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As for the $5k QMMG...clearly, this derp hasn't quite picked up on the fact that Make Noise's MMG is NOT discontinued
-- Lugia

Ah yes, but the CURRENTLY available ones don't have the ugly color scheme or the "good" vactrols.

Very cool and I just put most of my 6u modules into my new monster case so now all my modules in one place for easy patch access. Really love the combo of Doepfer 12u monster base with 12u monster case. Tons of room on base for sequencers and mixers and have room to expand. However, now that I have a lot of modular stuff, I need to process and dig deeper into my setup! I am still learning how to make use of complex modules like Rossum Mob of Emus and Acid Rain Maestro and how to tie my sequencers together to create fun submixes and chains of patterns.

Do you really need stereo in a live show? Aren't pretty much all club sound systems mono anyway?
-- the-erc

Depends. If you're talking about a dance club, then yeah...most of those systems are summed-down to mono before hitting crossovers for the frequency division to the amps for the different driver sections, especially in the low end. However, if you're talking about a venue that primarily deals with live music, those DO tend to be stereo quite a bit of the time.

This is the nastiest post I have read on here so far... seriously? Please consider removing the xenophobic language!
-- Kel_

??? What xenophobic language?

The +12V rail is the main one that modules use. Not everything requires the -12V rail, and these days the trend with the +5V rail is for some manufacturers to put the downconversion onboard the module that needs it. But the current headroom issue is per rail, since the two 12V and 5V rails are all powered by different circuits. And you can pop the +12V by overdrawing, but leave the -12 and +5 (unless the +5 requires the +12) more or less intact. So if you've got 1500 mA on the +12V rail, and the P/S feeding the rail is rated for 2A, you're fine. But getting too much further above that 1500 mA gets a bit dicey, particularly if the build is very module-dense as each module will have SOME inrush...and adding each of those up can get you into the trouble zone pretty quickly.

EDITED Apr 12th 2021, 01:29

Thank you both, incredibly kind!

And.... I am slowly working on an album of such pieces. I've even gone so far as to get new strings for the upright for the first time in over a decade, though I've yet to install them. I'm also going to see if I can afford to pay someone to do some Peter Brötzmann/John Zorn-style sax on a few things. We shall see!

@cmb_ is right, Monday32921 is a 10 out of 10, I want an album of that!

The little less skronky one (Monday32921) is exceptional! When you first posted the original one (Free) I was a little taken aback when you referred to it as a "goof" because as I was listening, to me, it was so serious and spot on, but I completely understand where you a coming from and how "goof" is appropriate. Really nice the both of them.

Hi farkas. For output to pedals look at:
ADDAC200PI Pedal Integrator
https://www.addacsystem.com/en/products/modules/addac200-series/addac200pi
I wanted the ADDAC but it wasn't available at the time so I ended up with knob.farm Ferry which is fine.
https://knob.farm/modules/ferry

There are many other pedal interface modules which you can find here on MG including this "full-feature" module, Merge, from Adventure Audio:
https://www.adventurepedals.com/eurorack/merge

Strymon makes one as well (AA.1 Amplifier Atenuator)
https://www.strymon.net/product/aa1/

For input I use CG Products Pre:
https://www.cg-products.de/
For input you are probably all set with the Doepfer A119 (seems perfect, pre-amp, envelope follower, and comparator).
But check out some of the other modules from CG Products; the Peak + Hold, Noise VCA, Delay 1022, etc. With the Peak + Hold > Noise VCA I can get very good percussion sounds with guitar as input (or really anything as input, basically pinging the filter). I have an envelope follower from Grp.

I have done a lot of stuff with guitar and the modular but I should say I have only played around a little running guitar through the modular. The guitar has been on a separate track and I haven't really recorded anything with the guitar going through or modulating the modular. You can use the signal for FM with VCFs, VCOs, etc. and go crazy running the audio through Clouds, Arbhar, Nebula, etc. But I find I haven't utilized any of that when I record tracks, I mostly use the modular as the 'rhythm section' or I'll comp chords and let the modular do its thing. Maybe now you'll have inspired me to utilize it in this fashion, I hope so!

Let me know if you discover anything good.

