a better layout

Hey Peeps,

Do any of you follow a flow path when setting up modules in a rack..?

VCO's on the left VCA's on the right...etc.etc.. that kinda thing..

i've got things moving along nice but i feel my layout could be better...

Also for feed back, is there something that is lacking..??
got 4 main voices, 2-3 modulation sources , some filters & EFXs.

only got 20HP to play with at this point!

thanks in advance.
BB

here is my set up.

I think there's no need to worry much about flow in small cases, such as this, 'normal' length cables are enough to patch anything anywhere

I think you've got too many voices

I think you should look at different utility modules to add versatility

I think you should try to figure out the formula in my signature

Hey Jim,

what utility modules.. would you recommend.
how are 4 voice to many..? would you 1/2 it..?
2 drum style modules (kick -snare) .
1 percussive glitch thang,
something for a B-line & a sampler for loops stabs & lost shit.

Hey Peeps,

Do any of you follow a flow path when setting up modules in a rack..?

VCO's on the left VCA's on the right...etc.etc.. that kinda thing..

i've got things moving along nice but i feel my layout could be better...

Also for feed back, is there something that is lacking..??
got 4 main voices, 2-3 modulation sources , some filters & EFXs.

only got 20HP to play with at this point!

thanks in advance.
BB

here is my set up.

Hey Jim,

rack did not load...
re-loaded of rack...
finger crossed it loads now

EDITED Apr 2nd 2022, 13:00

Hey Jim,

what utility modules.. would you recommend.

I like mixers (particularly matrix mixers and sub mixers with offset and possibly inversion), logic and sequential switches - there are many many examples of all of these available - some modules that you might want to look at adding - wmd/ssf toolbox, mutable kinks & links, happy nerding 3*mia, doepfer matrix mixer & sequential switch

how are 4 voice to many..? would you 1/2 it..?

yes I would only really have about one voice per row, because there's not enough space left over for the modules that are really needed to support them - it's not the number of voices, per se, it's the size of the case... admittedly when some of that is 'percussion' then it may change slightly, as there isn't necessarily the need for filters and other effects for each 'voice', but there is then need for more fully featured sub-mixing, with panning and send/return and effects/filters to use with the send/return

again - look at my signature - the formula there is aimed at getting the most versatility from the least expenditure... it scales well from small systems to much larger systems - as the larger you get the more you want/need different layers of control

EDITED Apr 2nd 2022, 15:21

Hi Brewster,

I see that you have 4 drum voices and an oscillator. I guess 4 drums gives you a lot of choice but if you don't already know these modules, I would suggest you start with less. Perhaps you aren't new to modular and you know exactly what you'll get. But if you don't, it makes sense to start small and to really get to know what you have in your rack. After all, the actual modules themselves are just part of the story. It's the patching that makes everything possible. And to make the most of that patching, you need utility modules, like Jim's signature says.

I have the Rample instead of the Erica Sample Drum. If you're not planning to sample while playing, the Rample is cheaper. I haven't done an in-depth comparison, but the Erica seems to be mainly a player anyway. I really like the Rample as it gives me 4 outputs in the same 14HP as the Erica, which does 2. The default sample set is already quite extensive. Obviously, you can add your own to the SD card. The Rample also has a built-in mixer.

Are you planning to control other gear via MIDI? I saw you added the MIDI expander to Pamela. I see you also added an extra quad-VCA. That's always useful. If you look at my current rack you will see I have 4 sound sources (Rample drums, noise, bOSC analog and Plaits) but plenty of VCAs + a stereo mixer. A mixing quad-VCA like your Intellijel or my Veils works very nicely with Zadar. Zadar is also very useful with a dumb VCA like my octuple Doepfer, as you can set the max voltage in Zadar, which allows a kind of mixing anyway. I never regretted getting plenty of VCAs (I actually added the octuple Doepfer afterwards with the Doepfer decay for noise). The saying that you can never get too many VCAs is really quite true.

You asked for a flow path of modules. I tried that, indeed. My envelopes are mostly left, then the VCAs, then the sources. Finally, filter/effects are right and so is the mixer/out. But in modular, anything is possible. I have already made a patch where I VCAd a sound source with a Zadar envelope, then sent it to FX Aid, then brought its L+R outs back to Veils for yet another Zadar envelope (multi'd because I wanted the same envelope on L+R). So you can try out an order that you think will mostly work, but you'll find that there will always be exceptions.

Hey Arrandan,

thanks for that.. its always good to get a aspect others workflow...

Couple of things...first, lose the mults. This build is too small in scale to lose 6 hp to modules that should REALLY be replaced with inline mults and/or stackcables. Plus, you really don't need a buffered mult unless you're trying to split out a scaled CV to 4+ devices, as you'd need the buffering to mitigate voltage sag that can happen from this. But if you've only got two or three audio generators that (might) need this, the buffering is superfluous.

The other thing is the drum modules. I'm not sure if it's been said too much, but I'm going to say it again here: modular synths really aren't drum machines. You CAN build one, of course...but you'll only find a couple of advantages to it versus a proper drum machine, which is a mission-specific device that's designed for drum sounds and patterns. In fact, you could easily clock a drum machine off of a Pam's output; you don't have to keep the modular's signals only in the modular.

