Hi everyone
I recently picked up a Mother-32 and now I'm hooked. I've been trying to build up a rack, have acquired a few 2nd hand modules and now I'm looking for some feedback.
What I already have:
- Disting mk4
- Pams
- Maths
- 2x Electro-smith VCAs (Only 1 in rack atm)
- Mother-32 (Not in rack)
Also:
- MIDI controller
- Microcosm Hologram (granular, reverb, looper pedal)
What I'm considering as a setup in a Doepfer Low cost base rack:
The story so far...
The idea is to create a semi-generative system for noodling; maybe something like a high quality Buddha box. I'm in no way a professionel musician, nor do I harbor aspirations to be one, I just really enjoy the sounds coming from especially the mutable instrument modules and would like to create a system capable of playing these outside VCV. Like almost everyone else on the planet, I work with computers for a living, so I would love to be able to create something simple and flow-state conducive to coding and writing. Ideally, I'd like a system I could "play" or tweak in between blocks of code or when struggling with writer's block... I suppose a room with a view and a fireplace to tend would be perfect, but that's not in my budget, so naturally I looked into the second-most expensive thing next to buying a house, i.e. building a eurorack setup.
Module walkthrough
Pamela's NEW workout Been reading a lot of beginner guides to modular and going through a few courses in VCV. A clock seems somewhat essential, Pams was on my list of clocks and so when a used one cropped up on a local exchange, I picked it up as my first proper module, as it seemed like a safe bet.
MI Marbles Had a little trouble distingising this from Pams, but playing with VCV I finally worked out that it's sorta one module split into 2, where the two play/trigger(?) in relation to one another. If I were to add this to my rack, it would be as a more "playable" clock, if that makes sense?
MI Ears Wanted a Make Noise Morphagene, but couldn't quite justify the cost. Found this instead for adding external sound sources into the eurorack. The contact mic is a fun bonus, but I doubt I'll use it much. External sources aren't on the top of my list, but I worked in radio documentaries in another life and fear I'll end up wanting to add some backdrops (rain, fire, cracking ice, birds, etc) from my recorder at one point or another.
MI Plaits Another safe-ish bet. This is one of the first modules I played around with in VCV and it seems an incredibly flexible sound source. Instead of this, I was considering the 4MS Ensemble Oscillator, since I don't think I'll be utilising the percussive aspects of Plaits much, except perhaps to play with the ears contact mic. I'm still kinda in between the two or even considering both.
MI Rings & MI Beads The way these two sound together is just incredible to me. The hope is I'd be able to achieve something I'd consider soothing and melodic quite easily, so that I could always return to these two when frustrated with all the other modules. I've considered clones of all the MI stuff, but ultimately I wanted to support the author and the commitment to opensource.
Make Noise Maths Already purchased this. I intend to use it as a mixer while learning the other modules and then do a deep dive into it later.
Disting MK4 Since this is a small system and I'm just beginning to dip my toe into the modular waters, I saw this used and picked it up immediately as a stand-in for what might be missing on this list.
Behringer 305 EQ/Mixer/Output This was one of the toughest calls for me. An output module. There are so many! I narrowed down what I need to a) headphone output, b) TS or TRS output for my effect pedal and c) a simple mixer. Tho this module is very expensive in HP, it is comparatively cheap in cold, hard cash.
Mother-32 Nearly forgot to add this! The hope is I can trigger the mother irregularly for some moogish bass beneath the plinky-plonk of the MI modules.
A few comments on my audio setup I own no external mixers or usb audio interfaces. The idea is to run the Mother-32 alongside the rest of the system, then use Maths and the 305 to mix and finally output to the microcosm hologram. I went for the microcosm over a pure reverb, because the microcosm can be a pure reverb, but the added looper appears an "easy fix" for quickly changing things.
So, there it is...
Will it work? I don't know. I'm sure I haven't thought of everything. There are no filters (Doepfer wasp?) for instance, barely any LFOs, nor any FX modules? Any and all comments are more than welcome. This is one of the more daunting shopping sprees of my life and even a little reassurance would go a long way.