The new Doepfer A-105-2 filter is absolutely killer for kicks. Just ping the FCV input with an envelope and get an instant kick drum. You can really dial in the tone and timbre using an ADSR based envelope. Should probably work with most 2044 chip based filters :)
I often find inspiration in focusing on specific sounds / utilities e.g. on Monday I'll focus on a kick drum only, Tuesday I'll patch a drone, Wednesday an FX send setup... Then by the weekend I can bring all the different parts together with the objective of recording a song (doesn't matter if it's naff) :)
The new A-147-5 looks like the perfect addition to my setup. Question for current owners - do the master and delta frequency controls still operate for a channel once an external CV source is plugged in?
Thanks!
SOLVED.
After lots of tinkering and re-patching, best approach seems to be to adding a VCA at the end of the Kick drum patch using the ADSR out2 to tame the voltage variation. Got lots of pumping from the A-119 now. :)
Super simple patch:
Kick drum -
Gate -> ADSR (A-140-2) -> CVF A-105-2 -> Out
Ducking -
Kick drum -> A-119 -> Envelope Out -> A-138j (inverted) -> VCA processing bass synth.
The A-119 basically can’t distinguish a ‘clean enough’ kick sound to generate a smooth envelope. No issues with samples, use this setup all the time.
Finally found a great kick drum sound using a Doepfer A-105 and pinging it with an ADSR.
The problem is the resulting kick drum sound has an unstable (intermittent) positive voltage in the artefacts of the resulting sound, making it useless to generate envelopes to duck VCAs.
Has anyone got any tricks to make a more 'stable' sound. Quick term fix seems to be a low pass filter (set very low) before the envelope generator, but I'd rather be able to fix the kick sound itself.
If you got the modules available musicradar did a great article on patching your own 808/909 style drums. Can do a ton with just a noise module through a multimode filter... https://www.musicradar.com/how-to/how-to-recreate-classic-analogue-drum-sounds-in-your-daw-and-with-hardware
Recently saw a clip of someone pinging a Moog Grandmother filter to create pretty decent kick drum sounds.
e.g. Gate -> ADSR -> VCF CV (Res on full) -> Audio Out
Got some good results with an A-140 (ADSR) into an A-106-5 (VCF), but not so good with an A-124 (only really works with the envelope going into the audio in - unconventional).
Anyone else had good results with different filter types before I buy a ton of filters to test...? (it will probably be Doepfer filters)
All, some great advice here…
@farkas – I’ll have to check out Melvins stuff, sounds ace. You also reminded me to blow the dust off my Strat... Now days I’m a diehard Doepfer user and have found this creatively inspiring as you have to think more cleverly around patches with more basic style modules.
Regarding post, I was alluding more to finding myself listening and watching the synth enthusiasts who got me into modular many years ago and have yet to see any head turners in 2023. I wonder if this is symptom of new modules releases, changing platforms, or just changing music tastes in general…
@wishbonebrewery – maybe I need to add a pint of the good stuff into my creative workflow. In 2023 I’ve also found myself gravitating towards coding rather than hardware builds, as VCV rack seems like a great entry point for new enthusiasts.
@geusensdriesmusic / @JimHowell1970 – completely agree, maybe the quick solution is just to get on with recording and writing music rather than procrastinating on everything else happening around me with eurorack. Should probably get attending local modular meet ups also.
@Sweelinck – Modular for me has always been about building a custom instrument personal to me. I come from a Violin background, so having to pick the right modules – just like choosing the right sounding Violin, makes sense to me. I do like your analysis of what it means to be inspired, so thanks for that.
With recent SuperBooth and the ever refreshing homempage of Thonk, I'm just not seeing anything creatively new or inspring being released in eurorack format.
Past creative modular players are now just using YouTube to sell the next module they are being paied to sell...
New setups are just techno or pinged etheral ambience, and no one is really thinking outside the box...
A thread to discuss if anyone else has picked up these vibes, or it's just me falling out of love with modular (I hope it's just a phase!)