But looking at this as cost-vs-usability, the idea fails. Right now, your drum modules ALONE are going to run $1055. And you've only got Pam's as something of a sequencing source, instead of a proper trigger sequencer that allows you to write and SAVE patterns. And that module will probably run about $300 and up. Very up, in fact.

OTOH, the RD-8mkii sitting next to me cost $329. Yeah, I know...Uli's a trolling nutjob, and his behavior is sus at best. But it DOES have the 808 soundset (and it's very convincing) along with a few classic Boss DR-110 electro noises and a very familiar UI. I just cringe, get over it, and keep on going, actually, and the RD-8 (plus a pair of RD-6s...I'm recreating an OLD setup from before 1995 that I found incredibly effective at the time) ticks right along. I can lock it up on sync from a number of devices, ranging from Beatstep Pros to the DAW via my Antelope Orion 32, too. True, some people won't buy Behringer...for very well-grounded reasons, actually...but I don't have the $10k necessary for the vintage Rolands or a couple thou for the present models, and their "circuit modeling" in their new machines really saps the punch out of their sound across the board, not just with the drum machines.

Hey Lugia,

thanks for your views of Drum machines...!!!
i've dumped some of these modules ideas...
just so you understand i running some of this stuff from a Beatstep Pro...
when it comes to classic gear... i still have some from the early 90's when old gear was mega easy to find.!

Agree with Lugia, my cheaper boutique re-issue Roland TR-08 Rhythm Composer cost me $400 sounds great, easy to use, has speaker and battery power option and less expensive than modular drums. I only went modular drums for the unique experimental oddball sounds that I can create differently. Even then, expect to spend 2k easily for case/power, few percussion modules, mixer, VCAs, sequencer and support modules for a very basic Eurorack modular drum setup. Yes, you can get an Intellijel 4u case, add the Endorphin.es Queen of Pentacles or VPME Quad drum, with a good drum sequencer, mixer, vcas and get by on a bit less.

I do not agree with Lugia here, (analog) drum modules are just specialized synth voices. I own a MFB Tanzbär and I love it but fixed drum machines tend to have a lot of limitations.
The Kickall is one to keep I would say, in essence it is a bass synth.

true and WMD percussion modules are quite unique from anything else as well. I can make broken glass and gunshot sounds that do not sound like drums

I dunno about that, aren't those digital driven? Meaning they will not keep up at audio rates.

Maybe they won't...but again, maybe they will. That's an odd one; I've not heard of triggering drum modules with an audio rate trigger. You might be surprised, though, as there's a lot of modules that can deal with that already. Tech's pretty different from when I first got hold of synths c. 1978. The overall idea's the same as any old modular, but what goes on behind some of these panels is way more complex than old Moog, ARP, etc equipment.

There's a load of digital/analog hybrid modules out there, too, where you can't be 100% sure what's being done with the tweaks and inputted signals. But overall, I don't worry about the type of tech...just whether or not it sounds and behaves "normally".

That's an odd one; I've not heard of triggering drum modules with an audio rate trigger.

That surprises me a bit, it is fun to sync them to oscillators. If it has V/O tracking they become playable oscillators.
I understand that isn't their primary goal use but in modular it means to me I can do a lot of neat tricks, pulling between drums and sounds so to speak.

Yeah, it's just a really uncommon use, but then you see people using things like the Volca Kick as subbass synths...similar idea. Sort of goes back to an example I should've realized then...the "magic moment" in Stockhausen's "Kontakte" when a note starts descending, goes into the subsonic rates, then becomes a rapid pulse...and finally, very slow single pulses with their pitch being determined by a resonant filter. Sort of like extratone stuff, but in reverse.

Ornament and Crime might be a good add for this setup...lots of functionality/HP.

Plus, you really don't need a buffered mult unless you're trying to split out a scaled CV to 4+ devices, as you'd need the buffering to mitigate voltage sag that can happen from this. But if you've only got two or three audio generators that (might) need this, the buffering is superfluous.
-- Lugia

I'll second that. I bridge up to four VCOs with stackables, all using the one CV line, and can keep the tuning perfectly.

sequencing and mixer at the bottom or in the most accessible place. filters off to the sides where i can get at the without vcables getting in the way. important things you dont want to bump like oscillators in the centre under the cable clutter.

basically, stuff you touch often on the sides or bottom.. or accessible in general

that's what i'm talk'n about .... thanks Trig

sequencing and mixer at the bottom or in the most accessible place. filters off to the sides where i can get at the without vcables getting in the way. important things you dont want to bump like oscillators in the centre under the cable clutter.

basically, stuff you touch often on the sides or bottom.. or accessible in general
-- trigmusicnz

And one other point: DO NOT put any of your audio modules in close proximity to a power supply...as in, power supply module next to a VCO or VCF or so on. Reason here is that some switching-type modular supplies can be noisy, and that noise can get into audio fairly easily. Next to the Pam's is fine, though, since noise induced in modulation modules will be far less noticeable than in audio.