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meh. didnt know what to add. I was watching a few reviews and doing research on cheap complete systems, and I am interested in this system, however, it's missing a lot of good functionality, which is probably why it's missing a 4th row. This is my idea for a 4th row. I tried to get mostly utilitie modules and a few bells and whistles. Might be good. Might not.
thoughts comments complants?
If I were to get rid of the powered skiffs, and use a mantis case, I'd have 4hp more per row for a total of 8. I think this is a good build, and the fact that I can have a little room to move some things around or add some mults or something would be beneficial IMO.
This will be my first half of my Beep Boop skiffs.
Why did I choose a 104hp skiff?
Because it was cheaper than spending ungodly amounts of money on a case that could fit my basic needs.
So I went with the Moog 104hp Skiff. Very sleek and very wide, and it fits on my desk where I will be using it 90% of the time.
So, what do I plan to do with this contraption? I'm so glad you asked...
I want to shape and record tones and synth patches that I can use to make all the things youd find in dance music, or just any electronic music in general.
I'll be using the uMidi to receive MIDI notes that I write in Ableton live whether it be chords to arpeggiate, bass lines, even kick drums that I will be synthesizing.
If I'm going to be using an external sequencing process, then why do I have a clock?
I have Pam's NEW Workout because I also want to experiment with generative patches and Pam's has plenty of tools for that. plus with the next half of my build (skiff number two) I'll need clock/trigger/gate sources.
Recording things during generative experimentation is going to be important if I want to have a simple blip in my music because I can just record 30 mins of me playing around, save the audio, slice it up, sample it, what have you. So I chose some things that would compliment both basic synth patch making, and experimental sound design.
The first being the Disting mk4. Its super versatile in many things, making it a very important part of unlocking the functionality of my build.
Next we have the Kinks and Links by Mutable Instruments. I chose these two for mainly the shape and distribution if CV throughout my system. More importantly, because I want to have the option of shaping and modulating things in the second skiff.
After that, I have my first VCO. The Osiris by Modbap. The reason I chose this sound source because of all the sounds you can get out of it. Plus, it has a few tools of its own that make the sound shaping oh so fun. Many options and many possibilities.
Then we have the STO by Make Noise. Now I use to want the Even VCO because of the octave switching capabilities, and that was going to be for making the thump of a synthetic kick drum. However, I decided on the STO because I felt like I didnt need the basic waveforms Even VCO comes with, plus there's a few cool little tricks that come with the STO such as a sub gate, and timbre changes. Perfect for shaping a nice thick dance kick drum.
Next is the uBraids II by Calsynth. It is a clone of the Braids module by Mutable Instruments. I needed a digital touch to the build, and I like some of the presets of the original braids so i figured why not. Also, upon reading about their company, I found out that the developer of this module was a synth tech for people like, "Lou Reed, The Smashing Pumpkins, Rufus Wainwright, Sheryl Crow, The B-52s, The Go-Gos and dozens of others." Absolutely amazing. That sold me on it for sure.
After that we have the Polaris, the Quadra, and the Quad VCA by Intellijel. Polaris sounds like a great filter and it has many modulation options for how you want it to sound. Pairing that and the Quadra can help me make those moog like filter sweeps and plucky synths you'd hear in a Deadmau5 song. Goals.
Last but not least we have the Quad VCA, which will that all my audio sources and CV sources, give them a little boost of energy, and also create a complete mix of my signals to pass onto the FX Aid by Happy Nerding, which has so many effects that it boggles the mind. All of that going into my mixer and into my computer for recording. Yum.
So yeah. Thats my plan. Hope you guys enjoy and I hope this build comes to fruition someday.
looks f'ing awful to me - too much crammed into to small a space (even thought he space is ok)
less is more - maybe 2-3 voices would be better suited in a case this size
go back to the real mutable modules if you like them and thank Emilie for creating them rather than getting micro versions which are un-ergonomic
-- JimHowell1970
So I revised over my previous build (Beep Boop Complete)
I decided that I really like mutable instruments because I wanted more functionality. However, the space available with MI modules is very limited. Luckily CalSynth exists. over all, I think this is a pretty good build. Plenty of experimentation as well as basic synth building. Little digital here, some analog there, a nice balance of control as well. It will be epic.
The top half is my very first 104hp skiff that I'm building now.
the bottom half will be another 104hp skiff that I want to build next year after I asses my needs with the first skiff.
I'm sure I can do better, I think I need more utilities but I honestly have no clue what I want to get because I have no clue what most utilities do. I need to do more research in that aspect.
