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A note of caution, the uZeus is designed to be mounted on metal rails, and while it is possible to mount them on 3d printed plastic, it's not ideal, and if you ask TipTop I'm pretty sure they will recommend against it. However, I've got a couple mounted on 3d printed plastic (albeit not in an actual case) and what I've done is put these heat sinks on them to dissipate any excess heat:
Actually since the heat sinks and tape are cheap, I've gone ahead and put one on all my uZeus modules, regardless of where they're mounted. It's super easy.
I'm visual too, so I can relate. But also for simpler matters. I have the Zadar, which outputs 0-10V (attenuatable). Suppose I get that down to 0-3V. Now if I invert that, I get -3-0V. Say I want it to be 0-3V. With many DC sources, it's hard to say if I'm really getting 3V. I was using that to AND the inverse of envelope of a sound with gates, in other words to stop gates from triggering while the sound is still playing. By ear, it's probably good enough. Visually, I feel it's more accurate. Now the question is - do I want to spend €500 on a Mordax for that?
-- Arrandan
Well I would just say that 1) there are cheaper scope options out there than the Mordax, which has 4 channels and does more than just act as an oscilloscope. Plum Audio, FPB, and Intellijel have cheaper scopes, and there may be others I'm missing as well. And 2) If your experience is like mine you're likely to run into other situations where you'll be glad you had a scope. I actually have more than one and I don't regret it at all.
Yeah for me a scope like the the O'Tool+ or Mordax Data is essential. Yes you should use your ears, but viewing things in the scope can save you a lot of headaches as far as diagnosing problems when things aren't behaving like you expect. I'm a visual person anyway so I like to be able to see things in the scope regardless.
I'm not going to say it's my "favorite" but the Funkstill Filter Threek is definitely the most versatile filter I own. It can take a little more work to get where you want to go, but that's because there are a lot of ways to tweak the sound. If you like options it's got 'em. You'll probably want to keep the manual handy though if you're new to it or haven't used it in awhile.
All these stories are why I NEVER do PayPal F&F. I once had a small manufacturer in Europe insist that I use F&F, even though I was willing to cover the goods and services fee lol. And it would have cost me more to do F&F anyway because it was international. Needless to say I cancelled the transaction.
Actually, this is a major symptom of using either the wrong VCA or wrong envelope behavior. When you use linear VCAs and/or linear envelopes, this can happen because our ears aren't linear with respect to "apparent loudness". We hear exponentially as far as volume is concerned, and the Decibel scale reflects that.
The actual fix here isn't a noise gate (sorta-kinda)... --Lugia
Lugia, thanks for the info but in my current patch there is no VCA after the filter, and the noise is present when there is no envelope going at all. And yes a noise gate gets rid of it. As I said, a VCA after the filter could also take care of it, thank you for elaborating on that. I'm aware of the rule of thumb you site in regards to linear vs exponential VCAs, I would just point out that as with any rule, there are exceptions. I use my ears and do whatever works for the current situation. A lot of my VCAs have adjustable response curves, so it's easy to go back and forth between linear and exponential without having to use another VCA.
The Frequensteiner sounds great but is a notoriously noisy filter, that's the only reason I mentioned it.
I'm definitely a fan of the Bastl Cinnamon, in fact I have 3 of them. I saw the Frequensteiner mentioned above as well, I recently got a hold of one of these and have quickly become a fan, in particular of the bandpass and highpass modes. You do have to be careful where you put it in your rack due it's propensity to pick up signals from other modules, but I've got it in a Doepfer mini case with just a couple other filters so as long as I'm not using them at the same time as the Frequensteiner it's not a problem. And yes it can be a little noisy but a noise gate like the one from Ladik or the one in the FX Aid takes care of that easily. You may also be able to handle that by simply putting it in front of a VCA, depending on how you're using it. But anyway it sounds fantastic.
How many channels do you need? The MPC1K features a multi-track sequencer. If you just plan to do monophonic sequences then the Kenton Pro Solo may be fine, but if you want to get the most out of the MPC1K then that's probably not the right choice. FH-2 is great, but if you're looking for something less expensive, Avon Synth makes a 4-channel converter that is simple and gives you velocity outputs in addition to pitch and gate. It's a 10 hp module though.
This is a live cover of the original Scooby Doo theme I did last year. The feedback at the end is entirely from my modular, but the bass, "piano", and organ sounds in this instance originated from my Casio and Nord keyboards, which were then processed through my modular system:
Interesting, I'm planning my next shifter, I don't have one, it will be the first!
