User Posts

@GarfieldModular Thanks for the kind words. I hope to be around more. There's so much more to learn and maybe some things I can share to help others.

@aarontw I have not tried Knurlies, but I'm definitely going to give them a shot, especially on that top row. In terms of vision and direction, there have been many changes. The more I expose myself to different personalities and styles, the more I am drawn to things that didn't resonate with me at first. What I first found appealing is changing. For example, Telharmonic was way off my map as a VCO versus my Moog oscillators. Same with Wogglebug. How do you get controlled results from this thing?! Well, you don't. The magic is in the element of surprise and chaos. Coming from U.S. East coast, not my typical style. A lot of preconceptions were torn down, mostly because I didn't actually know what I was talking about. So, I suppose that my current vision is to expose myself to as much information and learning as possible and see where it leads me.

@Ronin1973 I haven't sold any of my modules and I don't feel buyer's remorse for any given purchase. This is a learning process for me and I have decided to make the commitment in full. I'm sure that I'll sell things eventually, but I want to do so when I'm sure that a piece of gear has been fully explored and is wrong for me.

Looking forward to learning and sharing more, especially some noises and music. Thanks, all, for the kind words. Much appreciated.

I've been fortunate with the uZeus power supplies but definitely looking forward to a single case with clean power and rails. I try also to keep noisy things off of the same circuit as the modular setup. Thanks for your advice early on, Lugia. Much appreciated. Looking forward to learning and sharing more as I go.

Back in 2018, I wandered into this forum and did that thing, "I like modular synthesizers! They're really neato and also I like turtles!!!@! What should I buy?!" Several of you gave solid advice. It was pretty great. I went off for a year or so to learn everything I could in any way possible, including building oscillators from scratch. Thanks for a push in the right direction.

During that time, I worked on my modular rack. It went through several iterations and 'growth spurts.' I formed a solid game plan and stuck to it, mostly.

Here's where I'm at.

Breaking it down with a color-coded version at http://www.climbhigher.net/image/mowse-modular.jpg and starting from the bottom row:

Red, oscillators and other sound sources.
Orange, filters and effects.
Yellow, utilities and modulation sources, animation.
Green, pre-output effects/utilities and output.
Purple, portable playground and 4th row supplement. Things rotate in and out (e.g. Rene for Mimetic Digitalis and lots of modulation sources)

On the side are two Moog Mother 32’s, an Arturia Keystep, and a handful of modules that move in and out of that top row. Everything is routed into a Scarlett audio interface and Logic Pro X for EQ and recording.

What's next? A proper case with unified power and cabling, but these individual 104hp skiffs were a great way to build slowly.

The layout feels right. Everything I need is where I want it. I sit down, flip a few switches and get right to patching.

A little while back, I created a Discord server where friends get together and jam. Everybody takes a turn and shares a new patch. We’re hanging out, having fun, and learning from each other. It’s pretty great.

For those just diving into this, here are things I learned:

1. Slow your roll! Take your time. Learn first, buy second. Learn, learn, learn!
2. Have a plan. Stick with it, but it’s cool to wander a bit.
3. You’re probably not using that module to the fullest extent. See #1.
4. Find friends, get together, make noise. You’ll have fun and learn tons.
5. Win the lottery, because you’re probably going to ignore #1 - #3.

Here’s one from last night, just a little fun with Rossum Electro-Music Trident and a Mother 32 with Plaits setting a bass tone in the background. Simple sequences with lots of modulation is where I feel most at home. Hope you dig it.

Again, thanks for all of the solid advice given in 2018.

EDITED Jun 2nd 2020, 23:41

Added that 60HP of space to my Mother 32 stack and, thanks to a good friend, racked Maths and Veils. Have spent the last two days reading, learning, and playing. Planning to expand things slowly as I progress, but not in a hurry (thank you for solid advice @Lugia). Having a great deal of fun learning and exploring.

Reached the point this afternoon where I felt comfortable putting something together, working towards adding depth and shape to the M32's without losing what I like about their personality. Used Gate output from the M32 to trigger Maths, working with Rise, Fall, Response Curve, and routing through Veils back to VCF cutoff on one of the M32's. Ran sequences on two M32's for bass and bleeps, then again for the intertwined leads. A little bit of reverb by Valhalla. Need to find and eliminate a slight hiss lurking somewhere in my mixing setup.

EDITED Jun 23rd 2018, 23:38

This is very helpful and makes a lot of sense. I should have mentioned that I already have Maths and Veils (given to me by a friend who has moved from modular to DAW/software) but can understand and work with the layout you've created here.

Earlier today, I found a list of Mother 32 "limitations" from user luketeaford, many of which you mentioned, some that I hadn't realized yet:

• Bipolar LFO
• Difficult to slew (I thought: use LPF, but obviously causes issues)
• No attenuversion (Could use mixer, not sexy)
• Clock division/multiplication requires special menu
• Can't operate on any clock signal
• Immutable duty cycle of square LFO
• No comparator
• No sample and hold
• No logic
• No envelope modulation

Again, what you've put together here is very helpful and gets me headed in a sensible direction. With Maths and Veils sitting next to me, I'll go over all of this again several times and see what I can come up with.

Much appreciated and thank you.

Haven't taken the plunge into modular until now. Have stayed in the "semi-modular" end of the pool. Acquired a rack for my two Moog Mother 32's, with 60HP free up top, and thought this is a good time to wade deeper. My goal is to add another VCO, VCA's, EG's, a solid utility, and some things to play around with while doing the ambient/generative thing (but not boxed into that style).

Here's a bit of patching/twisting last night with the two M32's using a patch by A.W. (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/patches/view/33329)

Anyhow, there's a strong likelihood of moving everything into a larger home later, but I want to take my time and...

1: Learn it right
2: Do it right
3. Avoid flashy things I don't need

Buffered mult, because I'm of the understanding that the Mother 32's don't play nicely. On the side: Minitaur (Isn't modular, standalone unit), pedals (Eventide Space, Hall of Fame, Flashback), Logic Pro.

Honest feedback appreciated. I get the basics, but this is my first try with modular.

EDITED Jun 20th 2018, 03:43