That’s more like tape chorus edging into vibrato,I use a chase bliss warped vinyl for similar sounds, all I could really suggest is a couple of oscillators set up so the pitch and volume drift slowly through a set range with an LFO or such like, then filtered to taste.I’d definitely invest in a module to give you an FX loop for pedals though, the Busy Circuits SBG is great and gives you CV control over exp pedal inputs and the new 4ms listen I/O gives you two loops ( although getting the gain levels to suit two pedals/sound sources with one knob is a bit tricky ) or a true stereo I/O,or a loop and aux in.

Problem is, that's not all tape does. When you hit it with a loud signal, for example, tape can saturate, which tends to create a nice, warm, low-level distortion aspect. Also, do you want to emulate brand new Ampex 499, or a crusty 40 year old Echoplex loop? This will also make a difference, as the latter will have physical degradation that adds "character" to a sound. Overbiasing ups your highs, some tapes have more noise than others, then there's motor noise/hum from certain tape delays, and so on. Short of ponying up big bucks for an actual tape delay, my suggestion would be to look into some VST emulators of these devices as the best possible solution. There's quite a few out there (some are freeware, even), and some do a very convincing job of sounding like their physical counterparts. Otherwise, well, this might not be a thing that can be made to work 100% in a modular synth, since some of the things you're expecting from the sound just don't have module counterparts.

Yes, it's necessary. Your synth's line-out will either be at .775 or 1.4V maximum, and in practical terms lower than that. Audio signal voltages in modular synths, however, run anywhere from 5 to 10V peak-to-peak. The result without an input preamp will probably wind up not being all that useful, noisy, etc. Also, if you want the sound to do any control functions (ie: envelope following, gating, etc) you'll need an input module that allows for this by having a built-in envelope follower. This would allow you to do "auto-wah"-type processing by patching the envelope follower to the VCF cutoff.

As for something on the output side...if your mixer can handle the levels noted above, it should be OK. But at the same time, you're connecting a lot of different devices here, and every time you add a new one, your risk of ground loops and noise goes up. It's always best to send your output signal to the outside world via an output module that both attenuates the signal back down to proper line levels AND also isolates the mixer and modular from each other to prevent those noise issues.

One other note, also...if the input module's envelope follower also outputs a gate signal on the input reaching a certain level, you could then use that gate to trigger an envelope generator to impose an envelope on the VCF. For example, the EG could then control the cutoff, and the envelope follower output itself could then do something like contouring your VCF's resonance -- the louder the signal gets, the more the resonance increases, etc. That can be pretty useful, and another argument for using a proper input module.

Hi, I want to process the line level audio signal from my desktop synth through a eurorack filter and then to a line level desktop mixer. Question: Is an amplifier before and an attenuator after the eurorack filter necessary? Would it influence / improve the sound quality?

EDITED Mar 15th 2019, 21:21

Marketplace: location based notifications

In your user settings you now can set your country.
You should only get marketplace notifications of offers in your continent.
If you want to get ALL offers set to Automatic. That is the default.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/users/edit

I've loved using ModularGrid, thank you for this tool! It's very helpful for keeping a catalogue of my current gear as well as track gear I am not currently using in my main case.

As I recently went through the process of applying for equipment insurance, I found myself wanting MG to support private-view price adjustments -- eg. a user could see the value of a module new, but also enter custom price that they paid if it was used or DIY. This would help not only track for accounting purposes (not the most exciting use, I know), but it would provide users a truer sense of the value of what they're planning to bring to a show or on a trip. Only the logged-in user would be able to see this.

This custom info could perhaps be useful for used market analysis, but I think a privatized view would be wicked helpful.

Thanks for the consideration!

I'm trying to create tape emulation, similar to effects like Cooper FX: Generation Loss for instance, where you can modulate pitch, add noise and eq the incoming signal. I tried modulating the pitch on the DLD from 4MS but didn't get the results I was looking for. I'm missing the noise response I guess? I'm not sure... Any ideas on how to achieve such effect?

Here's a nice demo of Cooper FX: Generation Loss by Knob to demonstrate the effect I'm looking for:

Cheers!

EDITED Mar 15th 2019, 10:24

As far mixers.

The Blue Lantern Stereo Sir-Mix-A-Lot isn't bad. It has two stereo aux sends, two stereo returns, panning and mutes. I put one in my rack and don't mind it. It's inexpensive as far as mixers go. Happy Nerding and Roland also make decent mixers that also respond to CV for panning or panning/level depending on which brand you go with.

