your favorite FX modules / setups?

Hello,

I'm now several months into modular and feel like I have a good rig and decent understanding of my modules.

As I think about future adds, I'm thinking about FX and am wondering about other MG users:

-- what are your favorite Eurorack FX modules and why?
-- do you prefer to do most of your FX in Eurorack, in other hardware, or in the DAW and why?

To date, I've leaned away from Eurorack FX thinking:
-- they may be more expensive and maybe less good than alternatives I have in software
-- I don't see a big need for CV over FX parameters or FX channels (such as parallel or send/return paths)
-- I've mainly aimed for having a bit of "finishing FX" in my rig such as EQ and reverb: "end of chain" stuff to polish the modular sound somewhat so that I don't HAVE to link my modular system to software if I don't want to

I thought I'd ask around and see if I'm perhaps missing some great Eurorack FX units or setups.

Thanks for your ideas!

Nicholas

Hi Nicolas,

I am particular happy with my Intellijel - Springray2 module, a real analogue spring reverb that gives you the opportunity to connect up till 3 (three) spring tanks. I am using the small and the medium one, both are great in their ways, the medium one is a little more subtle compared to the small one.

I don't have the Make Noise - Mimeophon yet but had a chance to test it, and this is a great delay and looper module, very creative patches are possible with this module.

Good look for the search of some good FX modules and kind regards, Garfield.

Funny you should ask this question because I'm currently rethinking my FX setup. I have the FX Aid XL and Milky Way for eurorack multi-effects, and haven't been 100% happy with the results. I'm also not a big fan of Clouds as an effect. A lot of that probably comes down to me and my creativity, as I have heard good results from all of those in demos. I do have the 4ms Dual Looping Delay and it is more of an instrument than an effect, and the Qu-Bit Data Bender which is pretty unique in what it does, so I'm happy with those. I also run my signal through some guitar effect pedals (most notably EHX Oceans 11, Warm Audio Jet Phaser, and Orange Kongpressor) with a Strymon AA.1, and prefer that route to the in-rack effects I currently have.
I think I would prefer something like the Springray that Garfield mentioned or Erica Black Spring Reverb as well as an analog BBD like the Pittsburgh or XAOC Sarajewo (expensive!) for the type of sound I usually aim for. I don't really use any plug-ins/DAW effects.
The one benefit of euro FX that I take advantage of is cv control over delay feedback for dub style swells, but I'm mostly hands-on, preferring to adjust effects on the fly.
I'll be watching this thread to see what others are doing.

My thinking was similar to OP's. I have a good delay/reverb pedal and a couple of Elektron boxes (A4, Digitakt) that, in addition to supplying percussion and sequencing, can take stereo input (or dual mono) and apply effects and panning. The one in-rack effect I have is Sarajewo, because the BBD sound is hard to approximate, and it offers the possibility of customizing the feedback loop. Using the T1 and T2 taps also gives a reverb-like effect. I'm keeping an eye on granular options but no purchases so far.

Hi! In my experience, multi-effect modules were a good way to learn about what works and what doesn’t. Right now I’m only going into the DAW for recording and finishing the stereo mixes with a little EQ and compression. Maybe consider starting with a good multi-effect like FX Aid or Erica Synths’ Black Hole DSP 2. There are pluses and minuses to both but are extremely versatile and the Black Hole just sounds terrific to me. FX has a lot of menus and downloads, so it’s a bit to manage, but it’s worth having. You might also look into Noise Engineering’s Versio series, because those don’t have presets, so you can tailor your effect from the ground up. And, you can buy one from the series and still download all the effects available. A different take on multi-effects. And if you want to hit the DAW, Noise has free plugins now. I have not been wowed by Beads/Clouds particular angle on effect synthesis, but I have heard great things out of that product line, so if you dig that workflow, you might love those. Everything I’ve mentioned sounds amazing.

