rare/cool effects modules for sound processing

hey guys

I wanna put together a rack only for processing sounds coming from my DAW, so I'm looking for some input on modules that are great for sound design/processing purposes.

my criteria are intuitive usability (no quadruple-layer submenus) and unique sound processing capabilities (i.e. something you cannot easily program in MaxMSP - but can also be interesting takes on simple effects like delays!).

any suggestions are much appreciated! thanks!

any worthwhile effects rack is very, very close to a full blown modular synth...

a synth is made up of sound sources, sound modifiers, modulation sources and utility modules

an effects rack is made up of an i/o module of some sort (you sound source), sound modifiers, modulation sources and utility modules

but here's the rub... a powerful technique is audio rate modulation - for this you want a sound source - ie a vco - & the i/o is a utility - so effectively they are identical...

do you have an audio interface with at least 4 outputs? you'll want one of those if you don't have one... why do I need 4 outputs? I hear you say... because you need master outputs to hear the mix and 2 to use as sends to the rack... but I can use headphones to monitor! I hear you say - hmm, no the headphones mirror the master outs (1&2) - so unless you want to be that blind deaf and dumb kid - get at least 4 outputs!

if you want to do things like tempo syncing - you'll either want more outputs than that or a midi interface (& potentially a midi-cv module), personally I use audio as much as possible...

If you don't already have an audio interface, there are a few in eurorack (expert sleepers es8 or 9 and there's a new one on it's way from befaco)

if you already have a suitable audio interface then you'll need to boost the audio levels to modular levels - because modular operates at a much higher level (peak to peak voltage) - so you'll probably need an audio input module - or at least a module that can amplify with a decent amount of gain +20dB is good!

plugging the audio from the modular back directly into your audio interface may or may not clip, depends on the audio interface, or might want balanced inputs - so you might need either attenuators or an output module...

there are some combined i/o modules

so that's your sound source taken care of...

I'll assume you want to process stereo tracks from the DAW...

there are thousands of eurorack effects modules - so it really depends on what sort of processing you want to do - but take note a lot are mono - so that may rule them out, unless you want to buy multiples of the same module, or a LRSMSMLR module (which will take your stereo signal and turn it into Mid and Side channels - these can the be processed by mono effects and then it will recombine them back into a stereo signal) - furthermore a lot of people using DAWs want to get some 'analog goodness' into their workflow... most of these modules are mono!!! most of the 'interesting' stereo effects are digital... but don't let that put you off...

some 'interesting' effects modules that you might want to look at (in no particular order) are arbhar, clouds, beads, mimeophon, morphagene, erbe-verb, bunker archeology, magneto, starlab, rings, doepfer filters, fixed filter banks, dual looping delay, spectral multiband resonator, fsu, plague bearer - it really depends on what you are trying to do - which you didn't specify...

the real advantage of modular effects, is the level of cv modulation that you can achieve, using a combination of lfos, envelope generators, function generators, random sources and chaos... so you'll want a decent selection of those - now I hear you say "but I can twiddle knobs and use my hands" - well yes you can but you only have 2 of those - and you'll almost definitely want more, which is where these modulation sources come in very handy - as they replace your hands!!

and don't forget a vco for audio rate modulation!

now for the really important bit... utilities! mix, merge and mangle your signals - both cv and audio & probably in lots of cases not together - which is why you almost definitely need more of these than you can imagine - vcas (a good start is a good quality quad cascading vca - veils perhaps - grab one whilst you can), mixers (sub mixers, matrix mixers, unity mixers, end of channel mixers), mults, attenuators, attenuverters, switches (both manual and sequential), slews etc etc... in general these expand the capabilities of everything else you have exponentially and are comparatively inexpensive (doepfer and ladik are really good brands for these types of modules)

and you might find that a trigger/gate sequencer and a cv sequencer (possibly with multiple channels) are a good idea...

so when I say get a bigger case and go slowly with the module purchases - so you learn what you actually need - as opposed to just the effects modules you really want - you may have an inkling of why

as for a case - I'd recommend a tiptop mantis as a great starting point - it's the best meeting point of hp/cost/good quality power/manufacturer reputation...

now I hope this hasn't put you off, as modular is fantastic, but I'm just giving you an idea of what you are getting yourself into...

if you look into my signature you will see a formula - it is a rough guide to how to build a versatile modular for the least cash...

now go create a public rack (on here) throw a few modules in and post the url - so that we can critique it...

