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at first thank you for your detailed answer. If you give me a hint how i correctly integrate the rack with working links i will do so. At first i tried it with the URL to my rack but it was showing nothing at all. A link to the screenshot made the rack visible at least.
Yes, i'm certainly more drawn towards the more "fancy" modules. I own a Minitaur, a blackbox and a TB-3 besides the already mentioned Tr-8s and Analog Four. So i have already a little bit of the classical Stuff going on and went for something else with the proposed rack. But a logic module is an interesting idea and i will have a look into those again.
The mkII Version of the A4 actually has two control inputs. Each of those can be routed to 5 Parameters and you can route them to nearly everything. One thing i want to do with the Maths module is using the slew limiter to build some kind of ducking effect on the A4 with the triggers from the TR-8s. Sadly the control inputs can be used only for CV and expression pedals, but not for triggers.
The Rene is not set in stone. Maybe i want a more traditional and less space requiring sequencer like the Hermod. For the start i would focus on other modules and use the A4 for that kind of sequencing duties.
A more "musical" approach to randomness would be a Marbles instead of the Wogglebug, but it's using quite a lot space in my opinion. Some randomness should be included in the rack.
I don't like to have a bigger rack size, because everything should be a least a little bit transportable. When i need more space i would invest in a second case and find some kind of loose arrangement of those cases. I can't acquire all modules at once, so there will be free space in the beginning if i change my mind on some modules. Any advice which modules would be the best starting point? I thought about one row of 104 HP in the beginning and the second row over the next half year.
Thanks a lot again for your insights and advices. I wish you much fun with the A4. It's a quite flexible device in small form factor. You can do a lot with it once you’re familiar with the interface.
Well... I can see your rack as a picture image but not as a link to your rack. So please allow people to have a look at your rack and provide the link to your rack. Then I can have a more detailed look at it.
My first few impressions:
Yes your rack looks nice but for my personal taste a bit too many "nice & good looking modules" used and less focused on classic components, the "famous but partly boring ones like" VCOs, LFOs, EGs, filters, VCAs and other stuff like a logic module or something else to make your rack a bit more spicy :-)
I recognise the Maths module, certainly nice but a bit pity to use it "only" as a dual or semi-quad EG. René is certainly a nice module, it's also on my wishlist but it uses a lot of HP space and you might want to focus instead on other components first and then later with more (modular) experience looking into those "real nice modules" ;-)
Also found the Tempi in your rack, yes that's definitely a nice module, I use that one myself and I like it, so that one you can keep in your planning first.
Do I see there the Wogglebug as well? Funny and weird thing. I just got that module myself and just played a few days ago with it. Man what a module, it's difficult to tame that thing but I believe once one got more experience with using it, you can do some really weird and nice stuff with it. However to start with a module like that? I would rather start with the STO of Make Noise, that's a nice VCO and though it might look simple but after using the STO for a while one will realise that's a damn good oscillator.
By the way, we can shake hands regarding your Elektron A4, I just got recently one too. Nice device! I love the user interface and the decent quality of just using it, fantastic! I am still practicing with it. Yes it got 4 CVs/gates out and you need that. It sounds a lot but personally I feel a device never can have enough CV/gate outputs :-) Still... I am missing CV ins and gate inputs (or a clock input) on the A4, a real missed chance I think. So controlling with your A4 a modular system, yes that's feasible. However controlling with your modular an A4 (without using MIDI) that's difficult or just not possible; so I feel that's a bit of a pity other than that: A4 versus modular, yeah great! :-D
So in general please consider following:
Check out the classic components and see if you can use a bit more of those and a bit less of the "fancy" ones
Check out the rack size you are going to plan. You planned now already a full rack, so no space for extension. The "issue" with modular is that you always need more HP space. I planned a huge HP rack space and just recently got it full (seriously in no time it was full), not knowing what to do now, my hands in my hair so to speak (I am overdoing this here a bit but keep an eye on your HP space) --> thus plan a bigger one either plan to start with for example an Intellijel 7U case so you can extend it in the future with yet another same rack (there are rack plates on the market from Intellijel to connect two such cases; nice combination!) Or straight away plan something bigger like a Doepfer A-100 LC9 PSU3 (3 * 84 HP) or even better a Doepfer A-100 (3 * 168 HP) it's the most cost efficient rack if you look at $ or Euro per HP.
