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Multiple cases makes a lot of sense to me as well. The monster case is neat, but ironically non-modular if you want to be mobile with (a) section(s) of modules. At some point it's definitely more economic to have one giant custom-built case, but I will probably never (even want to) have one.
That said... I'm currently working out this topic myself. I think my mind is currently at building a single row consisting of a primary chain sound. Then other rows are placed generally in their respective slot vertically (obv, this isnt hp perfect). scatter mults and other fx/utilities in the holes remaining 😉. I like the idea of building instruments over organizing by utility. Thats also tough to do when you have that swiss army knife module.
I'm a fan of arturia, so I ended up with a 3U and 6U Rack Brute. they are great, but now I'm kicking myself for not listening to the 'get 104hp minimum/row' advice I was given.
Turns out that the rackbrute 6U doesn't have enough power for what i want to use the case for.
Rackbrute power is rated @ 1600 mAmps. Well its 2 times 800.
Turns out modules want a total of 1664 mAmps of +12V
What do u do?
Is there something like a mini 2hp powersupply with flying busboards i could install?
Sofar havent seen one
I love the Intellijel 4u/7u cases so good and 1u rows are fantastic to squeeze more mileage in a compact modular setup.
With a good drum synth module, utlities, mixer and effects and decent sequencer it does a lot! I call it my modular Elektron version.
Are these modules you use and own already? It's a lot of voices for one setup, but with ambient I understand there can be specific workflows people develop.
I dont know. I would ditch the ochd. Case has 2 lfo's.
Also for ambient u'd want a reverb. not sure if nautilus can do that? (or any other module for that matter)
Where are the envelopes? (guess pams?) I see very little modulation options here.
-- Chrissozz
Why ditch the ochd, then?
-- Zacksname
To make room for a verb. Something like fx-aid.
But i'm no expert in ambient so ..... just making assumptions here.
Most ambient seems to be drowning in verb so ... to me it made sesnse.
+ im not that big of an lfo guy. I'd rather have some cv recorders/loopers like neo trinity.
But i guess thats something personal
Are these modules you use and own already? It's a lot of voices for one setup, but with ambient I understand there can be specific workflows people develop.
I dont know. I would ditch the ochd. Case has 2 lfo's.
Also for ambient u'd want a reverb. not sure if nautilus can do that? (or any other module for that matter)
Where are the envelopes? (guess pams?) I see very little modulation options here.
-- Chrissozz
I dont know. I would ditch the ochd. Case has 2 lfo's.
Also for ambient u'd want a reverb. not sure if nautilus can do that? (or any other module for that matter)
Where are the envelopes? (guess pams?) I see very little modulation options here.
Unless databender doubles for modulation duties and filtering i would heavily rethink my options
I dunno man. I think u could do with some more sequencers man.
If u want ALL the polyphony on all the voices/tracks
I mean .... something has to keep them in check .... right?
i just like how datach'i s case works on system and how its one instrument, and also, the physicality.
i want to pretend to own a whole eurorack studio, so i design it on here. is that so wrong?
what if my designs have great synergy, and you just dont see it yourself.
i think you were talking about empty daw syndrome, well, this would give me a smaller than daw palette, which you hinted was an advantage, and make me get more creative per module per patch
plus id have an expander for vcv rack, too. this is my dream maximalist setup. im designing it for fun. why do you hate that i have one?
hey zachsname: what if 'momentum dies while menu diving on a pam pro to sequence some random bs' is a super aesthetic sound that no one has ever tried before, huh?
p e a c e . . . .
-- singular_sound
In a way, your humor is not even really being done with yourself as the audience. You just kind of seem to be using it to dive headfirst into the void by choice, leaving everyone and everything else behind. Whoever it is you resent here, I hope you won't let them get in the way of your work and your music. You're clearly interested enough to get here and do all this.
