User Posts

Excellent work @mowse, great layering and everything feels really dynamic and fantastic to the ear. Especially loving the Terry Riley vibes. Looking forward to more!

Yep, the VCFS is pretty rad, I'm still yes and no on the VCF303 (the rhythm part) but I need to save some room on envelopes in this rack so it's doing the job for now. I kinda felt the Krautrock vibes here too, I think I'm gonna give this sound a couple more gos, even aside from this track, definitely some potential there...

Thanks for listening as always!

Thirded.

The thread name explains it all, first take of me trying for a cosmic drone + acid mashup:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/first-take-cosmic-acid-2

I think it turned out pretty good, but I'll probably do another take or two to tweak the intro a bit and try and get the drum feel a little more where I want it (I need to spend some time on this though, it seems tricky!). Also, like my other tries, this may still not be acid, but it's there in spirit 😆

Hope you all enjoy it!

Made with the below plus a DFAM for the kick:

EDITED Oct 24th 2020, 16:11

Random*Source, ALM, Make Noise, and some of the Oscillosaurus MI clones (Rings and Clouds in particular) come to mind for me. I'd also agree on Frap Tools, I need a Falistri!!

Input and output are interesting in a tiny rack like this. For output, I chose to lean on using one of the Maths attenuators as your output (you'd need a 3.5mm to 1/8" cable, I think this would work from prior comments by @lugia) or would suggest an external mixer. For input, I think you'd want to sneak in a dedicated module, for example the Mutable Instruments Ears. I don't process external sources though, so I'm not an expert on that one.

Glad this has been helpful, others may chime in too but either way keep us updated on your journey!

No surprise that you grok'ed it, you seem to have a solid foundation!

In this setup, you can use both Maths and the Disting as FM modulators, each can do both audio rate oscillation and LFOs. For random, you'd want to use the Disting here as it has a couple random algorithms.

One final note, you also get a Precision Adder in Links, so thankfully you can use the Disting for other things.

See below for an overview of Maths, and another for Disting though they've added more algorithms since this one was made:

EDITED Oct 19th 2020, 17:16

Well I managed to significantly increase the price, but from what you've said you want I'd start with the below:

Quick notes:
1) I personally wouldn't want a system, small or not, without a Maths or similar function generator. It does too much, mixing, modulation, attenuation, subharmonic generation, etc. There are a lot of days where it's my favorite module.
2) Disting is a great swiss army knife in a small rack and will help you understand what you want in that second rack while adding lots more range to this one.
3) FX Aid is one of the top FX modules with a bit of a community around it, for 1 HP more than the Pico FX which is a lot more limited.
4) Links can work here as your mult (not sure that's needed though?) and also as two different mixers for both audio and CV.
5) I'm not super familiar with Sinc Bucina but NE make good stuff and I think this fits your criteria in less HP than Doepfer.

Chiming in too to send some good vibes @Lugia, feel better soon!

Kinda funky @sacguy71, I like it and the breakdown at the end is good too.

🔥🔥🔥 @mog00, you're doing really nice work here already.

I'd swap the Batumi and its breakout for a Maths, Batumi is great but you'll learn more with Maths and the attenuators are super useful. From there you'll learn which direction you want to go, whether you want more LFOs, or envelopes or whatnot. Jim will probably chime in and tell you to get a Kinks or a Links, I'd pick the former if I had to pick one but it might not hurt to get both here.

Nice textures @mog00, I like the space and the kind of "drifting and moving at the same time" feel. Looking forward to hearing more.

@farkas, I've been listening to this again this evening, and wanted to say good work a second time. Really impressive stuff and I like your ear for mixing quite a bit, well done.

Edited to add: fav track, Logos and Pathos 🕺

EDITED Oct 14th 2020, 22:55

This is great advice, thank you @GarfieldModular, almost as good as my suggesting you get a frog pond in your backyard 🤣

Great atmospheres @mog00, well done

Nice one @mowse, my only complaint is that it should be longer, let's say 30 minutes ;p

Glad you enjoyed it @GarfieldModular, and yes, Crow is pretty cool, many many possibilities with it and I'm looking forward to exploring :)

@GarfieldModular considering that my studio space is the kitchen island (long story!) I'm not sure that I've got space for a DRM 1, as nice as it looks! But we'll see, nice recommendation.

I apologize to your budget lol, but yeah, I think you'll love it.

I forgot this @farkas, but you actually deserve a shoutout for this track! I had missed the Disting's tuning mode (easy to do with everything in there) but I think it was you who mentioned it recently and it helped make this tune about 100% more listenable. Thanks 👍👍

Thanks! In this piece the Ensemble Oscillator contributes a background drone at the end, but the chord and melody parts are 100% the Akemie. I like them both a lot, but I've got to say the Akemie is one of my favorite modules. Huge range from weird Just Intonation drone stuff (like my live sets a bit ago) to really melodic chill work. The BoC vibes get a big boost from the Magneto which I try not to rely on too much cause it sounds so good, but I figured I'd lean into it here and not be so persnickety for once.