Plan also free space in your rack, so let's assume you get yourself a rack with 3 rows, keep at least one row free when you start into modular, so you have at least some initial space to extend without the need to buy a new rack
Modular is quite different from your A4, they are so to speak two different worlds, both are fantastic if you can value the positives (and accept the negatives). Once you got into Modular, wow, it's so great, especially in your case in combination with the A4, heaven opens to you ;-)
Welcome to modular, careful with the planning though, few thousand bucks is nothing in modular and wrong planning means bye bye bucks. Make sure that what you plan, is what you need and want. On the other hand don't worry to make mistakes too much, it's part of modular too, as long as you are open to learn from mistakes, with future extension planning you can then improve your modular system.
Good luck and kind regards,
Garfield Modular.
Edit: Update a typo.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Perhaps the fuse solved your problem? Now slowly start using one by one or batch of a few modules by a batch of a next few modules, to see what caused it? Most likely your power consumption was too high when you switched on the system. I managed at home to blow out the (automated) fuse on the electric circuit I am running my modular system. I am nowadays slowly powering on one by one my racks to avoid blowing a fuse.
I know, your case is a slightly bit different because you blew the fuse inside the Doepfer case. It's still the same though, too much power consumption at once (especially during the startup it consumes more power). Check if you can move a round a bit with high power usage modules to another PSU to balance it better. If you have already everything nicely balanced then it means that you total power consumption is too high, hence adding a new rack (with higher PSU capacity) might do the trick.
I am not sure by heart (but it's mentioned on the doepfer.de site) when Doepfer updated the PSUs of their racks, anyway, the newer Doepfer racks have the PSU generation 3 units and they can handle more power. I got already those newer Doepfer racks so that's why I don't have a problem with the racks itself but with my electric circuit providing the power to the racks ;-)
Good luck with the troubleshooting and kind regards,
Garfield Modular.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Hi Diego,
Thanks a lot for your response it opened my eyes on few factors and it was greatly helpful. I have to agree with you with everything you said, thus I had to change my setup a bit. Also to answer your question, I was messing around a bit with VCV Rack but certainly not enough. I will spend more time with it although I still would like to order first modules pretty soon.
So this is how my current setup looks like but honestly, first I am mainly focusing on modules that I plan to buy soon as there are too many things to talk about otherwise. My first modules would be: Rings, Clouds, Varigate 4+ and Quadratt 1U.
I guess it should be enough to start my modular working? I chose Varigate instead of New Workout because of the integrity with Voltage Block which might become handy in the future.
I know that I am a bit messy in my ideas here but modulars is such a huge topic that I think that it would really work well for me if I could actually start creating my patches using some modules. I have a very strong urge to start having trials and errors even if it means losing a bit of money.
This looks fun, Plaits & BIA give you a lot of sonic possibilities. The FH-2 looks like a good way to get MIDI to the sound sources, what are you going to use to get clock and do sequencing etc?
It's a common refrain to mention tight rack space as a drawback. I can also see a benefit in that the constraints of less hp means that more research and planning will go into a careful choice of modules—and (by necessity) will tend to yield a quite focused rack.
If there are a few modules that you end of replacing or adding as you go, and you run out of rack space, the extra modules can go on the shelf for a future, bigger rack, or an additional rack. There are more and more affordable rack options becoming available. Not a huge problem to tackle.
Also there are space-saving micro plaits to consider, I have the Tall Dog one that comes in at 8hp.