I think you'll have better luck sticking to the DAWs to find your signature sound based on the descriptions you've given me, and that further experimentation will help you build more "aesthetic" designs that both work better and are less chaotic to whoever sees them. Definitely check out VCV Rack, where you can not only build these fantasy systems, but also patch with them and make songs and show off your jams to people. Not everything on VCV Rack has a real life counterpart, but it will be more helpful than just sort of guessing what you might enjoy from research alone.
hey zachsname: what if 'momentum dies while menu diving on a pam pro to sequence some random bs' is a super aesthetic sound that no one has ever tried before, huh?
zachsname: my account is called 'singular_sound'. im trying to make stuff that plays and sounds different from anyone else. with everything i mentioned, there are lots of options. and dont you like how i used the plume s as lfos? cant you appreciate i am trying to create aesthetic designs? so what i cant afford it. i can pretend on here.
Yes. All of that will theoretically work to make your idea more intelligible, but it will also render portions of this setup redundant. It doesn't really make this design of self-contained cases make more sense, but just introduces extra steps to your workflow. Inefficiency can't really be justified as "maximalism" - you should get more from more, not less.
just to be clear, i would like an es9 maxed out macbook pro, nuendo, motu, genelecs, max msp, odds and ends and an arturia keystep pro for the full 'ttest ssystem x-4'. i swear, it all works together. stop looking at me that way. gooble gobble. gooble gobble.
would it make you two happier if i replaced the pam pro with two tempi s ? is that it ? because it only takes me like 20min to make updates...
zachsname: i already bought the first bit. a po-33 k.o. . its in the box since holidays. i have been uninspired. coming in here and designing fantasy systems was designed to unstick me.
I just have individual 3U cases I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but I play a lot with other people and keeping my case setup small helps me stay creative and engaged while not hogging up too much space for others to play in.
One is a "dedicated sequencing rack" for my Nerdseq and one is just Buchla Tiptop modules supported with a couple utilites in a Niftycase (this normally sits with my non-modular gear). I also have semi-modulars added to this and a Microfreak nearby to play CV and Gate into synths as well (and just because it's awesome for layering on top). I want to get one more 104 (or even 126) hp rack for random stuff I want to try (though this has sort of accidentally laid itself out as a monosynth that I could also take out and use separately). This all sounds chaotic, but it's actually working quite well for me, and once it's set up all together it's not much different from just having a Mantis on the table. When I go out I just unplug the piece I need. It seems scatterbrained from the outside, but if I had everything in one case, it would be harder for me to scale up or down as needed. Also, I don't really want to expand much further than that - it's already quite a bit for two hands, especially when one of my semi-modular units is a big Finegear Dust Collector that I would keep before any of it. I feel like anything else I do would just be starting an entirely different setup, and two is plenty. I still have a Polyend Tracker/TX81Z based setup and a DAW as well, and I can't do everything.
I wouldn't necessarily present to people what I've done as advice, but I would present it as an example of trusting yourself to know what you need and what produces good habits for you.
There's already a section for fantasy cases on Modulargrid. Just click the My Modular tab and design away. This is the forum. Here, your fantasy meets reality (or at least the fantasies of others).
zachsname: i dont think you understand how i am trying to use the pam pro, op ned, and 1cv step sequencer, either. its kind of hard to explain, but im pretty sure it would work. like 4 out of step clocks on 2 root note sequences, and 2 arpeggiated voices on that root, all being timed differently. does nobody even know how to use a pam? im leas to believe it can do a lot of things, or maybe i really do need to go out and invent a 'wacky clock multiplier'. ...
zachsname: i dont see the big harm in wanting an experimental maximal full studio equivalent dawless eurorack setup i think i can make work in ways you dont see, just to play with it. can i just not want a new toy if its too expensive? cant i just pretend on here as a 'fun joke'? i would bet 7 doll hairs that if i had those first four cases i posted, i could make 9 datach'i level albums. do ypu just not like me aiming that high, or do you have god like omnicient powers into my own creative process? i think the idea of 'ttest ssystem' is fun. i say there should be a new forum: 'fantasy cases'. here here.
