another thing that you may want sooner rather than later is a way to control the modular with your foot - especially if you are playing guitar into it... addac and doepfer make one and there is a diy one available from thonk by a company called 7 dials

look at them carefully though, as you may find that you already have all you need other than the module to get that to work - usually a passive volume pedal - but iirc some of them can also take a switch
-- JimHowell1970

Thanks for this info. I actually do have a passive volume pedal.


You could split Phase 1 into two phases to get to the fun more quickly, as Beads has "attenurandomizers"

Phase 1a: Mantis Case + Beads + S.B.G
Phase 1b: A119 + Maths

Thanks a lot : )


Thank you everyone for getting back to me so quickly. You all have definitely given me a lot of things to consider. Here are my thoughts so far:

Yeah, the mantis case is awesome. Better to start with a good case and power supply to protect my long-term investment.

Surface vs. Rings: I could go either way here because I like the sounds of both. However, antipythagoras does bring up a good point about the external input and the combination of synthetic and acoustic sounds. That is a direction I would like to go in, so Rings it is.

Bloom vs. Marbles: It seems to me that bloom is easier to get melodies going. That's why I picked that one. Does anyone have experience with both of these modules? I can try to learn Marbles in VCV rack since I won't incorporate it until later. If I gel with it, I may go that route.

Yeah, I don't need the headphones out from the euro rack because I have other gear.

I was hesitant about modules like disting and Ornaments and Crime. My music-making up to this point has been either in front of a computer or electronic gear with lots of menu diving, that I wanted to get away from that for euro rack. I will study this more because I don't want to eliminate helpful gear for the generative aspect.

So far, here is my updated plan for now : )
Phase 1: Mantis Case + A119 external input + Beads + Maths + S.B.G
Phase 2: Bloom (for now) + Rings + VCA
Phase 3: Plaits + Mixer
Phase 4: Further Expansion

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1742735.jpg

Well, phase 1 just got a lot more expensive, so time to save and continue playing around with VCV rack.

Thanks everyone,
Epaphraz


Hi everyone,

I am trying to plan out my first starter rack. I thought I would start off with a case with space to grow into and figure out what to add slowly over time. The goal is to build a generative ambient rack.

ModularGrid Rack

Phase 1: Case + Beads + ochd
Process the audio of my standalone synths and electric guitar using the auto gain input of Beads.

Phase 2: S.B.G + XOH
Integrate my numerous guitar FX pedals.

Phase 3: Bloom + Surface + Multi
The first step towards generative ambient

Phase 4: Plaits + Further Expansion
Take advantage of 2nd output from Bloom.

Phase 5: And Beyond...
Hopefully, I will somewhat know what I am doing by then and know what I would like to add.

Well, these are my thoughts from someone trying to humbly venture into the vast modular world. Any advice on any of the various phases would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Epaphraz