Here's another instance:
Maths (which I own + love) is currently taking up 5 spots:
Top Modules rated by users:
1. Make Noise MATHS (black panel) Ø 4.87 (30)
3. Make Noise Maths Ø 4.77 (486)
7. Make Noise MATHS Ø 4.65 (95)
10. Make Noise Maths (white knobs) Ø 4.61 (61)
17. Make Noise Maths Ø 4.56 (81)
Following up, Nerdseq is another example. Each faceplate color has a different entry. If they were consolidated, then the module would appear quite high on the evaluation list.
Currently they don’t meet the 30 reviews threshold, so despite over 30 ratings that would put it somewhere in the 4.75+ range, the module doesn’t benefit from it’s deserved cumulative rating.
Thanks for any insights!
@mowse Thanks for sharing your experiences. Your appreciation of the journey really comes through. And the notion of being open to the magic of surprises—and tearing down preconceptions—resonates with me.
One of the things I think you're touching on is that beginner's mind can be a rewarding mindset with which to approach eurorack. Being open to possibility, just as much as we are shaping our instruments with each choice made (modules, signal flow, etc.), can lead somewhere unexpected, and rewarding.
Another thing you've demonstrated here is that committing pays off. Committing to a process that involves learning the ins/outs of modules, patience, and reflection. And continuous learning.
If you're up for one more question, what lies ahead as you continue on your journey? Are there any particular sounds, patches, performative aspects, or anything else on the horizon?
Thanks again for all.
Fantastic post, Mowse! The results sound & look great.
I have been very interested in learning how folks are approaching the organization of their instrument. The color schema you've used to organize the rack, by functional region, is super helpful as a reference point. In particular, designating the purple playground area seems wise. (Have you tried Knurlies? I love them for encouraging rearranging)
Thinking back to your earlier days on this path, has there been any shift in musical vision, goals w/ the case as an instrument, or other philosophical discoveries?
Thanks for sharing, please continue to do so!
Hello there,
Big fan of the site. I am noticing that when there are modules with alternate panel colors—say a Mimetic Digitalis that comes in silver and in black panels—there are sometimes different ratings, ie:
Black: 5.0 with 4 reviews
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/noise-engineering-mimetic-digitalis-black-
Silver: 4.18 with 11 reviews
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/noise-engineering-mimetic-digitalis
Make Noise STO:
Black & Gold: 3.44 with 9 reviews
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/make-noise-sto-black-and-gold
White Knobs: 4.0 with 1 review
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/make-noise-sto-white-knobs
Silver: 4.41 with 118 reviews
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/make-noise-sto
AFAIK these are generally the same models/specs, just different panel color. It makes it more challenging to get aggregate rating for users. Does it also hinder a company's efforts to rise in the ranks on the top/popular modules list? Those need 30 ratings to appear on the list, so if there is a module that is popular in silver and black (or similar), it is possible that the ratings get split across both module entries, keeping it from making it on the list for awhile. This may (potentially) hurt a manufacturer's sales that otherwise has a popular module.
I am sometimes seeing that there are duplicate modules where there isn't a rating field—is this intentional? I am wondering if this is just difficult territory because modules are being submitted all the time by different folks and it is cumbersome to organize them in one unified way.
Is there the possibility of adding a class to the taxonomy of modules, where one module becomes the 'parent' module, and alternate/variant versions are contained as 'child' entries, otherwise sharing the same stats/specs, info etc?
Discogs' model of having one master release works well, with all of the variants contained within. Like Nirvana's Nevermind has one parent entry, with each add'l version having a sub entry.
Thanks for your consideration, and keep up the great work.
Cheers,
Aaron
You're not going to be bored, there are tons of modules here to get to know and explore. I would suggest (as many others before me have) taking your sweet time, as your goals are going to change over time—modular does this to you, and before you know it you'll be aching for utilities, mixers, quantizers (you might want to keep Braids for this), and all kinds of things that keep the voltage flowing in interesting ways.
Hi Arontwee,
I like your picture, it's good looking and especially your humour behind that is what I like: Do you really need that coaster? Does the rack/case get so hot? ;-)
Have fun with modular and kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular
Thx for the kind words, Garfield — ha, good eye ;-)
I like having a pad of some kind underneath my various instruments—in lieu of having a proper stand—so I can move them around on my (fairly crowded) desk and reconfigure as needed.
Cheers!
Ronin—that makes a lot of sense, thanks. Tall Dog makes an 8hp O_C in silver that I've had my eye on—that would complement their uPlaits I've got in there. MD + Pam's + Steppy would give me plenty of sequencing capability to stay in the case.
Out of curiosity, what are some of your go-to modulation sources you enjoy alongside BIA?