Didn't know about Tim Hecker, pretty nice sounds, thanks for sharing :)
With regards to your rack, I would personally miss at least a few VCA's, a clock source (I don't know the Voltage Block that well but Steppy won't advance without a clock, Pamela's New Workout would provide that and some more, or you could just use of Maths' channels in cycling mode) as well as a mixer since in your plan there seems to be no way to hear all your sound sources at the same time... Also, what was the reasoning behind the buffered mult, what do you plan to use it for ? These are generally only used when you need a very precise copy of a signal, otherwise inline mults could do and save you both space and money. Finally, as a very personal choice, I would not go for a Zeroscope in such a small setup. For me, but that's just me, an oscilloscope is needed when creating very complex signals, I don't think I would get a lot of use out of it for a "small" setup like yours, although that may be due to my lack of experience with such devices.
If you want to start with just a few modules based on the above, I would go for the classic Rings into Clouds + Steppy and Voltage Block for sequencing, some fun to be had experimenting with these very deep and complex modules I think, although I have never owned any of those except Steppy in my setup.
Have you tried VCV Rack ? It's free and while you might not want to make music on a computer in the long run, I found that some time with it helped me understand some modular synthesis concepts before diving into the actual pool. It's a rather good option as it allows to better decide for yourself where you want to go, rather than entirely relying on advice from the interwebz.
i'm planning my first steps into modular. Can you give me any advice on my proposed rack. Mostly i would like to go in the direction of ambient and techno. I own an Analog Four mkII and a TR-8s, so i have 4 cv outs and 7 trigger outs i can use with the rack. My plan is to aquire the modules over some time. With which modules would you start? Until now it is not clear if two rows of 104 hp will be my final rack, as there are a lot more interesting modules.
I only incorporated the Plaits and Basimilus Iteritas Alter as direct voices, but the mimeophone and some of the other modules can act as voices, too. I'm really unsure of having a PNW and a tempi as clocks. Maybe one those is not necessary? What do you think about my choices for LFOs, Envelopes and VCAs?
Thank you in advance for every input you can give me.
I am a total rookie in modulars. I have started digging more into them about one month ago, so I probably still lack a lot of knowledge. Anyway I would like to begin my modular journey as soon as possible and your help here would be greatly appreciated.
I am not planning to buy everything at once (probably 3-4 modules) and it would be nice if you helped me to chose what do I need first. So this is my modular idea for now:
My main goal is to have flexibility in sound design and big randomization options. As one of my main inspirations would be Tim Hecker's sound:
What I started with is Intellijel Designs 7U Stealth Case 104 HP, which seems to be an easy to use and good looking case. As sound generators I wanted to have some plucked audio that could be resonated in many ways, but also something that could make the sound a bit darker. I think that with Rings, Elements and VCO2 I can achieve a lot and easily switch from light tones to dark and a bit more depressive ones.
What I would also want to add in the future are delays, reverbs, maybe more distortion and modulation options.
I hope that you got the idea what I would like to achieve here. It would be amazing to hear what you think about it. Please let me know if I am missing some key components here.
I have only started Eurorack a few months ago so take my advice with that in mind ;)
I have Plaits and BIA, both are excellent choices well worth the asking price in my opinion. BIA is particularly well suited for designing drum sounds and deep enough to allow for sonic explorations, for example I often use it to make bass lines. It definitely has its own character but can almost stand on its own. Plaits is even deeper, each algorithm almost feels like a new module. It has several sound engines dedicated to percussions as well so it's definitely not a bad idea either, especially since it will make your rig more versatile than a more percussion-focused module, Plaits also makes great synth sounds.
I have the Disting and while I find it super useful, especially to beginners, some people have expressed that they dislike the interface of this module. Indeed, cramming so much functionality in only 4HP, you end up with a non-negligeable manual to read, and some menu diving. I'm ok with it, others are not, something keep in mind maybe.
