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I would personally opt for just one complex oscillator, on top of removing the 3u audio jacks in favour of utilizing a 1u outs module for that (or just get the headphone 1u module if you absolutely want phones connection).

whilst Maths is a serious modulator, I think you will quickly find a threshold for modulators if you need to use half for VCA control. I would personally choose the DPO over the Brains, however they are very different in execution. Complex timbres or lack thereof are great via the DPO sans a filter. The Brains being a Braids clone can handle lots of different styles of oscillator algorithms for output on top of drum engines built in.

If you just want a sick synth voice for bass/leads, I would pull the Brains, Filter, Steppy, Outs, and swap them for another complex modulator (maybe Mutable Stages - very handy for small cases). Scales is great, but the sequencing can become tedious compared to other sequencers (Sh101 style) so it may be something to consider with the extra space to check out something like the Muxlicer from Befaco or something with addressable steps that aren't super linear unless you want that. Theres so many great sequencers in modular, or the ability to create your own if clever.

The beauty of modular is the modulation/sequencing/switching schemes that result in complex tones/music accordingly. These modulations can still be done via hands somewhat, but you only have 2. The nice thing about the Morphagene is you can record passes of knob twists and layer on top, but you have to play that into your approach on any given patch.

X-Pan is a better mixer than VCA solution (it can be used as a general VCA, but somewhat overkill for what you need). I would swap that out for maybe a LxD or maybe Veils fader version for more VCA controls as needed. I would just feed that into the morphagene and feed the L/R directly to the outputs. The 1U VCAs are great for utility, but the lack of attenuation directly on them leave one wanting (same deal as LxD), you could use channels 2/3 on Maths for this I suppose.

I mocked up this skiff that I personally would rather see: More modulation options, attenuation/attenuverter options, focused on the main oscillator for tweaking. You have 4hp extra so in theory could throw a mutable marbles as the main sequencing option for more interesting/evolving patterns over time/modulation friendly. Unfortunately space fills up fast if you use modules that are 20HP+.

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1637313.jpg

Yes I apologize for not explaining it in the post. So I have an separate groovebox (EMX-1) which would be for making drums and some synths (speaking for a live situation). So the eurorack would be for more percussive sounds, leads or riffs. Wanted to do it a bit like ASEC (check him out on youtube).
DFAM would mostly be for riffy hypnotic leads.
I would also like to use this setup in my studio for now as I do not have enough money to make two cases (one for studio and one for live).

In conclusion the rack would serve as the main synth and percussion part for live techno.

-- Obscur

So - if you are using an external midi capable device in any way, I would recommend a midi to CV/gate converter right off the bat for a few reasons. The first being obvious CV/Gate patterns via existing Midi machines. Another is for setting up utilities like clock dividers, reset trigs, slow/odd sequence steps/timings, and I'm sure there is more that I am forgetting but external midi sequencers are highly capable of providing great utility to your modular setup (especially if you want one modular case for everything).

I cooked up a little rig quickly attempting to use some similar modules and some completely different ones. The artist you posted is a fairly popular style of techno so you should easily be able to achieve that with the DFAM. Using it in combo with the Morphagene might yield cool evolving patterns as well as an audio sampler so I kept that in there (and for background textures etc.). Mimeophon is great for an effect as it is delay/reverb-like.

The midi thing is just a decent midi module I have personal experience building. Pretty simple to work and good build quality from Befaco (I get the DIY kits). Muxlicer is a great sequencer as it has lots of utilities built in, as well as the ability to be manipulated via LFO to totally mess up the sequence order in-time. So plugging percussion trigs from the channel outs summed down into the Bytom and you get cool trigger sequences for drums/bass - mute/swap/mix them w/ the Mutes/Switchblade modules. Also swapping the CV from either the Mux or the DFAM or Midi pitch CV is great for getting a live groove vs a pre-recorded groove.

I'm not familiar with the Basimilus, but I know it is a drum module that can be 'struck' or 'trigged' so that's a bonus. You can plug it into optomix and get even chirpier 'plucks' and run it wide open/drone, or use the onboard decay control to shorten it up within the module itself. I kept the Belgrad filter in cause its multi-mode which is good. Optomix for the ability to 'duck' voices via CV or audio/mixing/vactrols are sweet. Maths cause maths.

Mutes for audio muting and then Mixer to finish it off - I didn't know what you would be into, but I find I like blending the audio together and summing down when I perform so I can get total control - so I threw the ALM mixer in for spatial and volume easy mixing solution w/ Ext In for external gear (not sure if the gain will be high enough though - didn't read the manual).

Mimeophon as a end of chain effect for good measure as it covers delays/reverb washy stuff.

There isn't a lot of "voice's" here - but if you pulled the DFAM that would give you more room for extra LFO's, some type of Turing machine sequencer would be ideal, maybe more elaborate mixer, sample and hold, and maybe another standalone voice in there if possible. With clever use of the Morphagene, you can get away with less modulators, as you can record knob movements and then play them back with audio recordings that layer up on stuff which could be awesome. Or even use Morphagene for drum loops along the rest of the stuff - who knows.

As Jim mentions - its a pretty small space for a full on system, and it will certainly lack quite a bit of control of which makes modular worth the plunge to begin with.

Another good starter case might be the ALM DIY cases, as they start at 3u 84hp, and 6u 84hp - this is a little more room to get a few more necessities into the case to make your first full case patches worthwhile/exciting to come back and learn with. Decent price if you are okay with the small amount of building it requires.

My first case was 84hp and had a similar module compliment (Make Noise Telharmonic oscillator + Maths + MMG + Optomix) - within the first month or so I had another 7u performance case on order, as well as another 84hp of Roland system 500. A small amount of modules can certainly breed creativity, but it can also be a real nuisance when you can't achieve the sound in your head simply cause you lack needed utilities you don't have room for. I would constantly patch simple ambient drones that sounded cool, but ultimately a lot of money for the result. This is something you will learn over the course of messing with your first modules - you currently have the idea of creating a relatively complex synth voice, but the choice of modules will inevitable end up not providing much in that small case/setup without significant external control / constant hands on modulations. You may find after some initial experimentation that you want a completely different system, which is fine, but hard to achieve if you stick within a certain size constraint, and something you will never know without taking the initial plunge to start. There are always newer/smaller/more feature packed modules at any time that do what you want but better.

As for starter modules as an option - I would suggest the Dreadbox Chroma series, as bang for the buck they have a lot of good functionality and features for small systems.

The Intellijel Palette style cases are pretty shallow (I own both the 62hp and 104hp) - so I find keeping a pack of m3 standoffs can be helpful to raise the module up a bit to remove pressure on the power connector (won't sit flush with the other modules however).

Switches/VCAs/attenuators & attenuverters are your best friend for modular, as they allow you to patch/setup a modulation depth - and then turn it on/off as needed at any given moment (some are CV controlled to which is great - Acidlab Switchblad or ADDAC VC Rotator for example).

In the end - modular sequencing/utilities is really where eurorack starts to shine in my opinion - all my smaller cases have been relegated to control or mixing skiffs for larger systems I own.

Whenever I design a case, I'm always asking myself - what is the general use-case or ideal system for the task at hand.

It would appear to me you're looking for a complex synth voice of some kind in the first setup and not a full on groove-box style approach. Where the second iteration looks a bit more random/percussive for whatever reason.

I've found that since the Mother32/DFAM come with a powered skiff, that I end up pulling it from my larger cases to use externally, but still patched to the system to save space. My question would be - what do you hope to get from the DFAM in the case? If its just for modular drums, it is really best at handling 1x drum tone at a time in a small system. You can do a little patching hack where you use the sequencer to control noise level - but its pretty simplistic with only the 8 steps to work with and no reset input for the DFAM (shame). Great for 4/4 kicks/percussion however - or if you modulate the 'time' w/ CV you can get more complex rhythms, however extremely hard to work with to get in-time with the rest of the setup (if that's indeed an issue/goal for your system). More complex systems with more CV control/switches allows greater possibilities of utilizing the DFAM as a full on drum voice, but takes some sophisticated patching/sequencing of CV inputs to get unique per step drum sounds.

The second system seems a lot more drum/percussion oriented setup to me given the main sequencing being the Varigate 4 / choice of sound modules. Is the idea to use the system in a live composition context? or just for patching in the studio to get cool sounds?

Based on module choices, I couldn't say whether the systems would work for any given idea, as we don't know the overall goal for use.

What is your reason for going modular in the first place? - just to break the building blocks of normalled synths, or for a specific purpose (ambient wave machine, groove box w/ bass & drums, complex synth voice, etc.) In my personal experience w/ modular, over the years I have drifted towards setting up standalone systems that complete a specific task. I have my main groove box system w/ everything needed for a live improvised set in 2x 104hp (Intellijel 7u performance case), but I also have a second case dedicated strictly to drum voices/sequencing w/ modular control, another case for sequencing/mono bass voice, and another for mixing/fx. It is called eurocrack for a reason!

You can certainly get all of the functionality you need in one case, but you have to know what the goal is, and that will drive your choice of modules over pure aesthetic/price, but for utility as it is needed to make the sounds you want to make with adequate control.

Would also recommend a Mutable Peaks or maybe a Disting or 2...