pammelas pro work out plus op ned plus 1 sequenced cv is a concept im trying to explore, like, maybe you could even get pam to do random quantized gate triggers between 1-128 clocks average frequency gaps, just by menu diving, and then it wouldnt be unplayable, it would randomly play itself. i think im talking sense.
there, i stayed up all night, and designed a second completely self contained 12u 84hp system, just to make you happy, zachsname.
do you like it better? is it modular enough, now? too many oscillators, eh? eh? eh? eh?
just give me some honest feedback, on just the design.
(its more modest, now. better?)
peace.
peace.
peace.
-- singular_sound
there, i stayed up all night, and designed a second completely self contained 12u 84hp system, just to make you happy, zachsname.
do you like it better? is it modular enough, now? too many oscillators, eh? eh? eh? eh?
just give me some honest feedback, on just the design.
(its more modest, now. better?)
peace.
peace.
peace.
-- singular_sound
The third row is the closest thing to an effective and efficient instrument I've seen so far. If you waited on getting the filter and Opp Ned and replaced them with a Maths, you could start with that row and learn pretty much everything you need to make and plan a big system that makes sense. Two Plasma Voices is also a lot, but that is a much better idea of what kinds of maximalism are available, and they do have built-in synth tools that make them super helpful in a smaller space, so I say go for it on those.
I wouldn't start with Datach'i's hardware when looking at their work for inspiration. I would look at his history and productivity. He was a professional musician long before modern modular became big and these setups became possible. Richard Devine's setup that he used when I saw him live is another good example. I was able to find it on here (like I was able to do with Datach'i's setup), and they both have unique setups heavy on percussion and pings and short triggered sounds in ways that don't rely as much on modulation like envelopes. However, these people have workflows and styles unique to them from working with hardware and software over the years and delivering results according to their specific vision. Most of the stuff in their current Eurorack setups hasn't even been around for more half the time they've been working. They already knew what all this stuff was before it was even designed. It's not really fair to yourself to look at someone like Datach'i and think your system should be comparable now. You need to learn what you need before setting yourself up with those kinds of expectations, and starting with the basics so you know the parameters will help you design unique systems with greater efficiency and accuracy. Your music and what it needs to be is more important than any design.
I imagine the Junkie XL comment is a joke, but remember that his giant wall is a 5U setup and based very much on the kinds of standard modular stuff missing in this setup. I'm not exactly a huge fan of his style (nor do I need to be as long as he doesn't do anything so bad it ruins the movie for me), but he is extremely educated and practical when it comes to owning a giant wall of noise machines. Hans Zimmer is the same - when it's not softsynths, it's usually something fairly oldschool and simple in terms of design. Their big systems are rhe opposite of yours (and that may not be a bad thing - they are the opposite of Datach'i amd Devine as well).
If anything, this is what everyone is trying to get at here with you: the best path to a big modular setups is to find a place in your existing music making system that modular can contribute to and then see how much more modular infects your life from there. Let the virus spread naturally, and don't worry about "design" - worry about playing music.
I don't know where the joke begins and ends with this post exactly, so I'll just say that it's usually a bad sign for your joke when you are consistently telling people it's a joke. That might just be you telling yourself that it is a joke, which is probably not convincing for either of us.
jimhowell1970: i like to have the most performant part on the bottom left, and either all sequencing on bottom row, or one multi-voice per row, and i like the final mix to come out of the top right, when possible. its just whats most aesthetic to me. ... ... ...
in this rig, the pammelas pro workout is essentially sequencing everything through a minimal arpeggiator and step sequencer, with random trigger outputs, as well. im 90% sure the pam can do all that. im not an expert, but this is designed to be 100% pam driven, like you could create a 2 part harmony using a 'clock multiplier' and the op ned and 'sequence thing', plus some random goodness im pretty sure the pam has. maybe im wrong, in which case, somebody invent me a 'wacky clock divider', lol.
