Started with a PGH Modular System 10.1+ ($709), which this site added up to $736.
Hi Joem I also started a sys 10.1 + plan today - I aim to get the PGH in May so beginning to think about what else to put in the case - so why the modules you.ve chosen so far ? Just watched the tut for the qu bit, that is seriously cool despite the slightly wobbly looking knobs so now I gotta rethink , damn
I've had the System 10.1 for about a week and wanted to get a feel for it before I looked into other things, since it's my first modular. Now that I've been playing with it, I've got a long (very expensive) list of things I'd love to add, but this plan here is just my next steps, and things I can afford now or soon. (I'd LOVE to get an Intellijel Metropolis sooooo much, but I can't do any $500+ modules right now.) On its own, the System 10 is a real nice monosynth and you can do some neat stuff with it, but I want more than a monosynth. I want more things to play with... more sound sources... more triggers... more CV sources... more performance inputs...
My first goals are to get more VCOs and LFOs and VCAs. Also, I want some reverb.
The Qu Bit will have the reverb covered (until I can afford a bigger awesomer one).
The Lightstrip seems like an awesome, small, and inexpensive little quick CV/gate source, and with the looping function it can be an LFO in some cases. And as much as I love my little midi keyboard, it'd be nice not to need it all the time for my modular.
But the VERY FIRST addition I'm going to make is the Peaks. That's got LFO covered (2 of them!), but it can also be so many other things... It's got ADSR (2 of them!), it's got drums (bassdrum + snare drum!), and it's got a mini-sequencer! This is the most feature packed thing I've seen for this price.
This plan is still a work-in-progress. I'm also considering a MakeNoise Function in place of the Peaks, and I'd like a noise source and S&H, though that's not quite as important (at this stage) if I get the Peaks. I still have no idea what to do for more VCOs or VCAs yet. Plus I think most of what I buy is going to come from local shops (NYC, so there's a few) since I'm horribly impatient when it comes to this and don't want to wait for mail to arrive, so it depends on what they have in stock and recommend.
Liphippy, if you're new to modulars and kind of on a budget like me, I recommend doing like I did and getting your base and then playing with it until you have a better idea where you want it to go next. I thought I was going to mostly ignore the MIDI3 on this, but it makes for a great tap-able clock source (even without any midi plugged in), and the arpeggiator is a pleasant surprise... I didn't know it had that before I got it. In fact most of what I've been doing with it so far relies on both the arpeggiator and the clock output.
Thanks for your really full response Joem, I feel like I set you a homework essay or something ..,but your advice is really appreciated. I am new to modular, the nearest I come at the moment is a microbrute with the breakout patches, a friend is lending me a 1990s analogue solutions mini modular so you are right that time spent playing with the system 10 will give me a better idea of what I want to compliment it with....there's nowhere I can get hands on with the system 10 before I buy and all the demo s I've seen have focused on its gnarly sounds you've had yours for a bit does it do justice to the softer end of the sonic spectrum too ?
Cheers
lip
Yeah, it does the softer end quite well. The arpegiator in the MIDI3 is pretty cool... has several different random modes that keep things interesting. And being able to adjust the mix of triangle, saw and square waves lets you dial in all kinds of nice tones. Just don't turn the resonance up too far, and you'll avoid the gnarly. I usually have mine between 1/2 and 2/3... but it's nice knowing I can crank it more if I want.
I just added my first module to my 10.1+, btw. It's the SoundMachines LS-1 Lightstrip. It was unfortunately the only module I was on the market for that my local shops had in stock when I checked on Sunday (but hopefully that'll change soon). It's fun to use as performance trigger and as a programable LFO to modulate the filter. I will say I'm a little disappointed when using it's CV for pitch... it seems a little wobbly or too sensitive or something. But even with that, I still think it's quite worth it. And I bet a quantizer would solve that pitch issue.
