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I'm gonna be a contrarian and chime in to say, not recording can be its own boon too, just let things flow, have fun, keep the patch changing. I personally like to wait to record til I really think I'm ready which incentivizes me not to get stuck on something that * sounds good * but that's really just ok or not where I'm trying to go. This also pushes me a bit to keep improving until I'm really happy with the tune rather than a "ok, got some good sections in there." Anyway, YMMV but my 2 cents.
@Garfield, thanks. Yeah I am saving up for another complex analog oscillator and filter maybe Verbos CO and Verbos Amp and tone! After being blown away by the analog power of my newly installed Rossum Trident triple oscillator yesterday, I love these things! Best basslines and crazy 80s sounds new wave.
@Lugia, yeah that would be super awesome to get the ARC touchplate sequencer for the Doepfer monster base case. I did get a Tetrapad with Tete extender yesterday for my MDLR case and had fun with it testing it out after I hooked it up. I am a sucker for touch biofeedback modules. I also want a joystick! Waiting for Intellijel Planar 2 ones.
I agree with Ftpyd, I think it should be at least like eBay, only buyer can put negative. Because this way the sellers will try to be good and respect the marketplace, not scamming here. if they do it quickly becomes obvious. Retaliatory feedback is no good, also if you avoid leaving negative because don't want a retaliation it doesn't work all the time. It is 98% of time the buyer that gets screwed so they should have the right for negative or no feedback, plus a short feedback description is good idea too.
Another thing to practice often and early is pressing the red record button.
Sounds easy right, you just press the red record button...
Nope... all kinds of weird things happen in your brain, that wicked lick you practiced to death and get right 100% of the time, not just technically, but with aplomb and verve becomes the most amateurish rendition of the worst musical idea you ever had... the moment you press the red button!
Seriously, really weird sh!t happens... so start practicing now, it can take just as long, if not longer, to master the red button as it does to master the whole of the rest of your instrument ;)
First few minutes with my new Moog Werkstatt-01, played with Make Noise Rene and through Mimeophon. Modulation by Pamela's New Workout. BIA provides the bass kick. Assembling this little synth was fun. Playing it is even better.
Clearly, I need to tune it across multiple octaves. A quick project for tomorrow morning.
A lot of my work starts as various levels of screwing around...sitting down at a keyboard synth and poking around with various parameters until a sound pops out and says "OK...here I am, you bastard...USE ME!" At that point, I'll start looking around the studio and sorting out where complementary sound spectra can be cooked up...both reinforcing and conflicting. Eventually, there's a tipping point of sorts that appears, where the "uphill" of the messing around turns into the "downhill" of a new work coming together.
Where it gets dicey again is when I start to mix down and construct the mix's processing, gain structure, and so on....so there's another shorter "uphill" that happens as I transition the process from the synths to the desk and processors, but just like before, there's yet another tipping point and the mix just starts gelling together.
It's worth noting that this is a method I've used for decades, so I'm very accustomed to the workflow it requires as well as the nuances of the process itself. But I shouldn't think that taking the time to get used to one's own workflow patterns should be considered "time wasted". Instead, it needs to be viewed as just another method of musical practice; mixers and processors don't have "performance practice" in of themselves as a rule, so it's up to YOU to sort out that aspect of your work and make it part of your musical "fingerprint". And if it takes a week of hammering away to suss out four measures in a Schubert lied, it shouldn't be all that surprising that electronic music composition/performance/production ALSO has similar requirements.
What you need is LESS. And less attempts to put too many functions into a small case would be a good start. Less sizable modules would also be good. And then, less of the "sexy" modules and more of the boring stuff that actually makes the other expensive stuff WORK.
One thing you DO have less of is modulation sources...and in this case, you need MORE. And as for VCAs, ANY would be a good move at this point, because there's not any now.
Get those drums out of there, for starters. Frankly, unless you've got massive space in your cab, trying to build up a "drum machine section" never works out nicely. The modules wind up being space-hungry, and also require a good trigger sequencer in addition to whatever else sequential you've got. Don't do this...get a proper syncable drum machine instead and lock it and the Hermod up to the same DAW clock. And why have Rings AND Elements when the latter has the former in it? Seriously, get some proper FILTERING...having a good, punchy LPF is key to making bass that wrecks subs, NOT a physical resonator.