Thanks for the feedback & ideas, Ronin!
I hear you re: Maths—and get the appeal of a stay-in-the-case system. The current setup is a bit limited in being able to easily create melodic sequences internally. I could do some row rotation sequencing w/ Pam's and send that cv to the mk4 in a quantizer mode—that ties up two key modules pretty well, though.
I'm a fan of Mimetic Digitalis and its approach to cv sequencing—can I get by without using a quantizer with it? I believe it can do semitones. And any other compact cv sequencers that you'd consider for pitch sequencing?
I'd have another 10hp slot for one module to work with after that—the palette allows up to 12 modules, so that'd rule out an 8hp O_C AND a 2hp module. There is the Blue Lantern O_C at 10hp—though, I am tempted to get a Basimilus Iteritas Alter (10hp) in that slot ;-)
Here's where I am currently landing with the Palette.
One of my goals with this setup is to have a flexible way to create rhythmic patterns with that fall somewhere between percussion and melodic content. Like a kick drum sound triggered in tandem with a grainy melodic one-shot sample at another pitch, and a third sound (say, a bell-like FM tone) coming from the VCO. The intention here is to be able to create a range of complex voices—with evolving envelopes, filtering, amplitudes, etc—i.e., 'sample fodder' for compositions I've got going in my DAW.
There are two main sound sources (macro oscillator and sampler), a VCF, and a 3 VCA mixer with overdrive. Plenty of hp dedicated to function generators and gates. I want to go deeper with fewer sound sources and have a lot of sound shaping choices available. And the MIDI to CV is in there to sync up with my desktop gear, VCV rack, etc. It would be fairly straightforward to put together simple patches that shift into more textural rhythmic territory, get droney, go percussive, and get melodic and/or arpeggiated.
I compromised a bit on FX, leaning on the MK4 for that, as well as some external gear. My semi-modular offers S&H / slew, noise, analog VCOs, BBD delay, so that will help round things out.
Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.
This looks fun, Plaits & BIA give you a lot of sonic possibilities. The FH-2 looks like a good way to get MIDI to the sound sources, what are you going to use to get clock and do sequencing etc?
It's a common refrain to mention tight rack space as a drawback. I can also see a benefit in that the constraints of less hp means that more research and planning will go into a careful choice of modules—and (by necessity) will tend to yield a quite focused rack.
If there are a few modules that you end of replacing or adding as you go, and you run out of rack space, the extra modules can go on the shelf for a future, bigger rack, or an additional rack. There are more and more affordable rack options becoming available. Not a huge problem to tackle.
Also there are space-saving micro plaits to consider, I have the Tall Dog one that comes in at 8hp.
Have fun & keep us posted
Hey Wavne—fantastic work!
This reminded me of Ms Pinky, a vinyl-timecode system (like a precursor to Serato). It has time-coded engravings on a 12" vinyl, and sends the data to Max/MSP (and now Max for Live is supported): https://mspinky.com/software/maxmsp-and-max-for-live/
Ronin—I am also excited to see this new Behringer case, would definitely be a good entry point w/ a little bit more room to play. Having a bigger rack to workshop through ideas to get to various configurations of a gig-ready palette would be a great way to explore, too.
A longer term goal of mine would be to have a lightweight, DAW-free Palette that I can easily tote around for gigs & collaboration with friends. I could imagine packing a little mutant monosynth configuration in my carry-on to take to a recording session at my friend's pad where there is zilch in the way of modular gear kicking around.
Thanks for sharing, looks well thought out, I want to give it try! Where are you in the process with this one—any tweaks or ideas since you posted?
I'm researching and planning different ways of setting up a Palette case—for me it presents more of a challenge than a bigger case, because there's more of a need to keep a focused and pared-back rack. Intellijel is wise to make a compact case like this, and no doubt it is going to appeal to folks who are newer to modular—myself included—because it looks like a way to test the waters without a huge investment. IE, buy a small handful of modules, and experiment with modular, decide "ah, I like this modular thing" and then go gangbusters and start putting together a larger rack.
It is arguably more difficult for entry-level folks to have the constraints of a compact case. It makes every module choice more critical, and requires (from what I understand) a greater knowledge of modular than if I were to go ahead and buy a bigger rack—where, theoretically I can add in modules more willy nilly, have room to grow, make mistakes, and be able to tinker with a rig that is less focused initially. Say—maybe I want to try to figure out a nice analog drum machine area over here, and over there I'll start building up a generative sequencer, and then leave some room in that other open area for some sound sources that are yet to be defined.
For reference—Ricky Tinez put together a very compact kit with plenty of sequencing & modulation oomph, you may have seen it already: 
Any others you've seen that have stood out?
