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The vast majority of this is going to be personal thoughts/taste; not advice.
Why the "Audio Interface"? Are you bringing in audio from Matriarch; or other sources?
What made you pick the FX aid and Afterneath? -- maybe you will be; but I'm a fan of neither.
Move Fxaid after the quad vca -- unless you know why its in front.
Can you move Pams left a spot? (audio modules next to power are more likely to introduce noise).
Never used Tarot -- probably not my cup of tea from a quick look; but again maybe its yours.
I am also building a system to complement my Matriarch and Moog sound studio 3. Looking for more effects based complements to what I already own. PLZ Roast/ Critique....point out any redundancy or anything that seems out of place or pointless. Any and all help is appreciated. Dumb Drummer got more into synths in the last few years so some practical knowlage regarding Cables/ Compatablity is certainly lacking.
I guess they're not so much 'opinionated' as as 'feature rich' though. Their circuits get pretty damn creative, which I suppose is a form of opinion.
Carn (mixer/vca) might be the least fun to talk about, but practically useful examples. There is a small switch on the back to dis/engage a limiter (soft-clipper) across the outputs. When engaged it offers 'auto-mixing' relative to disengaged as it'll tuck things in as they hit the limit. Ofc you may not want this for plenty of reasons, so they let you turn it off, but new modules come with it engaged seems the be opinion. This, to me, is best of both worlds. ability to make a decision, while also turning it off. Other opinions are the layout of the panel/s themselves. In Carn's case, each channel works subtlety (or not so subtlety) different than the others. This may be considered flexibility, more so than opinion tho... which comes at a cost of course, both financially and of brain power
Second getting a Pam's early. After that... it may just depend on personal preferece/information... like do you have other voices/drums/samplers (ie. drum machine/computer/another synth) already?
point is... as someone who also 'extends into modular' from Ableton, you don't have to feel guilty about relying on other formats for some duties. modular/eurorack is incredibly flexible, but it can also be a bit like biting off more than you want to chew. looking for things that speak in the same langues (v/oct and/or 24 or 48 ppq) clock may be a more gratifying, and cheaper experience....
Personal thoughts... Consider dropping the Data (and any other module you don't KNOW you want) and get an ES-8 or ES-9. I have a Data, but can count on my finders and toes the times Ive needed to use it. eith and es8/es9, you can visualize/tune just fine on a bigger/better screen. I like using my ears though. The markets for eurorack are still strong, but not what they were a year+ ago. An es8/9 will let you interface with a daw (and its plugins) and/or VCV Rack for pretty much any module/effect already out there. If you are dead-set on not being leashed to a PC, i understand... just throwing out some scraps for thought.. 808s/909s are a dime-a-dozen and ableton isnt short on drum samples libraries. a digital sample/effect is a digital sample/effect after all... you could even get a Receive 2 if you just want to bring things into modular for whatever reason -- ie. running into data bender.
all that to say... I love the picks of Pam's, RND Step, Plaits, Data Bender, and Quad VCA. Thats not a knock the other modules, but if you already have some of this stuff in hardware, ableton or vsts, consider holding off on modules that duplicate those functions. your wallet will thank you
The benefit of adding to a semi-modular synth is that you've already got a solid base to start from. In this sense, you're not too limited by order of module purchase. The main thing I would say is to just focus on what you want the most in here and then space out the voice/effects purchases as much as possible so you've always got a good balance of sounds to modulation/utilities. Pam's is an obvious pick for one of the first modules, since it is a compact way to explore a lot of this stuff and will help organize future purchases. Same with the Quad VCA, which you will find immediate use for (especially as a way of manipulating modulation from Pam's in a tactice way).
Hello!
I am new to modular, just got my first case (TipTop Mantis) and trying to put together a synth to pair with my Moog Matriarch and Push 3 to make glitchy beats with. Planning on using the 4 CV outs from the Push for sequencing from Ableton. Roast away tbh, this is all very expensive and I'd rather hear it before I buy. I am also curious which modules I should buy first because I have to aquire the modules over time, I can't invest all at once.
(idk why the link shows as an older version of the rack)
a filter can go before or after the vca... whichever way sounds best for you in the current patch...
-- JimHowell1970
If you are using a filter when its self-oscilating the VCA is best after the Filter so you can shut off the notes.
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.
sound source -> signal in of vca, envelope -> cv in of vca, vca out to monitors (or wherever - mixere, processing etc)
nb I use signal in because vcas can also be used for cv and not just audio - modulate your modulation
a filter can go before or after the vca... whichever way sounds best for you in the current patch...
this is generally the concept of modular... generate a signal, do something to it, send it somewhere - try not to mix cv into the audio path (it's possible to damage speakers), apply modulation to things
see my signature for hints on how to get the most versatility in patching for the least expense
"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!!!
