Additional gear:
- TR-6s > Strymon Deco
- CV controlled cassette player https://reverb.com/item/68324012-variable-speed-modified-cassette-walkman-selectable-photocell-knob-control-cv-input
- ^ goes into a RC-505 which goes into MV
- Soda water for hydration
Additional gear:
- TR-6s > Strymon Deco
- Erica Synths Fusion Box
- CV controlled cassette player https://reverb.com/item/68324012-variable-speed-modified-cassette-walkman-selectable-photocell-knob-control-cv-input
- ^ goes into RC-505 > MV
- PreMix6 mixer/interface
- Soda water for hydration
pic of full system: https://imgur.com/a/VHqBhjI
For years I messed around in Logic/Mainstage (mostly building this weird electronic drum set which was featured in Modern Drummer https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/maximal-sounds-from-minimal-sources/ Then a friend turned me onto eurorack, as I always wanted to make Techno/ambient, and down the rabbit hole I went. 2-3 years later and I have a setup which rarely changes anymore that I completely adore and I feel can pretty much make any sounds imaginable with in the dark techno/ambient/experimental realm. I started all hardware, but including Ableton + midi controllers really expanded things for me.
I currently use the system for jamming only and it has been designed to turn on quickly and start the wiggling. It’s mostly multitracked though for if/when I do want to record.
Here’s a recent jam on Earth Modular Society:
I’m pretty happy with this but still feel like I need many more years to get good at improvising on this thing.
NOTES ON SETUP
EURORACK:
Modular grid: 
I would say my whole setup is a giant weird drum machine in some ways. I often don’t even sequence pitch that much, but rather timber/CV inputs, filter cutoff, velocity etc. I always keep it patched up, but the patch is always changing. If you asked me what my favorite module is at this point I would probably say all of them. Have done a lot of buying/selling over the years and these are the keepers. (Except PAMS, will probably get rid of that one day, but it’s nice for emergencies)
Love me some MI Marbles! Two of them share sequencing duties across the system (including the DFAM which IMO really comes to life with external sequencing) and the third Marbles sends two channels of modulation to most voices in the system, which the MiniAtt attenuates for voices which don’t have built in attenuators. So I can quickly dial in some modulation as needed. Marbles provides a fantastic range of sequenced modulation that becomes the main sequence of the voices. I love it. The Dinpro DOT Euclidean sequencers I use as clock dividers for marbles to mix things up.
The modular voices I mix externally with the Mackie VLZ 1604. Having input gain, EQ and Low Cut, etc. is super handy with modular, as are the aux sends and busses. I could see myself swapping the analog mixer for midi controllers one day, which would make this thing portable maybe and multitracked even deeper, but I’m good for now.
The signal chain for my ambience generating stereo fx path is: Vocal samples in Ableton > Rings > CS-L wave folder / drone oscillator > Rosseum Linnaeus > Quadrat > Deco > (splits signal to feedback loop in mixer back to beginning of this chain, and then > Melotus Versio > Reverbs (in Ableton). Some FX is b”useful as an aux send, but from r/guitarpedals I learned the power of running a bunch of FX in series.
ABLETON:
Everything controlled in Ableton via the Midi Mixes and IPad (Touch OSC). I don’t need to look at the screen when jamming.
FX VSTs:
- Eventide Blackhole reverb
- Irid Shimmer reverb
- Valhalla Delay
- Waves H-Delay
Looping:
- 4 channels of Abletons Looper effect which I use with pitch, speed, filter and beat repeat effects, and can also send back to a channel on the mixer for continued processing. I had a RC-505 but find looping in Ableton much more flexible. I find looping is really key to keep things musical, but then being able to remix the loops equally important so things don’t get stale.
Sample based drums:
909 style Hi-hats, ride cymbal, claps, and sequencing for my eurorack Crater bass drum are all done in Ableton via the M4L sequencer Drum Brain and the samples triggered via the VST Drum Computer. Both are based around randomness so I can quickly generate new patterns and sounds. This I control with the IPad and MidiMix above it.
DJ style Master Channel FX:
The biggest game changer for me happened when I saw this EZ Bot video on the Octatrack
which he uses to loop and process his master channel. My master channel contains a looper and various FX. The trackpad I have setup like a Kaos pad a bit with delay and reverb. What I mostly do is create a loop for my master. Cross fade to the loop, then make changes to my live modular - which an audience can’t hear because the loop is playing - then cross fade back to the live modular for a transition. But it goes way deeper that that as you can blend the loop with the live for all kinds of dynamic performance fun. It frees you from having to constantly create new sequences as you can loop them and remix yourself. And loops just sound more musical to me.
I use my BeatStepPro to send clock and bass drum triggers/velocity to modular.
This shit is a god damn good time.
Oh! Deco and Fusion box… Deco - I love the range of sounds from such few knobs. I use it on the bounce mode which can both increase and decrease stereo width in a very creative ways. Fusion box is unpredictable in a really fun way. Not sure if it’s worth the price over a cheaper BBD delay, but the stereo effects and tube distortion are pretty rad. And sometimes when you push it hard it spits out some unbelievably weird and cool shit.
Thanks. The QX does look cool. Do you have one? How do you use it?
Yeah having the moogs in-rack is wasteful but also very ergonomic and keeps patching more organized. One day with a bigger studio I will probably do what you suggest.
Plaits and BIA through C4RBN is so good though I’ll never give it up! :) Right now I use the Ikarie to process the DFAM's oscillators... but maybe i could use it for Plaits and ditch a C4RBN for a QX.
I have everything in the first three bottom rows already, except Arbhar. There’s also a 1u row not in here (we’ll 2, eventually) with utilities.
I use this in conjunction with a 16 channel Mackie mixer, a boss rc-505, and ableton for effects/drums.
use the small 1u mixers to mix signals from CS-l going into QPAS, and again out of QPAS into mixer
Thanks Jim! Very good advice which I will heed. I'm still very much in the rough draft phase of this setup, and haven't begun to add any modulation/utility/VCA's modules etc. Maybe I will ping you when it's in a better place, would love to hear your thoughts!