There's a lot you might get out of https://vcvrack.com/ before trying this again. You need to understand what attenuverters, VCAs, logic and clock modifiers (ESPECIALLY if you plan on a lot of sequencer work), and so on actually do and how/why other modules NEED what they do. Also, the "go bigger THEN reduce rule applies here", like Garfield mentions; start with a rack that you KNOW is too big...because, in the end, you're going to find out that what you knew about that build size was 100% wrong. If you begin with too much space, you have room to scale back FROM once you have a module complement that you know will work. But right now, that last part is a real stumbling-block. Do some work to actually see for yourself how this should function, then come back to trying to do a hardware build. Your credit card will thank you later.
Hey sacguy...have you thought about adding some sort of touchplate controller to the "bottom" row of the base case? While it's not cheap by a long shot, I have to admit that ARC's version of the Serge TKB would make this thing really HOWL. Not only do you get a set of touchplates, you ALSO get a multirow sequencer on top of that, which can be patched to be manipulated in real time. Chuck it in between the Metron and the Befaco stuff, and there you go!
Oh, HELL no! I've got two at present, and my lab gear rig also has its guitar cousin, the SPX50D. I've been totally nuts over the SPX90 sound ever since they came out and caught everyone's attention in Nashville. That lower bitrate actually works in here, adds a little bit of "grit" that ups the character, especially on the reverb algorithms. But if you can't turn up one, here's some substitutes:
Korg DRV2000 (more or less Korg's answer to the SPX90; I also have two of these, one of them in the lab gear rig as well)
Ibanez SDR1000 (actually made for Ibanez by Sony, hence the lettering: "Sony Digital Reverb"...also has full stereo signal path!)
Boss SE50/SE70 (little halfrack thing...KILLER capabilities, plus there's a VOCODER hiding in it! The 70 is a bit cleaner, fyi)
None of these should cost more than US$ 150, tbh...
I love to try plugging things into different patch points and experiment when I noodle. Helps me learn by osmosis often without even reading a manual or watching a video. I did this tonite with Marbles and figured out how to use it like an LFO and trigger sequencer with Rings, so fun.
I like the Mantis because its the perfect travel size for me. Everything gets into my Octatrack from there into my mixer. The Compression in the Octatrack helps to glue the elements live together!
How about a bigger rack? I think that's what you need most of all. Start slowly (i.e. start simple) with a few modules, build up experience then add a few more, build up experience again, etcetera, but sooner or later you are going to need more space for your modules...
Have fun and kind regards, Garfield Modular.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Most of it looks okay to me, perhaps you could add a few "basic" VCOs/DCOs? A few more Doepfer VCOs? Or the STO from Make Noise? Dixie II+ from Intellijel? Adding these more basic VCOs next to your more complex oscillators, I think will make it more complete? I know you have a bit more not displayed here but still.
And filters, can you have ever enough filters? :-)
Once added the VCOs and filters, space left could be filled with... VCAs, you know the saying here on this forum: "You never can have enough VCAs!" ;-)
Joking of course but perhaps one or two more VCAs really wouldn't harm, would it?
Have fun with the planning and testing out the new stuff once it arrives and kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
I just reveived a module I bought from @lleicamun and I am very happy with it, also about how smooth everythink went - nice communication, quick shipping and so, and what a very nice chap he is. Then the very same happened to me again with @kamilkorolczuk
That reminds me of a track I published this year. Rings is definitely a great module.
I used Batumi (sine) for cv in the Quad Vca. This brought some shades.
Great, Thank you farkas !
As a beginner I was stuck on "tune" function.
I'll try with disting, and if I want to use it for another function I'll look for a quantizer.
Cheers
You are looking for a quantizer. Yes, there are many available.
It looks like you have a Disting MK4 in your rack. This has both a quantizer and a tuner.
I realized that soleo vero is a manual tuner.
What I was looking for, is a module on wich I can select the scale with a switch, in order the synth voices play only the notes in the selected scale, or that reduce easily the amount of the pitch lfo, and his position in the scale.
Is it possible ? lol
It was for a Morphagene. As you say priced decently. He listed a few items. Emailed Me pictures privately too - he was on here for a couple of years so thought it was all above board. Paid and we had a few chasing email exchanges - “sorry busy with work today” “definitely tomorrow” etc and now nothing.