Skiff 1 (Top): I went back to basics with this skiff. Mainly cause I keep straying further away from what I want to do with my rack, which was patch sounds that will compliment my music. I know 3 sound sources might be a bit much, but I wanted lots of options while patching traditional synth sounds, and experimental sounds including weird electronic sounding riffs and kick drums. I thought about adding a modulation source but then realized that Pam's NEW Workout could be used as an LFO so I changed my mind on that, plus I thought that adding some modulation sources later would be more effective than now, seeing as how I don't really know what I might be missing just yet. Ill play with it first and then decide...
...Which brings us to skiff 2 (bottom)
I tried to think carefully about what I might want in order to give my system some tasty flavor.
A couple more sound sources and some utilities I guess.
A Varigate 4+ sequencer for flexibility in my melodies, Stages for lots of different modulation, A micro Ornament and Crime, The Basimilus Iteritas Alter (because I don't want to miss out on it), the micro Grids for more percussion sequencing options, a Monsoon which is just a micro Clouds for some effects, a ripples filter (even though I already have a Polaris), the Maths (because I decided to change it to a Quadra in my first skiff to save room), and a vnlcursal 6 channel VCA for fun.
I dunno. I just chose things I wanted just to give myself an idea. It will change of course ;)
The top half is my very first 104hp skiff that I'm building now.
the bottom half will be another 104hp skiff that I want to build next year after I asses my needs with the first skiff.
I'm sure I can do better, I think I need more utilities but I honestly have no clue what I want to get because I have no clue what most utilities do. I need to do more research in that aspect.
Skiff 1 (Top): I went back to basics with this skiff. Mainly cause I keep straying further away from what I want to do with my rack, which was patch sounds that will compliment my music. I know 3 sound sources might be a bit much, but I wanted lots of options while patching traditional synth sounds, and experimental sounds including weird electronic sounding riffs and kick drums. I thought about adding a modulation source but then realized that Pam's NEW Workout could be used as an LFO so I changed my mind on that, plus I thought that adding some modulation sources later would be more effective than now, seeing as how I don't really know what I might be missing just yet. Ill play with it first and then decide...
...Which brings us to skiff 2 (bottom)
I tried to think carefully about what I might want in order to give my system some tasty flavor.
A couple more sound sources and some utilities I guess.
A Varigate 4+ sequencer for flexibility in my melodies, Stages for lots of different modulation, A micro Ornament and Crime, The Basimilus Iteritas Alter (because I don't want to miss out on it), the micro Grids for more percussion sequencing options, a Monsoon which is just a micro Clouds for some effects, a ripples filter (even though I already have a Polaris), the Maths (because I decided to change it to a Quadra in my first skiff to save room), and a vnlcursal 6 channel VCA for fun.
I dunno. I just chose things I wanted just to give myself an idea. It will change of course ;)
The top half is my very first 104hp skiff that I'm building now.
the bottom half will be another 104hp skiff that I want to build next year after I asses my needs with the first skiff.
I'm sure I can do better, I think I need more utilities but I honestly have no clue what I want to get because I have no clue what most utilities do. I need to do more research in that aspect.
Skiff 1 (Top): I went back to basics with this skiff. Mainly cause I keep straying further away from what I want to do with my rack, which was patch sounds that will compliment my music. I know 3 sound sources might be a bit much, but I wanted lots of options while patching traditional synth sounds, and experimental sounds including weird electronic sounding riffs and kick drums. I thought about adding a modulation source but then realized that Pam's NEW Workout could be used as an LFO so I changed my mind on that, plus I thought that adding some modulation sources later would be more effective than now, seeing as how I don't really know what I might be missing just yet. Ill play with it first and then decide...
...Which brings us to skiff 2 (bottom)
I tried to think carefully about what I might want in order to give my system some tasty flavor.
A couple more sound sources and some utilities I guess.
A Varigate 4+ sequencer for flexibility in my melodies, Stages for lots of different modulation, A micro Ornament and Crime, The Basimilus Iteritas Alter (because I don't want to miss out on it), the micro Grids for more percussion sequencing options, a Monsoon which is just a micro Clouds for some effects, a ripples filter (even though I already have a Polaris), the Maths (because I decided to change it to a Quadra in my first skiff to save room), and a vnlcursal 6 channel VCA for fun.
I dunno. I just chose things I wanted just to give myself an idea. It will change of course ;)
This version is the original idea I had in mind with a few changes.
