qpas (if I go on with this one). But I also have Bastl Ikarie, Endorphin.es Squawk Dirty To Me, Schlappi 100 Grit, Joranalogue Filter 8 on my list, and open to ideas. Like maybe Eowave Tempête Magnétique, instead of having 2 different filters... Or Xaoc Katowice to have something a bit different?
• 4ms Ensemble : I love the sound of this one from the multiple videos I saw. But the Magerit Laniakea seems really good too. I'm also liking what I saw of less standard VCOs Forge TME Vhikks X and Error Instruments Liquid Glitcher but they may be hard to master?

So yeah, a whole bunch of questions, please feel free to give your opinion or tell me if I've forgotten something important.
I'm also open to other modules (though not too keen on screens and menu diving).
Thanks :)