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I cant see any obvious ways you would create midi values within your case to send via a midi out.
Midi isnt audio, its a data feed, it can hold note values, or similar e.g. velocity info (typical in a midi compatible keyboard), or it can send control signals which might be equialent to mapping a midi controller knob to an ableton knob, so that one affects the other.

But to answer your question, I use distings mk4 in wav recorder mode to record anything I make in modular, and then also use the audio out from the disting mk4 into my octatrack then on to my speakers. I pop the micro SD card in my laptop when I want to convert a recording to mp3 and share

In the video you unplug the cable from output A (working) and plug it into input B (shouldnt output anything, so also working as expected)

the arrow from input A to input B means the input is normalised from input A, it doesnt mean its the associated output for A

plugging the cable into input b breaks the normalisation, so the signal going into input a wont be passed through to input b

then you plug the first ochd signal into output A and ... yeah that makes the module work weird. its not supposed to be plugged in there.

it isnt two pairs of in/out... inputs are at the top, outputs are at the bottom (indicated by the dark ring around the socket)

That is why it isn't producing an output/behaving as you expect.

always check which are the inputs and outputs. not all modules can handle incorrect patching... it might be breaking your modules or producing weird behaviour

Merry Christmas

EDITED Dec 25th 2023, 00:58

MD does have some quantization options if you press the knob down and tune each step, however there is no scale selection, its just chromatic: https://noiseengineering.us/blogs/loquelic-literitas-the-blog/does-mimetic-digitalis-need-quantizer

but it sounds more like you want a sequencer that had a transpose by CV option? some of the ornaments and crime apps offer this (just as an example, there are many options out there)

I had a quick look and put this together:

I think you could still remove the passive and active mults in a case this size, you can get stackables or flying mults which will save you space, so I replaced all three Rides in the storm modules with the new Bastl Aikido, added a cheap and great LPG, 3x MIA for more mixing and attenuating, an extra stereo filter (you have so many sound sources in such a small space) and the FX Aid pro for fun.

I'd also like to have added an ochd, another clep diaz or memetic digitalis for more modulation, but I got obsessed with using all of the hp and trying to even up the odd hp width modules (hence the aikido).

Otherwise I'd consider swapping the pico VCO and Hysteria for a klavis twin waves, and you'd have space for a sample & hold or logic module.

But that is just what I'd do...

Ask yourself why you are struggling to connect with it and what is causing you the biggest barrier to using it or finding inspiration. I really struggled to find the right sequencer & modulation combination for me, and explored a lot of different ones. when I finally found the right sequencer that clicked it was a huge transformation for me, I'd previously bounced off of the Varigate 4+ even though I wanted to love it.

It might be worth looking into a fixed filter bank with CV control like the Addac601

I had a play around with the rack, not sure if this works but its where I'd probably start if I was handed a box of modules and I hadn't patched with the system yet:

Looks like it’s on 19/20 Aug 2023 - https://divkidvideo.com/modular-meets-leeds-2022/
-- andydavies

in that case there's always a possibility that I might make it for one or both days...

it's not that far, but it's no that close either - I'm the other side of Manchester and a bit south

-- JimHowell1970

Maybe we need to arrange something in Manchester, I'm south Manchester too :)

The belgrave does good pizza too...

I saw something on Instagram earlier this week about the potential for some casual meet ups in Leeds for electronic music makers, but I think it was speculative at the moment

The first thing that jumps out at me is how are you sculpting your modulation? I'd recommend looking at the Happy Nerding 3xMIA, you can mix, mult, invert, attenuate and offset your CV through it which might give you more control.

re: sequencing, I've still not really clicked with marbles (which I'm going to equate to your bloom), and I bought quite a few sequencers (Marbles, 8s, Varigate 4+, bin seq, dnipro Dot, ornaments & crime, mimetic digitalis) but having recently picked up the Metron & Arpitecht and they made the whole case come alive from a sequencing point of view, I now use the mimetic digitalis alongside those two and I feel like I have a lot more control over standard sequencing as well as sequenced modulation.

for four sound sources, I think you might need a bigger case to get the most out of them

Both the a-151 and Samara II look very interesting, and I can see their useful applications. I just read through the Samara manual, and hadn't appreciate quite how much it could do.

I've pulled the trigger on one of the last few wmd performance mixers I could find in stock, so we shall see how it goes!
I was mainly planning to use the vcas in it for volume control rather than shaping, my initial thoughts were to use either the Catalyst or Metron & Voltera to fade in and out channels potentially.

