Month 0 (Initial ~£600)
Goal: Have a complete single-voice patch (sound → filter → VCA → trim) with envelope/LFO shaping so you can actually make and sculpt tones—even before you add sequencers or effects.
Module Est. GBP
Mutable Instruments Plaits £150
Make Noise Maths £200
Doepfer A-135-2 Quad VCA / VC Mixer £120
Doepfer A-106-5 SEM VCF £80
2 hp Trim (passive attenuator) £15
Subtotal £565
Plaits → your main sound source (virtual-analog, FM, noise, etc.)
Maths → dual envelope + LFO + slew + attenuverting mixer
Quad VCA → shapes amplitude and acts as mixer
SEM filter → smooth, musical low-pass filtering
2 hp Trim → manual level/CV control and output attenuation
You can patch: Plaits → SEM → Quad VCA → 2 hp Trim → Focusrite. Use Maths for envelopes and slow LFO modulations.
Month 1 (~£400)
Goal: Add clocking, randomness, and a basic S&H for generative tweaks—plus a proper output module for safe line-level and headphone out.
Module Est. GBP
Befaco Output v2 (line + headphone out) £80
Doepfer A-118-1 Noise/Random £75
Synthrotek MST VC LFO £70
Doepfer A-161 Clock Sequencer £60
Doepfer A-160-1 Clock Divider £45
Doepfer A-148 Dual Sample & Hold £60
Subtotal £390
Befaco Out → clean 1/4″ outputs + headphone jack
Noise + S&H → rudimentary random CV
MST VC LFO → dedicated freely swept LFO
Clock Seq + Divider → triggers & sub-divisions for envelopes/LFOs/S&H
Now you’ve got generative sources (random CV, sequenced gates, LFOs) and can patch plaits on autopilot.
Month 2 (~£400)
Goal: Introduce logic branching, pitch quantization, a second filter voice, and switching for evolving patterns.
Module Est. GBP
Doepfer A-166 Dual Logic £90
Sonic Potions Penrose Quantizer £160
Doepfer A-151 Sequential Switch (4-step) £50
Doepfer A-124 SE Wasp Filter (Special) £80
Subtotal £380
Logic → combine/divide gates and clocks for complex rhythms
Penrose → map random voltages to musical pitches
Sequential Switch → cycle CV or audio destinations step-by-step
Wasp Filter → gritty multimode for contrast and second-voice timbral variety
At this point you’ll be running multi-stage generative patches: alternating filters, logic-driven gates, quantized melodies—into Maths-driven envelopes and VCAs.
Month 3 (~£400)
Goal: Add lush ambient texture via granular processing and a second quantizer for more pitch flexibility.
Module Est. GBP
Mutable Instruments Clouds £190
Doepfer A-156 Dual Quantizer £160
Subtotal £350
Clouds → classic granular/reverb-style texture synthesizer
Dual Quantizer → let you quantize two independent CV sources (e.g. one for Plaits, one for Wasp)
Your patches can now flow into Clouds for smearing/delay and maintain harmonic coherence across multiple CV streams.
Month 4 (~£400)
Goal: Deepen modulation routing with a quad function generator and cover any utility gap with a multifunction module.
Module Est. GBP
Intellijel Quadrax £220
Expert Sleepers Disting Mk4 £170
Subtotal £390
Quadrax → four envelopes/LFOs/ADSRs + CV matrix for branching
Disting → dozens of “fill-in” apps (clock dividers, extra S&H, oscillator, logic, offsets, delays…)
With Quadrax you’ll have truly polyphonic modulation, and Disting can stand in whenever you discover a missing utility.
Month 5 (~£400)
Goal: Bring in a second resonator/voice for interplay and final touches.
Module Est. GBP
Mutable Instruments Rings £200
(Leftover budget for cables, adapters, or a small utility/module of your choice) £200
Subtotal