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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.

Nice one @baltergeist, the percussion is a really good touch... great inspo for the weekend!

We need a sticky thread for suggestions like this that keep getting repeated to make all our lives easier, experts, folks on the journey, and newbies alike.

Some first thoughts:
1) Don't put a Moog in your rack unless you're traveling or performing live
2) Link to the rack, don't share a screenshot
3) You probably need to add some utilities (or as I like to say "Add a Links and a Kinks" lol)
4) Get a bigger rack than you think you need, with good power
5) In fact, go ahead and buy a Mantis for your starter rig
6) Limit the sexy modules overall, and be HP conscious

I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting, but I think this would be helpful for everyone.

@Olias I like the Turing Machine but it's a bit big for a rack this size. Since the Mother 32 already has a sequencer, I'd actually start with a Kinks and a Links, plus an LFO, either Batumi or Pamela's New Workout.

Mimeophon rocks so seems like a good choice.

The Kinks S&H will give you random values on trigger if you don't plug an input in. Doepfer also has a nice random module in 4HP.

Hey @Olias, you shared a link to an image of the grid, not the grid itself. If you share the grid we can copy it and make suggested changes as well as review your module choices better.

A good Sample and Hold (DivKid Rnd Step or an MI Kinks for example) and another voice (I'd pick a digital one) would let you add harmonies and layers, that's probably the direction I'd head in. In a rack this size I'd also be tempted by a Disting and by a Links to add some modulation mixing in a small packacge.

If you provide a link to the rack itself folks will be able to click through and get more details on the modules you've picked. One or two of them I'm not familiar with.

Great work @modulargrid!

Looking forward to giving these a read @GarfieldModular, and I've had my eye on a Waldorf Dual VCA, colorful VCAs being very exciting. One thing that stands out to me in Eurorack is the love and good energy so many people have for the field and for the people working in it. There are exceptions of course, but the community is something special and this will be a nice addition to it. Thanks for sharing.

Nice one @Exposure, great feel and I love the break in the middle. Looking forward to more.

Great sound design and arrangement, nice 90s feel too. I love it @mog00

A filter?
-- the-erc

Good suggestion, maybe a Steve's MS-22 or a WMD MMF or C4RBN

Nice, different but still very @mowse. I wish I knew the secret to your synth lines, always very human and with a lot of energy.

Hexinverter Mutant HiHats are pretty sick!

Nice work @farkas, really good flow especially. I'm thinking we need a @the-erc, @farkas, and @troux live show on Ibiza once Covid is over 🤣

Nope, no you don't @the-erc, acid is the truth and we want more around here!

So when you're playing right now what's missing? The right filter squawk? The voice? Sequencing?

Gonna give this a full listen later, but skipped around a bit and the DFAM and Werkstatt are like a dream combo, top notch squelches here.

Could you share your current rack and what type of music you're aiming for?

Thanks @the-erc, and @GarfieldModular, I'm doing my part to hyper space us into a new reality, though it's proving quite hard lol. We'll keep at it though.

Right now it's only stepping in as a dual quantizer and a fixed 12 step mini sequencer @Lugia. I plead innocent lol

Thank you as always @GarfieldModular, every time I record something my first thought is "I've gotta share this with Garfield" so I'm glad on this occasion we achieved liftoff. Next time you visit Uremap 64T please take some photos and perhaps I can use them as album covers 🧑‍🚀

Thanks @wishbonebrewery, I almost didn't post it so glad you all are enjoying it.

Thanks @farkas!

My brain was starting to think in hi-hat patterns, so I figured it might be time to try something new. I shifted around my 208 rack to see if I could prove @Lugia's "208's not enough for generative" maxim wrong, patched it up, stepped back, and got this:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/generative-ambient-studies-1

You can see the rack here, Monome Crow is doing a lot of work as it dual quantizes through the circle of fifths:

It turned out pretty well I think, but there's not enough timbral or dynamic variation, and a little too much reverb (what's new?) so I'm gonna take another crack at it once I shift some modules around and add a bit more modulation and VCAs to see whether it's possible to go a bit deeper here.

Hope you all enjoy!

EDITED Jan 25th 2021, 18:05

Thanks @wishbonebrewery!

Akemie's Castle + Ochd, 3 osc mode, Ochd into individual operator multipliers to create just intonation melodies.

Great feel here @wishbonebrewery, everything hangs together and I really appreciate the drums coming in and out. Well done.

Unlike @farkas I almost never sell anything (I probably should cause I'm actually running out of space) so take my perspective with a grain of salt, but given how complex your tunes often are, I say keep em all for awhile and see if they can complement each other. TM for sure can keep holding its own, not sure how many quantizers Marbles has but Tune could be used for key switching or things of that nature.

EDITED Jan 24th 2021, 15:30

I can hear that @farkas.