Really a lot of possibilities from this starting point:
* Crow + Clank Chaos
* Chords with Qubit Chord V2 or Instruo Saich and a DPLPG
* Effects/sampling with Qubit Databender or Squarp Rampler or Erica Sample Drum
* Lead voice with Qubit Surface + WMD C4RBN or Black LXD
* Nasty bass shenanigans with Noise Engineering Virt Iter + Bastl Ikarie
* More drums with Sy0.5 + Ochd/RndStep OR Fracture + Axys
Heavily focussed on DAWs, but the principles generally translate well and aim to tackle the really difficult points in our music making journeys!
Personally I am a huge fan of 'breaking it all down and starting again', fast and often, picking one, two or even three patch points that I absolutely must NOT use - sub/consciously that can be as excruciatingly difficult or as easy as you want to make it ;)
Damn, this is so rubbish... sorry you lost your money Tommyd!
I really think that everyone who is buying ad selling here should be an upgraded member!
It's a way to add a little extra authenticity and it's polite and respectful to the MG folks who put so much time, money, effort and energy into providing this place for us!
Try to ripoff someone I like and see how I can reproduce their style in modular. This helps me get away from my typical patterns and think about areas of my synth that I'm not working with as much, or different approaches to modules I'm already using. And of course as you do this you end up adding your own ideas and flair, so it becomes a nice hybrid piece in a way.
-- troux
This is a great idea indeed. I've used it many times when I'm trying to learn new stuff but never though of using it for the modular synth. It's really a good way of learning, at least until you can come up with your own original material.
I often think it would be easier to stay focused if I had a friend who was also into synths, we could work towards something together. Then I think to myself that I could likely find a bud to learn with online someplace, but I feel like I'm at my best when I interact with other people in person. So I end up spending my practice time doing basically everything you listed, but sporadically and without much focus.
-- Footage
Yes, absolutely. It's a bit like when you want to start going to the gym to get fit, it's always easier if you've got a pal who's also doing the same, it's good to have some with whom you can share the experience.
Plus, not recording things can also be a mistake, even if it's obvious that the "screwing around" in those cases is just that. But at the same time, if you have the take in your DAW...well, hell, ANYTHING'S fair game once it's on the hard drive. So it doesn't work in of itself...but what if you dubbed a few more things onto it? Or what if you used it as a layer in some other work? Or chopped it into loops? Or, or, or... This is part of the rationale Brian Eno's used for many years...true, it's resulted in a HUGE library of tapes of all sorts that he keeps track of, but if you know what's on them and how to work with those recordings, they're golden. In fact, whole albums of his have come out of this, with the most notable example being "The Shutov Assembly".
-- Lugia
It makes sense, more so with modular synths as once you un-patch it's gone for good, it's hard to get the same patch and make it sound the same again. I guess I'll be recording more from now on. I'll be also listening more Brian Eno :)
I wasn't aware of the "Oblique Strategies" and I think it's a fantastic idea, I'll make sure to give it a try when I find myself stuck. Thanks for sharing the online version Farkas.
Don’t buy anything from @Modulardistortion nasty piece of work who has stolen my money
-- Tommyd
May I ask if it is about the Data Bender?
I sent him an email asking for pictures and a receipt proof as the timing and price felt a bit fishy to me and he never answered.
Now I see he offers no modules for sale but when I checked he only listed expensive stuff at very nice prices...
Welcome. What kind of music are you hoping to make?
Before we go any further, you have way too many beautiful sound-makers and almost zero sound-sculptors in this rack. There are lots of options, but I'm not sure what you are trying to do here. Do you have any other gear? Have you read through the other "First rack" posts in this forum? Let us know a little more about what you are trying to achieve.
I also have a Soundcraft Signature MTK and with the channel trim pots turned to minimum there is no issue taking audio straight from the modular into the desk -- additional attenuation is not needed. Then you can put your effects on a mixer bus or send.
@Lugia -- listening to some SPX90 demo clips. https://www.vintagedigital.com.au/yamaha-spx90-multi-effects-processor/
You're not selling one are you? I might need the classic sound of "Large Scale Integration" when I start my synthwave side project :) . It is possible I am unduly influenced by the extremely 80s test samples, impossible to be sure.
Oh yes, sorry I forgot, you mentioned this before I think. Sorry didn't mean to stir up bad feeling, I just forgot because I am a bit rubbish like that sometimes. Please forgive me.