Hi everyone,
I am starting to build my rack and - since I am a beginner - I have some doubts about the right signal path.
My VCO is the Make Noise DPO and it does not have a gate-trigger in.
How can I control the gate? Currently - as shown in the pic - I am sending the gate from the sequencer to the Maths and from the Maths I go into the CV of the VCA.
Another question: where is the best place to insert the filter?
Thanks in advance!
I understand your situation but I do not agree. If we are allowed to make transactions we should also be allowed to value that transaction.
The lack of education of some people is another matter, and I think that the moderators are here for this, among other things, to put those people in their place.
-- ferranadsr
That's exactly the problem here.
As soon as you have had contact with someone, they can vote for you without having bought or sold anything!
I understand your situation but I do not agree. If we are allowed to make transactions we should also be allowed to value that transaction.
The lack of education of some people is another matter, and I think that the moderators are here for this, among other things, to put those people in their place.
Hello everyone,
I don't know if this is the right place.
This is the second time I have received a negative review regarding the purchase or sale of a module without any real contact with the person.
I have written to Knut to have this corrected.
It's just annoying now.
alienalien, philip87 are the two people
I agree to the extent of allow users to request the 'availability' status be changed through some process. Nothing worse than the elation of finding a keystone module listed as currently available being turned to despair after finding a parked domain and astronomical prices on reverb.
I probably wouldn't have the MIDI module right on the side - I'd move it somewhere else and put something there that I fiddle with a lot. Go with what works, though. You'd know better than me about that at this point.
My 48hp system gave me a lot of joy for half a year. I found a way to synchronize the sequencer of my Subsequent 37 with Pam without MIDI (Sub37 GATE input -> STEP ADV). This enabled me to create very beautiful and complex rhythm tracks.
Over time, the desire to expand the system grew. Since I don't have the space for a large system, an 84hp case was the only option.
The following modules were added:
Intellijel µMIDI
Doepfer A-182-2
XAOC Zadar
2hp Div
ALA Beehive
Intellijel Mixup
The combination of PPW, Zadar and the Plaits clone is simply sensational. The complex sounds also let the Z5000 shine in a new light. The ability to control the system via a DAW brings additional flexibility.
I'm very happy for now and hope this feeling lasts for a while.
What do you think of my new system? What would you have done differently?
Keychain Holder, a keychain designed for synthesizer enthusiasts, inspired by Vaemi’s oscillator OSI-OP design. The Keychain Holder works with an adapter. It has a fitting at the top that allows it to be hung on the wall. The design includes lights. While the Vaemi logo in the center stays lit continuously, the Vaemi text above the jack inputs lights up one by one as you plug in the jacks. The product comes with 5 jack keychains. You can attach these jacks to the keys you use daily, and when you arrive home or at your workplace, you can hang your keys on this holder. The knob helps you adjust the overall brightness of the lights. Additionally, there is an On/Off switch.
Keychain Holder Features:
-Operates with Adapter: The Keychain Holder is ready for use by receiving power through an adapter.
-Wall-Mountable Design: It can be easily mounted on the wall thanks to the fitting at the top.
-Lighted Design: The Vaemi logo in the center stays continuously lit, while the Vaemi text above the jack inputs lights up one by one as you plug in the jacks.
-Adjustable Light Level: You can easily adjust the overall brightness of the lights with the knob.
-On/Off Switch: The product includes an On/Off switch.
Package Contents:
-1 Keychain Holder
-5 Jack Keychains
-Adapter not included
With a 12-volt adapter, it draws around 20mA of current. It operates comfortably with 12-20V, 100mA adapters.
Operating Voltage Range: 12-20V
Power Consumption: 0.24W
Dimensions: 150mm (length) x 75mm (width) x 58mm (height)
It is not a musical instrument. It is a gift item.
A little unit to listen to your rack or an individual module on the go. Use headphones, or listen to the little speaker it has on board. Handy when you’re setting up for a show, listen to things before you’ve got your whole rig set up.
Mostly surface mount already installed, and the rest is pretty simple to put together, I couldn’t find a build guide, but again, it’s pretty straightforward.
One thing to note: During the demo I found that when you drive the speaker with the volume knob more than 2/3s up the power draw rises from 10-28 milliamps up to a max of a whopping 280 milliamps, which could be a problem if you’re on a tight power budget, just don’t turn it up too much. Headphone does NOT do that, it’s a safe 10-28 mAmp all the way around the dial.
In short: I request that ModularGrid admins unlock manufacturer-approved module pages when users discover, with publicly available evidence, that the manufacturer is defunct.
I have come across a few modules with editing privileges locked, accessible by the manufacturer only, for which I suspected that the manufacturer had discontinued or otherwise abandoned support. Rather than start a new thread for each manufacturer, I figure that it would be better to create a dedicated thread for reporting defunct manufacturers with module entries locked for their exclusive editing privileges.
