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10mins!!! I never thought i typed quite that slow!
It will be all the edits when i attempt to not sound rude! ;-)

I'd like to second the Plonk, Planar 2, Rainmaker and ZDSP2. I'd like to add IME Hertz Donut Mk3 and Double Andore Mk2.

EDITED Feb 3rd 2020, 05:27

I know, "you can never have to many vcas" but if I incorporate a mixer into my build, do I /also/ need a separate VCA?
Doesn't the mixer act /as/ a VCA?

Just trying to shave down the cost here.

Frankly, I don't see why...other than monetary reasons...people want to use these little skiffs. Sure, they're portable and toteable and all that...but without the ability to sprawl out some and have lots of surprising potentials and opportunities built into your system, you're shortchanging yourself as to what modular can be.

You can still carry around a 3 x 84 or 2 x 104 easily enough. So it doesn't fit into a backpack stealthily...so? Frankly, if people want "convenient" instruments, maybe they should look at anything BUT modular synthesizers!

You actually get quite a bit of time, but if you're typing for 10 minutes or more on the forum, it's a good rule of thumb to do a quick CTRL-C of the post in the delay window before pushing it on out to the forum proper. Not the reCAPTCHA doing it, either...MG's forum has had that timeout feature for quite some time.

This looks way cool. Wish I had it.

Hello Gastonn,

Welcome to modular :-)

It depends a bit what you want to do with this upcoming rack? Just getting a few tones out of it should be possible ;-) If you want to get a bit more out of it, it's in my opinion far too small. Consider either a 9U 84 HP rack or a 6U (or 7U) 104 HP rack. Sooner or later you get used to the modules you have and start to realise that you could need another filter or VCA or perhaps even a third oscillator, i.e. you need reserved space for future extension. That might sound over the top for you perhaps but you will see, once hooked up in modular, nothing is big enough, neither your wallet nor your rack space ;-)

Another envelope (beside another filter and VCA) might be another idea to consider too.

I didn't mention anything about logic modules, sequencers and other "nice stuff" yet because there is just no space in your rack for that.

Oh yes, a very important component (or did I overlooked it?) I miss is the LFO, consider at least one or two LFOs, can't find them in your rack...

Good luck with the planning and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Hi Xxeyes,

How about a rack that's bigger, 3 x 84 HP for example? :-) Then additional mixer module(s) wouldn't be a problem.

Kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Hello everybody and thanks in advance for taking the time to read this post (which is my first one, just like the 84hp modular case I'm planning to build)!

I’ve very recently started diving into modular systems. After a few months of research to get a grasp on the various concepts going on here, I finally decided to roll my own. To give some context, my experience with producing music so far was simply using a digitakt + moog bass synth (the minitaur) plugged to a reverb pedal. My whole understanding of what a mono voice synth actually does hence comes from this moog minitaur which is my only actual analog instrument...

My plans consists in replacing the minitaur of my current setup (designed to do minimal/progressive techno) for something that does more: a bass and a melody. I think it would be a multi-voice modular capable of sending 2 (maybe it could be more?) midi signals from the midi channels of the digitakt through the endorphin.es shuttle control module, convert them to cv, and play around with these two before mixing them into one output (sent to a big sky reverb pedal).

So here I am, looking for guidance as an ultimate check before buying the modules and the 3U 84HP case.
1. Is my understanding correct and that the following rack can fulfil the previously detailed needs?
2. As a first rack, is it a good setup to play around with while learning how to patch? (I just have used VCV so far)

I assumed some elemental things should be missing so I left some space left :)
Any input/advices/feedback is appreciated (please feel free to tell me if I got it wrong)

Thanks for your time

Have a beautiful day

Gastonn

EDITED Feb 2nd 2020, 20:46

Hey Rookie,

I'm using the 2S sequencer too, so far I've been using the LFOs as a kind of triggers, it works for simple things. Otherwise I've been considering adding a Steppy (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-steppy) to my system, it's a bit more expensive than the comparators but it has four independent gate tracks, so you may want to check it out too.

