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Thanks @wishbonebrewery, lots of room for improvement but I'm glad you enjoyed it!

OOOOOhhhhhh 👀

I love the Mixup and have two, one in an ambient rack and one in my 360HP case alongside a Manhattan Analog DTM. I tend to combine it with an ALM HPO. I've been thinking of getting a larger mixer for the 360HP case, but I can't quite seem to find the right one. VCA control doesn't really appeal to me, nor does pan control, and I really appreciate that the Mixup has both mono and stereo input channels for when I'm using stereo effects... and that it's small lol. I like the Mutant Hot Glue (inbuilt compressor is sweet) but it's only four channels and no stereo from what I can see. What I'd really love is a 6+ channel mixer in ~24HP, with multiple send and returns that are in stereo. Haven't found it yet so if anyone has any recommendations let me know!

I'm running out of superlatives @mowse, well done as usual and it seems like your mastery of the synth is only progressing!

Thanks @Exposure!

Hair metal acid? Why not?? 🤣

Good info @farkas, I'd love a Stereomix

Sweet

Listening now @farkas, fantastic ambiance and layering. Did you mix in the modular? If so I need to grab a copy of your mixer lol because the space here and how everything is both distinct and part of a whole is topnotch. And gotta say I loved the 80s synth vibes too. Looking forward to more like this.

LOLLLLLL @farkas, and yes @GarfieldModular I thought about ducking the kick but wasn't sure how that'd end up working out with the Mimeophon doing delays and decided I was too lazy. Maybe for round two...

Instead of being responsible and doing some work this evening I decided to give the Acid Rain Chainsaw a workout, inspiration to @Exposure for posting a sweet jam this morning. Check it out below:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/capricorn-acid

Immediate thoughts, the kick is a little weird in the mix, and maybe I start it off with too much craziness at the beginning (though I do dial it back later). Take two could be incoming... Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Looking forward to giving it a listen @farkas

Clicked through to the newest rack and those are some nice additions @Nabroc. If you put this together let us know how it works out!

Well done @Exposure, this is excellent and also some inspiration to keep my bass lines simpler lol. And yes, the switch at about 6 minutes in is awesome. Looking forward to more from you!

Kudos to all of you, and @mowse and @mog00 I'll get your tracks uploaded this weekend.

First off, all your thought processes do make sense to me there so that's great. I took a crack at this and had dropped it over in the other thread, so let me copy all that here. The rack I built out is half as big as the one you put together, and has a lot of the starter modules that will help you learn so that something like the SSF Tool-box isn't so intimidating. From where you're starting I think aiming for 104HP in 3U is a good step, and will let you develop your understanding and comfort without spending too much cash up front. Anyway, see below.

@Nabroc I had a minute so I took your original rack as a starting point and made some adjustments:

Notes:
1) I don't believe the Mantis has a 1U row, so I removed that, but much of what you had there I replaced in other utilities.
2) The Ginko looks like a sick module, but I'm wondering if you have to code with it? Either way I might nab one.
3) I replaced the Erica Synths clock module with a PNW (which is really fantastic).
4) Kept the Ladik LFO, it looks sweet.
5) I added a micro Rings since you mentioned wanting plucks and strings and it's a really great Euro module.
6) Swapped in a Maths plus an Intellijel Quad VCA, Maths is great, can do EG and LFOs for you as well as attenuation/attenuversion.
7) Added an FX Aid since FX in the rack go a long way.
8) Added in a Happy Nerding Stereo Mixer as it's reasonable priced, three channels should be good, and it also has a headphone out so you won't need another module.
9) A contender that didn't make it into the rack above is the 4MS Ensemble Oscillator. If you're interested I can make a version with that guy in there, but tons of experimental range and can sound sweet and sugary too.

This comes in a good bit more expensive than what you'd posted, and I'm definitely using a few popular modules here, but I think it'd be a good starting point for exploration and that empty row at the bottom will give you lots of room to expand as you learn.

One more note, a contender that didn't make it into the rack above is the 4MS Ensemble Oscillator. If you're interested I can make a version with that guy in there, but tons of experimental range and can sound sweet and sugary too.

@Nabroc I had a minute so I took your original rack as a starting point and made some adjustments:

Notes:
1) I don't believe the Mantis has a 1U row, so I removed that, but much of what you had there I replaced in other utilities.
2) The Ginko looks like a sick module, but I'm wondering if you have to code with it? Either way I might nab one.
3) I replaced the Erica Synths clock module with a PNW (which is really fantastic).
4) Kept the Ladik LFO, it looks sweet.
5) I added a micro Rings since you mentioned wanting plucks and strings and it's a really great Euro module.
6) Swapped in a Maths plus an Intellijel Quad VCA, Maths is great, can do EG and LFOs for you as well as attenuation/attenuversion.
7) Added an FX Aid since FX in the rack go a long way.
8) Added in a Happy Nerding Stereo Mixer as it's reasonable priced, three channels should be good, and it also has a headphone out so you won't need another module.

This comes in a good bit more expensive than what you'd posted, and I'm definitely using a few popular modules here, but I think it'd be a good starting point for exploration and that empty row at the bottom will give you lots of room to expand as you learn.

And maybe in the meantime @Lugia will grace us with one of his patented Expert Builds 👀

Looking forward to seeing it!