Many modules of Birdkids provenance have entries that are locked under manufacturer-approved editing privileges. It behooves ModularGrid to unlock these module entries for editing by users at large.
Hello! The joy of modular is that you can create your own unique perfect little instrument. I have been so happy with my current setup. I love to make intricate compositions with almost songlike structures. My Hermod+ sequencer is perfect for that, I love it to death and will always use it. But there was one thing missing.... I was longing for a hands-on sequencer that allowed
me to improvise on it and play it like an instrument. A module that would get me out of my hea, a module that would surprise me. That is exactly why I bought the Moskwa II by Xaoc devices. I’m in love! Watch the video to see and hear what I mean.
If you only have 1 Power supply then 1 PWR checker is all you need, if you have the odd gap in your modular case you can see through to the KonstantLab busboards with their own LEDs too.
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.
Hoping you can help....I love my case and I love a Konstant Lab PWR Checker, but should I have a PWR Checker in each row, or does one suffice to cover all three rows?
I wanted to go to the Schneidersladen. I've been to the Music Store here in Cologne to test a few things, the staff were nice and they knew their stuff a bit, but it's not really just modular.
It would probably be worth the trip to Berlin. I'll see if I can manage it. But I'm already very happy with my bottom row, so I'll probably get that and then there's plenty of room to expand further. I'm in no hurry and I still have my grooveboxes. I'll slowly weave Modular into my setup.
...Its very difficult as well to see how far the two triggers are apart, since it's just milliseconds of difference.
How do you guys handle this issues?
-- deurstopjoris
i highly recommend to analyse the signals via some monitoring like the mordax data.
its not that cheap but its one of the most useful modules i have. it helped me out hundrets of times when i did not understand why this or that does not work like expected. Thanks to this module i learned so much about eurorack!
pretty sure with some multi channel oscilloscope you can identify the specific module(s) where the microtiming gets messed up!?
Hello, the journey continues :) I've read through your answers twice more and then got back to work on my rack.
I have chosen the Clank 104hp travel case. The small modules somehow confused me more than they would have organized things for me. However, I am still considering building individual cases. With the current version, I would start with the bottom row and the one above "is fixed", but I would then add to it bit by bit. I have already been able to test the Atlantix + Metro + Sea and I was in the store for three hours. I even forgot to drink. I think this combination plus Pams will be a good thing for my personal start. I'm currently reading and looking more at ALM and I also tested the Cizzle in the store. Like the sound.
You should connect the Behringer Wasp to the ocean, by throwing it into it, dramatically and at sunset, while promising to yourself to support non-shitty companies/products.
Mavis is already blowing my mind,
and I'm only a few days into this journey.
so I'm feeling good.
I've taken about 15 pages of written notes from watching youtube videos about Mavis
I'm now working through the notes, every page is taking me to a lot sonic places
My original idea was to take steps module by module towards a basic Doepfer setup....
But i watched a bunch of videos about Mavis, and it felt like the best starting point for learning.
In fact, probqbly the next thing will be moog DFAM, which wasn't originally how I expected things would go.
The Doepfer basic VCO may be a bit of a 'stranded asset' for a while.
But maybe not. We'll see.
My plan was to get two Doepfer VCOs, and seriously learn the principles of osc sync, hands on, from first principles.
That could still happen along the way.
-- Tierno
Congrats, this shit is really fun to get into, and the DFAM is a really cool piece of gear.
Be warned it gets addictive fast, though! And if you're anything like a lot of people who get into modular, your plans and ideas will change and accelerate rapidly. I started with a DFAM, then added a Subharmonicon and Werkstadt, then decided I wanted to get into eurorack proper so cashed those in and, fast forward a few years, and I'm at 4x 126 HP with some modules on the side. Not as crazy as some people's systems, but considering I had 2x 84HP in mind at max, it's been a bit of a journey.
If I could go back and talk to myself as I was starting in, I'd have convinced myself to get a pretty robust, HQ PSU and a lot of cheap rack space right out the gate, so I wouldn't have to worry about reconfiguring my whole case/system every time I decided a few more modules were in order. The basic skeleton of my system (mounting rails and sides, PSU, busboards) can be replicated for around or under $400 I believe all in. That's what I originally paid for a dinky little 2x 84HP custom case that I thought was going to serve me long term with no extras. Waste of money.
A Mordax DATA though can be a good early investment. I thought it might be superfluous, more for influencers than end-users, but it can really help you visually learn what's going on in your system. You get to see the LFOs, the ADSRs, and unipolarity and bipolarity of signals, and see how they can be intermixxed into interest behaviors. You can also see first hand what effects like wavefolding, distortion, filtering, etc. actually do to the soundwaves. I'm jusssst now at the point where I could probably let mine go, at least setting it aside from the main system, but for quite some time it was just a valued staple of the system.
