NiftyCASE

I'm trying to complete this build. Initial plans were to get Intellijel Quad VCA and Mutable Instruments Veils but I can't buy either of them new anywhere in the US right now so I'm stuck(and kind of low on money) right now. Please keep in mind this RACKs primary purpose is to complement my Moog Grandmother Subharmonicon and Hydrasynth so I've made some omissions thinking I could use some features on those synths to fill in gaps. I still need a VCA/mixer and ADSR envelope. Considering a couple Doepfer modules for VCA/mixer duties Doepfer A-135-2 Quad VCA/VC Mixer AND Doepfer A-140-2 Dual Mini ADSR OR possibly even Behringer 305 IF it can function as a VCA for a while but there's no info or reviews out about the Behringer 305 at all. Is it complete crap or did they not sell any of them so there aren't even any reviews by people who bought them ??? Assuming it could solve my lack of VCA right now it would be nice to have a REAL headphone jack and EQ features. I still need ADSR envelope too.

Any help greatly appreciated

EDITED Apr 16th 2021, 08:36

to me the things that you need primarily to use with the synths you do have are modulation, utilities and some sound processing

2 voices in a case this size is too many in my opinion unless you are into tiny modules etc because you will not have the room to adequately support 2 voices properly and the above in a single 3u/84hp case - and small modules are often not great to play with - especially if bunched together

do you really need an ADSR or do you need an envelope generator? - most people don't actually use ADSRs that much - AD is much more common - ADSR really only if you play it with a keyboard

I'd rather buy doepfer than the b-company any day - relatively cheap and generally simple building blocks, but solid builds and knowledgable staff - Dieter may even answer himself

Thank you very much for responding to this post with GREAT information. I really appreciate it.

Modulation - I got the Doepfer A-147-2 VCDLFO to boost my modulation sources. I know it's not the most exotic or full featured LFO out there BUT please keep in mind I'm new to modular(not to synthesizers in general) and I need something basic to start with so I can learn and understand it. I think the CV control capabilities of it will help me learn this facet of modular. I have to say now that I've gotten it in the rack I'm very impressed with the build AND feel quality of it. The POTS on it are FAR superior to anything else I've gotten so far. It was impressive enough that I purchased a Doepfer A-135-2 Quad VCA/VC Mixer without hesitation to fill my mixing void. I think I can feed the output of the Doepfer Quad VCA back into the noise channel on the Grandmother mixer and monitor everything via the Grandmother headphone VCA out. There are a tremendous amount of modulation sources on the Hydrasynth that I aim to utilize once I learn how. In the mean time I think the A-147-2 VCDLFO will suffice.

Utilities - I'm not sure exactly what this means.

Case size and small modules - Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm 55 now and prefer bigger everything so I can see it BUT you have to start somewhere. It's funny, right after I got my case and the first module I installed the module and stumbled into this modular grid rack building thing. After spending 20 minutes or so setting up my rack I ALREADY decided my rack wasn't big enough and I only had ONE module in the case/rack !!! Go figure.

ADSR vs Envelope Generator - I honestly don't know which I need. I'm a keyboard player and for the most part this rack is going to be mated with Moog grandmother. I'll be able to use the Grandmother internal sequencer and ARP to trigger the rack. Right now I'm trying to decide if I should buy Doepfer A-140-2 Dual Mini ADSR OR Mutable instruments Peaks/Stages/Veils/Tides. Youtube videos on ALL of them BUT they have them hooked up to 10 other devices that I don't have. The more I read about the Mutable instruments stuff the more I get confused. At least I think I know what the Doepfer actually does. If anyone has advice on this I'm ALL EARS.

B-company - Yes, I've had nothing but bad experiences with their products in the past and not really impressed with their lack for respect for other peoples designs. With respect to Behringer 305 I find it strange that there's almost NO information or reviews about it. I think I saw 1 youtube video where someone actually had one, maybe not. No user reviews anywhere I could find. Nothing in the forums of anyone saying it sucks or it's great. BTW, who is Dieter ?

Anyway, this is a new adventure for me. I had to get away from the computer based DAW. I've spent 30+ years of my professional life staring at computer screens and the virtual instrument stuff wasn't working for me any more. I'll still be using a DAW to patch everything together BUT this is a new approach for me. Thanks for the help and best wishes.

EDITED Apr 16th 2021, 23:32

"Dieter" = Dieter Doepfer, the grandpa of this Eurorack thing.

The B. 305 has no VCAs at all. It looks fairly feature-packed, but that's because Uli mashed two other 100M modules together to come up with it, then discontinued those two before the 100M stuff came out. However, it's worth noting that all of those gray things of his are copies of the Roland 100M modules, with a different form factor and retooled for Eurorack, with some results turning out better than others. As far as a decent output mixer goes, there's FAR better stuff out there...and definitely more capable stuff, too.

As for the cab size...good, you recognized the problem right off! This 100% needs more space. Have a look at these: https://reverb.com/brand/case-from-lake I've heard several people mentioning that the craftsmanship on these are spot-on, plus if you need to "adjust" a case for more size, amperage, ATA hardware, etc, they can do that. And the prices are KILLER. Also, the amazing thing about Case From Lake is that you can get a portable cab with INSANE amperage figures if that's what you need, as they definitely do that and many, many other optional things.