Glad you liked it both, and that's an interesting question @farkas. In that case I'm doing something similar but a bit different to No Highpass Acid: in both I'm running the Pulse out from an NTO into my NCOM to generate sub-harmonies, and that's where a lot of the harmonic movement comes in (in fact I'd like to understand exactly what's happening here theory wise, like what's the harmonic relation an octave and a half down [3 divisions on the NCOM]). There's a difference though, on No Highpass I mixed the output of the NTO and the NCOM in my Quad VCA and then put them through the VCFS, on #2 I put them through the VCFS first (it has two inputs and a crossfader) and then route that through one VCA... and for whatever reason that approach leads to some really interesting overdrive when you push it towards the NCOM's input (maybe @Lugia can explain it 👀).

EDITED Jan 24th 2021, 15:48

Sweet @farkas

Simplicity's easy to forget in Eurorack (witness my weird prog/kraut acid lol), so well done.

Some friends of friends run an internet radio station in Scotland (http://jnktn.tv) and asked me to do an Acid Hour. Check it out here:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/album/live-jams-for-scotland

No Highpass Acid makes a return but everything else was for this gig, some good variety I think, hope you all enjoy.

Sick bass line @farkas, really digging this one.

Pittsburgh Modular suitcase racks are quite nice.

Looks like something's not working on ModularGrid.

Try adding an https:// to the front?

Chiming in to say Cold Mac might be a nice fit here as well.

I think you'll have fun with this rack for awhile and learn a lot. One suggestion: I personally wouldn't duplicate modules this early, instead add an STO or a Dixie II+ so you get a little variety in your analog oscs.

Once you get started let us know how it goes!

@GarfieldModular funnily enough that's a happy accident, I mispatched the CV output from Stepper Acid into the Chainsaw's Detune when I meant to patch it into the 1v/oct input... turning the Chainsaw into a weird tam drum which the filter then distorts. Just another example of why Eurorack is so great 🤣

Nice on as usual @Lugia

A couple suggestions come to mind:

1) Add something like a DannySound CaliOsc + a Timbre or a Make Noise STO + an Intellijel Bifolder to get into some analog wavefolding and variation territory, I've been doing that with Random*Source Serge modules and really loving it.
2) Get a 4MS Ensemble Oscillator, tons and tons of stuff to explore in it from chaotic drones to lush synth strings.
3) Get a Tanh, don't change anything else and start exploring feedback patching.

Specific additions aside, the main thing that comes to mind for me looking at this rack is actually to set aside the Rings and to keep the Kinks. It's too easy to dial in good sounds with Rings which ends up making me lazy at least. Substituting it with something that requires more effort and skill will bring some of the excitement back into your patching, imho.

EDITED Jan 19th 2021, 17:20

Thanks @farkas, I was trying out some new stuff here and am pretty proud of it!

Re: case design, one aspect I'm really enjoying in eurorack that I think might be a little odd or unique is designing each case on its own terms as an instrument with particular goals in mind and limited range, that limitation helping me to be creative and learn. I've got an acid rack now, a drone rack, and a modulation focused weird ambient rack (R.I.P. my wallet). To do this you end up duplicating some functionality but that's also an excuse to try out new modules, and in particular to take modules that are underused in one case and to move them to another where they can shine or contribute in new ways. It also results in a lot of moving pains but I kind of just accept it because it feels worth the hassle.

I'll also note I've naturally gravitated towards the flow approach @Lugia laid out, but like you @farkas I'll put modules in odd spots if it makes patching easier or I want direct access to one, and yes sometimes if I'm just feeling lazy.

Good topic to bring up and I'm curious what others are doing.

Fun jam to kick off the week:

https://stevehand.bandcamp.com/track/no-highpass-acid

Hope you all enjoy!

The NTO, VCFS, and VCFQ are fantastic, I'd recommend all of them. Cold Mac is also pretty sweet, opens up lots of interesting interactions.

Sounds like a plan, a Disting would be a good and easy step.

Nice one @sacguy71

If you do want to minimize menu diving but you're looking for melody I think a nice small step sequencer and a quantizer would go a long way here. You can already use the Pam's for random I think, and you could mix the sequencer, that random from Pam's, and let's say a long running modulated LFO, and then out that into your quantizer. If you got a dual quantizer it'd be even better.

So proposed additions:
Tirana MK2 + Tubbutec uTune
or
Tirana MK2 + Ladik Easy Quantizer + 2HP Tune + Joranalogue Add 2, lots of combination possibilities here.
or
Tirana MK2 + Disting mk4 + Ladik Easy Quantizer, in this configuration you could always use the Disting for other purposes if you don't need 2 distinct melodic lines.

If you got rid of the 2HP Mult that could also add a little more flexibility, and I also think it could be worth swapping out one of Morphogene, Clouds, and Magneto (maybe put one of em in a 4MS pod) which would open up a ton of room for more experimentation in your rack.