Advice on a first rack

Hi! Looking for advice on building a machine that will let me learn and explore Eurorack.
This is my first build. What am I looking for? I have the usual beginner problem of not being exactly sure, but here are some areas of interest: exploration of melodies, harmonies, rhythms, soundscapes. weirdness and happy accidents. Harmony and coming in and out of it, playing with chaos and order (randomness?). Slow and evolving, fast and dirty. Another area is processing instruments and voice through the synth. Sampling, sequencing. Influences? I love sound and music. To name a small few, Bach, Tunng, Tom Waits, West African music, hip hop, techno, Roar by Katie Perry (bellowed from the top of our lungs by my daughter and I on our morning drive to school). Did I narrow things down nicely?? Why am I spewing all this nonsense!?? I just need some advice on some modules..

The top row is my current set up. I realized that I don't have many sources of modulation but I only have 2HP left. I also only have one oscillator, no FX, no internal sequencer (I do have a keystep). The second row is theoretical and that is where I was hoping to get suggestions and feedback. I removed the Behringer dual envelope generator and replaced with Maths. I also removed the bulky behringer mixer and replaced with the Doepfer which is Stereo.

I'm not using an output module so I use the Behringer VCA's fixed control voltage dial to attenuvert the signal then output to my audio interface. I think that is what I am doing! If I remove this module do I lose the ability to do that, or will the Doepfer mixer suffice? If the Doepfer will do, what other functionality am I losing by removing the VCA?

I have so far enjoyed the sounds I get out of Behringer's VCO and VCF. But the VCO is 14H, which feels large in my small rack. Would you suggest replacing with say 2 Befaco Pony VCOs (4HP each) or 2 ALM MCOs (6HP each)? 1 of each? This would also save 2HP or 4HP or 6HP depending on the combo there.

Any sugestions and ideas welcome.

Thanks
HH

Howdy and welcome to the modular madness!

The first and likely most important advice I can give is to expand to a bigger rack. I started the same way with the Tiptop Happy Endings kit, one row of 84hp with the uZeus, and I think I ended up getting a second row of 84hp rails within about 3 months. It sounds like you have a lot of things you want to try, and if you feel like your first explorations with your current setup has got you hooked, I'd recommend going straight for something like the Tiptop Mantis (absolutely best bang for buck in a ready made rack) or the Arturia Rackbrute.

Once you do that you have more room to explore different combinations of modules and see what piques your interest and helps you make the music you want to make.

Maths and the Doepfer VC mixer are great additions. Look up the Maths Illustrated Supplement. That will teach you A LOT about modular synthesis and voltage principles. I don't think you need the Behringer VCA as a final output, but VCAs are helpful for other things, like modulating modulation (maybe not as important yet since Maths is really your only modulation source, but likely worth holding onto). I've plugged my modular straight into a little Mackie mixer for years, and turning the gain down on the channel gives plenty of headroom so it doesn't distort. Not sure if your interface will do the same, but keeping the levels lower on the Doepfer mixer should be enough.

I appreciate that you're staying clear of smaller modules (way better for ergonomics), but I agree the 14hp Behringer VCO is pretty large even in a bigger rack. The Pony VCOs are pretty teeny and can be difficult to adjust manually, so things like the MCO, Make Noise STO, 8hp and up copies of Mutable Plaits and so forth would be great. Having two of a particular VCO is nice for detuned sounds or harmonizing in similar timbre spaces, so I'd recommend picking a VCO you like and getting two of them.

How are you using Clouds? If you haven't looked up the Parasites firmware, that makes the built in reverb way more useful as well as adding some additional delay and resonator modes. Highly recommended.

Other things I'd recommend: based on what you mentioned about melody/harmony/rhythm/randomness, a copy of Mutable Instruments Marbles is an amazing all-in-one sequencer/random source/trigger generator. Something like the Disting or the Ornament and Crime can also be super useful multi-function modules that can help you explore a lot of different types of modules and determine if you want a dedicated module to do the things you reach for the most in those resources. Once you incorporate more modulation sources, I'd also recommend something to mix them. I'm partial to the Tiptop MISO and the Doepfer Matrix Mixer. They let you turn a few simple modulation sources into a ton of different combinations and variations of more complex modulation. (EDIT Ornament and Crime with Hemispheres firmware is best for function exploration)

All in all, what you have is great for learning the initial signal flow of a mono synth, but the real fun of modular comes when you start to explore modulation. If you don't want to expand the rack, I think the Disting would be the thing I'd add. If you want to expand to a Mantis case, maybe swap out the Behringer VCO for a pair of other VCOs that you like, but definitely add a clone of Marbles, a Disting or an Ornament and Crime, a Tiptop MISO, and maybe a dedicated LFO or Sample and Hold from Doepfer or something.

Cheers!

EDITED Oct 1st, 14:53

Since this is your first rack regardless of what you get now, you will have a completely different point of view after using the rack a few months.

I would ditch both clouds and the maths and learn to use just the two subtractive voices you have set up now for a few months.

Then you will know what else you need.

Marbles is great fun and super useful!

-1 on getting rid of Maths, it's a superb module and opens up so much modulation possibility (and also has some dang snappy envelopes). And rather than a Marbles I'd suggest getting something like Divkid's RND Step which gives you a bunch of sample and holds with internal random sources. Throw in a couple ring modulators, let's say Intellijel's Amps module, and you have many of the foundational pieces that make modulation possible and fun, which after all is the point of modular!

Just my 2 cents.

EDITED Saturday October 12, 03:04

+1 for Marbles.
+1 for Rnd Step.
= +2 :))

Why 2 clouds?

I would drop the behringer envelope and get something else. (or use maths for envelopes)
+ drop the behringer vcas and mixer - and look for something like a Veils or Quad Vca with more Vcas in one module
I like Nano Modules ONA as standard vco (its small hp)
I would drop all the behringer - even the low pass filter, there are other cool filters in this hp.

Maybe think about it a bit more

@VONDENFUNKEN is right.
Yes, not only will one Clouds be enough and I personaly even suggest replacing it with an excellent clone like Monsoon: smaller and more complete. And don't forget Beads (Emilie said Clouds was "a mistake", and at the end of MI, she created Beads).
https://en.clockfacemodular.com/blogs/waveguide/interview-with-designers-emilie-gillet-mutable-instruments

The 2 clouds threw me off at first too, but reading the original description closer, the 1st row is what they have already and the 2nd row is proposed next steps. I also agree a smaller/more flexible clouds clone is a good step though

Thanks @Progspiration for getting us back on the right path, we should have known something was wrong :))
Thinking about this presence of an original MI Clouds, we could perhaps justify it by a desire to own a collector's item... it's not my thing, but I could understand.