It is a very interesting question and, as often, there is no universal answer: hence all the pleasure and interest of the modular synthesizer.

In my case, on about fifty modules, I use only 3 small modules strictly dedicated to effects: 2hp Verb, Pico DSP and Happy Nerding FX Aid (4hp version). I have to add the Monsoon (a Clouds clone with the Parasites firmware) reverb and the possibility to use sometimes the Disting mk4.

Why? Because I try to preserve as much as possible the nature, the transients and the texture of the sounds: the quality of the sound sources in a modular was from the beginning, and actually stays for me the main attraction next to the possibilities of CV of course...

So my most frequent use of effects remains the positioning in the mix, as one would use commonly a filter for example.

On the other hand, when I think of 'effect', I more often associate it with a deeper mutation of the sound such as the granularization of a Nebulae, or the metamorphosis by a Morphagene.

Pushing to the extreme, I would say that it is the whole modular that I conceive as a special effect for the sound: just like cinema is not theater and could even be viewed as a special effect versus the theater! (Think about Georges Méliès).

My philosophy of modular is not to try to reproduce what traditional synthesizers would do. In the same way that a sampler should not try to imitate an acoustic instrument just because it could.

Mimeophon and Happy Nerding FX Aid are my favorite effects modules in my setups. Powerful and sound incredible.
I can get amazing textures that range from basic delays to warped drones from space.

EDITED Oct 26th 2021, 18:33

Excellent comment Sweelinck!

I've got a few FX modules in synths...

The B.2600 has the digital reverb, although I've heard that there's some potential mods for the FX chip.
My AE system has several: phaser, mid-fi delay, two spring reverbs (with different tanks) and their take on the Spin FV-1.
The Digisound has their BBD-based reverb.
Then there's all of the various widgets that are part of the Field Kit and Field Kit FX.
The modular setup here also has its own 1/4" patchbay for routing and the like, but this also gives access to a Korg SDD3300 (triple delay line unit) and a Zoom 9120, plus four channels of Symetrix gates.

As for the rest of the FX...I ain't gonna type THAT out. There's about 100+ U of very filled processor racks here.

Wow, all these comments came in and I didn't get any notices about it! Well thanks for the input, I'll be digging into comments / suggestions above more soon.

Any further ideas are of course welcomed!

I love all effects the more the merrier, I love pedals

Pedals,
Chase Bliss moods
Walrus Julianna
Fairchild Shallow Water
Death by audio Rooms

Euro
FX aid XL
Desmodus stereo reverb
Ruina stereo distortion
Uburst (clouds clone)

On my watch list
Mimephone
Vermona Retroverb Lancet spring reverb

Mix and match with bored brains intrfx

All good depending on the patch all provide endless sound design and cross patching.

EDITED Oct 27th 2021, 03:40

I think the one thing about clouds ( haven’t tried beads) is that it does seem to take some work to get the most out of it, though sometimes I just use it for the reverb. I have had some success with the parasites firmware if you have it you might want to give that a go the resonator is nice and the additional miverb mode is also worth a go.

question for @mog00 and anyone else using pedals, how are you integrating these into your Eurorack setup and/or broader setup? I love pedals too, but haven't yet integrated them in my Eurorack chain and/or DAW chain, it would be great to make that linkage.

I use Boredbrain INTRFX works great as an effects send/return loop even excepts cv control.

My $0.02.

If you're comfortable using non-Eurorack effects from pedals, your DAW, rackmount, or any other source... do that. Generally, they are MUCH less expensive. If you can get what you want... cool.