Thanks for the replies!

I think the varigate 4+ might be a better choice for my needs, the Qu-Bit Octone looks great too and I'll check it out, thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the replies!
I will check if I can use Distings Comparator A-7.
Otherwise there seems to be some cheap comparators out there.

When posting or responding to a forum thread the reCAPTCHA thing times out just about ever time I respond to or write a post.
How many seconds does it give you to type?

It may or may not be relevant to you but I can use my Pittsburgh MicroSequence to Trigger (when it hits a high note) and also control Pitch from the same CV Pitch output. With modules like the 2hp Pluck & Bell they have Polyphony in their release time so it can create some nice effects.

EDITED Feb 2nd 2020, 08:57

This option lacks the Disting MK4, but maybe I don't need it, especially if I can't get the record function to work. The biggest problem is there is no mixing module. I would have to give up on three simultaneous channels - only two would be available. For that reason, this probably isn't the best option.

EDITED Feb 2nd 2020, 06:20

Right...they're called comparators, and there's several types...

The simplest comparators look for incoming CV levels which cross a reference voltage level, and when the incoming voltage is either over or under the reference (depending on how you have it programmed), it can send either a gate or trigger. The trigger types tend to fire when the reference is crossed (and this can be upward or downward...but this sort of comparator is also known as a discriminator, as it can also tell whether an incoming voltage is moving upward, downward, or sometimes steady when the reference gets crossed), and gates tend to hold as long as the incoming CV is in the voltage range the comparator was programmed to look for.

But then...there are WINDOW comparators. Now, these are whole 'nother level of fun. What these do is to have (at least) TWO reference levels, so that you can fire a gate in ALL voltage ranges...above the top, between the two (or more) references, or below the bottom. You can also tandem these with triggering-type comparators that also send a trigger on reference crossings, too. For things such as generative music, these are super-useful for reading long voltage curves to change the "state" of the piece with the differing trigger/gate outputs.

But those are a little much for this sort of application. Let's see if I can insert a pic here...
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/emw-voltage-comparators
Did it work? If not, just go there. Anyway, this is a bank of four ultra-simple comparators...input, reference level set by a knob, and gate output. You'd then just patch channel 3 out of the 2s to this via a mult, then have it read for anything above X voltage, so that when your pitch exceeds a certain frequency, you get a gate. Easy-peasy.

Incidentally, I don't use ANY Eurorack comparators. I have something far more killer...biomed dual window comparators, with two voltage crossing triggers, three voltage-dependent gates, and one duration-dependent gate per channel, all outputted on Dupont pins, plus a four channel MUX. When you know your "abuse potentials", you can find crap like that...

EDITED Feb 2nd 2020, 01:59

@donman90 - I wouldn't call Marbles a sequencer. It creates "sequences" - but they are really just generative randomizations in a scale, with a set root key of C. Very difficult to customize the scale - definitely not live or in "real time". It is more closely related to the Buchla 266e Source of Uncertainty, and the modules derived from that (Verbos source of randomness, Frap Sapel, Make Noise Wogglebug). Easiest way to explain it's output: Take noise, quantize it to a scale of C major (as an example), and combine it with a clocked random gate. and you get 3 of those whose gates follow a pattern whose randomness can be locked in a loop 1 - 16 notes long.
IMHO - A sequencer typically denotes that you can construct a sequence - ie. [Step 1, E2, 1/4 note] [Step 2, G2, 1/4 note] [step 3, B2, 1/8 note]... and so on.
The best thing to do to get experience with marbles, is download VCV rack (free), read the manual from Mutable, and experiment. It is REALLY FUN! But, I found after using it for a few months, music generated by it started to just sound all the same - random loops of bleeps and bloops with no real construct or form. Plus... I could generate these patterns with VCV and output the CVs and Gates from my computer for free and save 18HP.
For a sequencer - I think one is better off with things like Rene2, Five12 Vector, Eloquencer, Circadian Rhythms, Verbos multistage, Stillson Hammer, Mimetic Digitalis, Hermod, ER-101, NerdSeq, Metropolis, or my favourites: Frap Tools USTA, and Intellijel Tete/Tetrapad.

It is the sequencer in Minibrute 2s. It has four tracks. 1 & 2 are connected and gives pitch and gate.
Track 3 & 4 can be used for different purposes. Like pitch or gate. So with pitch on track 3 and gate on track 4 there is no problem. But I want to use both track 3 & 4 for pitch and then I have no corresponding gates.
But I guess there are modules that can convert a pitch cv to a gate cv.

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Which sequencer it is?

Thanks, Lugia. I'll take a look into that one, the main reason I have the dystopia on here is that I'm in love with how it absolutely destroys a sound. So if I can get that and some extra, then I'm absolutely all about checking it out.

The JP6-VCF is absolutely insane and was a must have for this since I first heard it, and it immediately turned into a must have. I'll do some rejigging on this then, thanks for the advice!

Filters aren't the only way to affect timbre, and you could probably get more mileage with just that JP-6 filter (having an actual Jupiter-6 for the past 30 years lets me be pretty confident with that statement) and some type of CVable waveshaper, such as Tiptop's Fold Processor. That would give you the same timbral flexibility as the distorter in the Dystopia...and then some! But as for having three VCFs in that small a build...well, that just makes no sense. You don't have the luxury of massive panel space. The ideas here are on the right track, but you need to keep your space constraints in mind in this small a cab.

Hello, I've recently taken the dive into modular with the Cre8Audio nifty bundle which helped eliminate the need for a few modules. I'm planning on doing some crystal castles-esque music, and this is the direction I've taken with the rack.

Looking for opinions before I start buying lots of modules and get addicted to the eurocrack. There's 3 different filters just for the variety of tones I want to be able to reliably create and I feel that each will bring something unique to the table.

As of right now, I only have the Contour (Being shipped), Chips, and Cellz. What would you do differently, or where would you go from here? If it looks fine then just ignore my newbie self.

EDITED Jan 31st 2020, 23:22

Hi guys,
I unplugged the ribbon cable on the four bricks and I am not sure where -12v on the module is, can someone help me out with a picture? The manua
Didn’t help%%
Best a

I have a sequencer with a pitch cv output, but no gate trigger output.
Is it possible to use the cv output both as a pitch cv and a gate trigger?
For clarification:
I use the Arturia Minibrute 2s sequencer that have three separate tracks. I can use track 2 and 3 for pitch or gate cv.
So if I use track 2 for pitch cv I can use track 3 for gate cv and sync that to track 2 and then there is no problem.
But when I use both track 2 and 3 for pitch cv (two separate melody tracks) there is no corresponding gate cv for the two melody tracks.

Thanks for the response! The instruo stuff looks really cool.

From what I've seen the Marbles would be my pick of the sequencer, but I'm wondering if it's possible to do much sequencing with other modules at the start. I want to really get my hands onto the system and get an idea of how the basics with patching work before I just invest in all the modules I think I'll need.

I have just set up a new soundcloud page, some tracks will be DAWless, and some will be eurorack and ableton. I think they both have there strenghts, here is a deep tech jam with my eurorack and ableton, with a cheeky little sample that filters in halfway some of you may recognize.

Much thanks! downloads and rtfm

EDITED Feb 3rd 2020, 05:08

bought Ladik S-180 and S-183 from @pawal. friendly communication, smooth transaction and fast shipping! thanks!

Apologies if this has been covered before, I'm looking for a supplier of components for Mutable Instruments Clouds. I've got the front panel and the PCB, and the BOM, but didn't really want to by each component individually
Nice one

Good point, the Erica Pico is 67$, can get my by for the meantime, and then I could either sell it or use it for distortion

Thanks! You're absolutely speaking my language on processing audio with the Rings. If the eventual goal is to go Morphagene or some other granular machine would you still recommend going for an audio input like the Intellijel? Or just wait until I'm ready for the Morphagene?
-- Carlbberger

Morphagen will definitly be an awsome addition to ring but Audio In are cheaps and pluging a mic to rings to capture ambient sounds can produce cool fx.

With MD it's fastidious to enter precise notes for each step. Most of the time I use the shred function or just twist the knob while playing to generate notes progressions on the fly. I prefer to use MD for precise cv control like changing a Zadar shape or a scale on a quantizer. It's also possible to create logic gates....

Thanks! You're absolutely speaking my language on processing audio with the Rings. If the eventual goal is to go Morphagene or some other granular machine would you still recommend going for an audio input like the Intellijel? Or just wait until I'm ready for the Morphagene?

I have the Scarlett 8i6 and it handle modular audio level so rings odd/even audio Out to your scarlett audio In should work. With this minimal setup I would add an audio input module to process audio to the IN input of Rings.

Really nice! I like that they're tuned by ear, sounds great with the parametric eq in DivKids video. Thanks for the recommendation. I am trying to cut cost to make the initial investment smaller. Will this work if I output Rings directly into a Scarlett2i2 audio interface that can handle up to +22db input?

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1117508.jpg

Mutable Marbles
Mutable Rings
Instruo Ocht

EDITED Jan 30th 2020, 22:24

Check out the new module by DivKid, it's been released by Instruo and its called Ochd. Its basically 8 lfo's in one module unsynced but they all run at a different rat to each other, Very organic feel to it, perfect for generative.

Cheers :)

I've been looking at different modules and watching videos for about 2 years and am ready to go in, does this system have enough utility? Will I be able to out from the quad vca directly into the preamp of an audio interface? Anything missing? The idea is to make generative, random, resonant patches with some granular audio in there somewhere. Thanks!

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1116837.jpg

Makenoise Morphagene
Makenoise Maths
Makenoise Mult
Mutable Marbles
Mutable Rings
Intellijel Quad VCA

EDITED Jan 30th 2020, 03:10

One other point about having a quantizer: you don't have to use it with a sequencer.

If your quantizer is capable of loading different scalar patterns, you can restrict it to only the specific pitches you want to appear psuedorandomly, and then you can feed it things like complex voltage curves, sample-and-hold CVs, LFOs, etc, and you'll get randomish behavior each time the quantizer is stepped by the clock or gate/trig sequencer. Plus, a few quantizers take up less space than most full-on CV sequencers, so if the goal is to create these sorts of stochastic patterns, you can use a few of them to create shifting polyphonic harmonic structures off of various psuedorandom inputs. Think of this as being sort of like using a sample and hold, but with discrete pitch results as opposed to the randomness offered by noise signals.

One other useful point: you can also use quantizers as analog shift register stages. For example, if you wanted a four-note arpeggiation, you would patch quant #1's CV out to #2's CV in, then #2's CV out to #3's input. Quantizer #1, of course, would be your controller CV. So by multing that controller CV out separately, plus all of the quantizer CV outs separately, then "clocking" the quantizers with a multed trigger from your controller, you'd then have four CVs with canonically-related pitch outputs, and the "canon" would step each time a note on the controller was played.

Nobody answered - so I will.
I have a Cs-L. And I had a Rubicon and used the Ts-L as a modulator. The Cs-L is much more magical - particularly when you cross-modulate both VCOs with their wavefolders. It is also smaller in HP than Rubicon2/Dixie2+/µFold.
For the other COs I've tried - I'd still prefer the Rubicon over a DPO, Verbos or Endorphines.
But I think the new contender will be Frap Tools Brenso - it looks and sounds really impressive.
Sounds like it may be available by summer.
Even if I do get a Brenso - I will never let go of my Cs-L though. It's just that good.