I know 3 sound sources is a crowd, but I felt like three options for different sounds was key in order to sequence externally with my computer using Ableton live. Perfect for writing bass, leads, experimental stuff, even making my own kick drums.
This isn't a finished product by any means, just a rough draft
A few nights ago, I was searching for the perfect kick in my sample library, and all of them seemed very generic. So I opened up VCV Rack, and during my fiddling around, I made a kick drum. I was using a sub oscillator, the Erica Synths wavetable VCO, a few envelopes for pitch and wave shaping modulation, some VCAs, and a filter... not bad. I made a pretty solid punchy kick. I hit record and then...
The result ended up with me recording over 1,000 different Kick Drums in one night in Ableton Live!
Doing the math, 4 kicks per bar X 16 bar wav files X 20 different wav files recorded = 1,280 kick drums (TOO MANY FUCKING KICK DRUMS) all with their own transients and lengths so that they're all different from one another. And it wasn't even hard! It took me an hour at the most! Recording, going in and changing a few parameters around, and hitting record again. It was that simple.
So I thought to myself "What if I had a skiff with the soul purpose of recording my own drum sounds?"
I know what your thinking, " Corban, why waste time and money to make a separate skiff just for drum synthesizing when you can have a full case filled with more options and modules that are drum sounds on their own, let alone, do it on your computer like you did in one night?"
The answer is simple: Variety of options, an analog sound, originality, and having a sense of control in my sound.
Allow me to explain...
There's a few things that you wanna modulate when synthesizing a drum.
In this example, lets say I'm making a kick drum.
The Click - A VCO like the Erica Synths Wavetable is perfect for creating those beginning transients in a drum hit that sound organic whether it be a kick, a snare, a hat, or a tom. And with a VERY subtle attack and decay modulation, its the perfect replacement for a standard noise generator for making those clicking transients. It has so many options that you can dial in between using a VCA, or just by itself. So that as the beginning shape of your drum can give you almost unlimited options for how your drum will sound in the sum of it all.
The Punch - The punch (thats what I call it) in a kick drum is the fast pitch modulation of the sine/triangle wave, and like the click, the punch is modulated with a subtle attack/decay ratio to the v/oct. It starts from relatively high, and drops fast to a very low frequency. That's how you get that solid bassy "oof" out of a kick drum. Especially when you throw it through a filter with some drive and tune it right. I chose the STO by Make Noise as that body, and the Polaris as my filter to get rid of some of the higher frequencies I might not need.
The Shape - the shape of your drum can be anywhere from very short and punchy to very long and driven. Having the option to shape your drum in anyway you want seemed very interesting to me. Especially since I like to make house music. The shape of my kick drum needs to fit my track and compliment the rest of the sounds without being too overbearing. I like it somewhere in between short and snappy and long and driven, as if it acts almost as a metronome, while still giving it that driving force to move my body and bob my head. Too long, and it drowns out the sounds. Too short and you cant feel it. I like to make it just right. Just long enough for that thump to hit me and let me know its there while also disappearing as fast as it came.
Having all this control, and all these options plus an analog sound, you don't get that with samples.
You get it with this skiff.
And you can create MANY different percussive sounds. The possibilities are almost endless. I guarantee you will come out with something different EVERY TIME.
You could maybe make something like it, or something that sounds close, but never again can you make that exact same one shot sample that is 100% you. Never in a million years. And that's what's so great about it. Having ONE specific instrument with ONE specific job that can make so many different variations of ONE sound, its nuts.
And, honestly, who the hell has a skiff where its soul purpose is to make hard hitting Kick drums? Nobody. That's who. So... that's why I'm going to do it.
also, the problem with ditching the Vnlcusrer VCA and Multiple and replacing the space with a Veils is that id use up all my space and have 13/14 slots filled in my bus cable. So I think ill stick with the Vnlcurser VCA and Buffered Mult just for utility purposes.
2 0f 2 is going to be my case that I build probably next year after I've assessed all my needs with my first skiff.
I do realize that I should have gotten a bigger case, but I was on a budget and just wanted something small to start out with seeing how this will be my first ever eurorack.
The cool thing about having a second 104hp skiff though is you can daisy chain 2 Row Power 45s together and I felt like that would be a better option for my wallet.
I went through and revised my space yet again. It seems that just when have an idea for my final build, i have to change things once again. I had realized that I had 2 more inputs in my flying bus cable that I wasn't using.
Now if I'm smart, which I hope I am, id hope that I'm at least smart enough to use ALL my space if I can.
