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Hi Scott,

For a "student" rack you got yourself a quite nice rack here

Is it the large Doepfer "Suitcase" - A100PMS12?

Have fun patching and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Hi Zuggamasta,

You are welcome! Filters, yeah you are going to need them :-) There are two filters I would like to recommend, the Doepfer - A-124 Wasp filter (or if that one is "too heavy" for you consider then the Doepfer - A-106-5 SEM filter) these both are lovely filters, affordable and easy to use. The second one I like to recommend and if you are going to look for a dual filter, you might want to have a look into Erica Synths - Black Dual VCF, it's a bit crazy one but I love this one. This filter is just lots of fun to use it and puts a smile on your face while using it.

Naturally there tons of filters but don't start with too expensive filters and too "wild" ones, start easy then look around for the more "adult" stuff ;-) Once you gained more experience on filters, then you might want to look into QPAS from Make Noise, a special filter as I may say so but don't straight away buy that one, it's not recommended for beginners however you could consider to put it on your watch list for later.

Well have fun, enjoy your modular system and good luck! Kind regards, Garfield.

Sorry you had a bad experience, that's nothing like mine - quite the opposite!

I think it's just random, you are very direct, like me, I like that very much, but I also think it gets us in trouble when actually we mean no harm ;)

So... come on... I see MG as a freaky nerdy pacifist super dudeism reverent chill place for chat, people are genuinely weird, strange, helpful and kind - so... we can laugh about these fascist fcks hey? I should send you my sh!t list of total asshole companies and people in the music retail scene - there's a good few of them about haha - total egotistical assholes! but... that's just *my experience - it's a shame, I genuinely wish it wasn't like that... but it is and yet I still guarantee there will be plenty of folk who will have had the exact opposite experience with these exact same people -

    ...see what I mean?

All that is to say it's a shame if you were put off, in over 30 years of messing with synths, I can honestly say this is by far the most incredible machine I ever laid hands on! As a complete package, from the key bed and ribbon controller, through the UI, the truly polyphonic sound engine to the FX and the IO - it just shines on every level!

Mind bogglingly good! 10/10 from me!

Thanks Lugia,

Good stuff and using the switch with Pamela New Workout is a very powerful combo for a small setup plus modulation from Kermit, Quadrax and logic modules.

The new firmware (1.5) for the Disting Ex comes with a new dual mode algo, the dual wavetable vco. I loaded it in both dual mode slots and ended up recording this 4-voice polyphonic patch. The 5th voice is the Instruo Ts-L. Details in the video.

My advice is...

If you like FM ... buy an ASM HYDRASYNTH instead ;)
-- Kel_

Just don't talk to anyone FROM ASM, as you stand a chance to wind up dealing with the same jackass I did. Not fun, and it'll put you right off that synth. I had mine on order for three months, paid, at Sweetwater and after that fiasco, I cancelled the order and switched it to an Argon8.

Yup...treat it like the "poor man's ARP 2500 Mixsequencer". Of course, we should have the ACTUAL poor man's ARP 2500 Mixsequencer before long, so I'm told.

Excellent! Yes, all of the above are highly recommended and will add a lot to your little rack!

I hear you, I use have effects on sends too, but I tend to set and forget, so I think you will get a lot more from a delay in your modular than you will on the mixer because you will probably start to modulate more and play with it because it is just there, but maybe that's just my way of working?

EDITED Nov 6th 2020, 20:03

Just seen your edit, yes, that definitely looks like a LOT more fun!
-- Kel_

Thanks for the advice. This is all good stuff to think about while my country hopefully straightens itself out election-wise (not getting political here, but it's been a roller coaster week!). Modular therapy.

I had wondered if you proposed the Elephant LPG to increase flavors--you were right in thinking that's why I had proposed the envelope VCA combination. Which is to say, you got it right.

The Berlin reference is spot on, that's a lot of what I'm going for. I'll check on Tapographic and Chronoblob, at first blush they both look very interesting. While I initially leaned a little bit against adding delay since I do have a send delay that's a distinct pedal, having something very exotic and expressive in the rack has a lot of possibilities.

Just seen your edit, yes, that definitely looks like a LOT more fun!

Oooh I did not know that - I did just have a read of the description for it though and confirmed what I thought in that it is a complete voice.

I don't think you necessarily need more, but with the envelope VCA combination I assume you are looking for different flavours of envelope which is why I suggested the things I did - does that make sense?

If you are happy with the sound and are looking for ways to extend the functionality, I would probably go for more modulation, maybe some S&H, maybe another flavour of wave folder and definitely some kind of FX, my natural choice would be a nice complex delay... DLD, Rainmaker, Tapographic, 1-Bit, Chronoblob, any of them are awesome and will let you do incredible things with those bongo hits, have a listen to this to hear the effects you can get with a delay, my favourite is the Berlin style syncopation where the delayed notes interplay with the newly generated notes... magic!

Hi Kel,

Thanks for the reactions. The Helix does have a LPG at the end of the chain (I think it's the same as the standalone Pittsburgh dynamic impulse filter), but I'm wondering if you were suggesting that more LPG options are in order? I like the one on the Helix very very much, but after checking the Rabid Elephant Natural Gate out for a minute I start to wonder if I should make more space for that (and then lose the Ripples filter in the process).

For delay, I agree with the sentiment for sure. I had very seriously considered the Mimeophon. It would eat up a lot of the rest of the space (so it would be Helix and Mimeophon and not much else), but the Mimeophon itself has so many possibilities!

And now the "you're gonna need a bigger rack" idea starts to come into play, eh?

Here's a possible alternative that does incorporate the delay, keeps the Joranalogue contour, and loses the Ripples:

Natural gate would replace the Mimeophon, I guess, with a smaller delay unit.

EDITED Nov 6th 2020, 19:37

Yup that is what I have tried to do in my setups for easier workflow- voices/filters/vca top row and tools/lfos bottom row.

I am so glad that I paid attention to the sage of experienced modular folks here like Lugia and Jim and bought support modules like Kinks/Links so powerful in complex patches. I have a Doepfer sequential switch and clock on the way to improve my setups. Then a matrix mixer and more tools like more attenuators and sequencer in rack future once budget allows. I found that I can use the support modules to make one voice sound so amazing and rich.
-- sacguy71

i have a matrix mixer on the way,i wonder what support modules would make most sense in this setup for Dark Ambient?

Thanks for the compliments @aphex_goodman 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️, it's exciting to see everybody learning and growing here. This vid of yours actually inspired me to break down my last acid patch and start over again, so hopefully I'll have something new to share soon.

Take care,

@troux

Totally going against the modular aspect here, but I see you are not averse to other gear so...

My advice is...

If you like FM ... buy an ASM HYDRASYNTH instead ;)

(You can thank me later!)

Also, I think you really need a delay :D

I hold a personal belief that a modular is not a modular without at least one delay in there somewhere ;)

If you want bongos you're looking to hear, you want a nice set of vactrols, no?

For a digital solution I really rate MI Streams - the emulations in that thing really are super and cover a lot of ground in the bongo field!!

Or maybe if you are feeling flush, a juicy Rabid Elephant Natural Gate? That think kicks ass and I absolutely love the responsive stuff it does - very nice indeed!

Looking for general reactions on the following basic rack. I already have Subharmonicon, 2nd case, power, and the helix; this will be paired with an SQ-1 sequencer, and external patching from Reaktor (through cv.ocd). Audio out to a mixing board with send effects (Strymon El Capistan).

My goals are relatively "conventional" in the sense that I'll mostly be doing music with discrete pitches, manipulating melodic and harmonic polyrhythms, some of the good old LPG bongos. I have mucked around briefly with the sub+helix combo, and can clearly see the need for an additional envelope generator and VCA/mixer (which I guess I knew in advance). I'm not in any rush to complete the case, and am deliberately limiting myself to one module at a time until I've learned it well.

My question is for those with more hands-on long-term experience:
--Does this make sense as a unified system? Is anything clearly missing?
--Are any functions seemingly redundant? Some switch out you'd suggest?
--Is this ergonomically sensible?

