Hi! I've read the whole comment. First, I would kiss your forehead to express how much I appreciate it... however my style of expressing emotions could be weird in certain circumstances like this particular one... So... Thanks very much!
Thanks... is more than enough!!!
top row:
doepfer are not well known for midi -> cv modules... I'd not worry about this to start with... ie I'd drop the module...
Mutant Brain... Instant replacement!
the oscillators you've chosen... I'd probably want a 3rd - something different - either as the source for FM on one of these, or as a separate sound source...
I'm not convinced by the audio divider... what's your imagined use case for this?
I thought it could be nice (for bass and leads?) to replicate to different octaves. I like that sound much. Or to simply control different LFOs.
yeah maybe... but I'd just go for a clock divider to start...
not convinced by the sequencer... I think there are better options out there... so why this one? also NB it has no quantizer built in so you need either a dual one - or a sequencer module with quantisation built in... also needs a clock input... so either you need a sequencer with clock built in or you'll need an external clock - if you want to sync to a DAW, via midi you'd need one of the doepfer modules that specifies sync - ie not the one you chose - or a different midi->cv module (mutant brain - is a very good option) - or sync via audio (I use a kick sample) - also this sequencer massively benefits from pairing with the controller...
In principle, I will never use a DAW since my aim is to create everything by myself as much analogically as I can. But you are right. If there are options with some things included I should take a look at them. For example, Erica's one and Metropolix are digital, and that is not a "No" for me, but is a "mm... I don't know..." (even if they offer such flexibility)... So I'll think about them. That's the reason why I preferred Doepfer one: 2x8 steps, even needing external modules. A bit awful, but... Again, I'll think about it and see what's more out there.
the whole thing is a specialised analogue computer... that some components are digital is irrelevant imo - use whatever modules are best for the purpose/function... sometimes it will be analogue, sometimes it will be digital...
so I wouldn't get hung up on analog v digital - there are lots of great digital modules... digital sound sources sound great through analog filters, digital sequencers are not in the audio path... and digital effects can get you a lot of options (& therefore potentially more interesting results) for less space and cash than analog ones (in a lot of cases)
if you're not going to use a DAW (in terms of modular I only use mine for recording and sync - so everything is in time, but I do also use soft synths and record guitars, vocals etc with it and edit, process and mix in there too) then I'd get a clock source - unless you already have a clock! as I said, you'll want a quantizer, a clock and probably the controller for the a-155, if you decide to stick with it & possibly a second a-155 (& probably another sequencer and a precision adder or 2 - for transposition)
middle row:
a lot of filters... but no other effects, I'd swap some out... add a multi-effect unit... an fx aid pro possibly 2... if 2 I'd only get 1 pro - the pro can be used as a cheat sheet for the other - delay and reverb (at a minimum) is a useful combination
Haha! I have just seen the Aid pro, and it is a patology of mine... I hate digital screens haha. Whatever, I'll check modules like those! Thank you again! Of course they are missing!
in this case the screen on the fx aid pro makes it 1000 * more useful than it's little brothers - a bank of LED indicators is horrible as it's difficult to remember which algo is where....
I'd not spend money on a b-company fixed filter bank... if I wanted something similar I'd wait and buy a better one at a later date... I'd put a matrix mixer in it's place
Sure you are right!
the 2 mixers and 2 mults next to each other will be annoying... I'd also replace one of the mixers with a happy nerding 3 * MIA - not only can it mix, but it also can be used for attenuation/attenuversion/offset - which is incredibly useful to have (& yes I know that Maths has these - but you will almost definitely want to use them whilst you are using maths for something more interesting)
About the order... there will be too much variability in the next month haha, and probably years haha. Buy I'll consider the change! And the offset was needed and forgotten! Thanks again.
do you really need 2 adsrs? I'd look for a dual in the same space... or one that's voltage controlled, oroften less complex envelope generators work well in modular... ADs for example...
Good point. I'll check!
not only are there some adsrs that are voltage controlled, there are some that have gate outputs per stage... also really useful....
ah some vcas... not enough... get at least a quad cascading one... a veils clone, perhaps... vcas are for cv as well as audio... and even for audio they are for more than just shaping notes...
I think I don't appreciate them yet, but I'll consider all recommendations... all of you point that out like if I was crazy haha. I am, but I'll do!
vcas are needed if you want to shape notes - oscillator -> vca in/ envelope generator -> vca cv in/vca out -> filter (or filter before vca)... but they are also useful for controlling levels over time, gently varying the gain of a drone and adjusting the amount of a modulation signal being sent to a modulation input (& lots of other things) - they're modular synth 101 - it doesn't mean you absolutely need them, but they do make life much simpler... unless you have lots of hands to control many different knobs at the same time...
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a-119 - it's useful, but noisy
Will check replacements.
I like the befaco instrument interface... I have both and use both... it's not that the a-119 is bad, it's just not clean... the befaco is much cleaner...
dual slew - might be redundant (& I dislike this word with regard to modular) - maths is a dual slew! I'd drop this
ring mod... better to get the dual vc polarizer... it can do ring mod and other things and it's the same size...
maths (great module - download the 'maths illustrated manual' (work through it multiple times thinking about what, why & how) and a single lfo are not really enough modulation sources... I'd get a batumi & expander...
personally I'm not a big fan of scopes... I have an es8 so could use 1 in vcv rack and I also have 1 in the fx aid pro... neither of which i use that much... you can listen to any cv... just send it through a vcos pitch input...I'll do! And I see the necessity of seeing the waves to understand what a module is doing, so for me an oscilloscope is a must haha.
that's also another reason why the fx aid pro is useful... it includes a basic scope... which you can use whilst processing another signal...
mixer - you have all those filters - eq is a bit redundant (urgh) - I'd get a better mixer... again b-company (I try as much as humanly possible to avoid giving money to Uli!) if you want relatively inexpensive & absolutely must have EQ... then I'd go for an external mixer... I have an inexpensive yamaha mg12, which handles modular levels well - I wouldn't get one with fx built in though, just the base model - this will also save some rack space
Sure! My idea was to have a nice output and didn't find any of my likings... that was just to know I need it haha. Sorry!
I have a tesseract modular tex-mix - which is expandable (4 mono or stereo channels at a time)... and inexpensive... currently mine is 12 mono channels & 4 stereo channels - it has cue, mutes, vcas (mono channels), headphones and 2 send/returns - all very useful features!!!
remember you don't have to buy all of this at once - buy the case and a minimum viable synth and add modules slowly, one or two at a time... you will learn more... and get more from your modular... plus as no plan survives contact with the enemy, which in this case is you... your plans/wants/needs will change over time... & the slower you go, the fewer side tracks you'll take - as you will find out what you are missing and then add it, rather than buying modules you find you don't use...
My economy allows me to mount it at a not very fast pace... so I considered it from the beginning haha. Since I have the 2600, I'll buy what can be an extra to it and increase it slowly!
-- sambarroso
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities