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as i said i am completely inexperienced, what would be a setup that would help me get into generative music well. thanks. can you give me some concrete suggestions so i can research further?

-- wrna1

there are a load of hints above to further your research... and get you started...

I'd also at least try to answer the questions posed above!!!

if you can go to an actual store thaty sells modules - this can be difficult depending where you live

as a start:

get a case - I recommend a mantis as a good starter...

get a sound source, a modulation source, a sound modifier, a way to play and a way to listen...

this will give you a minimum viable synth - with quantized random looping a melody, modulation and an effect and you will learn the basics of modular - once you have learnt these modules quite well you can think about adding more modules - another sound source (if you started with digital go analog - or vice versa) - filter(s) - more modulation - more utilities - a different way to sequence etc etc - I'd suggest only 1 or 2 at a time so you can learn the new module(s) & how they interact with the old modules before before

a Pam's (new or pro - read the manuals and compare functionality/prices/availability) will cover modulation and a way to play

for a sound source almost any vco will do - you can sort by popular - either a digital or analog one will do... if you are going for mutable clones then After Later Audio make full size ones as do a couple of other manufacturers - I'd avoid micro modules (hard to tune) - but make sure you google and read aas many opinions as possible - there's at least 1 that gets both good and very bad reports - especially for customer service

for a sound modifier - the FX Aid pro - is easy to use and has modulation/ a scope* built in etc and includes delays/reverbs/filters/loads of other stuff for you to explore and help work out what you actually need - you will probably want at least one filter per voice - but for starters the fx aid pro has filters... otherwise doepfer have some inexpensive classics - the wasp is popular as is the SEM, with good reason

for a way to listen - a good quad cascading vca - such as a veils clone - is a good investment - vcas are for modulation/cv as much as for audio... and will act perfectly well as a mono output to start with... stereo can come later if you want/need it...

add in a happy nerding 3 * mia - mix/invert/attenuate/offset

so 5 modules to start - a vco, a Pam's (pro/new), an FX Aid Pro, a Veils clone and a happy nerding 3 * mia

buy some stackcables and some regular patch cables

you will need blind panels (cardboard will work perfectly) - to stop you dropping cables onto tthe busboard and shorting out the electrics

I'd also recommend going to the modwiggler 1u & 3u subforum and reading the 'newbies start here' and 'all you need to know about power' threads - at least the first couple of pages...

if you have questions, ask... no such thing as a stupid question etc...

• I'm not overly convinced by scopes - yes they can help visualise what a modulation source is doing - but we're working with audio - so use your ears - plug a modulation source into a vco's pitch input and you will hear what it is doing by the change in pitch

EDITED Dec 2nd 2023, 11:54