So which is your favorite shifter, and why? do u think digital vs analog makes sense for a shifter comparison, or own both kind of approach do u think ?
-- fzzz
My 2 cents:
Own both is a very valid approach IMO if you have the $ and the space in your rack. I currently own the following frequency shifters myself:
Sketchy Labs Freak Shift (analog)
DACS Freque II (analog rackmount)
Mutable Warps (digital)
Happy Nerding FX Aid (digital)
I've also owned the SynthTech Deflector Shield in the past. My experience so far is that no two sound alike, but of course the ones that can accept external carrier signals have the potential for more variety of sounds. But IMO having the ability to output the up and down-shifted signal so you can mix/invert/otherwise process them before feeding them back into the module might be even more important in that regard. Note also that some shifters are limited in how much they can shift, which could be an issue if, for example, you decide you want to do octave shifts with higher-pitched signals.
Of the shifters I've used I'd say that generally speaking I prefer the sound of the analog ones, which in my case also offer a lot more control. But of course the digital shifters I own do a lot more than just frequency shifting. Still I'm glad they have that capability, sometimes your dedicated shifter is occupied and you want to shift something else, well then Warps or FX Aid can come to the rescue. So that's how I look at it.
There is also the Sketchy Labs Freak Shift (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/other-unknown-freak-shift-), which doesn't possess an internal oscillator but which allows you to use to use any external signal from 0.1 Hz to 10000 Hz to drive the shifter. I have this and love it.
I saw some mention of tube filters above, I've definitely gotten some unique sounds out of the Metasonix RK4. It's hard for me to pick a "favorite" filter, I've got a bunch and I feel like they're like colors to a painter - sometimes you want some red, sometimes blue works better, etc. But the RK4 does stand out to me as far as being unique.
The 2000 mA at +12V is only available if you're powering the uZeus with the 3000 mA boost brick which is capable of delivering that power. If you're using the 1000 mA wall adapter then that's not going to cut it. Also note that certain tube modules but also some digital modules I think sometimes draw extra power at start-up, it's possible that Poly Hector is one, though I'm not familiar with it so I can't say that with any certainty. But yeah if you don't have the boost brick then you should get one, they're usually about $35 (US).
Yeah I think if that's what you want to do your best bet may be to sell the Black Sequencer and get something like the TipTop Z8000 instead. You may lose certain features but you'll then have multiple sequencers in one module and you may also come away with a few $ in the transaction.
I don't have any experience with either the Dot or the Black Sequencer, so take this with a grain of salt, but it looks there is just the one clock input on the sequencer, and the channels all run off of divisions or multiplications of that same master clock, so I'm not seeing how you can use two separate channels from the dot to advance channels 1 & 2 separately.
I believe by default the LFO modulates the filter frequency if the "mod depth" knob is turned up, and also is routed through ATT 2 to the pulse width modulation inputs for both oscillators, so I would look at where the mod depth knob and ATT 2 knob are set, and turn both of them all the way down to simplify things at first.
Thanks! Me too haha. I should mention that the resonance on the Modcan Multimode Filter was cranked all the way up, that was an important component of the sound.
Doepfer A-111-3 (triangle LFO) -> Abyss Devices Saevitus -> Modcan Multimode Filter (lowpass) -> DIY Veils (for some amplification) -> Sketchy Labs Freak Shift -> DPW MoG -> Metasonix RK4. For the basic drum sound, the Freak Shift and MoG were dry/"off", but they still significantly affected the tone for one reason or another.
I added in the Abyss Devices Saevitum -> Happy Nerding FX Aid XL (Peak compression algo) later in the track when the drum sound is distorted.
Not a compressor per se but I've found the DPW Limit L-1 to be useful in feedback patches. I have the Tanh as well actually, but I've found the DPW to be more handy for this purpose.
I've had this for a few years now, I've been working on a track recently where I'm using it a lot, was working great, but then today all of a sudden the X-axis has become very noisy, as in barely moving the joystick causes crackly noise. This is with a signal going into the input. The same thing does not happen with the Y-axis, and if I disconnect the x-output and just use the y-output, the noise goes away regardless of how I move the joystick. I took the module out and visually inspected the back, but I don't see anything obviously wrong. I emailed Befaco support but was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.
I bought a 2 hp version of the Poti expander from @jmason, he had to order parts to build it but maintained communication, keeping me updated on the status and then shipping the assembled product ASAP along with a cheat sheet in pdf format. It works great and I would definitely do business with him again.