Hi ModLifeCrisis,

Now that's a lovely long track! The way you play with those sounds is beautifully done, it's a pleasure to listen at it :-)

He, he, very recognisable that you sit behind the computer and reshuffle the racks with your (future) modules and indeed quite additive; I experienced that as well. I need to start doing that for my new studio setup somewhere soon as well but still hesitating because I know once I start, I barely can stop...

Thank you very much for your nice demo video and the great sound, this is how every weekend should start, very enjoyable :-) ! Kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular

Hi Garfield, thanks for the response. I appreciate it. It is very hard to stop, once you stop. I'm now considering a mainly Mutable Instruments set up and am too afraid to start it. :)

That is a great patch and performance! Love it. The slow degradation of the repeats on the El Capistan is such a great subtle morphing effect. So many great disparate sounds brought together in a very cohesive way.

And I totally understand the ModularGrid addiction. You're not alone. I've fully embraced it and it's been a remarkably fulfilling journey so far. Modular tickles me in so many ways - the scientist part of my brain is more stimulated now than it has been in decades, the musician part of my brain has been seriously broadened, the hobbyist/collector side of me is getting satiated. I'm thrilled to have discovered this experience.

I always enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming.

Cheers
-- TumeniKnobs

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. And good to know I'm not alone. I love the way you're embracing it. I think that is very healthy and something I should maybe try. Cheers to you too. Regards, MLC.

That is a great patch and performance! Love it. The slow degradation of the repeats on the El Capistan is such a great subtle morphing effect. So many great disparate sounds brought together in a very cohesive way.

And I totally understand the ModularGrid addiction. You're not alone. I've fully embraced it and it's been a remarkably fulfilling journey so far. Modular tickles me in so many ways - the scientist part of my brain is more stimulated now than it has been in decades, the musician part of my brain has been seriously broadened, the hobbyist/collector side of me is getting satiated. I'm thrilled to have discovered this experience.

I always enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming.

Cheers

Thanks to @Plexusgel for a fast shipping and good packaging. Quick to answer and friendly!

Do you really need stereo in a live show? Aren't pretty much all club sound systems mono anyway?

hahaha well I'd never heard of Geoff Hinton before - cool middle name!

you don't want to exceed 3/4ths of the power supply's current capacity due to potential problems with power inrush,
-- Lugia

Clarification sought : 3/4 of the power supply's total capacity, or on each rail separately? In my box the +12V is getting pretty close to the wind, but there is very little on -12V.

Whoops, yeah I meant Graham Hinton... Geoff Hinton is someone completely different

Ah yes in an ideal world everyone would have Graham Hinton power supplies

It's like Steevio and using switched mults as gate/trigger mixers - all I can really say is it works for me (and I'm sure a lot of other people) - might not for you - the only way to find out is to try it

EDITED Apr 11th 2021, 10:34

This is the nastiest post I have read on here so far... seriously? Please consider removing the xenophobic language!

Many will miss it, but I think you can say what you need to without the particular phrase you used. No need.

I am a country person, but I am no idiot!

EDITED Apr 11th 2021, 06:42

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't yet heard about keeping to < 75% draw, I'd been planning to ramp it closer to full. I'll avoid that.

Dunno if ur US based but I saw a good deal on a used one at Control in Brooklyn earlier:

https://www.ctrl-mod.com/collections/used/products/c0ntr0l-bkbpb112zi2i?variant=39315629310006

Small Form Factor Techno Jambox

Modules to the side are housed in Abyss Devices 1U -> 3U Adapters

Just use any decent flying bus cable with the right amount of headers. However, DO keep an eye on your current draw figures...you don't want to exceed 3/4ths of the power supply's current capacity due to potential problems with power inrush, which can send your amperage draw OVER the design limit for the p/s for a small fraction of a second...which is enough to cause problems. Also, if there's a wide gap between potential supply and draw load, this means your p/s can run cooler...and given that heat is Public Enemy #1 for electronic components, that's something you want.

Step 1: jettison the idea of trying to build this with only one make of modules (and case as well, apparently). All you're going to accomplish is hamstringing yourself by being unable to add things that AREN'T Intellijel...and this is a pretty serious error!

Step 2: try a bigger case, especially if you're hell-bent on using W---I---D---E modules such as the Rainmaker, Metropolix, et al. Right now, those things aren't doing you any favors; the Rainmaker and Metropolix alone take up 70 hp, and that has just a touch more than 1/3rd of this cab's 3U rows being taken up by just TWO modules!