Not a bad idea, although the king of delay functionality is probably the Intellijel Rainmaker. It's bigger...but you could conceivably fit it if you yanked the Dual VCA and the Dynamix for starters, replacing them with a Codex u4xVCA (8 hp clone of the Mutable Veils) in the Dynamix's spot. This would also open up 2 hp in the top, which could then allow you to put a Xaoc Zadar in for four EGs in the spot now occupied by the one EG in the Contour. More cost, perhaps, but much more functionality!
-- Lugia

Another option for the 4XVCA could be the Doepfer A 135-2 which I find super useful and compact. Also, never used the Zadar, but I'd also consider Pamela's new workout.

Thanks to you two. I don't really think I'm going to do any more changes on the setup because right now it has somehow reached my financial limit at the time. Especially the Intellijel case. It looks handy though but I right now it's way out.
Regarding performability. I'm actually programming a sequencer right now, that generates CV and is connected via a Motu Audio interface. It's more or less an additional 10 channel VC-generator.
I'm really thankful for your advice!
Cheers
Seb

bought a simple but efficient DTM from @Plexusgel : sent it on time , strong box , and nice guy (thanks for new washers )
Recommended !

Ah-HAH! Yep, that's quite different from a typical CRT display. It reminds me of my days back years ago as a broadcast control engineer; the TV control had a number of displays which would show the spectral content or something of that sort (I worked in radio...not my department as such) which looked sort of like this might as viewed from the side. Very strange...I did do some experimentation with video feedback and oscillator injection techniques back in the late 1970s, trying to shoot for some of the ideas that I'd seen as a kid when PBS was showing some early video synthesis art circa 1970-71-ish. I know they had footage generated by the Paik/Abe rig at WGBH in that, plus some Dan Sandin and Steven Beck clips, etc. Eventually, it's something I'd like to get back toward as budget allows.

This rack is actually three, but they belong together, so to keep track of it all I've built them as one rack here.

The top row is a separate audio skiff, the second row is a modulation skiff, and the bottom two rows is the video rack.

The audio skiff is intended to be used in combination with an SQ-1, FX pedals, and a Muscarin, when it arrives: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/muscarin-semi-modular-synthesizer/ – it's mainly meant to make bizarre soundscapes, partly based on field recordings and stuff.

The modulation skiff can be used in combination with either or both the audio and video cases. It's intended to make chaotic and unpredictable, but somewhat controllable envelopes. In addition to controlling the synths, I'm also planning to use it for controlling lighting (!). A small PureData patch running on a Raspberry Pi takes CV input from the ES-8, processes it if neccessary (slew etc), translates it to a language that my lighting console speaks – currently OSC – and then it controls parameters such as pan/tilt on moving heads. This also works the other way: DMX/ArtNet/OSC from the lighting console is translated to CV which can influence what the control skiff does, or modulate video synth parameters, so that for instanve video colour and modulation speed matches the colour and movement of the lighting.

Depending on how this works out, I may build the control skiff as a 19" subrack that can be used either as a skiff or be racked in a flightcase together with the console.

Outboard video kit includes a PVM 9045QM, multiple Yuan DAC and ADC scaler/converters, Blackmagic Micro Cinema 4K for rescanning, and Blackmagic Video Assist 4K for monitoring/recording, and a good old BPMC Basic Cable for glitchy goodness. The video rack and outboard kit all currently fits in one rolling ThinkTank case – I'll need to do something smart to make the control skiff fit as well.

This rack is actually three, but they belong together, so to keep track of it all I've built them as one rack here.

The top row is a separate audio skiff, the second row is a modulation skiff, and the bottom two rows is the video rack.

The audio skiff is intended to be used in combination with an SQ-1, FX pedals, and a Muscarin, when it arrives: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/muscarin-semi-modular-synthesizer/ – it's mainly meant to make bizarre soundscapes, partly based on field recordings and stuff.

The modulation skiff can be used in combination with either or both the audio and video cases. It's intended to make chaotic and unpredictable, but somewhat controllable envelopes. In addition to controlling the synths, I'm also planning to use it for controlling lighting (!). A small PureData patch running on a Raspberry Pi takes CV input from the ES-8, processes it if neccessary (slew etc), translates it to a language that my lighting console speaks – currently OSC – and then it controls parameters such as pan/tilt on moving heads. This also works the other way: DMX/ArtNet/OSC from the lighting console is translated to CV which can influence what the control skiff does, or modulate video synth parameters, so that for instanve video colour and modulation speed matches the colour and movement of the lighting.