Is this your first rack? It's super hard to comment on such a minimal rack without knowing your experience and what you aim to accomplish. That being said maybe you want some kind of output module, an attenuator/attenuverter, modulation sources (LFOs/smooth random/chaos), a VCA or two, a mixer and maybe a clock. Envelopes, filters and wavefolders are also fun. I have no experience with the Stochastic Inspiration Generator so I'm not sure what it does exactly so I kind of ignored it.
If you're just starting out maybe consider getting basic building blocks instead like a sequencer, VCO, VCF, VCA and a filter and learn from there or in VCV and then when you feel comfortable expand with the "cool" modules from Mutable and Make Noise. Just a thought.
Recorded a segment from 90s spiderman > looped it until it sounded rhythmic > and then patched it through the Ryk Night rider. A lot of my production makes use of the night rider's four filters as four oscillators.
I have found with 2hp modules -- like the Plucks -- that they are so thin and delicate (the backing comes off easily), that it is better to separate them with a four hp or bigger module. Also (depending on the separating modules) it makes it easier to tweak them, as the identical cables side to side make that difficult.
Thank you all for your responses. I had slipped in a VCO as I made a patch I loved on Softube Modular and got greedy.
I realise - I want to be able to access and modulate what I have with ease rather than having loads of variables hidden in sub menus. Ivew got a Midiverb outboard for some generic backup hardware FX. So I ditched the Disting for starters.
After your comment and YouTubing I have revised to:
- Maths (Abacus - yes I know but I can afford it)
- 2 Plucks (TBC - but point noted above. This goes into the second round of buying)
- NanoRings - this all started as I wanted rings but no need for the full form factor. I like the CalSynth One
- Typhoon (Expanded Clouds Clone) - I realise I dont want to have to menu dive with Clouds so yes its lots of HP but as per comment above I either have it and enjoy it and have easy access or dont bother. I HATE MENU diving and sub functions.
- Ikarie - just seems brilliant
- Intelligel Sealegs - after much searching I just realised my favourite effect is always delay - plus the Reverb sounds good. Its alot of money and HP but I think its what I want and in many ways is the most creative effect when writing sequences.
I then have 8-12 HP depending on plucks. I will buy these first and see where I get but I feel I will need operators / mult / tools etc and just want to assess what first.
HAPAX has 4 CV and Gates Out plus the NiftyCase has 2 CVs + Gates so I can send LFOs / Automation and sequences from here.
I then think I will mix on my desk with seperate channels rather than summing in the rack.
i love this module. For me, LFOs were aleays just a way to give auto- variation to an otherwise static patch, just necessary sacrrifices of hp, amps & cables. But Mr Wavey is FUN!!! There are so many ways to get instant unexpected variety. The last time I had this much fun tweaking knobs was when i got to play a VCS3. Mr Wavey gives that energy.
This was a great case based around a harmonaig as well as an arbhar, all the while minding the underpowered thre MN case (mk1) Just finished and unfortunstely ill have to use headphones due to wife's work schedule...
RE the Pams suggestion..
All cool ideas. I have played about with quite a few of them already.
What I meant was, I can't work out how to achieve my specific idea with Pams.
I thought you where suggesting it could be done.
As you own Pams already, I think its worth to try it with Pams.
I had great results with it.
Dont overlook its great powers.
You can do it all with it.
different trippy clock divisions and patterns work well on the BIA inputs.
Try to play with Phase, With and Level on Pams with different settings each on the channels, if needed with a additional attenuverter, polarizer.
like set the Phase 25 % off on (attack of the BIA) for noise/hats
looped random on (algorithms of BIA)
a different looped random on (octaves of BIA)
on fold
on harmonics
and so on....
When you find something that works, you can save the settings of the channels as presets and recall them later, to play the same patterns, when you need it.
(may combine it with euclidean patterns)
Also the turing maschine functionality is very useful.
A big thing are the logic functions.
You can set different operations to Mix Channels, like combine channel 1 and 2 and get the Min, Max and so on
I have Pam's Pro Workout but I couldn't work out how to do what I'm suggesting with it.
The Oxi One sequencer is amazing and would totally do it but its way out the budget.
Malekko Voltage Block looks like it will do the job exactly.
I am also building a system to complement my Matriarch and Moog sound studio 3. Looking for more effects based complements to what I already own. PLZ Roast/ Critique....point out any redundancy or anything that seems out of place or pointless. Any and all help is appreciated. Dumb Drummer got more into synths in the last few years so some practical knowlage regarding Cables/ Compatablity is certainly lacking.
