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Rule #1: never assume that the MG amperage figures are correct. ALWAYS overestimate your current needs.
Rule #2: Since there's a spike in current draws when you turn a device on, even if your operating current is 822 mA, that doesn't mean your inrush current is also 822 mA. And it only takes a fraction of a second for certain components in an overtaxed power supply to go "pop!".
Rule #3: When speccing power supply current figures, take your MG module amperage sum, then add 1/3rd as much more to that figure. Then add more besides that. You DO NOT want to push a power supply; instead, you want that power supply to loaf along like its not got much to do. This adds up as lower operating temps in the case, more stability across the system, and less component stress.
So, given the 1140 mA figure (I don't recommend using 5V unless necessary...keep things simple), you really need something with about 1.5A to get bulletproof operation. 1A with that = BOOM! or something similarly unpleasant along those lines. And if you do go the 5V route, you're still not 100% guaranteed that that'll work...1.25A for 822 mA is more sensible.
I'm looking to build my first rack, mainly for sample manipulation and integration with VCV Rack. The ER-301 would be the main sound source along with the Nebulae. The Catalyst looks fun for Octatrack-style crossfading between parameters. I have a Pyramid and Bitwig for sequencing and additional modulation, and a MIDI controller via the FH-2 for more knobs.
Any glaring omissions or missteps? More subtle problems? I know more VCAs is kind of a mantra, but I'm hoping that the ER-301, VCV Rack, and even Disting could fill that role - along with filters and everything else - while I'm getting my feet wet.
My main concern is power: I have the Pittsburgh Lifeforms Research Console, which has 1 Amp +12V, -12V, and +5V. The MG planner shows a power consumption of 1140 mA +12V / 183 mA -12V, but the Nebulae can run on 5V, which brings it down to 822 mA +12V / 176 mA -12V. Am I calculating that correctly and being conservative enough?
I'm not entirely sure I know what I'm doing, but am reading up, trying the put together something modest with lots of learning potential, and hoping not to electrocute myself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The Dixie II+ is a basic VCO. It really doesn't do much more than any other basic oscillator. It has a sub oscillator, which is a nice feature if you make a lot of bass sounds or a sub factors into the sound of your patch (not always bass).
The Rubicon 2 is more of a complex oscillator due to its "through zero" capabilities among other features. You'll also see that reflected in the price. You can substitute the Rubicon for a Dixie... but not the other way around if you start diving deep into features.
I have the Rubicon 2 and I'm considering the Dixie as an additional VCO... I have a Z3000 but prefer the workflow of the Intellijel stuff.
Admittedly I'm impressed you are all so willing to put the effort. I won't get into the nitty gritty of the matter, but I do feel impressed about how strongly some people feel about helping newcomers to the format of modular.
-- ParanormalPatroler
There's a lot that can go wrong with modular. Not the hardware, mind you, but the user. It is ridiculously easy to get all bug-eyed when viewing MG and then conceive of a Deadmau5-level wall of blinkenlichts und tvistenknobs that appears like it might be a badass synth rig...until you blow $20k on it and realize that what you've created is an unworkable mess.
And a lot of us just don't like seeing that happen. Modular synthesizers have loads of possibilities as long as they're not thwarted by bad planning. But given that there's not really any decent books on modular synth architecture, and the Internet has a lot of really crappy info foisted off by people who know how to make a good presentation but who ultimately don't know jack-shit about the subject, about 80-90% of the info I at least run across (other than that by manufacturers and/or most retailers) is utter rubbish. And that doesn't help at all...in fact, it more or less UNhelps, leading to systems sitting in closets and so forth when they should be out making wonderful noises.
Ultimately, I think those of us trying to put this effort forward are simply wanting people to make music, and to make it with instruments that work and that are a joy to play.