Nice, sounds like you have a good idea of where you want to go and the fact that you've been working with VCVRack is great. Now it makes sense that @Lugia gave you an "Ok" rating on your 3U row, his "Ok" being most people's "Well done" lol. So, next steps, the Mantis recommendation makes sense and seems to be the general path forward, but since you're just starting out I'd limit my initial buy to 104HP and then grow from there. If you set this rack aside (but keep it for comparison) and make a new rack with @Lugia's advice in mind, working to maximize functionality to HP, you should get pretty close and then we can review again. SSF Tool-Box is a great suggestion, and I'd also suggest you take a look at some of my favorite modules for this stuff, Kinks, Links, Cold Mac, Zadar, Batumi, Ochd, Intellijel Quad VCA, and of course Maths. Now, don't pick all of them of course, but a few would go a long way here!

@Nabroc, we've all been there, my first rack got radically revised on here too, and in particular did get much bigger. Could you start us off by sharing what you're aiming for here? Ambient? Noise? Classic modular sounds, or maybe just to explore? That should help us send you in the right direction.

Kudos to you too @GarfieldModular, thanks for you track and for helping to keep this community going.

I'll try that @mog00

Sweet, thank you @modulargrid!

Glad to do it and glad you all are on it!

All praise to the forums @farkas, and you get a special kudos for helping me build my first rack without which we might not be doing this today.

Very happy to @the-erc, thanks for being on it!

Check it out here: https://communitymodularelectronic.bandcamp.com/album/best-of-modular-grid-2020-cme-018

Please check it out if you're on it and let me know if there's any issues with your tune, link, or name (or anything else). I'm psyched we put this together and it totals up to about 2 hours of sick music, starting groovy, getting spacey, and then returning to some energetic vibes. @mog00 and @mowse, I didn't get copies of your files, but if you can send them over I can look at slotting them in, and if I missed anyone else let me know too. Other than that, share far and wide so we can get some listeners on this thing!

Thanks again to everyone for contributing, and I'm already looking forward to doing this again next year 🕺

Superb @jingo

Well done as usual @mowse, things came together beautifully there at the end.

10 minutes in, great stuff @the-erc, I'm aiming for this range myself, hoping to get there soon.

Thanks @the-erc! And I've got Insides at the top of my list, seems like some good NYE listening 🕺

Thanks @GarfieldModular, and dang does that sequencer look nice. So many good tools nowadays.

I'll check those out, thanks you two.

I'm not familiar with ADAT so I can't speak to that, I just don't think the ES-3 takes input from the modular (but you should check and make sure I'm not misreading things).

@clivevass I'm not actually sure the ES-3 solves your problem for you as * I believe * it's output only, but an ES-9 should do the trick and it's what I use for this.

Thanks @farkas, I haven't listened to them enough actually, any recommendations?

I've been practicing live acid/house/etc lately with my dance rig, and getting some fun results. Was playing around this evening and thought "Where's my disting, this is too good not to record" so here we are. I liked this bassline so much I stuck to it for the whole time, that'll be a focus of future tunes, but I think it works here and overall I'm happy with the amount of variation and how everything flows. Anyway, give it a listen and let me know what you think.

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/2020-acid-take-1-extended

I had intended to put together an ambient piece for the EOY 2020 comp but since most everyone else sent over dance pieces (and long ones too lol) I think this'll be my contribution.

Time flies @zuggamasta! But looking forward to it.

That's just called progress @mowse! Glad to have you onboard, I'll reach out here in a bit 😎

I'll check em out @aphex_goodman, and @yalivec if you want to post to a dropbox that'd be great or I can send you my email for wetransfer.

Quick thoughts from skimming this thread:

1) Love this convo and love the idea of bringing a process approach to the modular world, lots of room for discovery there and I've been trying that myself lately. Along with all the other great thinkers/composers mentioned here, James Tenney has a role here too and his writings are pretty accessible, worth checking out.
2) In addition to everything @lugia suggested I'd emphasize the role of function generators to add some movement, organic-ness, tension, etc to your music. A little harder to channel but they open up process potential in the continuous realm, and there's a lot of them to choose from.
3) Check out the Monome Crow if you can or want to code, it's a cheap and small way to add programmatic features to your rack. Want some quadraphonic melodies? Want a microtonal quantizer? Easy, write a script for it.
4) I know you've said you're not going to get the sax back out @funbun but if you're interested in hearing someone bring woodwinds and modular together check out Golden Retriever, it's really special stuff and half the reason I started my eurorack journey. All their albums are great, but I'll share my fav: https://goldenretriever.bandcamp.com/album/arda-viraf

Finally, I'll wish you good luck. And keep us posted, would love to hear some tunes once you get going!

Nice one as usual @mowse. Now, which of your fantastic tracks from this year are you contributing to our end of year best of? 👀

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/9382

I'll give em a listen @mog00!

Both sound good to me @klodifokan and @jingo!

Chiming in with my 2 cents on Zadar, they should've just included Nin with it it's so useful, so I'd suggest you throw one of those in. Otherwise this looks like good fun.

Hello @Kel_! "Dark Hole" works for me. @GarfieldModular, let's do "Sunday Craziness."

And fyi everyone, I'll start DM'ing people today so you all can send over high quality files.

That works for me @Exposure. @GarfieldModular I'll give em a listen again tonight and pick one 👍👍

That looks like a lot of fun @ColdTurkey28, you'll have to record something and get it on our ModularGrid Best of 2020 comp! Check it out https://www.modulargrid.net/e/forum/posts/index/9382