I think you would get something from adding a filter and more modulation, and I'd still be tempted to add more mixing (but that is mainly because I've recently realised I have far from enough mixing in my own rack).

I had a play around and tried to keep most of what you had and work with the space you had remaining:

I added the ochd and Ornaments & Crime for modulation and O_C is so flexible, it can also do sequencing or quantising, have a look at the videos for it and decide if its style of menu driven workflow could suit you... it could even delay your need for steppy and scales (but not remove the need longer term)

I also added squawk dirty and FX aid as end of chain effects and filtering.
If you were to take the Data out, I'd suggest looking at a second filter to add more flavour, maybe the ikarie would work well?

Data is fantastic, and its really helped me understand what my modules are doing and how to get more from them, but in a case this size its taking up a lot of real estate.

one thing that did occur to me, was to put the big honking button and the Data in a separate 4ms Pod alongside this case if you were set on its size.

If you want to grow this in the future, then I'd suggest looking at a bigger case, for all those nice modules you like the look of, you will need more space to make the most of them.

EDITED Jan 6th 2023, 15:12

Here is a version I put together recently to consider how I'd accommodate the bigger mixer:

Thanks Jim, I definitely agree and am quite happy to take out more of the sound sources from the case to make it into more of a useful instrument. I can always swap them in and out later if I want variation, and my old doepfer case isn't that far away on the desk in a pinch :)

There are still a small number of performance mixers out there in the wild, but at a premium which is making me cautious.
I've hovered over the buy button a few times in the last few weeks, it would only take some light encouragement and positive reviews in context of my case and I'll no doubt buy one. The temptation started due to the built in vca's, cv over panning and general rock solid playability of the other WMD modules I have which made it feel like I'd be able to get to grips with it quickly. I'd then also need to consider some mutes somewhere in the line, disabling triggers in metron will only do some of that work.

Yeah, the matrix mixer I think will do an awful lot for me, I'm curious to see how it combines with the sequenced voltages coming from the metron / mimetic and also seeing how the sumdif could get involved in that in some way :)
I have been using the zero2 for rectification, but its using up the switch (which I might benefit from something like switchblade to give me more but slightly different switching anyhow), so I've also been eyeing up the black noise dual rectifier to free this up again.
Tilt has been doing a lot of heavy lifting, and I can certainly see how Maths would be a good addition. for some reason I strayed from it early and have a blindspot for it even now, I'll reflect on that some more.

I've been trawling the utilities section, and there are some lovely xoac devices modules which catch my eye like minsk and kamieniec (or more of the Leibniz Binary Subsystem), but I feel like I'm missing something obvious.

Do you have any suggestions to narrow down my gaze?

At that size of case you probably want to be very precise as to what you want to do with it, all the modules you have picked out are cool, but they don't really compliment each other on their own.

The west pest probably takes up the space of what you'd want to reserve for all of your sound sources in the future, I put way too many into my first rack, and I'm still taking them out to make space for more essentials.

Maths is well regarded, it can do modulation, attenuation, slew and lots of cool stuff... but it cant do all of that at the same time, you will likely want a lot more than Maths and the lfo in west pest to move things around.

In a case this size I'd use stackables or passive flying mults instead of putting a mult in the case, but also... there are 2hp alternatives if you really want one.. or even better something like Links would do a lot of work in the same space.

It might be worth looking at what specifically would work well with the west pest, e.g. filter, more modulation, vca's and utilities to give you more nuanced control over it, a sequencer if you aren't enjoying the built in one, maybe one effect modules (the FX aid is a great little one to look at)

Looking further ahead I'd look at what you'd need to replace some of the functions in the west pest when you come to swap it out, e.g. clock (PPW?), sequencer (Misha?), Midi in (black Midi - CV?), LFO/Modulation/envelopes (Maths, but you likely want more of these anyway, look at the ochd, quadrax, tilt, triple sloths etc for inspiration as well as any function generators, envelope generators, and modulation sources you can find, PPW will do some of this, but its not quite as straightforward).

I'd also consider if you want any sequenced modulation (a second sequencer) or generative sequencing/modulation (e.g. marbles clones)

I'm looking for some general thoughts, advice, and tips to improve on my rack evolution.

I posted awhile back and have looked back at that thread a few times and slowly the lightbulbs have come on, so hoped trying this again might provide me more to think about going forwards.

The last few years exploring eurorack has been very enjoyable for me, I've made a few mistakes along the way, but each of them has taught me something and I'd say that I've very few regrets. Something started to click recently and subtly I started to change the way I used my system, from a bit of a random playground where I wanted a bit of everything to try, into something a little more structured.