I have: the envelope generator, the sampler, the S+H
List: buy the bigger case, just to have. slowly buy the music maker as alerts for akemie, lxd, metropolis, pamela first, hopefully in that order, transferring to the new case when I have the first two or three. when I have enough, sell uzeus, and set up alerts for mimeophon and vcamatrix.
another option is to have this set up in my 60hp case: polivoks (to modulate/s+h pnw) , Pamela's new workout (to modulate/trigger the makenoise modules) , morphagene (maybe through lxd?) , lxd (in order to make rhythmic stuff for left and right inputs of...) , mimeophon (main outputs, when looper, or effected secondary out through lxd like telescope>?) , uzeus.
But the purchases for the 6u90hp are as follows:
$ Akemies castle (normal loudest sounds to morphagene, modulations from sputnik, for sound design, maybe by enveloping SOS) 540new
$ LxD (enveloped with the sputnik, likely buy alongside metropolis) 110new
$ Metropolis (using its own clock, sequence length modulated by polivoks, to make melodies) 580new
$ Pamela's new workout (to take some of the effort off of the sputnik modulating mimeo/morphagene/akemie/vcamatrix, or possibly to separate trigs from metropolis so that they act different before going to A+B akemie, or to A_B lxd - im thinking of an occasionally changed bass drone from the same source sequence as a melody) 275new
-$ sell Outs (to get some money for the next two purchases, and also because its too small to be used as a mixer separating lxd and morph anymore, especially with the next additions) could get 50-60
$ Mimeophon (its more outs! hooray! Lol. honestly a gamechanger for aesthetic and longer effects) 400new
$ VCAMatrix (the mixer! allows for a lot to be happening and still sparseness... also worth looking into using it with cv, maybe mutes could be used to start/end a B section melody...?) 375new
if i can get a deal on half of them, purchases are:
2280 x 0.75 = 1710 + 590 for case is 2300 - 50 for outs is 2250 - 100 for modulairemaritime is 2150 which is basically 2k!
--
But now...
outs is gone. pam is bought.
there's a chance that koma's poltergeist is the better quad panner... but a quadrature LFO on vca matrix might be enough... will require lots of small cables, heads up on the price of those. stackables would be great... maybe tiptop sells packs of 8 I can buy of the mini and mid-range sizes.
some ideas: use general cv for tonal and pretty melodies, either random nice tones pam with offset filtered through mimeo or drums from metropolis or melodies from there. akemie's taiko can be the non-tonal thing, too. they are both digital, so they can mix and make the midi even more special.
plog can separate the gates from metropolis using and inputs from polivoks or quad's out or definitely pam. it can also be a melody maker of its own, sequencing/processing cv from the same lfo that controls morphagene, for example.
This rig won't work. Period. You only have a VC8 as a mixer, which it can do but which isn't necessarily its best suit. Plus, the VC8 contains linear VCAs...not the best for audio, especially in the output mix stage, and you've got it way overtaxed with all of the signal sources in this. I see NO intermediate/submixers, NO attenuverters, NO adders, NO logic, NO buffered mults...there's "sexy module syndrome" all over the place here. If you've already bought all of this, congrats...you've built a Money Pit! I hope you haven't, though, because this is one hellaciously expensive fail if you did.
Utility modules are NOT an option. They're a necessity. Without them, you'll have a costly box of modules that really won't work well...or at all, tbh. Spend some time with VCV Rack, or checking out experienced builders' rigs here on MG, or studying "classic" modular systems from the past to see why they're "classics". You'll wind up saving a lot of time and, potentially, a lot of money that way.
Hi, thank you for the hard work into such a great site!
I am now using the site to organize my pedal board and 500 series effects, and I do not see the datasheet summary option like for Eurorack.
Is the data sheet summary available for pedal board and 500 series effects?
This feature would help with power capacity planning for new racks. Right now I am making a spreadsheet version separately to capture this information.