Depending on how this works out, I may build the control skiff as a 19" subrack that can be used either as a skiff or be racked in a flightcase together with the console.

Outboard video kit includes a PVM 9045QM, multiple Yuan DAC and ADC scaler/converters, Blackmagic Micro Cinema 4K for rescanning, and Blackmagic Video Assist 4K for monitoring/recording, and a good old BPMC Basic Cable for glitchy goodness. The video rack and outboard kit all currently fits in one rolling ThinkTank case – I'll need to do something smart to make the control skiff fit as well.

Ah, but that display is the whole point! :-) The 1340A is an X-Y display with brightness modulation, similar to the Leader LBO-51, Tek 608 and suchlike. It's not a video waveform monitor for diagnostics, but used for Rutt/Etra-style mangling of video images, like this:

A raster display, be it LCD or CRT, is not able to do this – without a vector-to-raster scan converter, that is, but that's a whole different game. This rack is intended specifically for vector image manipulation, all the raster stuff happens elsewhere. I think I already have enough LCD and CRT monitors for that – including an 8" PVM CRT which I haul to gigs. Can't do that tasty composite glitching on an LCD ;-)

Rescan cameras are Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K for the final output (off the 8" CRT) and a small Pelco surveillance camera for the HP vector display. May replace the latter with something that can be genlocked.

this is lit!!

Hi MG,

Thanks for the advice ! It's how I did in the past.
Just keep in mind a hires version of snapshot could be welcome from some users... Future implementation ?

Again, thanks for your very valuable site !

KR,
Pascal

Here’s a suggested build:

It lacks the ability to sync OSCs, but gives you 3 voice paraphonic cspability.
With the Intellijel 7U case this is running around $6k

EDITED Mar 14th 2019, 04:26

On a more constructive note:

Start with 3 micro Plaits. Malekko Varigate 8+ to sequence. Add a quad Envelope (Malekko or Zadar) and a quad VCA. Add a Batumi LFO with poti. Add the Black VCF, Three Sisters or QPAS, Black Hole DSP2, Erbeverb and a Fusion Mixer from Erica.
To add interest, I’d suggest: 2hp Arp, uOrnament&Crime, Turing machine and/or Marbles, ADDAC intuitive quantizer. There is also a Chordizer to make things easier.

I really like to have dedicated pitch, VCA, and VCF envelopes and at least one utility envelope, also, no less than two LFOs, also those envelopes had better be DAHDSR. I also require two filters: one 12/24 dB/Oct and an HPF. Per voice, that is.
That’s what my DSI Tempest does. Market rate: $1500 for a 6 voice polyphonic, dual VCO, two samples per voice synth with mod matrix, sequencer, and 16 Velo sensitive pads.

100% on the pricey part. Let's say you used a fairly basic VCO such as a Doepfer A-110-1 so that you can have sync and proper FM. Now, that streets for $200, more or less. So 12 of those is $2400 right there, if you keep following the 4-voice, 3-VCO example from my post above. Plus you also need four mixers; we'll use the Doepfer A-138b, keep it in the family. 4 x $80 = $320. Now we're at $2720...and we're not even to the VCF yet, nor do we have any LFOs for VCO modulation! Keep going along the same lines, and even a paraphonic 3-VCO 4-voice is going to wind up closing in on the Moog One 8-voice's price pretty soon. Might not hit it, but it'll still overshoot the vast majority of polysynths on the market right now.

Paraphonic operation might be more tenable, but still quite pricey.

I agree with Ronin here. Doing a true polyphonic modular build is going to result in something very large and very, VERY spendy. Let's say you're talking a four-voice system. This means you need 12 VCOs if you want three per voice, four mixers to sum each set to their respective VCFs (also four of those), four exponential VCAs for just the audio level processing, EIGHT envelope generators (one each for the VCFs, one each for the VCAs), a one-to-four buffered mult per voice to allow you to send buffered CV to each VCO plus the VCF cutoff, 12 LFOs so that you can have discrete modulation sources for the VCO sets, VCFs, and VCAs to get pitch, timbral, and dynamic modulation, a four-voice MIDI converter unless you have a four-voice analog keyboard laying around, and some sort of stereo mixer to give you a stereo spread of your voices. Plus, if you want CV panning per voice, then you'll need four MORE LFOs, or perhaps looping AD envelope gens to make that happen, plus a CVable pan per channel on the mixer. And that doesn't even cover such things as clocking for sequencing/arpeggiation (the latter being quite useful with a polysynth) and the necessary module(s) for those two functions, FX processing, a stereo output module, and ultimately, a case with the space and amperage to deal with all of that.