Step 3: don't take my word for it. Get a copy of VCV Rack if you don't have one already, then try setting this build up in there. It won't be 100% exact, but at this point it doesn't matter, because the idea here is to show that what you've got isn't adequate as far as sound generation is concerned. Jim is VERY correct; module redundancy is actually a thing that SHOULD happen in some cases (especially VCOs...you can't set up a fat, detuned sound without that second VCO) and trying to avoid this is not something either he or I would recommend.

Utilities? Sufficient VCAs? Attenuverters? Submixers?

Seems less like something that induces "terror" and more like that incomparable feeling of "meh..."

NFTs...gah...I got excoriated over on Reddit's r/vaporwave forum by some "true believer" in that because I dared to point out that this is, in all likelihood, some fad-grade nonsense that's just ASKING to get punked by someone well-versed in culture jamming. True, there ARE artists making money via this method (one musical act that comes to mind here is Kings of Leon), but when that bubble pops, look out!

As for the $5k QMMG...clearly, this derp hasn't quite picked up on the fact that Make Noise's MMG is NOT discontinued, and that four of them tallies up to $940 street. Add a very basic mixer/attenuator module that lets you break out submixes (sorta like Intellijel's QuadrATT tile...but as a "proper" module) and you have a...QMMG! Sure, it's physically bigger, but you have the same basic function PLUS a lot more control capabilities over each MMG. And instead of a fixed mixing paradigm, you could just as easily swap the basic mixer out for a quad VCA instead. Given that, I 100% do NOT see the point in trying to shuck rubes over this "RAR vintage W0W!!!111!!1!" module that they want $5 grand for.

This behavior is something I've long despised. I didn't like it when synth-brokers were trying to use Usenet back in the day to run their commercial enterprises (in violation of the Usenet charter and, in one especially egregious case, the Usenet AUP for U Michigan), and I don't like it now. It's become a lot easier to spot, thankfully. But during that early Usenet period, you had all sorts of bottom-feeders trolling around, buying disused synths for pennies on the dollar and then flipping them for sometimes HUNDREDS of times more than they'd paid. And around that time, you also had the emerging concept of "synth collectors"...people who bought synths and DIDN'T play them, simply because they were "valuable". I'm sure that 90% of those instruments are now dead from disuse unless they were "rescued" somehow. Fools, money, etc etc.

Thanks Jim -- good to know! (Have browsed enough Muff's thread's with Geoff Hinton telling everyone off to get nervous about many power related things.)

if you are still under 70-80% with the extra modules it is possible to add an additional busboard

it is also possible to make double (or triple) headed power cables* - I think intellijel make these or small flying busboards that might be suitable

it really depends on the space in the rack the 2hp modules can also be quite deep so this may have an impact on which solluttion will work best for you

*this is really quite easy and inexpensive to do and can be done with no specialist tools

I've had 2 cases with 2 power supplies in running happily for a couple of years... and happily patch between these cases too!

EDITED Apr 10th 2021, 23:13

I'm not an electrician but that makes me nervous. Are there no issues with multiple power supplies in the same box like that?

What do you do when you run out of connections for a skiff (you have power to spare but more modules than connectors)? Is it simple to add or daisy chain on extras? Those 2hps save a lot of space but seem to add up quick where # modules-to-connectors go.

@the-erc I was thinking about it and thought "Why not swap the 4 step sequencer with a Micro Zeus?" I think that would work 🤔🤔🤔

Edited to add: I also swapped the CP3 with an Isolator so you can get the output levels you want.

EDITED Apr 10th 2021, 20:37

what exactly are you trying to do?

what do you mean by redundant? "functional duplication" in modular is often a very good thing

currently you seem to be quite modulation heavy - tetrapad/tete/quadrax/planar, melodic sequencer and adsr channel heavy - metropolix is I think 2 channels (and you only have one vco!) and you may not need adsr envelopes = the intellijel dual adsr is huge compared to similar modules from other brands

no vcas????

rainmaker is too big, imo, in a single rack like this unless some compromise is made with other modules being smaller than they should be (and I don't think you can do this in solely intellijel)

so you almost definitely need to add a quad vca and another vco - which means 20hp+ if you want to stay intellijel only (personally I wouldn't - I hate constraints)

I've got some ideas @the-erc, I'll take another crack at it this evening.

