EscapefromNoise.com in Stockholm, Sweden have the modules (the dual osc might have run out of stock now) and the service from them has been the best. Got the 258t yesterday and it’s instant love. Ordered the 281t straight away.
Yeah, I try to practice the same, module-after-paycheck, although I cheat a bit with cheap used utilities.
Tricky question! To me the separate VCas are needed as soon as a traditional vco shows up in the rack. And although I use an external mixer for stereo out I quickly found I needed mixer modules as soon as I had more than two sound sources going. I like being able to pan mono voices and/or have a few stereo possibilities as well (esp with Rings, Clouds, Beads…). The Intellijel has stereo out, right? (First time around I just had the niftycase and its weakness is the mono out so I had an in-rack stereo mixer right away).
Maybe a simple dual vca and a little mixer at the same time as soon as you decide on another sound source in the rack? If /when you need to upgrade later they’ll probably still be useful utilities.
But – this is just my way of reasoning, related to how I make my music. There’s no absolute truth :-D
Hi,
I’d add one or two mults, a “rack internal” mixer or two (Doepfer mini stereo a-138s or Intellijel mixup for instance) and maybe some straightforward doepfer adsr or something like that. The MI modules are often very versatile in the env/vca field but I like to have a few smaller simple dedicated of these as well.
I’m all for the niftycase and its very functional midi/cv functions. I started out (for the second time) with Rackbrute 6U and a 4ms pod but I’m thinking of getting a niftycase too for more midi/cv possibilities.
If you’re still into keeping this relatively small I’d recommend MI Marbles for semi random sequencing and pattern creation. Marbles is just great, so musical and a real hub in my setup.
(Edit: removed unnecessary SQ-1 recommendation since you already have the Keystep :-) . )
Thanks, great tip!
Btw (a little bit OT, but…), it’s been a while since I looked into the AE modular, but I did yesterday. Those drone modules (DronX & Drone38) seem really interesting. You’re using them?
I eventually tried it the way I described it (that is, the Mental-Motion-Channel mounted top-to-bottom in a 9U rack, not beside each other). To my surprise the beautiful patterns make an even more significant whole and the ins and outs is both more easily available and readable. I’ll gather the audio outs into a small mixer module. The channel touchplates are not as immediate as before but the rest really opens up. I’ll try this for a while and see what it brings to the table …
Thanks Lugia!
Yes, the hp factor and the aesthetic factor are certainly things to consider. The Mescaline is truly a beauty and I don’t like parting the modules even in Modulargrid. Still…
If I try my idea the Folktek modules would occupy 132 out of 336 hp and for now I’d be fine with that. If so, I would rack the Mental, Motion and Channel vertically in the 9U case, in their original order. Yes, this takes a lot away from the aesthetics (however I’m curious about if it wouldn’t make it easier patching between Motion and Channel - I think the original angle between them tend to make this quite finicky sometimes). And I may very well find that my idea won’t work at all.
The cable mess though – it’s already a reality to me. I’ve been patching the Mescaline with Ciat-Lonbarde and Lorre Mill gear from the start as well as syncing it with the Subharmonicon (and recently w eurorack) and my hopes and intentions were that having the Folktek modules mounted with the other modules would make the cable spaghetti a bit less messy (shorter patch cables would be required, the Duponts would be kept mostly to the right of the rack etc) … how do you avoid the worst mess with your different standalone units?
Edit: put it like this – mounting them in a rack I can’t see the functionality of the Folktek Mescaline modules being done actual harm, in the way rackmounting some semimodulars actually might take some of their intended possibilities away. Or am I mistaken here?
Hello, reasonably new user here. I’m in the process of building up a rack (see below)
https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1614676.jpg
which consists of the modules seen in the screenshot (except the Doepfer dual qnt which I hope to get soon and cheap) plus a Moog Subharmonicon, Field kit Fx as well as an MS20 mini which I use as an external filter/mod source. The rack pictured is in reality a cre8audio nifty case + a Doepfer LC9 84 hp. That’s 3-6U more than I initially planned for, but as you can see, I consider using the extra hp/u to rack
Mount the three Folktek Mescaline modules. I wonder if anyone has tried this and which pros there may be with this way of setting up the Channel, Motion and Mental?
There’s a big con of course: the amount of hp used. Mental is a true space devouring monster that way. But I figure the ergonomics would be better with the Medcaline trio integrated. I’ve used them for about a year and find the original setup beautiful but a bit impractical – more so when using the Mescaline in sync with other modular/banana stuff.
Any Mescaline user there who’s willing to chime in on this matter?
