Help with pairing Modules with Minibrute 2S

I am taking the first nervous steps into Modular.
I got a Minibrute 2S as my gateway drug and am loving it.
My plan is now to get a Rackbrute 3U as my next steps and am thinking about what modules to pair with the minibrute.
My first priority is fun over functionality so modules like the Disting Mk4 and Pico DSP may be more practical choices but do not seem as fun to use as some other options.
My plan is to spend around £300 per month to get one or two new modules every month give me time to get the hang of what they do and how to use them as well as still pay the rent!
Having done some research I have filled the 3U with the modules in the order that I plan to buy them (this is not the order that I plan to place them in the end)
I know that I could obviously get more in a 6U rack but think that there is a creative plus (and financial one too) to limiting what you have in some ways and this is only one part of my music making set up.
What do you guys think?
Would you suggest a different oscillator or filter to contrast the Brute 2?
Do I have too much modulation and not enough sound source or vice versa?

EDITED Feb 4th 2021, 16:34

Sorry for being dim but I can't figure out how to attach the picture of the rack!

copy and paste the url of your public rack

Thanks here is the rack

I am taking the first nervous steps into Modular.

cool + welcome!

My plan is now to get a Rackbrute 3U as my next steps and am thinking about what modules to pair with the minibrute.

No - see below

My plan is to spend around £300 per month to get one or two new modules every month give me time to get the hang of what they do and how to use them as well as still pay the rent!

sounds like a sensible plan!

Having done some research I have filled the 3U with the modules in the order that I plan to buy them (this is not the order that I plan to place them in the end)
I know that I could obviously get more in a 6U rack but think that there is a creative plus (and financial one too) to limiting what you have in some ways and this is only one part of my music making set up.
What do you guys think?
Would you suggest a different oscillator or filter to contrast the Brute 2?

will wait and comment when you've posted the link

re case: look at the total cost of ownership - price/hp - the 3u is way more expensive than the 6u and you will run out of space in the 3u very very quickly - personally I would get a mantis - way better value for money than the rackbrute - and no rack wart - but each to their own! - I'd recommend getting a jar (or dedicated savings account) and putting the rack rent* for each module you buy in it - by the time the current case is full the next case is paid for!

*rack rent = hp of module * (cost of case/(hp of case - hp of rack wart))

Do I have too much modulation and not enough sound source or vice versa?

almost definitely not enough utility modules

Thanks for this Jim,
You are so right about the rack but there is just something so aesthetically appealing about having it in the same wood etc and attaching to the brute nicely etc.
I am wanting a fun mini modular setup hence the 3u.
I play many acoustic instruments in my music with real drums, guitars, bass guitar and a Rhodes piano. I love working with samples too and have always used an MPC for doing that. I am far more ProTools than Ableton 😄

I fancied using some rhythmic modulated synth parts to do the job where I would have usually used a rhythm guitar part. This is why I bought the brute 2S and it makes a cool job of that, especially with the metaliser and brute factor.

I am not looking to become an out and out electronic music producer so to speak and have a clear-ish scope of what sound spectrums I am looking for from my synth. I have not gone gate heavy in my modules as these seem more for drums etc. - i might be waaay off here though.

The brute does a great job for what I want but hope that with just a few more modules I could add a bit more depth, texture, polish and complexity to the sound.

well that was quick ! - this was started before your reply to my last post - I'll reply to that separately....

ok so some great modules in there - again - bigger case recommended - as I suspected not a lot of utility - think plumbing! they are 'essential' for extending modulation - mixing, modifying and multiplying - really really important for the enjoyment of modular - almost as important as ergonomics!

rack wart - i hate these with a passion - especially these arturia ones - needless, overly big module with overly big branding if you ask me

plaits - fine - it's a good module - very flexible

mimeophone - it's huge - and not really enough modulation/utilities to support it fully I would suspect

polaris - it's a filter - I'd hold off on this one longer as plaits doesn't really need a filter

I'd want more vcas - they are incredibly useful for modulation as well as audio and plaits has a built in vca/lpg so you don't really need one for that - use another 4hp (in your bigger case) and get a veils! almost the same price but twice the vcas! veils will also double as an input module for external instruments - as it has up to 20db gain available - most vcas are effectively voltage controlled attenuators, not amplifiers - despite the name!

links is great - but I'm not convinced that you need a buffered mult at this stage and the mixers are very simple (ie no control)

distortion - hmm - I'd be more tempted to get a pedal interface and use a pedal - especially if you are determined to stay with the tiny case - and if you already have pedals - AISynthesis do a reasonably priced one in 2hp and it's even cheaper if you can diy!

Maths - brilliant module, a bit too big for a 3u, but buy this first - work your way through the illustrated manual - 32 patches for patch programming - the best modular primer there is, imo

Wobblebug - it's a great module but it's too big for this case - there are many many random sources - find something smaller

are you using an external mixer?

EDITED Feb 4th 2021, 17:18

Thanks for this Jim,

NP

You are so right about the rack but there is just something so aesthetically appealing about having it in the same wood etc and attaching to the brute nicely etc.
I am wanting a fun mini modular setup hence the 3u.