NB there is nothing unique or particularly rare or cool in modular - there are just modules - the most unique thing is you and how you combine them, patch them and play them!

I wouldn't recommend building an entire system to simply do audio effects, given that you can find a buttload of physical rackmounted effects processors for damn near dirt. Seriously...if you can pay something like $180 for a used Lexicon LXP-15 ii (it was about 10X that when new!), why in the hell wouldn't you go for THAT rather than trying to cram functionality on that level into a module that goes in a Eurorack cab? And if patchability is the key here, just route all of the outboard gear's I/Os through some patchbays. I've been working like that for decades...and the idea DOES come with a "pedigree" of sorts, since I cribbed that from Syracuse's analog studio...

...which Uncle Bob designed. Not much better in the way of authorities than that!

hey guys, thanks a lot for both of your replies, I'm reading them attentively.

here's my current rack (click to expand):

I've noticed that I am using mostly the elements, delay and erbeverb for sound design, and feeding in a lot of sound sources from my computer. Because of this workflow I really have come to think for me the way to go is to add some more effects modules and maybe even sell the two 4ms modules (much as I like them, just not using them much), hence the original post.

@Lugia: thanks for your suggestion but I really feel comfortable with using effects in modular like that, and for my workflow atm it makes a lot of sense to continue in this direction.

EDITED Jul 17th 2022, 10:49

thumbnail & rack don't match - but as you say you have elements, I guess the rack is correct?

which 2 4ms modules to get rid of? the ensemble & the sampler?

yeah I didn't know how to update the thumbnail ... if you click it you should get to the actual rack.

yep, ensemble & sampler. might keep them tho, still unsure. my priority is adding an es-8, some fx & possibly some useful utilities atm.

EDITED Jul 17th 2022, 13:09

I'd completely agree on your priorities...

if you keep the 4ms modules you can always leave them in a drawer for a while see if you miss them or not before selling them! then the question is either: what to take out or get new case... my answer to this has always been new case... which is why I have 8 of them!

hah, yeah I'm kind of thinking in that direction too, much as I'd prefer to have a compact solution. I've still got a diy case lying around with a Doepfer power supply that someone gave to me, so it's not like I don't have the space. :)

You could get a lot of mileage out of a Versio module. You can update the firmware to try them all out, so that gives you quite a few options.

@mbl77 you mean the noise engineering ones? thanks, this is solid advice, will look into them

some recommendations:

mungo stuff like g0 d0 c1
feedback modules 1 bit multitap
doepfer bbd modules
4ms DLD
LA67 LR4
doepfer quad poly ssm filter a-105-4
morphing preset programmer like livestock ellis / shakmat harlequin’s context

EDITED Aug 22nd 2022, 23:53

I second the 4ms DLD suggestion. This is a very interesting effect module. Each side has a feedback loop and adding any sound modifier in the loops opens many possibilities. It can do a lot, from gentle and clean sound design to pure madness.

amazing guys, keep 'em coming

a couple more suggestions:

• happy nerding tritone (vc eq)
• combination of comparator + envelope + vca with nice sounding gain/overdrive - this will allow you to make your own compressors. I much prefer this approach to dedicated compressor modules, none of which have really impressed me in euro-land.

May I just add to all these suggestions Qu-Bit Data Bender which is an authentic sound processor. Much more than a simple 'destruction' module :))
I had first adopted it for this ‘crusher’ function and I discovered that it can also do much more, and beautiful things.
Again, it's all in the use of the tool...