jimhowell1970: so, a few things. im thinking of four equal generative or random sequenced triggered equal voices coming out of the pam pro into the zazou creating a basic tonal part, and that gets mixed at the bottom into a single zazou channel, then the pam also triggering 2 op ned clocks while the whole op ned is tuned by the step sequencer, with another step sequencer underneath, to maybe sequence the 2nd plasma voice maybe differently, both advanced by the pam, creating 2 more melodic points being mixed on the same rack, and then a filter just for those 2 voices. the drum rack i think explains itself, and i heard you can use the plumes as 2 lfos. the idea is that its driven by a pam pro working as a wacky clock divider and and op ned with a 1 cv step sequencer driving the melody forward, with 4 generative random-ish plonk-y melodic texture. maybe you might have to menu dive in the pam for 20min, first, but i dont think its unplayable. also, the drum sequencer would be the master clock, if that is possible. please do reply if this makes any sense. peace out.
I have an experimental monster case with effects modules, complex oscillator and filters and mixer and a good sequencer and utilities. That is used for creating weird soundscapes. For performance oriented stuff like dance music, I have two cases one a 4u and another 7u Intellijel case with Eloquencer sequencer, Queen of Pentacles, mixer and utilities in the 4u case that works great live. My other portable case also has an Eloquencer sequencer, mixers, utilities, and several drum modules and an oscillator/filter combo that work well. I like using the same sequencer as it has good format for drums and music live in that I can view 8 tracks at same time and create song mode and patch presets for recall later.
I think the last rack is much better at least in the first instance although it is still (virtually) unplayable... and imnsho - there are still way too many sound sources, not enough sound modifiers or modulation sources and definitely no where near enough utilities...
this is partly due to layout... the sequencers are in places where they will be obscured by cables, so difficult to access, and the magneto, is as far away from what I imagine to be your end of chain mixer as possible - so unneccessarily long cable runs for no benefit whatsoever!!!
I'd rather have this in 2, 6u racks - for reasons of ergonomics... one near vertical primarily for voices, processing and modulation and one in front of it near horizontal for control, sequencing and mixing... for this I'd chhoose mantis cases as they can be fixed in this position...
there are also functions that are missing - which are needed to facilitate the usage of the synth...
how are you going to split the output of the sequencers to the sound sources? please explain...
also submixing voices before processing with filters and delays/reverbs before end of chain mixing is a very good idea!!
why only a single filter? you have a lot more voices than that (I kind of count 7) - I'd realistically want at least 5 or 6: assuming the pulsar generators are going to be kind of used as drones (not enough envelope generators) then one each for those, one for the sampler, at least one for the drum kit, one for the plasma voices and one for the sinc legios...
whilst I'm a big fan of the magneto - I have one and love it - I think it's not a good fit for a rack this size, especially with so many voices in it... you need the space for other modules... the same could be said of both the plasma voices & pulsar generators... slightly smaller modules that do similar things are undoubtedly available... and would free up space considerably...
why 4 sinc legios??? I'd expect that 2 would realistically be enough for a single bass voice - either slightly detuned or in combination with the warps clone... please explain your intended usage of 4 identical sound sources for a single bass voice, with no filter... reducing these from 4 to 2 would free up a lot of needed space...
to a large extent the rack still demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of modular synthesis and in particular patching modular synths - which is to be expected from a newbie... but arguing about how you know better with people who almost definitely have significantly more knowledge and experience of modular than you isn't exaclty charming is it??? at least som eof the people helping would, if modular synth forums were academic bodies, hold doctorates, based on the amount of research, practice and deep thought they have excerted on the subject, whilst you are effectively applying to an associates degree...
this almost always ends with people coming back and saying they should have listened!!!
maybe eat some humble pie!!
remember we are trying to help you... something that you have asked us to do & that we are doing freely!!!
plus the rack appears to be 85hp not 84hp... dfficult - the top row won't fit in 84hp... so maths/spatial awareness isn't a core skill either...