I also realized i had no VCAs... dumb lol
So, I got rid of the Varigate4+, Levit8, Polaris, and FX Aid, and exchanged them for:
Mimetic Digitalis - I watched a video on this and I love the amount of things I can do with this module. I feel like its way better than the Varigate 4+ in terms of editing, plus it saved me some room.
uJove - Its an excellent and simple filter with 4 modes and 3 cv inputs, one for resonance, one bipolar, and one unipolar.
Vnlcursal VCA - Its a 6 channel VCA which, in my book, is better than a quad VCA, not to mention its all packed in only 8hp, plus it just looks evil >:)
FX Aid XL - Its just apparently a lot better than the standard FX Aid so I thought why not.
6x Mix -3 A and 3 B inputs and 3 A+B outputs for a mixer just sounds great to me.
This made enough room for me to add Kinks and a dual buffered multiple because utilities are important.
@JimHowell1970 Good call, I forgot about VCAs, I guess I just thought that the levit8 counted, so I got rid of that and the ONA and replaced it with a quad vca and added 6x mix.
Seeing as how I'm in love with the Basimilus Iteritas Alter, I just had to have it in my rack. So I revised what I'm after and tried to make smart useful choices.
I have a Moog 104hp skiff, and that's not very much room, however, I knew that I wanted something not too overwhelming, and something that wasn't going to take up much room on my desk. I felt that if I got a powered Mantis case, I would be overwhelmed with the question, "How the hell am I gonna fill this thing up?" I felt better knowing I could come back to that question at a later date after I've had some practice with the simple basics, not to mention I was just trying to be cheap(ish).
That raises the real question; Just what am I after in my rack?
I come from making and listening to progressive house, trance, industrial, idm, just all sorts of electronic music. So I knew I wanted variety. I knew I wanted something to engineer my own kick drums piece by piece. I wanted to make some melodic plucky moog-ish synths like Deadmau5. I knew I wanted some grungy crunchy percussive sounds like Nine Inch Nails. But I also want to practice more experimental things I could record to expand my productions and style. One other thing I thought about is this all has to go into my computer for editing, but I also want the option to externally sequence things with midi coming from my computer as well.
So, in summary, here's what I chose to achieve just that:
uMidi - This is going to mainly be for external sequencing melodies, arps, kick drums, all from Ableton Live
Pamela's New Workout - I want to use this with the Sequencer I chose but also for the inputs of Basimilus, the trigger for Maths, and possibly to clock the uMidi. I alos love that i have 8 different outputs I can change with Euclidean rhythms and clock deviders/multipliers.
Disting MK4 - I was recommended this module specifically for having more options in functionality. I like all the randomness it holds, as well as the amount of control and modulation it offers. Perfect swiss army knife with MANY options. I don't even know what ill use it for but I'm sure ill find something. What's important is having and learning about my options and unlocking functionality. And Disting is PERFECT for that.
Varigat 4+ - I knew I wanted a pretty standard sequencer with a cool balance between CV and Gate triggering, but I also found it useful that it comes with some scale shifting, quantization, different sequencing modes, and much more. I know I can also quantize it with Disting MK4 as a plus.
BIA - Basimilus is just bad ass sounding. That's it.
uBraids II - I like the original Braids by Mutable Instruments. I had the option of playing with the digital version in VCV rack. I like that it has some preset sounds that I can use to my advantage in making my house tracks, with the option of slightly modulating their sound.
ONA - I wanted a standard oscillator with a few more wave forms, but what really drew me to this module is that it has an LFO setting, and octave shifts.
Maths - because who doesn't need a Maths? Ill primarily be using it for an envelope generator, but I'm sure ill use its other functions somewhere along my experimentation sessions.
Polaris - I wanted this module because of its options. I wanted a filter that was useful in making some good plucky synths out of its frequency modulation, and some good drones with the bandpass setting. Seems like a good choice.
FX Aid - its got 32 different effects. sounds good to me. I also have the option to change the firmware to my wants.
Levit8 - I chose this for the sake of having a mixer with many inputs and outputs. It seems like a great utility, and fairly simple with lots of functionality. Something useful.
So there you have it. Something simple, efficient, and wonderful to behold. It will be great for practice, and hopefully give me an idea for my next case.
Okie Dokie.
Got rid of the sound sources, added some better choices as oppose to the fuckery I had in my last build.
This should be a better half for Beep Boop hopefully.
The next half of my two part rack that I wish to build in the next year.