Where Eurorack effects show their strength are in the 3.5mm modulation jacks populating all those good-good effects modules. That's really what makes them worth paying for. If you can get a nice Eurorack delay module, a nice reverb module (or spring reverb set-up), and then a multi-FX unit to cover everything else... I think you're golden. Any specialty effects like Clouds are nice too. But the costs start to stack up. :)

EDITED Oct 27th 2021, 17:21

you can definitely get a bunch of guitar effects on the cheap (eurorack can be expensive, but pretty much everything eurorack is),

This thread has a lot of great FX discussion as well

how are you integrating these into your Eurorack setup and/or broader setup? I love pedals too, but haven't yet integrated them in my Eurorack chain and/or DAW chain, it would be great to make that linkage.
-- nickgreenberg

I've used "open architecture" for decades now. With this, everything comes into 1/4" patchbays where all of the signal routings get set up. I keep a pair of stompbox P/Ss (Kokko, also available branded as Flanger) by the desk, one for the left patchbay, the other on the right. With this, I can insert stompboxes at will into whatever signal path I like, either during tracking, mixing, or as some oddball sidechain. There's also some "big pedals" by the patchbays...input side has a Korg X-911 "guitar" synth and an E-H Hog2, effects side has a Fulltone Supa-Trem2, Palmer Timepressor, Jomox T-Resonator II, and an E-H Flanger Hoax (a variation on the venerable Mutron Biphase).

It's also worth noting that this architecture was decided on as a result of a visit I made to Syracuse's electronic music studio in the early 1990s...the earliest of which was designed and set up by Dr. Bob himself. And if Bob Moog says this sort of architecture works...well, are YOU gonna question his decision?

Hi Nickgreenberg, Lugia and Ronin1973,

Nickgreenberg: I am using a few effects pedals, in combination with a digital mixer it's great to use and almost no limitations that come right to mind of using them in combination with modular. The only limitation I see here is the limited number of outputs on your mixer because you don't only need inputs for those pedals (that will be the outputs from the pedals), you also need outputs on your mixer for your pedals (that will be the inputs for the pedals then). Ideal to get this configured with a digital mixer that can do digital patching as well. The PreSonus StudioLive Series III mixers for example can do that just fine.

Lugia and Ronin1973: If I may be honest here, and you know how much I love (Eurorack) modular synthesizers, so it's definitely not a lack on my side of not liking modular, however if it comes to effects versus Eurorack modules then I am not overly impressed. Especially when you calculate the usually ridiculous module price into it, as Ronin also already indicated, then for most effect modules I don't think it's really worth it and an external pedal might be preferred, or at least I prefer than an external pedal.

The Intellijel Springray2 is one of the very few exceptions for me where I say, yes that effect is really worth it within modular. Perhaps the Make Noise Mimeophon as well but that's about it, and I do have a few more effect modules but I am not even going to mention them here. They aren't bad but no big wow factors, especially not for the money one is paying for it. I rather spend my money on a (very) good (stereo) pedal. Of course Ronin's pointer of the CV control would be the only real good reason for me to get an effects module in modular, but wow, what must that module be good before I would decide to go that road... Good news is that slowly pedals start to have CV input(s) as well, so for effects... please think twice before you get an effects module instead of a pedal.

Just my 2 cents, kind regards, Garfield.

thanks for all the ideas above guys!

An update, I recently ordered:
-- SSF Tryptich (3in1 box)
-- Xaoc Sarajewo (BBD)
-- Xaoc Minsk (M/S & stereo field)

I think these will be great adds for me for:
-- dirty up and manipulate the sound (SSF)
-- slick BBD (Sarajewo)
-- stereo and M/S manipulation, particularly interesting for combination with my AJH Wave Swarm for doing unison stack spread type setups

BTW the SSF box and Minsk are pretty new and I think worth a close look if you don't know it already. AND there is a big sale going on at Perfect Circuit with some very sharp prices.

I'll keep reviewing the notes above for other ideas. IMO getting a send/return loop set up for going to stomp boxes is probably my next priority.

Thanks everyone!!

Chiming in to note, the Mimeophon really is a wonderful module, adds depth and character to just about anything, here's probably my favorite thing so far with it:

+1000 on the Mimeophon and I also like Happy Nerding FX Aid so much these two modules can do.