Thank you so much for all this info! I seriously appreciate it! You’ve answered all my questions, haha.

Hi Wishbonebrewery,

Yeah, nice one :-) It's amazing what you can do with a few small modules.

Kind regards, Garfield.

Hi Eduardinho,

Thanks a lot for your detailed information you provide, it's nice to read about how you do things.

I am currently looking for exciting filters and VCAs, oh and quad VCOs. So QPAS is in your opinion a module that's not only worth it but is a lot of fun to use it as well? That sounds like a filter for me then ;-) Any other suggestions for modules that really gives a lot of fun and you can't stop using them, those are the best! :-)

One of the modules I am particularly happy with and provides me a lot of patching pleasure and fun to use is the Erica Synths Black Octasource, that thing can modulate your modules like no other. It can seriously go bananas, just the right thing for me!

I agree with you about the Roland 1m. I thought would be a good one but once I had tested it at my dealer's shop I was pretty disappointed. It's not really bad but it doesn't give me that kind of wow factor either and that's what I am looking for in good modules.

Indeed the huge number of modules one can choose from and the flexibility of modular, that's priceless!

Kind regards, Garfield.

One sound source, just the 2hp Pluck, a fair amount of modulation from the Noise Engineering Clep Diaz and Clocked LFO from the Disting Mk4, the LFO is also controlling the sequence playing on the Pittsburgh Modular Micro Sequence, though the Pitches are taken from the Clep Diaz steps via the 2hp Turing machine and quantisized through the 2hp Tune. Audio split 3 ways to Intellijel Mixup, Dry / wet via Erica DSP and wet via 2hp Verb. I can listen to this for a really long time without getting bored!

I did exactly this with my Make Noise Powered Skiff and it worked fine.

I just upgraded from a 104hp 3u skiff to the Arturia Rackbrute 6u and I love it. The size and form factor are perfect and the stand/handle is great for setting it up to play at different angles. Enjoy it! I think you will like it.

If for some reason you have to replace a ribbon cable, they are readily available from most websites/stores that carry modular gear. In the USA, Perfect Circuit, Sweetwater and even Amazon have them(I just bought one to replace a bad cable on my 2hp Pluck from Sweetwater for $6 shipped). There are 2 flavors: 16 pin to 16 pin and 16 pin to 10 pin. Like others have stated, you will get a ribbon cable with each module and they are usually paired with either flavor cable depending on the design of the module. Also, you will almost always get 2 sets of screws with your module to mount it to your rack, a set of 2.5mm and a set of 3mm. The Rackbrute takes 3mm and comes with 8 screws to get you started. I would recommend grabbing a set of 3mm screws from amazon if you find yourself losing any of them or if you but second hand modules.

You can tune the Mimetic Digitalis's CV to notes but it will be easier to dial in melodies quicker with a quantizer since it does take some time to tune in melodies without one. For some people it might not be the most efficient workflow. I like to use it this way, but if you're used to writing sequences by playing keys or dialing notes, you may find it cumbersome. The shred feature creates random voltages across several octaves and since there is no built in scale quantization the results are not always in key or musical. It lacks dedicated gate outputs for each channel, but you can use the channels to out put a voltage to trigger an envelope per step.

If you can live with only 8 steps of sequencing, I would say go for the Varigate 4+ since it has built in scale quantization, a built in clock, probability, repeat, clock division and is expandable. MD is more of a modulation source so it lacks all of those features.

Have you looked at the Qu-Bit Octone? It's a similar module(size, price and features) but also have a few options the MD and Varigate 4+ don't

One thing you could try is to focus on using only 3 modules at a time together. Take a look at some of the videos in this series by Comparative Irrelevance I've learned so much from this series, it might help you too.

You might also want to grab a small 4ms pod or maybe throw together a small DIY skiff and pick 3-4 modules and spend time getting to know them and what they can do. Something small that you can sit and play on the couch or even throw it in a backpack and take it outdoors away from the studio can do wonders for inspiration.