Thank you again for all the work, I plan to support site for a long time.
when I click on the link I get a different rack!!!
noob mistakes abound
these small cases are very expensive for each HP - get something 6u/104hp - a mantis for example (really good value) and space to grow into - without this you will just buy another case within a couple of months - or at least want to!!
and then go slowly - minimum viable synth - a sound source, a sound modifier, a modulation source (missing) and something to play it with and something to enable you to listen to it - add a disting mk4 - just so you can learn what different modules can do - if you constantly use the same algo, then buy that module and use disting for something else
and buy a quad cascading vca (veils or intellijel, for example) you will not regret it ever
after that only buy a module once you have learnt each module well and the rack as a whole well
BUT my advice is if you think that this is what you want from modular - get a mom32 or crave or something similar instead
by that I mean there's not enough utilities for half the modules there, let alone for the 23 modules that are there - matrix mixers/sequential switches/vcas/unity mixers/mults/lpgs/attenuators/attenuverters etc etc etc
they'll be much more useful in terms of getting the rack to gel as an instrument than adding an extra sequencer - and way cheaper too!
Hi, so i recently bought a Behringer Neutron and now i’m looking into what to buy next.
My goal is to eventually create a dawless setup for (mostly) techno music. Something like the music of Momec: https://www.instagram.com/momecmusic/.
So my question is: what could/should be my next steps? What synths/modules can/should i definitely buy to eventually achieve my goal. I’m not necessarily looking for names of modules, but rather for what kind of modules, so i can do some research and look for the ones that fit me the most. Thanks
Admittedly I'm impressed you are all so willing to put the effort. I won't get into the nitty gritty of the matter, but I do feel impressed about how strongly some people feel about helping newcomers to the format of modular. I guess cleaning up MG isn't that dissimilar - so we're all a bit weird after all :)
I'd be happy to do some proofreading (it's part of my profession) if you need it.
I purchased a Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alter from @uebl.
I received a module in mint state, packaged to travel the world and it was shipped super fast.
As icing on the cake, communication was great and he was really helpful, making sure I was set for success with my new module.
+1 for Synthesis Technology E330.. tried to make some kickdrum sound with it, after watching (Must watch on youtube : Tobi Neumann “how to make analog kick drum”).. and damnn!!, it can sculpt so many punchy sounds that make my beloved BIA sounds like cheap toy in comparison..
Hmm... interesting... I had already a look at the Intellijel's Dixie II+ and I heard about the Rubicon II but haven't really check it out yet, I guess its price was stopping me from doing so :-) Do I see this correctly that the Dixie II+ is actually a small version of the Rubicon II or are there some significant differences between them that I should be aware off?
Thank you very much for pointing out that one and I will check at my dealer if they have the Rubicon II for testing it, best would be if they got the Dixie II+ for testing too, so I can compare them.
If LED sliders make you happy then consider the Triple AD module from Hikari Instruments. I got that module and indeed it makes me really happy to use it. The module consists of 3 AD envelopes and is quite flexible in usage.
yep, each 'String' on a guitar (for instance) keeps resonating after being plucked, so one String can be played at a time but the decay of that string rings on into the others.
The 2hp Bell works in a similar way but has 6 voice polyphony, though each bell-strike can have quite a bit of a different resonance to the last, kinda de-tuned.
I've not read the manual nor do I own it, but I suspect it works similarly to rings - pluck and/or change note quickly and the last 4 notes will overlap - giving you 4 notes playing at once - 4 note-polyphony
I have read the manual, searched forums, seen Divkids video but I still don’t understand how the Four voice polyphony in 2 hp Pluck works.
Very glad if someone could explain.
@damir501 / Erica Synths Dual FX
= He had to send it twice because of the fact i forgot a number in the postal code.
= Thank you twice
= Thumbs down for PostNL : they had the correct city and street-adress, my phone and e-mail and they didn't even bother to contact me. Just returned it to sender.
Please give me some suggestions to my rack. Which modules are obsolete and should be exchanged ?
I like to go deeper in the generative direction. I have a Behringer Crave on preorder,
that would expand my possibilities in the near future. Beside that i have an SQ1, a Volca Beats for drums and
a Zoom MS-70. A Takaab Dual LPG is on the way.
I'm late. But I have an Intellijel Rubicon II. You can get into some seriously gnarly tones with some creative patching including self-patching. There are a lot of built in attenuators and attenuverters.
It's not cheap. But it's a great first choice for an analog VCO.
perhaps the befaco instrument interface?