This is my current rack:

and my overflow rack:

The Metron and Arpitecht unlocked something in my brain, I swapped out my pico drums for the LXR and I now feel like I have something I can really work with as a foundation. I've had the same patch plumbed in for a month, and it has been really satisfying trying different things with it, making small adjustments and building out a couple of tracks that I can move between. The sl3kt is either driving the same melody to godspeed, twin waves and plaits, or splitting them up for the occasional variation.

Mixing however is a pain, in my current patch one veils I'm using just to mix dry & wet signals & sidechain on the non drum stereo mix, the other I'm using to control the level of the godspeed, twin waves and plaits before everything ends up in the jumble henge --> disting --> octatrack

The main things I want to change are to add in a matrix mixer (I'm happy to wait for the ritual electronics one) and a better pre-output mixer. I've looked at the performance mixer, and the cosmix pro, but really cant decide which would be the best fit / compromise.

Things I'd probably plan to take out to make space in order: Plaits (this was one of my first modules, but I've only recently started to enjoy it, so this is a tough one, but I do think I have too many sound sources in one case), bin seq, fractio solum, 2hp vca, freez, contour or tides, plog, ears and at a push the quad quantiser which isnt getting a lot of use right now.

One example would be like this, dropping the muxlicer if I were to go with the larger mixer:

Generally the choice of what mixer to get is baffling me no matter how much I look into it.

A final thought before I hit post... If I could find space for some kind of compressor / sidechain I think that could help simplify my end of chain too and relieve some pressure on an inverted envelope being multed to the vca for godspeed, twin waves, plaits and lubadh.

Quantizing:
I had been looking at the bard quartet for ages, and the new expander for it definitely would have appealed if I hadnt bought the arpitecht and the tenderfoot quad quantizer just as it came out. I have actually found the arpitecht is doing a ton of work for me lately and is incredibly flexible, and with quantised outputs from the metron/voltare I've barely touched the quad quantizer.

Mixing:
I'm still trying to figure this out, I've been relying on the Jumble Henge to mix down into stereo, but its not going to cut it for me much longer, and I've been trying to wrap my brains around what would, all I've narrowed it down to is having fader controls and being able to handle stereo.

FX:
The FX aid is great, I also use beads for granular/delay/reverb, and I have a Arbhar & lubadh for additional reverb and delay if not otherwise being used for their main purpose. This is an area I constantly find tempting, but I try to limit myself on so that I can make space for more utilities.

Sequencing:
I went a bit nuts in this space, picking up a used Metron completely changed my approach to it, alongside the Arpitecht which can provide grids like controls. The S8 is very straightforward, but definitely needs a quantiser as each pot has a large range. The varigate 4+ is a solid alternative, each slider has a large range too, but there is a combo to narrow down the adjustment to make it more usable.

I agree for a case this big you probably only want one sound source (beads also had over but you probably won't use it often if you are using beads for effects)

I don't know enough about pizza but the twin waves has two oscillators that can fm and am each other, and also double as LFO if needed.

However, without the quadrax you are going to be stuck using the o_c for envelopes which is a shame as it has lots to offer otherwise.

If you do put the quadrax back you can use one of its channels to fm the pizza

One option might be too go to a 6u case 😅

Quadrax is excellent and can self patch in some interesting and fun ways (LFO at audio rate, amplitude modified by a second channel, wave shape wobbled by a third, and pitch affected by the drunken walk alternative mode of the LFO in the 4th channel for example)

Distings is great to fill a gap, but you already have O_C and effectively 3 channels of distings feels overkill / too much choice. If I'm using distings I've exhausted every other way of doing it because the menu on the MK4 is infuriating.

A filter with a variety of modulation would give you more to do with your sound. Steve's ms22 is well regarded and only 4u.

Personally I just don't get on with plaits, I keep going back to it and trying again and again. But it's difficult to tune and whilst very multifunctional, doesn't give me the same joy as something like the twin waves or even the godspeed, (recently I was even enjoying pinging a self oscillating filter through fx more than plaits) and rings does all the interesting modes better. The bastl pizza is also very hot at the moment and worth a look.