EDITED Nov 6th 2020, 16:26

So I made good progress learning the Doepfer quad sequential switch that I added recently:

I clock it with PNW and like a 4 step sequencer in many ways. I fed various VCO and wave shapes into it.

Mult in top row = C105 I/O, sample freq @ 6.5, irrelevant, irrelevant.

Hey Tobi,

First of course, thanks for the detailed reply, I've definitely taken a few things on board!

Second... I think I've found the golden combo! (have adjusted the grid if you see)

So I dumped the oscilloscope, because for now the system is connected to Ableton, and I have a decent oscilloscope there. Also dumped the pressure pads, and added the buff mults to the 1U rack (only $39 each?!). I already have one 1U buff mult so this makes sense.

I replaced the 2hp mults with 2x 2hp ADSRs which along with maths and Zadar should cover my envelope needs I think.

And finally.... 2x Doepfer A-121-3 !! Analogue, dual-mono or stereo filters with grit, aaandd great cv control too. Check !

Regarding the Bloom, I chose this because I like the idea of writing a "riff" which I can go mad with, and then quickly snap back to. Very useful compositionally. That, along with the Keystep and maybe Ableton, should give full freedom to go totally nuts, and then come back to a motif nicely.

As for MATHS, unfortunately it's very very difficult to sell any module as I'm in India, so I'm stuck with it. Not to say that's a bad thing, it's a super module, but more spending + no returns = :*(

I forgot to mention, I actually have a great interface (Antelope zen tour), which has an insane routing matrix. This means I can route vocals/guitars/other instruments directly into my modular, or take my modular signal and run it through an instrument level fx loop and back in, and monitor all with zero latency. Very cool. Only limited by your imagination!

Heheh yes, the case took me quite some time. Because first I was going to get a 4U skiff from Intellijel. Too small. So I looked at the 7U skiff from them. Not deep enough for the Expert Sleeper modules. So then I did some research, and built this case for $250, power included :P

I like this system too, because it makes expanding very easy, just buy rails, power board, and build with home made materials. Add some latches and rubber feet, (and maybe a stand soon...) and voila!

Thank you Garfield Modular,

It is great to have such a warm welcome after Lurking around here for ages. Without building the kit I already spotted the big hole: I havent planed for a nice filter.
But I will take your advice by heart and first get up and running with the most basic setup, so I can judge the further build better.

yours

@Lugia & @troux , thanks for your feedback and kind words.

Re spaghetti-related debris, I hear you Lugia. Sometimes I end up growing a jungle on my rack. Those are not my best patches :) These days I try to focus on a few selected modules in a given patch and get the best out of them. And, on a sidenote, I hate cables and cords - the primary reason I'd stayed away from modular synthesis for years. Then the 0-Coast came along and I was soon lost :)
troux - visited your bandcamp page and really love your music (listening to live sets as I'm typing this).

Thanks again!

EDITED Nov 6th 2020, 18:03

Just jamming on a Mother 32 and the Behringer Model D.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah it is meeting far beyond my expectations not a cheap module but considering that it can do way more than just delay stuff, I am pleased with it. Almost like create another set of voices far above what a normal module contains. Plus it is stereo unlike Echophon which is mono I believe and lots of modulation patch points. It is almost like NIN in a module. Trent Reznor and Alessandro Cortini would be pleased.

Hi Sacguy71,

Ha, ha, "Holly cow!" :-) Yeah, nice module that Mimeophon, it's on my wish list too!

Thank you very much for showing the Mimeophon, makes my appetite for it even stronger :-) Have fun with your Mimeophon and your modular synth and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi EroGrumby,

Hey, that sounds cool! Some nice sounds, here and there a bit towards spooky and a real fun sound I heard as well, yeah, few more of such great Techno jams and I am the biggest Techno fan here ;-) (Says the one who doesn't like Techno)

No seriously, well done, I enjoyed it and hope to hearing more of your fantastic work. Thank you very much for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Quite nice @aphex_goodman, thanks for sharing! Now if only I could find myself a VCFQ too...