One thing you may want to consider is that the rack seems a bit light on the modulation/sequencing side. Sure, BIA and Plaits can stand on their own but to keep sounds interesting and evolving, modulation is key unless you have 15 hands. You would probably need triggers for your enveloppe generator (although they can loop on their own) and the sound modules, LFO's and modulating CV for other stuff as well, so it feels like the FH-2 could come short on that (although I don't know that module, I'm just counting the outputs). Did you count modulation sources and destinations as well as needs for triggers in your plan ? No one can decide for you but I would pay attention to this before making a final decision.
If you look for just another one to add, Intellijel Plonk is certainly one that should be considered for percussive rigs. I've only tested it a few times as I plan to buy one for myself but it felt like a very serious option for drum sounds. It's also a self-contained voice like the BIA and Plaits so it wouldn't need "complimentary" modules either. The WMD offering on drums also looks very tempting, although perhaps with more focused sound palettes. No experience with those yet, but I have Crater on order.
Speaking of "adding another one", the big weakness I see in your plan is the rack size. From personnal experience and many, many tales of similar situations I read on the web, buying a bigger rack than the one just big enough to host the modules you currently plan on buying is taking into account the possibility (rather likely to happen, I'd wager) that you will want to expand in the future, and you will need space for that. Something like the Intellijel's 7U in 84HP, it might look big to you at first but it's quite portable (one can definitely lift that one one hand), will give you space to expand and provide you with nice things like a 1U row to put some utilities (for example, Intellijel's Quadratt 1U is a great small mixer/attenuverter) and audio-MIDI I/O. It's just an example of course, the point I'm trying to make is that leaving only 6HP free on your first plan sound like you're going to hit that HP limit very soon, at which point you might have to sell your first rack already.
I'm not getting +12v LED on my 2008 Doepfer suitcase rack, even with all modules unplugged and a new fuse in. What else could be the issue?
And now they are all back on again. I can't figure out what caused it.
Overview
An open VCA from Mother 32 (with a pitch sequence defined by Metropolis) is sent into Quad VCA where a Pulse LFO from Peaks determines when sound is allowed through (closed VCA with CV from Pulse LFO). Output from Quad VCA is then multiplied, one of the copies is sent directly out for reference, and the others go to Euro DDL and Maths to be inverted and sent to the Kill Gate Input.
A series of interacting functions from Function and Maths play off of eachother to effect things like:
- pitch sequence root note into Aux A of Metropolis
- Euro DDL Delay time
- Mother 32 VCF Cutoff
Varying the width of the Pulse LFO effects the length of each sound event coming out of the Quad VCA that goes into Euro DDL. Also, using the Multiply Parameter on Euro DDL and selecting sample rate values other than the default (Hold Multiple + Encoder turn) can provide interesting timbral and rhythmic variations.
I traded a module with him and it went OK, however he left a bad rating without ever telling me why which makes me doubt how great the new user rating is. I asked him why he rated like that earlier today, no response. I checked my old tracking, he must have gotten the module fine, weeks ago.
User men_chine is a crook!
This is a warning to alert fellow wigglers about this person.
I paid for a module last month (PP f/f) and then he/she/it disappeared. men_chine is still active on Modulargrid, updates rack layouts etc and the ad is still up for that same module.
That's a fantastic and creative idea! :-) Looks to me that there is space enough for extending it to an 8 channel sequencer or are there some limitations on the electronics?
Kind regards, Garfield Modular.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
It might do what you want: channels 1 & 4 are kind of the "classical" EGs and you might want to use the channels 2 & 3 for a similar purpose as well, however in such case I would just go for a more classical quad-EG and use that instead.
Defragmenteur is right, the Maths module can do so many things that it's a bit pity to use it as "just a plain quad EG".
If you just want to shoot 4 triggers (each by a separate EG) perhaps a quad AD would be sufficient?
Kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
I hear what you're saying, but take the two on the left. Both have the exact same dimensions inputed, are cleanly cropped, but very different in height. Here is the link to the actual board. https://www.modulargrid.net/p/pedalboards/view/1091948
It seems like the algorithm is not accounting for the actual image size correctly. This is an amazing utility, just was wondering if this is a known problem.