I completely understand the want for a rackbrute, given the minibrute and the ability to connect them - but seriously consider the 6u instead of the 3u - it's quite a lot cheaper per hp - and you will almost definitely need the hp - 6u is still quite a small modular - fill the gaps with blind panels - you can make them from cereal boxes if you don't want to spend money on metal ones - plus it folds together and fits the carry case better

I play many acoustic instruments in my music with real drums, guitars, bass guitar and a Rhodes piano. I love working with samples too and have always used an MPC for doing that. I am far more ProTools than Ableton 😄

I don't get on with Ableton either - used to use ProTools but moving to logic

I am not looking to become an out and out electronic music producer so to speak and have a clear-ish scope of what sound spectrums I am looking for from my synth. I have not gone gate heavy in my modules as these seem more for drums etc. - i might be waaay off here though.

gates trigger and keep open envelopes, envelopes open vcas, vcas let signals through when open - they're kind of useful!

The brute does a great job for what I want but hope that with just a few more modules I could add a bit more depth, texture, polish and complexity to the sound.

I 'just wanted a few modules' a few years ago - I now have a 100+ module synthesizer that outputs both audio and video which was never my intention and neither was synth or case diy (most of my cases and half the modules are diy) - it just creeps up on you!

I am up for getting maths first.
I am slightly scared that I am opening this Pandora’s box that leads to your 100+ Modules!
I am cool with going to the 6u.
In this case you suggest I need more plumbing and should be getting another LFO module, VCA module and envelope/Adsr module as well as another multi or a mixer module but what am I missing here from the big stuff I would/should want to use?
I thought about an Erica graphic VCO for a more FM sound perhaps but it is not really the vibe I tend to go for but 80’s in quite in at the moment.
I am not in love with the Steiner filter in the brute to be honest. I would really like a more organic sounding filter. That was my thinking with the Polaris.
Distortion and delay were, to my musical pallet, the first two things I really felt the brute was lacking for how I wanted to use it but this might just be because I don’t know any better and these are the traditional things I understand. I would like these to be modules rather than pull apart my pedal board or reallocate it to my synth setup.
I am also going to say something really stupid here but doesn’t the brute 2s’s sequencer do quite a lot of what a gate module would do? He says running for shelter from the barrage of criticism about to come his way :-)
Everything will clock to pro tools or I will use the MPC that has cv out and my plan is for the mono out from the brute to go straight into the sound card as well as the stereo out from the delay going into the desk and on an insert into the sound card too so that I can record both and use either and reroute dry or wet etc.
Thanks so much Jim for all your help and advice, It is really kind and helpful.
I might put together a virtual 6u for your critique.

hahahahahahahaha be scared, be very scared!!!!

not really! to be honest apart from the core of the video modules - which I sold 3 guitars and a bass to cover (I have more, don't worry) - I've not spent much more than your £300/month budget

you're not really missing anything from the 'big stuff' - it's the support modules that help them play together nicely that are missing

utility modules are the (mostly) inexpensive dull polish that makes the shiny expansive modules actually shine and not tarnish quickly

in your situation I would buy (maybe over time) the 6u rackbrute, maths, a filter that you like, veils - which also has a nice gritty overdrive, btw - an fx aid xl - and a disting mk4* - and then stop and just play with those for a few months

• disting is fantastically useful - it has a lot of uses and can be both a learning tool and a stand in for other modules as required - a lot of people take one look at it and go - "ah a menu, not for me" - a lot of others buy it to try and don't get on with it - mostly because they are constantly fiddling with it to try every algo there is rather than spending some time setting up favourites and have issues reading large manuals - everytime you swap the algo it's like a new module - but a lot of the i/o is similar etc etc - ie the positives far outweigh they negatives, especially in a smaller rack - I will always keep mine - despite to a large extent having physical modules for most of the functions that it provides - I use the tape delay a lot - and some of the functions are in the I just might need that some day category (also one of very few modules with a pitch follower - which is useful if you are using external instruments - as is an envelope follower)

EDITED Feb 4th 2021, 19:00

Ok so I have thrown another version together in the order you suggest.

Overall does this solve my plumbing issues and offer (with the brute) a pretty cool synth for doing some cool rhythmic melodies.

Have I gone overkill on the plumbing or is that not a thing?

Any other modules i should aspire to? there seem to be some really cool mutable modules like warp that I don’t quite get what they actually do - am I missing out or not really.

i really don't understand how can you plan buying the whole rack in advance?
i changed my mind 1000 times and today's rack is not even close to planned one.
you need gates and triggers.start with simple, explore and observe.
once you know what you need then it's easier to find it .
all of that modules looks easy for beginners because they see few knobs, but truth is I mastered maths after 2 years of learning..Have morphagene 6 months, barely scratched the surface.

Hiya Marinche,

I have in my head the range of sounds that I am looking to achieve with it - a slightly driven mutating rhythmic synth line that sits between the bass guitar and lead guitar lines - where in my music I have previously always used a guitar for this part.

The minibrute 2s gets me pretty close but lacks the voweling effect I am looking for (hence Plaits) as well as lacking fuzz, reverb and delay too. I am also not in love with the sound of the Steiner filter.

I love the sequencer on the 2S as am really only looking to get a few more modules to add a bit more modulation, polish and complexity to the sound it can already produce. My original idea was to get a rackbrute 3u and just 8 modules.

This will be my first adventure into modular and I am not wanting to go down the rabbit hole but rather looking to put together a musical tool that will be fit for purpose and have the main functionality I will need.

Jim also said I needed gates but I am a little confused as to what gate modules to look at and how they will offer me more than what the sequencer already does in that regard as I will not be using this for drum synthesis. I am a total newb so please forgive my ignorance.