OTOH, an 8-voice Moog One costs $6k. Same architecture (3 VCO analog) with a lot more going on, program storage, built-in controllers, MIDI, all the usual fun stuff. And while $6k sounds like a pile, consider what the four-voice iteration above would wind up costing, with which you wouldn't get half the programming functionality. And far less clunky to tote around, given that the Moog fits in a case, and the modular would be in a cab about the size of a medium-sized HDTV.

Moral of the story: polysynths should be polysynths unless you have the space and budget of Junkie XL, and modulars don't make good polysynths for the typical user.

Hi,

Does anyone know if there are any differences between the Divkid mutes and the Noise Engineering - Muta Jovis except from the price?

Thanks in advance,

Jazzy

I'd suggest dropping the HP 1340A altogether. Instead, check some of the Eurorack LCD displays that can be mounted as a normal module. This would give you a smaller screen, but since this also means a smaller objective for the feedback cam, you can then use a smaller surveillance-type camera and mount this closer to the front panel for better ergonomics. Go with something bigger for your external mix monitor (again, LCD is better, especially if you want portability here, since a CRT monitor won't like being hauled around all that much), and then consider something like a Tektronix 1740A to monitor your image vectoring for diagnostics.

Better still, drop the mults (use inline ones instead...the build's too small to afford space for modules) and look into some clock modulation and logic modules. This way, you can actually manipulate the behavior of clocking in a lot of ways rather than just redistributing the same pulsetrain. Consider a skipper such as Ladik's S-090 and/or some sort of algorithmic/probabilistic trigger sequencer like Iron Ether Pithoprakta, as well.

Hmm, doesn't seem to be a problem on my Android phone. Works as usual. I don't have an iPad. In any case, Esc should be just fine. You don't have to keep this solution if it's causing an issue to users (although I admit I liked it!).
-- ParanormalPatroler

Sorry, I missed to write that I already had programmed a condition that checks for touch devices ...
but good to know that it works on Android :)

Hmm, doesn't seem to be a problem on my Android phone. Works as usual. I don't have an iPad. In any case, Esc should be just fine. You don't have to keep this solution if it's causing an issue to users (although I admit I liked it!).

Gimme a second to verify on my Android phone.

@ParanormalPatroler
... and I got desperate messages from iPad users because they could not edit modules in the rack anymore. On touch devices the mouse is always outside the boundaries. Every fix a new bug

@pnussbaum
The screenshot images generated by ModularGrid have a lower resolution in comparison to screenshots you manually create.
So use a screenshot utility for highest quality.

Firefox browser has a pretty good one included which takes screenshots from the whole site and not only the visible area.

Research polyphony on a modular synth. It's a lot more complex to do it right than you'd think. Typically, you'll use multiple VCOs stacked into a single voice. If you're looking at using three single voices in a polyphonic way, you'll need three VCOs, three VCAs, three filters, some sort of system for assigning new notes to an available oscillator. You'll have to tune each set of VCO + filter exactly the same.

I think you'll find a modular solution to be pretty inefficient versus a DCO polysynth that just works out of the box.

I agree. The 1010 Toolbox seems like a much better deal.

• M

This looks like what I would expect, actually. How did you manage to get higher dpi resolution?

@solitud

I see that the pop-up menu now disappears when the mouse is outside the boundaries of the case. That's smooth!!!

Do you see ? In the middle of the SMR, there is the "Level CV" label that I can easily read on my previous poster, while now, if you zoom on it, you can barely read something...

Test to insert image:

EDITED Mar 13th 2019, 15:42

Notes to self regarding this experimental rack:
- Case to be used: 8U 10,5 half-rack cabinet, i.e.: http://www.allmetalparts.co.uk/690-8u-105-half-rack-cabinet-435mm-deep-with-handles-5055726206217.html
- LEFT side represents front, RIGHT side represents back. Effective Eurorack HP yield is approximate

The idea is to make an entirely self-contained rescan setup to complement the direct video synth. The Cadet modules represent the basic functionality of a Rutt-Etra scan processor. Certain of them, i.e. Ramps, may be built as 1U tiles to make space for more fun Eurorack modules, i.e. oscillators, modulation or Castle-series modules. The currently shown 1U tiles are not necessarily the ones that will be used.

The 1340A has 9.5 rack mounting ears, but I intend to use a wider rack and simply mount it on a rack shelf to make it feasible to switch to other displays in the future.