The reality re. customer support is probably that every company that ever existed has both delighted and disgruntled customers.
It's just where you happen to land on the day I guess? I had a totally different experience, and tbh I expect very little in the way of support, nice when it is there, but I am paying a tiny sum of cash for an awful lot of gear, I really don't expect much beyond a slow warranty repair via the retailer i the event something goes wrong. It shocks me sometimes how responsive some of the tiny Eurorack companies are, and have to kick myself to remember that this is not normal and really quite exceptional!!
Anyway... in that case definitely claiming it as the modern day, new tech, true poly AT keyboard with 8 or 16 full independent voice MPE that hits all the right spots!
It is absolutely outstanding!
Your'e right, the keys are not weighted, but this is not something that bothers me, I prefer to focus on the insane range of very playable aftertouch it offers, (manually controlled slow steady, 20+ second build ups just by pressing a bit and gradually increasing the pressure, per key/voice - errrr- yes please!!!) which can be mapped through the extensive Mod Matrix, CV IO (monophonic AT of course) and polyAT MIDI out into something like Shuttle Control... still got to try this one, but sheesh!!! It's a proper mind bending bit of gear, and so damn inexpensive!!!
case 1- the new 14U MDLR that has two rows of 1u tile space-
Levit8, VC8, Mordax, Trident, Morpheus filter, Plog, Marbles, etc
Add 1u tiles for support tools maybe Steppy 1u, FX 1u tiles, etc.
I have also thought about moving the Bionic Lester MK3 and Kermit mk3 from case 2 (below) to this for a complete Harvestman section to use together.
case 2: mostly full 6U Doepfer- Shades and add Clep Diaz for LFO modulation
and move the Befaco Hex VCA to monster base case below to connect to Befaco Hexmixer
case 3- Doepfer monster base- Befaco Hex mixer, Befaco Hex VCA for chained benefits (moved from the 6u Doepfer case 2 above)
(will sit under case 2), WMD Metron sequencer (on pre-order)
There's nothing wrong with the Hydrasynth's keyboard that I know of. But then, "that I know of"...which is important because the reason I don't have one is because I had a particularly nasty encounter with one of ASM's US reps when I dared to ask when I could expect to get the one I'd paid for at Sweetwater three months previous. I immediately changed my order there to an Argon8 after that; I'm NOT going to deal with companies that have Type-A asshats as their user base contacts! I did get to futz with one some time back and I thought the keyboard feel was nice, but I still missed the CS-80's weighting and tab controls to mess with the keyboard response on the fly. Even so, I'd pulled the trigger on one...only to have to go and catch that bullet myself after dealing with ASM and re-aim it toward Modal (who, I should note, DO know how to behave themselves, answer user questions, and the like).
The only thing worse than having a bad implementation of some feature is having to deal with a company that offers you the "experience" of getting verbally punched in the face. I don't give a flying about how amazing the Hydrasynth is, therefore...I'd rather deal with a company that doesn't match their customers up with dysfunctional, screechy people after having dealt with people who have no idea what you're talking about due to the language barriers.
Also, you'll find these stompboxes on Amazon and Reverb. This might also be a suitable solution. Just keep in mind that if/when you see prices exceeding $50 for any Cuvave pedal, you'll get ripped off if you pull the trigger on those...since the normal prices for these are in the $25-40 range. Don't get snaked by the clipjoints!
Anybody know where there is some kind of manual this guy? like what's that button for? Website that says it's a function button. not totally useful. I know the switches change the voltage range for midi output, but I don't know which position is which! Stuff like that.
Surprisingly, tesseract's website references a manual but damn if I can find it anywhere.
Yep, an RTL-SDR dongle is very much on the "need to implement" list here, but I want some way to address the SDR software via Ableton FIRST. Two ways come to mind...
1) Build an SDR demodulator into a VST. Basically, a stripped-down implementation of typical SDR software, but missing some of the more typical bells-n-whistles in favor of having direct connectivity to the DAW. Or...
2) M4L object that's been programmed to address an existing SDR software package from inside Live.
I don't know of either of these existing at present. Which, frankly, is a bit surprising...
EDIT: Oh, as for shortwave antennas that DON'T span your entire yard (which I have, but then...de WX9T, so...yeah), I suggest a WIRE VERTICAL!