-- JimHowell1970
I have read some mixed reviews about the befaco. Maybe I should just try it. Befaco kits are very fun/relaxing to build, and I'm sure I could sell it if I don't like it.
This looks awesome. Compared to the intellijel, I may miss the end of decay trigger a bit. I use it as a trigger delay. I would also miss the cycle switch (though not so much if I had dedicated LFOs). On the other hand, the built in attenuverters look very useful! And, well, LED sliders make me happy.
I use the 2HP TM for pitch, and it doesn't need a quantizer if you don't mind that it misses 'true notes' and comes out really random. Good for non-pitch things too of course.
Problem I'm seeing is it likes to start off at super high notes, like when blank it boots up to all max voltage, has anyone else experienced this behavior?
-- elahrairah
Yes, when it happen I turn the steps knob full counter clockwise for a few seconds then increase it.
Feedback: Are you nuts? ;-) I mean regarding your comment to get rid of your Octatrack. Keep your Octatrack! That's a fantastic device and that can do so many things so easily (if you know how to use it, which I don't, but I know somebody who does) that if you want to get that kind of functionality in modular, I guess you need to reserve a pretty big part of your wall to make that full with modular then...
You could use the MIDI output on the Octatrack to a MIDI-in module in modular (unless your case got already a MIDI-in of course) and extract from that one the clock to keep everything in sync. The output of the modular back into the Octatrack and your Octatrack has such fantastic sample possibilities, I would use the Octatrack for sampling and not kind of in a forced way looking for a sample module in modular unless you really found the sample module that all does what the Octatrack can and more (and I doubt if it exists).
Other than that I think you are good on your way into modular and with keeping the advice of Ronin in mind, I think you should be all right.
Enjoy your system setup and don't you dare to sell that Octatrack ;-) Kind regards,
Garfield Modular.
-- GarfieldModular
Hi Garfield, don't worry I don't want to sell the Octatrack, for my one live act I will of course still keep and use it.
I have the hermod and I also have the shuttle control from endorphines, which I sometimes trigger from OT over a MIDI USB cable, but in general I can trigger everything from hermod, so shuttle control is soon getting out of my case.
I think for this case I could imagine that the ER-301 would be a nice fit but also like what Ronin suggested! So will have a deeper thought.
I'm not familiar with the Octatrack capabilities. When it comes to sample playback and looping, the majority of in-rack sampling modules do not offer time compression/expansion of samples.
So if you have a drum beat at 120BPM and want to use it in your 125BPM session then you're probably going to have to take it to some software like Ableton to get it to time expand correctly. A lot of Eurorack modules support slicing. But that might make your loop feel janky.
It probably would be a lot cheaper to keep her. If the Octatrack supports sequencing as well, then you might find a MIDI to Eurorack interface and a line to Eurorack level converter (for audio) to be more to your liking. Depending on your interface you could also convert MIDI CC to Eurorack CV and MIDI clock to Eurorack clocks (short gates). MIDI to Eurorack interfaces come in a broad range of capabilities. They can be brutally simple to having a boatload of features and outputs.
But if you want to keep everything in the rack (your decision) then one of the above mentioned Eurorack solutions would work albeit not as well as stand-alone sampler workstation.
Feedback: Are you nuts? ;-) I mean regarding your comment to get rid of your Octatrack. Keep your Octatrack! That's a fantastic device and that can do so many things so easily (if you know how to use it, which I don't, but I know somebody who does) that if you want to get that kind of functionality in modular, I guess you need to reserve a pretty big part of your wall to make that full with modular then...
You could use the MIDI output on the Octatrack to a MIDI-in module in modular (unless your case got already a MIDI-in of course) and extract from that one the clock to keep everything in sync. The output of the modular back into the Octatrack and your Octatrack has such fantastic sample possibilities, I would use the Octatrack for sampling and not kind of in a forced way looking for a sample module in modular unless you really found the sample module that all does what the Octatrack can and more (and I doubt if it exists).
Other than that I think you are good on your way into modular and with keeping the advice of Ronin in mind, I think you should be all right.