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
Nyx hasn't come for a Synth session for a while, its her on the mug too!
Cheers
Enjoy your spare HP, don't rush to fill every last space, this is not like filling sticker books. Resist the urge to 'complete' your rack, its never complete so just relax.
A real moment of pleasure: little touches of delay incorporating bells, plucked sounds and voices on a sheet of silence. And... your black cat as a guest star (btw nice mug :) Bravo for everything!
jimhowell1970, you almost slipped by me there, with all the monologue i was doing. i nearly intended this setup as a joke about being maximal. i really do think i could squeeze 9 albums out of it, if i really tried. i just built a smaller, more modest 4 3u 84ph case. do you like it better? im really looking more for feedback about the general design principal more than practicality. like i said, this is a bit of a joke. i just wanted to make some pretty designs. do you like 'ssecond ssystem' better? much more managable, id say, but i still say i could manage with all 1600hp.
Enjoy your spare HP, don't rush to fill every last space, this is not like filling sticker books. Resist the urge to 'complete' your rack, its never complete so just relax.
also, zachsname, dont you like that it is 4 near perfect squares, and that i left no gaps anywhere? isnt that aesthetic? and i think you could really create some awesome and unique patches on it. i want you to critique it on quality of design, not say that its probably over my head or too complex. this is not a real system. its just a design i have in my head. please just critique the design. etc.
There is a coexistence, a balance that is established over time between what is convenient (easy access to certain controllers for example) and what is necessary (the constraints of dimensions, power consumption, etc.) I use several racks and the question then becomes the placement of the racks :)) I could one day be tempted by the beautiful creations of CaseFromLake: https://www.casefromlake.com
also, there are a few jokes in there: 2 maths, 2 matrix ii s... i know i could use them, somehow, but its mostly really just kind of a meta joke about being maximal. i really wish you would accept the premise more before doling out your advice...
question, zachsname: if my setup is to maximal for you, then what do you think about datach'i s rig in this vid?
i want help making my 'ttest ssystem' as cohesive and well tuned as 'system'. i do not want to be told to make what i already did smaller.
the thread title should have already let you know i was trying to be as maximal as possible. i want advice on how it could all work better, not just to start from scratch again smaller. this is my dream system im trying to build. please, just accept its premise.
i personally like the aesthetic having a bottom most rack for 1 off triggers, sequencing, and other melodic units, then filling in the rest of your voice chains, and whatever else you may want, wherever it will fit into the rest of the case, so that you dont need a keystep or or midi controller or anything like that and can just play the case as is and do most of the performance on the bottom most rack. im no expert, but thats just the way to build a case that seems most aesthetic, to me. you can look at my fantasy 4 case 'ttest ssystem' where i tried to apply this as best i could, and yes, i did quasi intend for them to work somewhat seperately, too. im just getting into modular. i decided to build fantasy systems on here for fun.
just tell me: what do you like, what dont you like, what seems interesting, what do you think doesnt work. just dont tell me: start smaller, too complicated, youll never figure it out, more clock multipliers. etcetera.
zachsname: re, the tukra. i like it, because it just does the drums and does them well, and then i also have the two simpler modules in the first case plus a sampler. i dont want my drum patch to be 1,000 modules. id condider doing things the more "datach'i" way, but to be perfectly honest i have zero idea how he produces his drum tones and triggers. whatever he does is way over my head, but if i could figure it out i could be convinced to do things more that way, if i could even make it all fit.
i guess the real title of this thread should have been: "i tried to design a 4 case 12u 100hp full studio system. do you think i accomplished on this well? all comments welcome, except 'that is way too maximal, brah'.".