Ugh... my power supply is the Doepfer PSU2 which tops out at 1.2A on both the positive and negative 12V rails... gonna need a less power hungry solution @troux ! (I'm using a MI Volts to get the +5V from the +12V too.)

Thanks @troux!

I did not know about Vortices -- it looks like a great solution. Shame it doesn't have sends, but that would really be asking a lot from such a compact mixer. Also the Shakmat hi-pass -- on my current setup most channels have the bass heavily cut, so this would be great. Maybe I even need two!

The only thing you missed which I think is probably needed is some kind of output module to step down to line level. I doubt the sound guy will too pleased at getting modular levels into his desk. I mean, it's what I do at my place, but I know what's going on...

Thanks :)

Took a crack at this

1) Vortices for mixing, lots of inputs and tons of flexibility
2) An FX Aid and a second Disting for FX
3) A Happy Nerding Dual Cross Fade to fade between the two of them, letting you functionally use them both for the Vortices' aux out
4) A Shakmat HiPass to keep things clean when you want to
5) A MSCL and a SCLPL for compression and end of chain EQ
6) A Ladik 4 Step Sequencer for either melodies, bass lines, or even as a strong structure creator (have it control some non-pitch CV and triggered by PNW every 64 beats or even more
7) A CP3 which doubles as both another mixer and a distortion effect, could easily swap with another 4HP distortion module of your choice though.

A friend asked me to perform at night he is organising. I looked at my current setup and thought..."hmm, this isn't going to work."

Right now I am very much studio bound : big mixer, outboard effects, a bunch of smaller devices, big old synth keyboard etc. However I think with some judicious additions I could manage with just the rack. Here is what I have currently:

How would you change it to make this into a stand-alone techno machine?

Guidelines :
* The rack is a Doepfer 6u 84hp suitcase which has been hacked. It has 6 spaces which can fit a 4hp module, three above the main rows, and three below. This is shown by the blue blind panels: these panels don't actually exist so you cannot replace them to make more space. Unfortunately the person who did the hacking did not do a great job so you cannot fit 2 x 2hp modules in one slot because the screw holes are not well enough aligned.
* Outside of the rack I will have a BeatStep Pro. I might also get an external compressor for the master bus (FMR RNLA, Oto Boum, something like that, suggestions welcome)
* Things which I currently use which I would like to replace are : various delays and reverbs and a Sherman Filterbank, which is usually used as a source of filth, not so much as a filter. Filth is quite important for the sound. And the mixer of course.
* I'm currently using these modules to make music and quite happy with them. I'd really rather not change them, partly for musical reasons, partly for cost reasons.
* I am not going to buy a bigger case.

So it's a pretty tall order, but how would you solve this problem?

Eeeeeech.... didn't realise it was so scarce! Well there is always :
https://github.com/pichenettes/eurorack/tree/master/veils/hardware_design

@the-erc the only Veils 2020 improvement I can imagine is being able to buy it 🤣🤣🤣

Many people say that the Mutable clones have compromised ergonomics. I can't speak about the others, but I have a Pique (aka uPeaks) and it is very usable at 4hp -- it's actually half the size of the original Peaks! Another one of those very useful modules that does many things, sits next to my Disting.

My experience of the Disting is that it tends to get used mostly for one thing, and then you buy a new module that does that thing and the Disting becomes something else. When I first got it I mostly used it as a quantiser; then a combination of new firmware for Pam and getting a new sequencer meant I didn't need a quantiser so much. Now the Disting mostly plays samples and I'm looking for a sample playback module...

p.s Veils 2020 is great! Hard to imagine any improvements to this module.

@Exposure
:), thanks for your kind words!

Thumbs up from me too, very nice lofi vibe

Hi Mog00,

This track is fantastic, it has a kind of jazzy vibe that I love. Looking forward for more.

Thanks for sharing.

Cool track Jingo,

I'm also loving that kick and the resonance sweeps!

Thanks for sharing.

nice generative ambient tones! I like it :), would also love to hear more of your ambient stuff...

@the-erc thanks a lot :)=

Smart communication and nice transaction with @teethgrinder.
Merci Fabien !

Hey people, can you help me? Is there something redundant in the case? Are there to much controllers and to less vcos?
Let me know what you Think

This was one of the best I've heard around MG in a while. Really good.