Why plan for a bigger case? I'd suggest scrapping the 84 hp skiff and moving up to something MUCH bigger. This would be good: https://www.ericasynths.lv/shop/enclosures/studio/1x126hp-skiff-case/ Has ample power, still fits the 1 row form factor. But at that price point, you could also step on up to a 2 x 104 hp Mantis, which is also powered but is even beefier on that aspect than the Erica. Plus, Tiptop has a mounting bracket that allows you to tandem TWO Mantises into a four-row configuration. This seems more sensible because of that as well; if you find that you want to expand the Eurorack to more than just a sidecar for the Moog, this sort of advance planning is critical at THIS point in the process...don't try to retcon your case configuration in mid-build!

Oh, and if you do go to something larger, DON'T put the M32 in it. That's a waste of money, tbh, since the Moog already HAS a case and power...and those Moogs work nice together, so keeping it in its 60 hp cab for later Moog expansions would be a smart move.

EDITED Nov 5th 2020, 22:51

Totally agree and for routing paths the sequential switch is quite powerful when paired up with a clock and sequencer. I made a fun random noise generator pattern today with Pamela New Workout, two VCOs and the Doepfer Sequential Switch. My second rack is now pretty much full except for 3HP but next rack will be much larger and feature more sequential switches, logic modules and support tools as I plan to get a few complex oscillators and more percussion sound sources that all require these things.

My AE is quite infested with sequential switches...with the big purpose being to automate the generation of sequential structures that have more or less infinite iterations, or at least, damn close to infinite. And yes, there's several sequencers that make that go, but without the AE 3VCSWITCH, this sort of thing would be undoable.

Magnificent...and as a modular demo, it also excels. For one thing, we can CLEARLY SEE what's going on...the patchcords aren't matted all over the patchpanel like some sort of spaghetti-related debris. And another...and IMPORTANT...point made here is that the patch doesn't have to stop at the edge of the Eurorack cabs!

Love the frenetic percussion...about all it lacks would be a Minipops-type "fingersnap", but that's a matter of personal taste...

I think I agree LYFoulidis, the one thing that annoys me about the SSM is that I nearly always want more IO hehe

BTW, the SSM also has CV addressable scanning too - you can use a sequencer to sequence the sequential switch :D

Thank you MG!!

Please DM me for help with the unresolved problem if you would like to, I can usually fix these kinds of things - if they are actually fixable anyway ;)

I think with modules like these quantity matters. I’d rather have to Doepfers than one Boss, and let them do phase shifting patterns - 3 over 4 and such. But that’s just me, I enjoy the simple things 😉

Boss’ voltage controlled scanning is really cool though, and opens up another set of possibilities!

Switches are fun! I have the WMD SSM but this caught my eye recently:

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/addac-system-addac214-black

Super cool!

thanks! I will try these out. I almost wish that I had spent more on the ALM Busy Circuits Boss Bow Two sequential switch as it has many extra features missing from the Doepfer sequential switch as well as better integration with Pamela's New Workout. Well any case, I may do that later on and use the Doepfer sequential switch in another setup as it will be useful in any case.

This is the first jam i've recorded with the new setup!
I got a new case so I can travel with the setup more easily. - yeah!

This is my morning jam from Nov 5th 2020

Things to note:
I have a LOT to learn with this case, so any/all feedback is appreciated!

Here is the patch: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/patches/view/69591
What I am working on here is:
1) using the circles to drive the rhythms
2) having the o_C driving the notes via the Enigma device from the hemispheres firmware
3) I'm playing with the MS22!! (this is SWEET!)
4) I'm moving the drums into the rack - so i'm playing with the kick drum off of the 2hp Play - I need to do some work here.
5) I've moved one of the effects into the rack (the tape delay for the kick) - more work to go here.
6) I also put in a mixer so that I can send stereo out - planning for a future live show.

Clearly I have not yet utilized all of this rack - and well that is because it is new to me and i'm learning how to expand and use more of it. :)

Hope you all enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

I just saw there’s a Divkid video on a sequential switch! It might not be the same module, but Ben has a special talent for showing the creative potential of a module - and it shouldn’t be too hard to translate!

This is my first patch on this system that I have recorded.
You can check out the recording here:

Things to note:
I have a LOT to learn with this case, so any/all feedback is appreciated!

