Need some advice on my first rack!

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1426890.jpg

Hi! i wanna make an experimental/drone rack that I can use for techno too. Note: I have a moog DFAM for drums and I can patch it as an additional soundsource, VCF ect. too.

Questions:

Do I need another LFO if I have a Maths and the NLC Chaos which can be used as random CV source?
Is there anything I can get rid off or save on?
I need more Fx, cant decide multi fx module to get.. any recomendations? Id love a few delays (pingpong!), distortion, and chorus.
NLC FF Chaos: It says that this module has incomplete power consumption specs. what are specs? what does that mean exactly?
Any general comments?

thanks a lot for your feedback!!

Hard to beat the Happy Nerding FX Aid XL for a multi-effects module.

you don't need an extra lfo, but you might want one - modulation is probably one of the most important things in modular - decide if you want sync/reset or free running lfos

personally I would add a matrix mixer instead of another modulation source in this size case - very useful for combining modulation sources - and can also be used for feedback mixing, amongst other things

fx aid xl seems to be the best bang for buck multi fx module - more modulation, more effects and less cramped than a lot of the competition

incomplete power means no one tested and noted the power consumption in modulargrid - it maybe available on the nlc website though - or not, you should be ok as long as you leave enough headroom - 20-30% or so overall - I always use 10mA per rail per hp as an upper guide - it is probably less than that - this is one of the reasons why it is better to design the case around the modules rather than trying to fit modules into a case!

replace the intellijel quad vca with veils - saves 2hp

the tritone is probably superfluous - you have filters! - if you want this much control I'd consider dropping this and one of the filters and getting mutable shelves instead

probably not enough mixing capabilities - for submixing pre filter, final stage mixing etc - I'm guessing final stage is external

not enough in the way of utitlties in general in my opinion - I'd remove the mult and doepfer a118 and replace with mutable links and kinks - and add a shades - or at least their functionality - read the manuals carefully

you may not need the adsr - most people use simpler envelopes - unless they are specifically using a keyboard to play

how are you sequencing/playing v/oct? - depending on this you may not need the quantizer - or you may need a sequencer!

I'd consider a disting (mk4 or ex) as it will be useful working out what functionality you need

I would go very slowly adding only a few modules to start with and then expand as you feel you are missing things - try to make sure that you know modules fully before buying new ones!

I'll second @JimHowell1970 on the A-118, I have one and like it but Kinks can cover random for you and it's got some nice extra functionality packed in. Agreed as well that the FX Aid is great.

Drums wise, take a look at the HexInverter "Mutant" series. The Mutant Hi-Hats is just fantastic and will have a lot more range than the TipTop clones, plus you can put all that modulation to use on it. 13HP is a lot in a case this size, but it's worth it if you're going to do drums in the rack, imho.

(try #2...hate how this thing loves to eat posts)

Jim answered the thing about "incomplete power consumption specs"...my suggestion would be to go to the website for the module(s) in question and check to see if they have the current specs, or whether they have an online or DLable manual that has those. And if you DO find 'em, come back here and fix the listing...because one of MG's best strengths is its crowdsourcing of information to keep the place comprehensive.

As for the drums...I can't endorse this. For one thing, having drum modules and sequencing and all of that in this small a build will crowd out modules that can make the drone synth aspect stronger. My recommendation would be to go with an external drum machine or two, locked up with some sync method. Also...your two Tiptop drum modules here run $380, while at the same time you can get Roland's redux of the TR-808 for a mere $19 more. Or you could just as well wait for Uli to drop B.'s version of the 909. Either way, this is really the right way to go...function AND ergonomics all considered. There's also a bunch of things in there that won't quite work for this, or won't work in the way you expect.

So...I banged on this for a bit, changed a bunch of stuff, and this resulted:

Now that's a lot better, as far as drone instruments go. I got rid of the Red Square VCO in deference to a pair of VOID's Gravitational Waves dual VCOs with ring modulators + a bunch of crossmod tricks. And interestingly, they cost exactly $1 more together than the one Red Square. Following those is a Bubblesound Hex VCA for level control of SIX inputs...which means you could take a single waveform from each VCO + each ringmod, or double up different waveforms...bunches of timbral possibilities there...and then "strum" through them with modulation signals. After the Hex VCA is a fixed-level panning mixer from Omsonic (the VCAs handle levels here) to set up your stereo field. This gets fed to the Morgasmotron after that. Then the Morg's A and B outs can go to the FX Aid XL while at the same time the mono MIX out can go to the Purrtronics spring emulator. The end of the audio path is just below this, where a VC stereo crossfader can accept CVs for fading between the FX Aid and spring outs, feeding this to the Isolator for output. As for the wet/dry balances, those get controlled on the FX modules.

Now, the modulation section here starts with the A-118-2, then Tesseract's FranKinksTides dual Tides clone with some additional Kinks circuitry handles long-period modulation. The SISM after this allows you to use CV to control all sorts of modulation tampering and combination. Then Maths, followed by a triple linear VCA for CV over modulation levels. Then a Quadrax/Qx combo allows you to do very complex envelope/LFO/function gen activity.