I think you have to give access to your rack. Once I try to open your rack, I get the warning that this rack is private.
Sorry, I don't have a clue what's a system80 810. Is System80 the brand name and 810 the module name? I just had a look at the modules page, sorry haven't heard from the Sysgtem80 brand before, always something to learn :-) If the 810 is your thing, perhaps a Behringer Neutron is something for you as well?
Do you have already some other equipment and/or experiences with synthesizers? Just asking to get a better view on your rack and trying to understand why you came up with this rack.
If the Neutron might be your thing and you haven't bought any Eurorack stuff yet, may I advice to start with the Neutron first, get some experience with it and if you get that "hungry feeling" that you want more and have this urge to get into Modular then yes, things will be all right :-) That's how I started too.
Particular experience with bassline (Erica Synths) I don't have but I have quite a few modules from Erica Synths and generally I am quite happy with their modules. The user interface is usually very good (pico modules a bit less because of the limited HP space but for what they offer within 3 HP still good) and most modules of Erica Synths offer a good value & play-ability. This all might sound a bit "neutral" to you perhaps but Erica Synths is definitely one of my preferred brands.
Kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Well of course you are right that the Metropolis would give you an increase of the play-ability of your rack, no doubt about that but it consumes quite some HP, so you should ask yourself if that's worth it (the HP usage).
Nice ADSR? Well perhaps not nice to see it but just simple and straight forward to use it is a Doepfer A-140, for the classic ADSR work and easy on your wallet. Personally, my nicest ADSR at the moment is the Erica Synths - Black VC EG (and I got the extension Black VC EG as well). I love to use this EG, not sure if it's still available though... might be not.
An AD I am also very impressed and happy with is the Triple AD from Hikari. Nice & good module and the good news is it's only 8 HP; it uses LED-sliders. And if you don't mind the HP but I guess you do :-) The MOD1 from Waldorf, I am quite happy with it too. Don't buy a Waldorf if you straight away want to get started. I did that with one of the Waldorf modules (I think it was the NW1) and perhaps it was just me, but without properly reading the manual a Waldorf might not be your thing. But I took the time and patience to go through the entire manual once I got the time for it and then Waldorf modules are actually quite enjoyable and offer many possibilities; so does the MOD1.
Sorry, I don't have experiences yet with the Stages.
I wish you good luck on looking for a suitable EG and kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Any time you get into your cases and start to move things around, there are risks. Anything from bent connector pins to broken assemblies to random bits of metal junk getting into the case can result in serious problems. It's best to decide on a configuration and then stick with it, from the standpoint of wear and tear on components. Even something as basic as a stripped-out rail hole or nut can prove to be a major annoyance over time. And as for random metal bits...it doesn't take much of a little shred of metal to cause a major disaster in any electronic device, particularly one where you have DC at a rather hefty amperage. I have not-fond memories of my father totally destroying a TV many years back when a tiny, broken-off bit of antenna wire not more than 1/4" long fell into the set's back and blew up something high-powered and important. Given that much of the circuitry inside a Eurorack system is exposed, including (quite often) the DC rails, this is a very real hazard. Also, keep in mind that everything behind that panel is interconnected through the bus boards; a failure at one point in a system can easily cascade into other modules, the power supply hardware, or even get out of the system via any number of connections to cause havoc elsewhere, depending on what failed and how.
So, yeah...economics again. Blowing up a build, though, is a disaster of proportions far worse than simply wasting money recasing something that's already cased.
Certainly not a must.. but I figured it would be a basic building block in essence. But I understand what you’re saying. At this point I would like to start with the neutron as the basis and expand on it. Don’t see why I couldn’t always recase it and use that hp space for something down the road. With that being said.. any feedback on taking that route?
