hi I built this rack with the goal of making a live techno, with the experience I was thinking of adding a distortion 308 or a Dusting mk4 and replace Rings by Honda Piston Mk3.
What do you think?
I'm not too jazzed about the drum module choices, tbh. While the Tiptop Hats909 module is a good choice, the Jomox just strikes me as pointlessly expensive and a space-hog for what it does. Erica's Bass Drum would be a better choice if you need that level of control over the kicks...it's less than half the cost, takes up 6 hp less. And the Basimilac Erectus Blovio or whatever nonsense it calls itself is, again, expensive for what it does and...sorry, but I'm of the opinion that the panel looks like utter shite and poses issues if you want to use this effectively in a live, low-light venue. Having done plenty of that exact sort of thing back in the 1990s, I can speak from experience when I say that you want clean, clear panel layouts, not something that requires excessive squinting and puzzling over. Lastly, you might find programming easier if you use a multitrack trigger sequencer such as Tiptop's Circadian Rhythms for the drum programming alone, leaving the Hermod to deal with bass/bleep/pads/leads and clocking in general.
One way I would suggest making ample use of a separate trigger sequencer, btw, would be to go with a Delptronics LDB-2e/2x pair. That would then give you much of the TR-808/TR-606/CR-78-type soundset, with the 2x expander allowing some extra control tricks like CV pitch over several of the sounds, etc.
Another point: you should find a way to set this up as a stereo device. Right now, it's not really that, despite the Rosie having a stereo out (of a sort). Drums/percussives are much more effective when spatialized across a stereo field as opposed to all coming out of one point. If this is in an Intellijel 7U cab, you need to implement the stereo I/O in the tile row as well as putting a QuadrATT in there for mixing/attenuation duties. Plus, if the Circadian Rhythms is limiting in capabilities, you can add a Steppy 1U up there for four additional trigger lanes.
Lastly, envelopes. There's no EGs in here, unless you count the Maths (which I don't...it has much better uses here, especially considering the lack of any other modulation sources), and you have plenty of things that NEED envelope control, such as your VCAs, VCFs and...yep...the Rings, which you probably should keep, as it would make a nice resonating cavity-type effect before your Clouds clone, and also do some to help out the stereo imaging as a result.
hi I built this rack with the goal of making a live techno, with the experience I was thinking of adding a distortion 308 or a Dusting mk4 and replace Rings by Honda Piston Mk3.
What do you think?
-- PCHMR
Hey PCHMR!
If live playing is your focus, I might suggest you think twice about the Disting (depending what you’re intentions are). While it’s great to have a Swiss Army knife in a small system, the Disting is the worst interface I’ve ever come across in eurorack, and you will always need a manual or cheat sheet out unless you just have one setting you love and set-and-forget. But if you if do set and forget, you’re more than likely to find a module that does that thing way better than the Disting.
Here’s my pitch for keeping it though: if you’re in a learning/growing phase and you’d like to have it to better understand different functions of modules, and also to have something which will make you realize “oooohhhh, if I had this kind of thing I could do X”, then maybe it’s a good thing to start with.
I say all this because I have one and this has been my journey with it.
www.macromicromusic.com
