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I am just now planning my first eurorack system. I am hoping for a bit of advice. Currently I own two modules Stolperbeats and a modbap trinity. I am planning to mainly make hip hop with this setup. I have not purchased a case yet but, I think it makes sense to start with a 6u 104hp case. I plan to only fill it about half way to start, so as I learn more I can make more informed purchases. Any and all suggestions are welcome, I just want to know if I am on the right track. Do I have enough utilities? And glaring omissions?
I will try to post a link to my current planned start and then a link to where I see it possibly ending up.
Hey, good luck with the journey. It's fun, and the rabbit hole of searching for interesting modules is addictive.
Out of curiosity, how are you planning to use modular in your music? If you just want to build a sequence and have drums, it's way cheaper to go the route of drum machines and sequencers. Sound mangling is cool, but again, probably cheaper off rack. Of course they can't do what modular does, but you could buy a lot of instruments for the price of a full rack that can do many of the same functions as modular.
That out of the way, two things jump out at me about your racks:
1) VCOs and VCFs combine for 56 hp of space for just two independent voices. That's a whole lot of real estate for a case that's only 104hp. As cool as those oscillators are, maybe find smaller versions, or dual oscillators or filters? If you like Instruo, their Ts-L has a voltage controlled wavefolder and is only 6hp. Klavis Twin Waves Mk II is huge sounding in 8 hp, and itself is a dual VCO. If you want to keep it analogue, Make Noise has STO. Shakmat Modular's Dual Dagger is a dual VCF in 6 hp. Right there you have 2 to 3 independent voices in 16-18 hp. That gives you a lot of space back to work with. Particularly, since you'll want to use it for....
2) Utilities. You need more utilities, in particular for clocking and triggering. Yes, you have a monster sequencer, but adding something like a Pam's would give you a lot more options and flexibility. Things like clock divider or multipliers will give you access to a lot more rhythmic options. Logic modules allow for more interesting combinations and trigger sequencers. I see you're planning on getting the Compare 2, which has some logic built in. Great module. Personally, I LOVE sample/track and hold, and they are super cool to use as modulators, and can be used to build melodies from the LFOs you have (which, you could also get more of).
Utilities are useful because they are just so damn versatile. For example, how about more attenuators or attenuverters to subtly affect signals, or even invert them? Or, another example of the utility of utilities, you could build a step sequencer with just a clock, a sequential switch and a matrix mixer, and suddenly with three utility modules you have a sequence. Add something that can quantize, and suddenly you have a melody you can control with a mixer, all from utilities and a clock. Routing is important too. Spreading that signal around with Link 2 is great (personally I love Joranalogue), but how about adding Doepfer's Switch Multiple that gives you mults and the ability to route signals. Joranalogue just announced a new routing module that looks sick, so maybe think about that, too.
Anyways, I'm sure someone with more experience can give you more focused advice specific to hip hop, but my general thoughts are stay away from big sound making modules, and stick close to the smaller, cheaper, utilities.
Wow thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my post. For some musical background I was a vinyl turntablist for many years. i moved to a new space and didn't have room for my equipment for many years, now I have room again. I am just happy to be on the path of making music again. One of my friends has a modular setup and it really caught my interest. I am aware that easier more efficient ways to make hip hop are out there. I just am super excited to learn something new and different. I am fairly committed to going down the modular path.
So it sounds like I was a bit filter heavy for the HP. The case is filling up fast. I might need to do a slightly larger case for the long run. Maybe a 9u 84hp or even 104hp. My goal is to have a system that I can take with my and play my music. I have my eye on a case from Case from Lake.
I took some of your suggestions and did an updated case
part of me thinks I should start very small so that I can learn my modules and figure out what I need
something like this
I think in the long run having Morphagene or one of the competitors makes a lot of sense to me.
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Wow thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my post.
No problem!
part of me thinks I should start very small so that I can learn my modules and figure out what I need
Yes and no. Yes - start with a small number of modules that will work together to give you a chance to learn how they interact. No - don't use a small starter case. Really, you'll be kicking yourself in a year (or sooner) if you start with a tiny case.
One other option I forgot to mention is that you'll get a lot of bang for your buck with a multi-utility or multi-function tool like Maths (worth the hp for all the versatility it brings), uOrnament and Crime, or Disting EX. The last two are a little menu-divey, but either will give you access to a large number of utilities and will allow you to figure out which ones you actually use.