OK, let's start from the basics here...first of all, the Neutron (and anything else that already has a powered case) doesn't belong in the Eurorack cab. Let's assume that we're looking at a typical 2 x 104 case here; I'll use the Tiptop Mantis as an example...
A Behringer Neutron currently streets for $290, and comes in a case with power already. A Mantis streets for $335.
Since a Mantis has 208 hp total in space, now we'll divide 335 by that 208 hp figure...and get 1.61. This is how much each hp in the case costs. Multiply times 80, and you get 128.85 (rounded). This means your Neutron, when in the Mantis, doesn't cost $290...it ACTUALLY costs $418.85, because you're now using expensive Eurorack cab space to house and power something that's already housed and powered. Any time you decase something that's already housed and powered, this happens, and it's necessary to tally up an ACTUAL cost per hp to see what an action like that really costs! In the end, while it might be convenient to put something like that in with the rest of the modules, it's a spendy solution to something that technically isn't a problem in the first place.
So...before anything else gets decided, you need to sort out whether you MUST have the Neutron in the Eurorack cab, or whether sensible economics is going to prevail here and there's a free 80 hp all of a sudden.
In the case of the stompboxes, MG doesn't autosize these the same way as it does with synth modules. Instead, you have to have the exact dimensions as viewed from top-down in mm. When posting stompboxes, it's probably a good idea to check the manufacturer's site for these, as retailers don't always get those right.
That being said, it's always possible to adjust the listing(s) when you find errors, provided the listing(s) in question weren't locked by the manufacturer.
Also, images need to be cleanly cropped...some of these boxes in the build definitely don't have that going on...
I'm really new to this site, but I have a question that might relate to resolution of pics. I added 3 pedals and noticed the scale was off.
To check, I created a board with all the Donner mini pedals, sorted by stated height, and you can see the images are quite different. I know this is picky to the extreme, but wondered if there was a solution....
This reminded me of Ms Pinky, a vinyl-timecode system (like a precursor to Serato). It has time-coded engravings on a 12" vinyl, and sends the data to Max/MSP (and now Max for Live is supported): https://mspinky.com/software/maxmsp-and-max-for-live/
Hi Wavne , really surpried no one reacted to this awesome video, this is really great & give a human feel to the sequences, your snippets are great too.
Agree on the voice module - ordered a Manis Iteritas. That gives me three voices for now as I've got my Neutron bolted into the box until I need to reclaim the space (I guess 4 voices if I press the Disting into use as a sample player).
Rather than the SQ one, I decided on an ES9 as I would like to be able to use the modular in the studio as well. When the case is very full then I will swap the ES9 and the PM in and out depending on whether it's in the studio or standalone for jamming.
That also means I can use things like Ableton CV Tools / Reaktor / VCV to experiment with pushing signals from various different devices into the modular as well as routing each voice individually into Ableton for additional processing.
Kinks looks quite interesting and it's nice and compact, are there any VCAs that are similarly compact and still recommended?
Thanks again for all the advice, it's really helpful to have a different perspective on things.
If it was me and based upon what you've said and that you've already ordered it I would keep the PM
I'd probably get one of the voice modules next along with an envelope generator (pams will work well for this) and something like an SQ-1 (yeah yeah I know external, but small and quite cheap) - treat this as a stopgap until you decide what you really want to use for sequencing
After that I'd want one of the fx modules and a quad cascading vca (for modulation purposes mainly) and some basic utilties (at the very least a kinks - for the price and size it is really worth it)
I would then play this for quite a while and try to grow organically - ie I need a XXX module
Regarding the Bitbox - only you can decide, but a possible solution is to get more stop gap modules - I find I want as a minimum for percussion about 4-5 'voices' - kick, snare, open and closed hats and one other thing for accents or whatever - I find using plaits for primarily hi hats, as I was for a while a bit of a waste, personally - but it does sound great!
The polyend module I would leave for a long while in the future - I'd work out how to use the other modules first and only add this if/when you feel it's necessary
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
One of the things that appealed about mixing in the case was that I could sling it in a bag and take it to a jam session without having to pack a bunch of extra devices and PSUs.