I love beads... But also check out the happy herding fx aid... If you happen to find more u to play with

I'd personally take out the marbles, the plaits and at least one of the distings (the screen on the MK4 sucks, but also having effectively three of them with the dual disting ex is going to be boring). In their place I'd try to fit modulation (maybe quadrax which is a lot packed into one package, or tilt, ochd, a clone of peaks for more compact options), an interesting oscillator (maybe twin waves), a filter to suit your taste, and hopefully there is room for a few vcas (maybe veils or a clone)

I'd recommend the After later audio Tilt as a small function / envelope generator, although you probably want more LFO and modulation sources too. I only recently realised how much tilt could do and for the size of it it's fantastic. (There is a divkid video on YouTube)

The make noise contour is discontinued, but it's another small-ish envelope I'd never want to take out of my case

Maybe the ochd is worth considering for a boat load of LFO in a small space.

Add filter flavour to your own tastes, I recently fell in love with the ritual electronics altar and it's made me appreciate all of my filters more ☺️

Controversial I know but, whilst lots of people love maths, but is it worth 25% of your rack...?

I had a quick look as to what I'd change (for me) The preview is cached, so doesnt match what I ended up, so you may need to click through here:

In a rack this size I'd suggest looking at the Quadrax as an alternative to maths, smaller and very flexible, can act as a vco, envelope, LFO and a "drunken walk" style variable voltage output option, and has some very clever patching / internal routing.

For glitchy fx the 2hp freez is a lot of fun, so I added that, and the FX Aid for more flexible effects (including newish drum modes, but I think you'd want to keep that separate).

I've kept the VU meter because you are clear as to why you want it... but I've swapped out the intellijel quad vca for Veils to make space for it.

I've replaced the other 2hp drum modules with the 3hp Pico drums, it comes with good drum samples and you can also load your own samples into it, it has some drawbacks (one audio out) but its compact and flexible. Then maybe consider another Pico module to even out the HP... I've gone with pico trig which can be used as a master clock, a clock divider or for drum patterns.

I've added the squawk dirty for more variety of filtering options, it also includes its own vca and I've generally found it interesting to use post stereo mix, but it gives you a lot of different flavours in a small space.

My first sound sources were plaits and twin waves... I've definitely used the twin waves a lot more than plaits... but I'm sure you have a better idea of the kind of sounds you want to play with so I've left it as Knit. For the same 6u and bassline however, I'd take a look at the godspeed, it also has a built in wavefolder.

It feels like forbidden planet could be a little redundant in this build now, but filters are great for adding character. Or swap it out for something weird or interesting: Pizza, Twin waves, Compare 2, triple sloths, tilt or ochd + links (I went with the latter)

EDITED Aug 24th 2022, 12:24

@JimHowell1970 I put my modules into categories to match your formula to sense check what I have.

I know some modules will cross multiple categories but I've tried to align them to their main intended use:

Utility (16): (incl. 4 clock/trigger)
Pico Trigger, Plog, SumDif, Fractio Solum, SL3KT, 2hp VCA, Ears, 3x MIA, Links, DOT, Shades (2020), Veils (2020), Disting mk4, Ornament and Crime, RND STEP, Shuttle Control

Modulation (12): (incl. 4 pitch sequencing)
Contour, 2hp ADSR, Mimetic Digitalis, Marbles, Tides, 8S, Varigate 4+, Quadrax, Qx, Catalyst Expander, Catalyst, Muxlicer, TILT, ochd

Sound modification (10): (incl. 4 filters)
tanh[3], Miasma, Ripples (2020), Morgasmatron, Freez, Bifold, Beads, FX AID XL, Jumble Henge, Squawk Dirty To Me

Sound source (6):
Pico DRUMS, Twin waves, Plaits, Rings, arbhar, arbhar expander, Godspeed

I'm also considering dropping the lubadh from the target system and seeing what matrix mixer and additional logic might fit in the 22hp that gives back... I can always consider replacing something else with the lubadh later maybe..

I tried all of the drum algorithms, a few were very good but most I felt were better served by the Pico drum, or the octatrack. I never really intended to build a drum machine I always intended to layer the modular over the Octatrack drum samples... The Pico drum just lets me ignore the octatrack if I want to play around and do something basic .. and with the fractio solum it can do some very bizarre and fun things

never had a desire to get any instruo - except maybe tan[h] - have (inexpensive) wavefolder habit due to video...

It's so good! I've been really pleased with all of my instruo modules, but the tan(h) especially so.

That is one of the reasons I don't have Maths, I'd rather use 20hp to have multiple components I can stitch together differently, and sometimes independently of each other.

No Maths is fantastic - get a maths - more than the sum of it's parts - see the 'maths illustrated supplement'!!! and all of the parts can be used independently!

