film composing rack

This is my current film composing setup. I have to be able to do a lot of different types of music, and this has been flexible enough to meet both ambient and synthwave musical needs. I don't currently use this to perform live, and I typically only record one or two voices at a time for practical (mixing) reasons. As you can see, I have some empty space, and I'm open to suggestions of modules that could add musical value. I'm looking for two types of suggestions: 1) modules that could make this also viable as a live performance rack or 2) modules that could add a unique sound for film scoring. Thanks!

Hi BrainBasement,

Leave the free space as it is, don't fill up everything in one go, you need the free space for adjustments in your rack as well as your opinion on certain modules might change and that costs HP space :-)

If I were you I would ditch a few of those nice looking, fancy modules and concentrate a bit more on building up some experience and then slowly add more modules to the rack. So keep 1 or 2 rows free for the moment and start a bit smaller (it's good though to have a larger rack, so you don't need to buy a smaller rack the size of the rack is fine).

Good luck and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Thanks for the feedback, although next time you think a module is too evil, big, and scary, it would be much more helpful for you to write "I would replace module X with module Y for this reason..."

I think I laid out pretty clear criteria, and this rack wasn't built in one go, but rather put together to meet specific needs for film score requests over the last 4 years or so. The only "vanity" module at the moment is the Ensemble Oscillator, but it has a digital grittiness to it that can't be replicated as easily elsewhere.

It looks like you have a lot sound generating capabilities already so let's think about playing live. You have a lot of synth here, but not too many ways of changing things around on the fly. You don't really want to be repatching things in the middle of a performance. So I would add a lot of switches, switched multiples, mutes, OR-combiners, and CV mixers.

I'm assuming you are mixing on a desk, but an audio mixer in your rack would give some extra flexibility.

Is your computer part of your live rig? If not, you may want more sequencing. I don't know the Rene or the Stillson Hammer, but I do know the BIA, and it can easily eat 10 channels of sequencer by itself. Even if you are using your computer you still probably want more sequencing, especially for triggers. I like the look of the Intellijel Steppy, but an external sequencer like the BeatStep Pro might be better for you.

What about hands on control? Are you playing this with a keyboard? You might find something that gives you a bit more expressive control to be nice, like a Tetrapad or a Pressure Points. Even a big old slider can good!