What I am working on here is:
1) using the circles to drive the rhythms
2) having the o_C driving the notes va the Enigma device from the hemispheres firmware
3) I'm playing with the MS22!! (This this is SWEET!)
4) I'm moving the drums into the rack - so i'm playing with the kick drum off of the 2hp Play - I need to do some work here.
5) I've moved one of the effects into the rack (the tape delay for the kick) - more work to go here.
6) I also put in a mixer so that I can send stereo out - planning for a future live show.

Clearly I have not yet utilized all of this rack - and well that is because it is new to me and i'm learning how to expand and use more of it. :)

Hope you all enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

Sequential switches are underrated modules, I would say they are perhaps the most modular of all..! Exactly because of that, there are quite a few different uses.

To wrap your head around the module I would advise you to plug several sound sources (VCO, filtered noise, more filtered noise, percussion) into the I/O 4 jacks. Send the O/I output to your systems master out and plug a clock signal into the trig in. You can understand the module as a 4-step spectral sequencer! Verbos has some wild examples here:

One step further: do the same, but send the output of the seq switch through an enveloped VCA into the the FM input of another oscillator!

You can do the same thing with rhythms. Plug 5 different trigger patterns or clock divisions into the 4 I/O jacks, and a slower clock source into the trig in. Send the O/I output to a drum module/pinged filter/LPG/envelope.

You can also use the seq switch the other way around. For example: Patch multiple sound sources into VCAs without envelopes. Send an envelope into the O/I jack of the seq switch and patch the 4 I/O jacks into these VCAs. Maybe send a funky rhythm into the Trig in. Now the envelope will open another VCA every time the seq switch switches.

Some ideas for melody:

And don’t forget you don’t need to use all I/O jacks. Leaving an empty space can yield the most interesting results!

EDITED Nov 5th 2020, 15:40

so...would doubling up on the Clep Diaz and adding in a Bin Seq add some movement to the rack?

I am humbled by your words, Garfield, though you are clearly exaggerating :) Thanks so much, as always :)

Hi folks,
My Doepfer sequential switch arrived today and after installing it, I tried some patches. I need some tips on how to patch it. I notice that after I patch and LFO to the trigger input and two VCO to the 0/1 and 1/0 outputs it plays part of the pattern. Any ideas how this thing works?

Just hooked up my new Make Noise Mimeophon module:

Such a crazy FX module! More than just delay really a sound shaper. I am still learning it.

Hi Garfield,

I know was trying to help new folks focus on few modules at one time before spending a small fortune building Skylab without understanding the basics. I am guilty as well but today my additional support modules arrived so all good.

One warning: the Syinsi tiles use the "original" format, and Intellijel's tiles are based on a slightly different spacing. They WILL NOT work in an Intellijel-spaced tile row...and vice versa.
-- Lugia

well...tbh, if you just screw in the top screws of an Intellijel module...it fits fine and the cover will rest on the lower rail. my 2 Intellijel modules are rock-solid and don't wiggle at all. it's literally 2mm or so. I saw someone lock down a steppy like that in the same case - figured I would try and had a good return policy from the guy I picked up the 1u's from. Also, the intellijels are powered by the usual power connections and not that weird 3 strand one like the Pulp/Syinsi ones. So I like them moreso at the moment - but I really like the idea of a 1u/ 6hp LFO and VCO...and if it comes back in stock, the 1u midi interface.

EDITED Nov 5th 2020, 00:16

One warning: the Syinsi tiles use the "original" format, and Intellijel's tiles are based on a slightly different spacing. They WILL NOT work in an Intellijel-spaced tile row...and vice versa.

Hi Gabor,

Wow, that's a fantastic and beautiful video! I like the way you highlight certain modules in your video. This video and jam should be stickied at the home page of any website that takes modular synthesizers seriously! :-) To start with this forum ;-)

A big bonus is the music, fun to listen at, in combination with your video it takes away my breath... Nicely done, I just love it! Thank you very much and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Zuggamasta,

Welcome to modular synthesizers and have fun with your purchased system. My advice is to build up some experience first with what you got now and once you gained experience you will sooner or later yourself notice what's missing or what isn't.

Have fun, enjoy and kind regards, Garfield Modular.