The BOTTOM FRONT 1U row will contain mounting hardware (16mm stud) for the rescanning camera and connectors for video and power.

The REAR of the rack includes a TBC2 that will be used both for video input to the scan processor, and for synchronising the rescan camera feed and converting it to LZX 1V video for further processing. (I may try to find a cheaper solution as colour video is not really needed here)

Other available space on the back will be used for a drawer for storing the rescan camera and related cables, as well as power input (PowerCon) and video IO.

EDITED Mar 14th 2019, 09:27

Copy the image URL to the clipboard.
In the reply, use Image/Inline or Link.
See Markdown Syntax on how to use these.

I tried to find an "attach file" or whatever to do so but without success.
Could you be so kind to indicate me the procedure ?
(Sorry for being inexperienced on this forum).

... But same result and the resolution is way lower than what I got before.
...> -- pnussbaum

Can you post the screenshot here for reference?

Hi, thanks, did try it...
But same result and the resolution is way lower than what I got before.
I don't think I can post an crop from the entire picture on this thread, but for instance the Qubit Pulsar is barely 128 pixel wide. Perhaps nice for a screen-saver (not on a Retina), but for printing it is a killer...

Hi Pascal! Try this:
Go to menu My Modular/Command Center/
Click your rack to snapshot
Go to menu Show/Screenshot
Screenshot will be displayed in browser window.
Right click and download to process as needed.

This is a little utility rack I'm starting to go along with my DFAM and 0-coast semi-modulars. Adding some attenuation and signal multiplication (mostly for clock) and some fun and musical delay.

Dear MG,

I recently upgraded to Unicorn in order to fit my (wide)rack. Works perfect, thanks for your excellent job !
Months ago, I succeeded in getting a snapshot (was from the browser) to make a decent A0 plot (still on my wall).
Now, when I use snapshot from MG, the resolution is too poor to be printed. I get the same result from the browser (firefox).

Do you have any option to get a high resolution version ?

Best,
Pascal

Hey guys,

I'm looking for my first modular synth. I'd like to create something musical, no super-strage melodies, but I'd like to interrelate melodies so i'd picked a quantizer, the quantimator, that should be the brain of my researches. 3 VCos because of the chords progressions, any advise on utility modules or any big oversight I did?
Thanks.

From Feb 9th

Ableton: Many Firsts

Haven't multitracked this many inputs before (6)
Used Ableton to clock the KeyStep via MIDI Out from 18i8
Used Transient Shaping for most tracks to either add or subtract "front end" from each
Grouped Dry and Delayed Rings signals and applied compression and/or EQ to the Group tracks (sometimes in addition to the individual tracks)
Panned everything between 35 and 5 away from C

Colour Scheme

Rings
Yellow

Disting
Red

BIA
Blue

Tempi
Green

Ears/Blofeld
Black

Overview

Disting - Used C4 (Clockable Ping Pong (Z Input Pan)) algo instead of B4 and sent only delayed signal out of A and B
Routing - Sent Dry of both ODD and EVEN Outputs as well as both Delayed signals on Rings, for a total of 6 tracks recorded at once (Blofeld Dry, BIA, Rings ODD Dry, Rings EVEN Dry, Rings Delayed 1, and Rings Delayed 2)
- all audio cables used mono ground loop isolators for ground noise reduction
- NOTE: The height of the displayed audio cables indicates the corresponding mixer channels, where Top: CH. 1 and Bottom: CH. 7
Rings - Used Modal Resonator instead of Sympathetic Strings, which didn't turn out terribly interestingly
Ears - Sent GATE Into Mod Input instead of State Select Input, sent ENV into Rings Position & Damping as well as BIA Fold, sent audio OUT into M32 Buff Mult to free up space on ADDAC200B for Rings copies
Tempi - Modded Channels 1, 2, and 3 of State #1 and kept it on State #1 as opposed to last Home Improvement patch
Blofeld - Used B043 Marimboid with a bit of Sustain on the Amp ENV so it was a cross between a percussion and a bowed sound

EDITED Mar 13th 2019, 02:34

From Feb 9th

Ableton: Many Firsts

Haven't multitracked this many inputs before (6)
Used Ableton to clock the KeyStep via MIDI Out from 18i8
Used Transient Shaping for most tracks to either add or subtract "front end" from each
Grouped Dry and Delayed Rings signals and applied compression and/or EQ to the Group tracks (sometimes in addition to the individual tracks)
Panned everything between 35 and 5 away from C