My First Rack

Hi Everyone;

I am new to be Eurorack user from Madrid (Spain), I have been doing the "homeworks" for several months, playing with VCV rack and watching all kind of videos about Eurorack. I think it is time to move to the real world and before start buying my ideal synth I wanted to share with you my idea and to get opinions and improvement ideas (I hope and day I could be the one giving advice and helping other).

Some things to give you context:
- My idea is to have fun and learn about the basics of the sounds, I don't want at this stage too complex things (but don't want to sound boring either).
- I want something "versatile", some melodies, some rhythm, some effects...
- I don't like display screens and complex menu diving.
- I am more into the melodic side than into drones or hard techno. In fact I would love to be able to create some background sound to play the guitar along (I am a basic/intermediate guitar player).
- The kind of music I like is quite eclectic I like LCD Soundsystem, Washed Out, Beach House, Trentemoller, Moderat...

That's my Rack:

Am I missing something? This is just a starting point, I know you always need more space, but before going bigger (I am buying a bigger case) I wanted to start from here.

Some doubts:

I was thinking about the Pamela's New Work Out... but that display menu diving is the thing I am not looking for. Am I missing too much?

In fact I was thinking about using the melodicer clock and with some clock multipliers/dividers controlling the tempo. Does it makes sense?

Thank you so much in advance.

Hi Cacharrada,

Your rack looks quite complete, a bit small but as you said you would buy a bigger case, so then that's fine and keep then at least one row space free for future extension.

I don't know the Pamela's New Work Out, so can't help you on that one. I am using a clock module (Make Noise - Tempi) and using that in combination with the Shakmat Modular - Time Wizard, that's a clock multiplier/divider with some logic options, I feel theses two combined is a nice combination. I can imagine however that the Erica Synths - Black VC Clock v2 works well too with any other suitable clock divider module; actually... I consider the Black VC Clock v2 myself for the future. Sometimes it's nice to just have the BPM value that the Tempi can't provide.

My advice is to start your above rack without the Vermona - meloDicer and the Make Noise - Maths. Waiting with the latter one shouldn't be a problem since you planned already the Doepfer - A-140-2, naturally the Maths covers more than what the A-140-2 can cover but for starters I do think that's sufficient. Keep that freed space reserved first and buy those two modules later once you build up some experience; if you by then still want them... you will see: after building up your experience you will change your mind here and there a bit about what you think of modules and how to judge & appreciate them. That's totally normal, so don't worry about it for the moment hence the advice not to buy everything in one big go but build up your rack layout slowly step by step.

I would consider a 2nd filter though. Your choice of Erica Synths - Black Dual VCF is excellent. I just recently got this module myself and I am starting to fall in love with this module, finally I got again a filter module that provides me a lot of pleasure. It's a bit weird one and I am still learning but I believe this Black Dual VCF is a jewel ;-) But consider a second filter just for the variarity's sake.

Consider to add an audio interface (input/) output module though, makes things easier in life.

Good luck with the planning and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Hi there,

Just chiming in to vouch for Pam's many uses and quality. It's much more than a clock module, it's gots euclidean patterns, stepped CV, LFO's, you name it. Clever patching of the unit (like feeding some outputs to its own CV inputs) paired with the BIA you have in your rack is guaranteed to keep you entertained for a while, I reckon. I think it deserves its place in the Top Rated and Most Popular lists.
I don't mind the menu diving so much myself as I often only use 1 or 2 channels for modulation that require me to go change settings on a regular basis. After a few hours with it, muscle memory sets in and since the menu system is well thought of, it's rather easy to navigate. But it is after all menu based, there is only one encoder so if menus are not your thing, maybe try to test the unit first if you can, or carefully watch this excellent demo by Divkid a few times:

And Garfield, it's got a BPM display too :)

Take care !

Thanks guys for your feedback.

@toodee It seems I should have a look to Pam’s. I’ve seen plenty of videos of it, seems powerful but complicated... After your comments suppose is better to change Erica’s Black clock for Pam’s.

@GarfieldModular Great advice... I will start with the basics... but I wanted to start with the melodicer to have at least some sequencer or rhythm generator, and not just cool sounds and modulation. Maybe I can start with Pams for that?

Thanks again for your help.

Yes, I have to vouch for Pam's New Workout too. I don't really enjoy menu-diving either, but Pam's is the glue that holds my rack together. It's pretty easy to use, and usually set and forget for my patches. Highly recommended early in your modular journey.
Have fun and good luck!

Thanks @Farkas, now it seems that the issue is te gent one Pam's...

Hola Cacharrada,

For example Rubadub seems to have Pam's in stock, if that's the question. ModularGrid lists a few sites to purchase modules but not all of them, so sometimes it's worth looking around some more ;-)

Now that I look a bit closely at the rack and Garfield's comments, I second his remark about an extra filter and reiterate the fact that what Pam's can offer in the realm of CV modulation sources is what I feel is missing from the proposed rack. LoL, now I almost feel like I'm selling the thing :-D

Saludos,
Diego

PS: foto de paella -> ahora tengo hambre :-)