What you need is as follows: wire (duh!), one of those steel screw-in yard stakes for large dogs, a couple of egg insulators, a screw-in hook, eyebolt or some other top support, solder, and something to solder with (I use a cigar torch lighter when out in the yard...works like the blowtorch it really is!). You can also add a matching balun, but since the frequency use will be all over the map, that's not apt to be that useful all the time.
So...right outside a window or something else you can get a wire out of, screw the pet stake into the ground. Then attach a loop of wire to the top of the stake with an egg insulator at the end. This is your bottom anchor. Once that's in place, get up higher from this (about two stories is all you need, but longer is better...typical for a lot of things, really) and attach the hook to something. Put another loop and insulator on that, then attach the long length of wire that serves as the antenna itself to the other side of the egg. Drop the long wire from there, then go back down to the base. Tension, then attach the antenna wire to the base egg by wrapping the wire back onto itself and soldering the twist. Oh, yeah...do that at the top, too, if you can manage it.
Now, run two wires from the radio or whatever to the base of the antenna. One of these should be the ground, and this is what you'll attach to the metal pet stake. Solder this to the ring that you'd attach a leash to, then solder the other wire to the bottom of the antenna wire itself. Connect this wire to the ANTENNA terminal or whatever you use to get a signal into your receiver. And that's IT. Takes up about a square foot of space, but performs like it occupies 50+ feet. I used one for quite some time with my Icom 731S (Japanese-market 10W version of the Icom 735 amateur transceiver...I like a challenge!) and managed to work about 30 states and two provinces with that and only 10 watts of phone signal. The key is in the vertical element...it has a very low "angle of incident" (also the title of a very insane Van der Graaf Generator track), so distant signals come in better. And also, this won't work as well if you try it upside-down...that feedpoint MUST be at ground level.
Anyway, this is a solution for anyone who's got a tiny yard or has to deal with HOA types who also want to use a shortwave receiver in their work, or for those using the Evaton RF Nomad, the receiver in the Koma Field Kit, etc.
Sounds like a new module idea @Lugia, "press a button and get a random Oblique Strategy" 🤣
-- troux
ONLY if the module draws 2A on the +12 rail. If you're gonna use the Strategies, you should have to sort out a technical problem like that first, to sharpen those brain muscles up!
Actually, since this mod removes the effects module, I would suggest hunting down an outboard unit that will allow you to "stereoize" the mono output. And for that, you can't do much better than hunting down a good ol' Yamaha SPX90. These days, they go for dimes on the dollar on Reverb, eBay, etc, and they have a great, character-filled sound and loads of "abuse potential". You WILL need some way to attenuate the output level, though, as synth-level signals are going to be too hot for the SPX90's front end.
One other thing: move the Malekko MIX 4 so that it's more usable with the Marbles. This way, you can also use four of the Marbles' individual outputs to put together complex composite modulation waveforms. Definitely a bonus, and the MIX 4's DC-coupling allows for that to happen.
Oh, you're the first person to think that the new keyboard on the HydraSynth is anything less than absolutely out of this world... what's wrong with it?
I mean I am no expert on keybeds by any stretch of the imagination, but to me, and everyone I have seen play it so far, it's a sheer joy... I mean I am absolutely blown away! In combination with the very well designed and implemented ribbon controller, it's the most expressive keyboard I have ever played, being able to play a chord then push tenderly down with just one finger and hear whatever you set it up to do via the mod matrix is a total revelation! I am sold... 100%!! I totally rate it!! I think it's awesome and I never like keyboards!! It even beats the Linnstrument and the Roli for me - I don't like that rubbery feel!
This looks like I would have a lot of fun with that rig. One thing I see missing is a row or three of buffered mults.
-- zuggamasta
They're probably not missing. You only need buffered mults if you're splitting out a scalar CV to several VCOs, VCFs, etc, so that you can avoid detuning due to voltage sag, and even there, you can then passively mult the buffered CV signal to two or three destinations. Plus, with the advent of all of the inline passive mults, taking up space in all but the most massive systems for that function simply doesn't make sense.
Really fantastic @mowse, I always love the liveliness of your underlying rhythm lines, the accents and dynamics really seem to come out perfectly every time, I've gotta figure that out!! As always, thanks for sharing.
