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If you want a bunch of other stuff in there and are considering a 321, you might also look at a small dual LPG like the Takaab or Meng Qi ones. I have both. I particularly recommend the Takaab one for the mode switches and how ungodly cheap it is, but the Meng Qi one is popular and sounds great. I use them with a 321 for some control and it's a great dual LPG setup for cheap that can open up some new signal paths for your modules with a specific character you can't get from the 130-8.

Also, instead of an oscillator (or alongside it), I might recommend a humble noise source. In combination with the LPG/VCA and the Wogglebug audio sources you could get some great percussion going in a small space with stuff you already have. The Verbos Noise & Filter is a unique device for this purpose - you could use the filter bank with the noise or any other sound source.

I mean, you can make techno with a single monosynth. It's not really a system issue, I'd say - all the pieces are here, and any extras may just be your personal taste.

Have you noticed any problems while playing it, or does it just not get you as inspired as you expected? Do you play it much.

A filter bank is always nice. The Serge ResEQ is popular and has a lot of character and charm.

A simple ring modulator is also a good investment.

As for filters, definitely get one with enough room to have fun - this is one of those things you'll always fiddle with and it needs to be accessible. Personally, I'd look at a dual/stereo one or even one with more resonant peaks (like the QPAS or the Vostok Atlas), but go with your heart on this one - listen to tons of examples and do absolutely play some at stores. Another option is the Instruo Traigh, which isn't necessarily cheap but features a three input mixer and a nice classic ladder filter sound. A used one will probably be a decent price.

One thing I like to use a lot for effects is a Moog Mavis synthesizer, which can be taken out of its enclosure and mounted in a Eurorack case. For a fairly decent price you get an iconic filter, a wavefolder, a sample and hold that can be used for a bitcrushing/downsampling effect, an oscillator/LFO combo with crazy range that can be used for either thingfor built in normalized FM and other cool modulation (or just running some nice Moog voices under what you do), as well as built in mixing, multing, and an attenuator. The keyboard isn't ideal for playing, but the CV from it can be routed to other sources so it can be used to trigger events in your modular system apart from regular notes. If you had specifically asked for a synth I may not have recommended it specificslly, but it's a great package for this specific purpose as well as being a very good synth if you decide you want to fold that in as well.

My advice if you want the full experience but don't want to expand too much? Get a semi-modular synth and then just buy modules to augment it. A Pico System III is a great one because it has so many pieces that can be used in different ways. The Quadrantid Swarm is a good one if you want something less traditional but still very musical. There are plenty of good options, and they can save you space in your rack.

Also consider something like an Empress Zoia or a Poly Hector (or even the non-Eurorack versions, which have MIDI outs and can interfave with the controls on your Sub37 in deep ways). One of those and some attenuation/mixing for hands-on control might scratch the itch for a long time. The Hector is also full of Mutable Instruments modules because they're open source, so you get a lot of classic modular in there.

There's also stuff like Ornament and Crime or the Disting modules, with lots of different tools in them that you can try. Not super hands on, but you don't always need that (or you can use attenuators to change this). If a function in there makes you want to go deeper, you can get a module from there.

Have you tried VCV Rack? I find it good for planning systems in addition to making music on it. You can get a sense of how things will sound and decide what you want more or less control over.

EDITED Jan 28th, 12:12

No one would buy a Buchla 281t or other version of that if they wanted a Maths and understood how both worked. The DUSG and the Maths and the 281 and all the other function generators are not similar experiences even if they have similar elements. They don't directly compete with another product in a way that makes the other one. Behringer changed whatever they needed to change to make the price lower, but they're still selling the same experience. Illegal or not, it's still a choice whether that's the kind of business you want to support if you're already buying a boutique niche product.

Making silly joke entries on Modulargrid probably isn't the best way to go after Behringer. It's not evil, but meh. Informing people that they're casually antisemitic liars who partially fund their douchiness by trying to undercut and drown out beloved manufacturers/designers, however, is not a bad thing. I've owned their stuff and not all their products (or even all their ripoffs) are bad. However, once people are told what Behringer is, they cannot claim not to support them by giving them their money - you choose something, you choose the consequences if you're informed on them. "Looking down on them" is just a bad faith interpretation of holding someone accountable for their actions, which isn't even an inherently exclusionary act. But goofy stuff just undermines the point. The throttling of market participation by big douche companies has become so traditional by now that there are people here denouncing criticism of these practices because others partake in them as well. As long as those people and the people they're talking to can trick themselves into feeling reasonable, the problem isn't going anywhere.

Currently I don't honestly own any "opinionated" hardware unless you count the Moog Mavis. However, I did buy a Poly Beebo just to use the Marbles port on my samplers/synths, and I also use it a lot in VCV Rack. Despite all the options available with computers and other modules, Marbles is just a nice, simple, organized, yet highly distinct way to randomize stuff gently or intensely, and I'm not sick of it it.

EDITED Dec 15th 2023, 18:08

They'll get to it when you clean up the mess.

looks like quite a decent start to me...

personally I'd want some more utilities... as they add more patching options... so versatility

& some modulation - envelope generators/function generators & lfos

and I'd probably go for a bigger case (mantis would be my choice - bigger/quieter/cheaper per hp etc) - sooner or later you'll inevitably need it & you're a bit close to the power specs for the uZeus - at least with the regular psu - & with the higher powered option there's no improvement on the -12v rail - remember to leave at least 20% headroom on all rails (& if you add more modules you'll probably want to change the jumper for the -12v to get the extra 100mA out of it...
-- JimHowell1970

Thank you for your help, particularly with the envelope/function generator and power/case aspects. These are areas I was hoping to cheap out on, but I think I won't for now, even if it means holding off on a purchase for longer.

I'm sort of tempted to just go with an updated version of this (should be visible if you click the image) and then see what other utilities I need as I go along. I also have a Bluebox mixer, so I'm at least ok for figuring out how to collect my various audio signals from the modular and send them to the rest of the world.

What I'm working on is basically a "randomized" sampler to play live. One of my favorite things about the Microfreak is that you can modulate the arpeggiator/sequencer rate and get really off the grid in a tactile way. I want to do this in a sampler and sort of create like an instrumental hip hop version of free jazz. If there is a hardware sampler that does this (or a MIDI controller like the Torso T1), I haven't found it yet, so my plan is to go modular make the setup posted above. I think this a good simple starting point for the concept. In addition to this stuff, I already own a Moog Mavis, Microfreak, Keystep, and SQ-1, as well as a couple more normal samplers that cover me well in terms of regular usage, so I'm pretty much just focusing on this specific function.

I guess I just thought I'd run it by people here to see if there's anything missing here in order to pull off the bare minimum version of this (or any repeated functionality that I don't need). I tested a version of it in VCV Rack and this seems fine, but hardware is obviously different. Any help would be greatly appreciated.