Need advice on output modules and general module choice for my 1st rack

Hi,

I am currently planning my 1st rack and the thing I am really unsure about is the choice of output options. I would like to have some stereo mixing capabilities as I have a couple of stereo out modules. And I would like a headphone out to be able to use the rack standalone. I have configured three output options I am considering in the top row for comparison/comments.

Here is the rack:

• 1st option would be a panning Doepfer mono mixer going in a Doepfer stereo VC mixer going in a Befaco Out V3
• 2nd option would be an ADDAC805 3 channel VC stereo crossfader going in an Erica Synths Black Output V2
• 3rd option would be again the Doepfer stereo VC mixer going in a an Erica Synths Black Output V2

I like the VC crossfade/pan options of option 2 but this is the plan for the module choice I am really unsure about …

Any suggestions / advice?

Also happy on any other comments on the choice of modules … anything obvious I missed? The only one I do not plan to get initially is the uO_C … and all the MI clones will be from Tunefish Modular in Germany (but same size and layout), most of their modules are not in the database … I have some other gear to go with that that covers my analog synthesis pretty well (Elektron Analog Four and Analog Rytm and an ARP 2600 clone) and have tested my choice of MI modules in VCV.

Thanks a lot
Chris

I can't help with your main questions, I'm afraid. I'm actually pretty curious about this myself.

But I wanted to say that I wouldn't wait on uO_C unless you have to. It's not glamorous or necessarily fun to play with, but it will give you access to a number of tools that will allow you to do a lot with the modules you already have. It was seriously a game-changer in my own rack. Best of luck!

I'm not a big fan of "output modules" - in a lot of cases they are unnecessary... I've never used one in 7 years... but I've always had mixers with headphone outputs - a rebel technologies mix03 and a tesseract modular tex-mix... if I needed (& only if I needed balanced or isolated outputs - perhaps for playing gigs) would I spend money on an output module... so the question is what are you outputting to? I use a small old-ish (15years or so) yamaha mg10 mixer which can easily handle modular levels - just get your gain staging right (ie low) - and most mixers and audio interfaces will work perfectly...

and as for vc crossfaders and auto-panners - maybe get more vcas and patch them yourself - it's modular after all - and whilst pan-law is great - a lot of records were made without it...

I'm not a big fan of "output modules" - in a lot of cases they are unnecessary... I've never used one in 7 years... but I've always had mixers with headphone outputs - a rebel technologies mix03 and a tesseract modular tex-mix... if I needed (& only if I needed balanced or isolated outputs - perhaps for playing gigs) would I spend money on an output module... so the question is what are you outputting to? I use a small old-ish (15years or so) yamaha mg10 mixer which can easily handle modular levels - just get your gain staging right (ie low) - and most mixers and audio interfaces will work perfectly...

and as for vc crossfaders and auto-panners - maybe get more vcas and patch them yourself - it's modular after all - and whilst pan-law is great - a lot of records were made without it...

-- JimHowell1970

You're right, in the end I am not really looking for a full blown output module with balanced outs etc. but just a mixer with a headphone (for standalone rack use) and a "normal" stereo out if I go into my "real" mixer. If I run into the need for balanced outs due to ground problems I can always use a DI box in between.

Although I know how to pan/x-fade using VCAs/Inverters I find it quite convenient to have a bit of voltage control built into the mixer - it's modular after all :-)

So I decided to go for a Happy Nerding PanMix (and was lucky to find a shop in Europe with one in stock ...)