Yeah, it just hasn't grabbed me at all.

patch programming!!!! it won't grab you until you try it...

Isn't that still achievable using multiple modules?

yeah, I'd say most of the time its being used for the tape delay when it isn't sound recording, I've barely used any of its other functions! (then I got the fx aid and took some of the pressure off of it)

I have an fx aid xl - if igorrr ever gets round to the proposed xxl version (with a screen) I might buy another - and upgrade the one I have - don't like the algo swapping - so it's constantly in lofi mode!

Ive only just moved off of the stock config, but again I need to spend more time exploring what I can do with it.

I'm not in a rush to buy anything new at the moment, I've lots to learn about what I have!

redundancy? don't understand the concept within modular - duplication of functionality is useful - multiple voices = sometimes the need for use of similar modules on each voice - especially when some of these functions are in multi-function modules...

Well, in this case I have more S&H available than I use, so buying Kinks doesnt feel efficient, I'd much rather but the Jornalogue compare 2 and feel like the space being occupied is more broadly useful to me.

whats EAS? - not familiar!

Instruo's cascading logic module: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/instruo-eas

That is one of the reasons I don't have Maths, I'd rather use 20hp to have multiple components I can stitch together differently, and sometimes independently of each other.

No Maths is fantastic - get a maths - more than the sum of it's parts - see the 'maths illustrated supplement'!!! and all of the parts can be used independently!

Yeah, it just hasn't grabbed me at all.

I use my disting as a tape delay most of the time - even after buying a magneto to stop doing this!!! I'm a bit of a delay junky - lots of delay pedals too!

yeah, I'd say most of the time its being used for the tape delay when it isn't sound recording, I've barely used any of its other functions! (then I got the fx aid and took some of the pressure off of it)

a matrix mixer - really handy for: getting more complex modulation from what you alreaddy have (mult 4 modulation sources, get 4 more complex ones out), feedback patching (mix output of xyz module back into input), send/returns (send outputs of modules into inputs of effects and then mix outputs of effects back into original signal - useful for effects modules that don't have dry/wet controls)

Is there a good in rack option for this, or is it better to go to a standalone mixer?

joranalogue compare 2 - great logic module...

I'll check it out!

I know what you mean about modules that already have xyz in them - but usually it's part of something else - taking useful functions out so they can be used on their own is a good practice - so you always have that functionality available, even when using the module for something else - Maths is a great example of this - it's really powerful in itself and especially when patch=programmed to do something more interesting - much more so than using it as the individual functions it is made up of - which can be had individually for a relatively small amount of cash!

I think I'm agreeing with you but using different words, then wondering what is the most efficient and basic ways to add those capabilities without introducing too much redundancy, does adding an EAS or Joranalogue compare 2 give me the additional logic and rectification to remove the contention on my existing modules? (although I've not actually used plog for rectification yet, so that might be a technique I should explore soon!)

That is one of the reasons I don't have Maths, I'd rather use 20hp to have multiple components I can stitch together differently, and sometimes independently of each other.

Disting and O&C are similar - you can only do 1 thing (or 2 with the ex/hemispheres) at a time...
-- JimHowell1970

Absolutely, that is why I'm looking at the quad quantiser to unlock the other O&C functions.
Disting I use as a quick fix to fill any gaps, and when its not being used for anything else I use it as a sound recorder

so which case are you looking at

I'd seriously consider keeping the doepfer, getting rid of the pitts and it replacing with a couple of mantises, it's what I would do if I were you knowing what I know - if I ever buy another case it will be another mantis - best combination of cost/hp/good power/reputable company/standard screws - so knurlies! or just going DIY - and building a 12u/104hp case - I use befaco excalibus power supplies for my DIY cases - which are not that p0werful, but are good power - you might need 3 for 12u/104hp depending on the power draw of your modules

Later this year I intend to replace both cases with a 12/14U 104hp case, I've been looking at the MDLR cases, but whichever route I go, I'd like to stay within roughly 416hp in total. so refinement would then involve selling modules I have to make space for others.

I'd like to reshuffle my case in the near future, but I keep going around in circles as to how I should move things around, I'm going to look at the ARP2600 later and see how feasible it is to align to that layout.

re utilities: take a look at my signature - it's a philosophy/concept for getting the most versatility for the least amount of money... not that I necessarily strictly follow it - or expect anyone else to, for that matter - but I do try to and I do hope that people take notice - because it does work - want more complex modulation - get a matrix mixer and some mults, want more sounds - get a new filter or a waveshaper or delay and parallel process the sound sources you already have... etc etc

-- JimHowell1970

Absolutely, I'm a fan of the suggested relationship between types, I'm more excited for utilities right now than I am for anything else, I've looked at your cases to try and find inspiration for what utilities I might be omitting - but I'm still not entirely clear what would add value, I feel like I might have a blind spot here?