EDITED Oct 13th 2020, 20:58

It's good to keep an open attitude about gear @farkas, I've definitely found for example that the modular drum modules I've got don't blow me away and I've started looking around for alternatives. Anyway, good work and keep it up! Hope we hear more of your tunes soon.

I recently got a Monome Crow (wow!) and the first script it comes with is quite chill and melodic, fun for listening. I tweaked it a bit to create a little more integration with my rack as well as some different chord vs melody interplay, and thought it turned out pretty nice, and a lot more pop-y than my usual stuff. Check it out:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/mainstreambient

It's a bit long (surprise!) and I'll probably try and edit it down to 4-5 minutes, but I might also try a crack at turning it into an old school minimalist piece, a la Terry Riley with some different movements and sections, something a lot easier using Crow than it might be otherwise. For those curious, I'd definitely suggest giving Crow a look.

Made with:

Also meant to ask, are you using your new Roland on Squares? Great acid track 🕺

@farkas I've been listening to these on and off since last night, good work and happy birthday week!

Just bought a monome crow today and I can see it's going to be the centerpiece of any generative stuff I try to do. Not too hard to learn how to make it work either, but you've gotta know a little code.

Good one @mowse, thanks for sharing.

Playability's a big deal, but I find that I like a good mix, half bigger modules and then squeeze a bunch of smaller support or focused modules in to support them. For example:

If that approach makes sense to you the question becomes: how important are envelopes in your overall rack?

EDITED Oct 6th 2020, 20:52

Nice one @lugia.

So I'm actually gonna sell my Quadrax, my Zadar is in my ambient rack (Maths is in my acid rack) and it fits great there because it can create like weird crazy 60 minute cycles or drive melodies or be just a regular old envelope generator. In my acid rack I also have a Serge DUSG, and TBH I could see myself trading that for another Maths and maybe a Javelin, but we'll see.

I can't speak to other quad envelope generators, but I also have a Zadar and tbh it's pretty easy to use. I'd rate it higher than the Quadrax but lower than Maths.

Looking good so far. Re:envelopes, I haven't really liked the Quadrax much and would take a second Maths over it for sure. As always depends on a lot on what you're trying to get out of it but the feel and range weren't working for me.

@volpinovulcano I haven't used stages so I can't say, but I hear great stuff about it. I'd love to hear about it if you think it's working for you.

Lots of tension in this one, throw some drums underneath and you might have a banger, thanks for sharing @jingo

It's a nice little module @sacguy71, also 321 by Frap Tools is nice, but hard to get their stuff right now!

10 out of 10, when's the album coming out @wishbonebrewery?

Nice work here @EroGumpy, I've had my eye on the C4BON and the SCLPL, I may try and fit them into my acid rack soon.

Personally, attenuators (and offsets) are the most underrated tools in Eurorack, I'm always happy when an oscillator or filter has them built in (big ups to Random Source for example). Re: Ochd, I believe it was @GarfieldModular who said if Batumi's a scientist, Ochd's a hippy. I definitely run mine through my o/a/x2 a lot, but you could also running several of its outs through Links to bring it down a bit and get more subtle variations.

Anyway, glad you are liking the new modules, post some tunes soon!

"Thanks for all you suggestions I have a new addiction, always a module short."

You called it lol, glad you're having fun.

Nice @mog00, how're you liking the new modules?

@nokulture how's it going here? Do you like the new setup?

Classic analog drone, high five @GarfieldModular, I like this a lot. Next time though try and make it 30 minutes, we need to really soak it in!

I love these small rack problems a lot, and @lugia put together a great answer. I took a crack at how I'd do the same, building off his, which you can see below:

I swapped the Doepfer A-119 for a Mutable Instruments Ears, adding a playability factor (contact mic + delay + EQs = fun), and an Instruo Ochd which adds a ton of extra modulation. The main question here is if the preamps stack up and the value of the extra features in the A-119's envelope follower compared to those in the Time Warp.

I swapped the TipTop One for a Disting Mk4 which'll cover a zillion bases in a small rack like this and which can also function as a sample player.

Anyway, I'm curious what other people think too, interesting problem.

@GarfieldModular TBH I thought you'd been hacked at first 🤣🤣🤣

Nice one @wishbonebrewery, I really love the synth range in this, lots of classic feels coming together.

We need a sticky thread for N00Bs!!

@GarfieldModular, the shows I've played have been using twitch which works pretty well for one performer or group at a time. Might be a growing modular audience there too.

Thanks @GarfieldModular! Now that I think of it, maybe we should all do a ModularGrid forum stream one day 🤔🤔🤔

@DrSpace I don't actually know the answer to this, but I do know you can duplicate other people's racks ("Duplicate Rack" above the rack name). You could then delete all their modules and add your own :)