This is intended as a drone-specific instrument, really. Loads of ambient drone potential, plus there's ample modulation to allow plenty of internal changes to those drones. And with the dual FX/crossfade end stage, this has the potential for a lot of weird stereo field depth trickery, too, such as moving from the Morg's A and B via a swirly foreground chorus to its MIX out into a deep, blurry reverb...sort of like the mixing equivalent of falling down a well, if you like.

wow, thank you all so much for this valuable feedback!
Fx Aid XL is added, I was also considering it! thanks.
@JimHowell1970
I replaced the Quad VCA for the veils, added links and kinks, will drop the adsr for simpler vca.. check!
sequencing: yeah, not sure about pitch sequencing to be honest. I havent found anything small and convincing for in rack sequencing, so im considering a beatstep pro.. if u have any leads, let me know! for drum sequencing i will use euclidean circles for kick hats and dfam.
drums: @troux I only need a kick and hihats in my rack as I have the dfam but ill definitely check out the mutant series! thanks.

@Lugia wow thats so much input, thanks a lot! it ll take me a while to go through every module but im very happy, i can definitely take up some ideas!!

sequencing: yeah, not sure about pitch sequencing to be honest. I havent found anything small and convincing for in rack sequencing, so im considering a beatstep pro.. if u have any leads, let me know! for drum sequencing i will use euclidean circles for kick hats and dfam.

I think you are going about the the wrong way - as are a lot of others - especially those who ask "how to fill my Xhp gap"

start with the modules that mean something to you and fit the case around them (with space for expansion) - NOT buy a case and try to cram everything in - which happens so often - especially with people 'trying to economise' - small cases = false economy
or
just get used to getting more and more cases!!!

Noise Engineering have a weekly question on instagram, a while back it was what is your main sequencer? - my reply - pams, sinfonion, erica pico SEQ, marbles, branches, zularic repetitor, beatstep pro and fader step... they are sequencer modules - that combine to make a sequencer

BeatStep Pro is good, but (you might guess from the name) better for drum sequencing than melodic. Pros :
* good ergonomics for most things
* memory you can save stuff in
* some good performance features
* packs in a lot for the price
Cons :
* drum gates ignore velocity (sad) which makes it less useful for CV sequencing
* entering velocity is not especially quick (though it is easy)
* playing notes on drum pads is possible, but it's not ideal

Depending on the kind off music you are making you can quite far with just Pam and pitch quantised random + looping. And since you have DFAM you can feed its pitch sequencer to a quantiser to get melodies too.

Actually, they seem to have addressed some of these BSP issues in the more recent firmware revisions, notably the pad velocity thing. I use two of these, so I was reading that and going "huh...?" That's definitely one of the benefits of being able to redefine a device's OS via a flash.

Anyway, Jim's point here is well-taken. Small cabs are actually more of an IMPEDIMENT when users pick these for first builds. As a result, a bunch of us tend to advise going with a larger case than you think you'll need...because, inevitably, it's NOT larger than you think you need. The problem of size arises when people begin to realize that their 2 x 84 cab now has all of the major modules they'd been drooling over...and no room left for the utilities and other stuff that makes those major modules do their thing. In that sense, the build I did here is a bit of an anomaly, because I was able to make the utility functions happen because of certain major modules, like the SISM's use here for modulation mixing/polarization/offsets. When you can pull those sorts of additions off, they're a big 'win'.

Actually, they seem to have addressed some of these BSP issues in the more recent firmware revisions, notably the pad velocity thing.
-- Lugia

Sounds like I need to update the firmware then -- Thanks Lugia!

thanks so much for the comments!

The reason why I picked a small case is because regardless of anything else, I wanna have one rack that is small enough so I can take it somewhere, hence the travel case. Also space is not the issue for me at this moment. I am learning modular, and I dont have any fancy modules that I need to cram into my rack, rather, Im looking for a small and simple setup where I can learn how utilities work and spend time and energy to really understand single modules, and, signal flow! So Im really into chosing the right utilities for me, even though that means renouncing sound sources or other fancy stuff. I guess no matther how big my rack is at the beginning, I will always want it to be bigger down the line. So I might as well get a small travel case that I can use until I know what more I want and then keep it as my more mobile case.

I will probably go with the Catalyst Audio Time’s Arrow for pitch sequencing. The rest im still thinking about...

Depends on your definition of "travel case", I suppose. Sure, the Doepfer stuff has handles and so on, but you could go with a Mantis which can be had with a gig bag designed for that cab itself. But the bigger difference there is actually the cost: Doepfer A-100 6U = $530, Mantis = $335 + another $39 for the gig bag. There's definitely more space for utility and ancillary control modules with the additional 40 hp you'd get, too.

For example, if you wanted to go with the Time's Arrow (16 hp), that leaves 24 hp still open...and if you're adding a generative sequencer like that, you'll want some logic + other timing-altering widgets, quite a bit of that 24 hp would probably be best suited for those, and changes to what's already in the 2 x 84 version above would be minimal. But have a deeper look at the current case situation in Eurorack...some time back, I would've probably gone with the same 2 x 84 for a small travel rig, but just in the past five years, that whole aspect of the Eurorack thing got turned on its head by innovations such as the Mantis, Intellijel's 7U x 104 powered cabs, etc.