Kinks offers rectification, but I've already got 3 S&H in the RND Step, and Plog can do some wave rectification, EAS looks great for more logic, but Plog is doing the basics for me and maybe I need to investigate that further as I'm still not getting a lot of use out of it right now.

Veils + Jumble Henge is doing most of my audio mixing, with some additional done in filters (Ripples, Morgasmatron) or 3xMIA. Shades, links, sumdif, 3xMIA and veils/2hp VCA are doing my modulation mixing.... but this is quite dispersed and I can see that a more focused mixing utility might be helpful.

The octatrack pulls a lot of weight for me for drums, and to be fair, the pico drum with plaits does a decent job of replacing that when I dont want to play outside of the rack. Maybe it is more of a "this isnt quite what I expected" from plaits, rather than "I don't like it"

Plaits is probably my least favourite mutable module - although I do use it quite a bit - even if it is just for hats... I must spend some more time with it again...

Yeah, I seem to do exactly the same with it most of the time, resetting the octave range definitely helped make it more playable but on the whole I tend to leave it set up for high hats

Tides is fantastic though - I have both versions - I especially like the phased mode on the one you have - although both get used in nearly every patch I make - great for both audio and modulation

I think this is a time thing, it is so deep it takes a bit more investment than I have put into any of the other modules, so I'll be putting a bit more focus on it. I especially like it as an oscillator but I bought it with the intent of interesting related modulation

Marbles - I like it a lot - one thing that helped was increasing the length of the gates so that they were more useful for opening envelopes (as well as just triggering percussion)

When I look at your racks - both versions - I see a serious lack of basic utility modules - these massively help in terms of plumbing... sub-mixers, matrix mixer, mults, logic, rectification etc etc... when extending I'd be tempted to keep the doepfer case too - so you have room to add a lot more of these...

Interesting, I use links, veils, MIA, Shades, Jumble Henge and sumdif for mixing of one kind or another alongside stackables, and cable splitters, but in this arena, I don't know what I don't know and I'd like to change that. Have you any suggestions as to what might help rebalance? The additional 40hp I get by replacing the doepfer doesnt have to be used on the lubadh / quad quantizer / quantas ampla, the latter was yet another attempt at adding some kind of utility (mixing, ducking/sidechaining)

as for flow - I'm guessing you mean workflow here - ie patching things together - as I said above more utilities, which should be distributed throughout - but also I find something along the lines of the layout of the 2600 - from top, left - sound sources, modulation, effects (including filters) and controllers/sequencers and end of chain mixing at the bottom - but this assumes that you actually have the cases arranged as depicted, one on top of the other

-- JimHowell1970

Yes, the Move case is on its back in front of the doepfer one, so effectively stacked as shown, the main issue is the power / screw constraint in the bottom case so some of the smaller or power hungry modules need to stay up top.

I'm looking for feedback on my rack and advice as to how to position the modules for a better flow.

I've not really been hitting any pain points, but wondered if another pair of eyes could suggest some improvements.

I've steadily and a little organically built up the below system:

The top two rows are 6u 84hp doepfer case, which I am considering replacing with a 104hp case in the long term

The bottom two rows are a Pittsburgh modular move 104, this case has a few restrictions, each row has 18 floating nuts and the power from the case itself is limited to about 1.3A, so I'm using the endorphins shuttle to power the bottom row which is also limited to about 1A

I have an Elektron Octatrack providing clock/midi through the shuttle, and the audio goes back out via the Jumble Henge and then the Disting which I often use to record quickly if I hear something I like.

During lockdown I have been using music as a way to escape screens, so I really don't want any PC involved in the setup and only use it occasionally to update modules or reconfigure the shuttle/fx aid, or to play back recordings from the Distings

In the long run, I'm thinking of building towards this:

I'm not necessarily attached to the new modules in this, although I think I'd still like the crime expander for Miasma when it is released to avoid taking it out of the case to change its tone.

I'm also not entirely getting on with Marbles, Tides and Plaits, I don't dislike them I just find myself not using them very much... although I'm planning to spend some time focusing building patches around each of them to see if I can change that feeling before deciding if I want to remove them, Tides especially I feel could be great if I invest the time to properly learn it.

Any feedback or input would be very welcome