I absolutely fell in love with noise engineering stuff recently, as well as the Wogglebug and uBraids.
Should be a fun mixture of percussive sounds and analog crazy shit...
My first Eurorack ever!
I've got a Moog 104hp case to fit my modules. I went for something simple with a good amount of variety. Perfect for experimentation and external sequencing with a computer.
So this is the 4th rendition of my past modular builds. I decided to go with a 104hp Moog case, something simple to start with because I'm new to the world of modular. I was looking for basic basic BASIC stuff to start with and still have plenty of functionality. Eventually I'll make a second rack with the same case and power supply so I can daisy chain them together, but that's a couple of years away. So for now, I hope this is enough to start with.
I've changed quite a few things up. Decided to go with 3 rows, each a separate Moog 104hp rack, that way I can focus on one rack at a time and gradually build and seperate modules into groups.
Row 1 are my essentials
Row 2 are my wants
Row 3 is to be determined
I'll definitely put it together and let you know. It's been a goal of mine this year to make a modular system so you'll definitely be hearing back from me 😁
@troux
What kind of midi to cv would be useful for when I want to send midi from my computer to my rack? I'd like to be able to use my rack with Ableton live. Of course I'll need an audio interface, (at least I think) to link the two. Any clues? I want to control my racks pitch info with Ableton Lives midi clips
Ok @troux
This is what I came up with and of course its expensive as all hell just like I feared. I tried to think of options that gave me more variety. I didn't find SSF Toolbox, so I looked it up and honestly, I wouldn't even know how to use something like that. Like I said, I'm not that versatile in the knowledge of modular. I'm pretty basic when it comes to sound design. For instance, if you look at a few of my tracks below on my YouTube channel, I am VERY basic lol hence why I have been practicing with VCV Rack, but even then I still don't know how to use things SSF Tool box, or how to even work something like Maths to its full potential.
What I DO like about this build is that, I have all the functionality of things I want and know how to use. The quad vca is super helpful, as well as the triple lfo. I added a step sequencer to replace the lame S&H I had, and found a different basic 1U module that has S&H plus a noise generator. I still have the same Clock because I wanted a visual when it comes to tempo readings, plus i just like how it looks easy to use. I kept the Dual Attenuverter from Befaco, but if I have Maths as well, I have more options to attenuate/invert/slew signals, so I'm kind of debating on if I should just keep Maths and toss the Dual Attenuverter? (shrug) and the two random ADSR's, well, I just didn't see a whole lot of options when it comes to more functionality in 2 or less modules, so I just added the two by them selves. might add 3 if I can fit it somewhere.
As for the Oscillators, I wanted two basic ones that were cheap, one waveshaper by Erica Synths because I like their products, and I want it for more gritty/nasty sounds. As for the Instruo modules, I chose the Saich for super saws because I love making plucked deadmau5 kind of synths that arpeggiate, and that one is perfect when added to the right filter. Which btw, I love the Instruo filter, so I added that as well, but if you have better options on filters, let me know. I also added a fixed filter bank for more filter options. As for effects, I just wanted a simple delay and reverb, so I chose Chrono Blob, and Springray. And last but not least, I added a sampler just for extra effects, plus I've never tried a sampler before, so why not right?
So that's what i got.
What do you think can be added, taken away, replaced, etc?
Do you think a build like this is more or less versatile?
Should I have plenty of modulation options and functionality for the things I want to do PLUS more?
Or am I way over my head trying to do much with too little or vice versa?
@troux@Lugia
Basically, I've been practicing with VCV Rack. I use lots of modules with those exact functions. I just wanted something familiar. Not expensive. I want to be able to make kick drums, classic/experimental synth sounds, some bassy stuff, plucky synths, and that's kind of it. Its all I know really. Im not some wizard of sound, i just wanna make beep boops and be able to control it the way I know how. does that make any sense?
My goal this year was to build a modular system that I can use to create dance music that I make. I like to make house music with moogish drones, and plucked synth staccatos, strings, and bouncy bass, all that stuff. But i also want the luxury of experimental sound. Thats why i had a Sample and hold, so i could trigger it with a clock, send the signal to a atenuverter, send that signal to a quantizer, send the quantizer to a V/OCt, and generate some random tones. I dunno. just beep boop stuff.
Damn .. way to rip my heart out and feed it to me...
But I guess you're right. I'm new to this stuff. I was just going for "affordable". I don't expect to get it right the first time. I thought building a system was easy and that something like this would work together nicely. I'm truly disappointed and now I feel stupid. Will you help me?