Do you think it would be better to consider a couple of smaller mixers?
I couldn’t find a combo that gave me the ability to have sends per channel and mix in stereo FX returns. Also the cue facility on the performance mixer is pretty handy.
The inclusion of the Polyend Preset was more for allowing me to play different combos of CV settings from the pads e.g increase the FX return volume and use the high pass setting on the Disting DJ filter to create builds and drops etc.
The Preset seems to allow you to set the CV values per pad snapshot so may not need a VCA for scaling.
Can you suggest a compact sequencer that could be used to drive the Bassline? I wondered if the Varigate 4+ might work...
It occurred to me that although the Bitbox provides a lot of voices I would be sacrificing some hands on control and I wondered whether it would be better replaced with a Sample Drum and Erica Kick module.
I missed that the 6->2 mixer was a 2hp model already
I think my advice about disting still stands - you are correct about it saving the last setting, using the favourites feature greatly improves the usability too - but it's better I think to use the disting to guide you on what modules you should buy, very very occaisionally that might be an actual disting!! - but always keep at least 1 in the rack for emergencies
I think it would be very very frustrating playing back midi files from a disting - no interaction - turing machine might work though!
EDIT - I actually just looked at the info for the PolendPreset and it would appear that it may be usable as a CV sequencer too - which would cover you for that - but it looks really complicated to me! good luck with that!
I'd also consider mixing outside the box as slumberjack suggests, it would free up quite a lot of rack space, or you could just add an extra case when you need it, I really like the performance mixer and I want one (maybe this year), but it is a bit big for this size case
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
Firstly, thanks very much for responding, your advice to go slowly makes sense.
I was thinking of buying one or two modules each month so hopefully that will fit the learning process.
I do currently have one Disting and am currently getting to grips with it. I take on board you point about the menu diving.
I like the idea of being able to repurpose it in different ways for different patches. My understanding is that it powers up in the state that it was last powered down in. If that’s the case then the menu diving shouldn’t be too painful as it’s more of a repatching activity.
The design of the rack at the moment is loosely based on the idea of the Erica Techno System hence a lot of voice modules and trigger generators but you’re right, for ambient stuff, it is light on VCAs so I will certainly give that some thought as well.
The reason for the 6->2 mixer was to preserve the stereo output of both FX processors but if there is a cheaper unit that fits into 2HP then please let me know.
It possible that a single FX Aid may be enough as some of the algos on it feature both delay and reverb in with case the small mixer would be redundant.
For sequencing the Bassline I was thinking of using the MIDI file playlist feature of one of the Distings and using CV from the Polyend Preset or the Pamela’s New Workout to vary the pattern playing. Would this work?
Thanks again for responding, I really appreciate it.
personally instead of 6 distings, I'd get one and play with it a while - it's a great module but a lot of people don't like it as it has (some) menu diving
I think you have a poor ratio of utility modules to 'feature' modules - but if you go slowly you can work that out
I'd go for a cheaper smaller mixer than the 6->2 mixer for that purpose
you almost definitely need more vcas (the ones on the WMD PM are great for your audio, but what about modulation??) - I'd get something like a veils or intellijel quad cascading vca (and replace 3 distings with it)
how are you going to sequence the bassline etc w v/oct?
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
Finally considering taking the dive into modular. Seeing as how I already own a Neutron I figured that would be a solid building block. I want to be able to do some basic sequencing and still be able to utilize the Neutron as a standalone synth via USB MIDI. I tried to cover the basics, as far as I understand them. Also wanted to leave room for future modules. I think the Morphagene would be a nice addition. Looking for ANY feedback or advice. I also own a 0 coast and was considering implementing it but it looks a little tricky to add to the rack. I don’t consider myself tech savvy enough to alter it to make it work. But perhaps someone could let me know their thoughts regarding that and how it would complement the Neutron and the modules I’ve picked out.