Enjoy your system setup and don't you dare to sell that Octatrack ;-) Kind regards,
I have the BitBox. I also like that it has two alternative firmwares that allow it to be a wavetable synth or a multi-effects box.
The ER-301 and Assimil8or are good choices if price and rackspace aren't an issue.
How fast do the LFOs on the Hermod go and can they be reset or sync'ed?
A second case seems more logical as this rack is pretty much full. I'd find a big-o-rack and keep the Intellijel as maybe a core rack or your performance rack aka the rack where you sequence and control the rest of your system.
-- Ronin1973
Bitbox sounds quiet interesting will definitely check some videos!
You can sync but don't need to the lfo has SINE TRIANGLE RAMP SQUARE S AND H so its pretty nice, it can go quiet fast in sync 128/1 and without sync from 0-200% about reset I am not 100% sure but I think you can do it.
Second case could be an option but I have a wooden case but for live I would prefer that it all kind of stays in one box, so I have to adjust a little bit.
I have the BitBox. I also like that it has two alternative firmwares that allow it to be a wavetable synth or a multi-effects box.
The ER-301 and Assimil8or are good choices if price and rackspace aren't an issue.
How fast do the LFOs on the Hermod go and can they be reset or sync'ed?
A second case seems more logical as this rack is pretty much full. I'd find a big-o-rack and keep the Intellijel as maybe a core rack or your performance rack aka the rack where you sequence and control the rest of your system.
@Ronin1973
Thanks for your feedback. The Bitbox sounds quiet interesting will definitely have a look at it. There is also the ASSIMIL8OR and the ER-301: Sound Computer, which are quiet tempting and also have a sample option. Do you have any experience with it?
"Also, I only see one VCA. That's going to bite you. It's a combo ADSR and VCA, so that's really going to bite you."
I use for one VCA the level input of my WMD PM, this somehow works, but its not the cleanest, when I trigger it straight from the hermod so another ADSR would be good. I agree with you.
LFO I send at the moment from Hermod, which can be quiet nice. I still have two doepfer lfos in my other rack but the case is too thin so they don't fit :).
"If you pull the Metropolis, I'm not sure that you'd have enough space for all of that. Perhaps a smaller main mixer?"
I will have a thought but this sounds kind of logical, the other option would be a second case :)
Thanks for the input! Really appreciate the Zadar tip, I wasn't aware of that module at all. I swapped out the Dual EG for that one + expander. I went ahead and swapped the Dixie with an Erica PicoDSP and a Befaco out3, for a couple of reasons.
You were absolutely right that I wanted to get an audio processor in there. But I also realized earlier today that the Cre8 case sums it's input 1+2 to a mono output, and I thought it might be worth my time to consider what the case might look like with a stereo output module.
So this version includes that, and the picoDSP to give some reverb and delay where there were none before. All within the form factor and exactly 10 power connections. I might consider just living with mono output from the case and try to fit another 4hp module in there instead. Not sure. Thanks again for your suggestions.
Actually, this is pretty well thought-out. Given that it's in Cre8's new skiff, that deals with your MIDI, power, and audio outs right off the bat. But with the Chipz + the Klavis, is the DixieII+ really all that necessary? My instinct would be to remove that and put in a potent 8 hp audio processor...such as the several 8 hp clones of Mutable's Clouds.
You don't need that mult, btw. This build is too small for it; try using inline mults or stackcables instead. Plus, you can pull it and put in a Circuit Abbey Twiggy...which gives you a pair of ring mods. With two VCOs in the Klavis and two in the Chipz, this would make loads of sense.
The last swap I'd make would be to pull the Dual EG/LFO, which only has two loopable EGs...and substitute in a Xaoc Zadar, which gives you four EGs with an awful lot of additional control, looping, etc. It would be nice to cram in its expander, too...but that woud require repurposing the mult with that and finding one more hp to fit the 3 hp Nin module. However, if you went with Michigan's Twist (Mutable Warps clone) in the slot currently occupied by the DixieII+, you'd then get some interesting processing, plus ring mod capability, plus two more hp that would then allow you to drop the Nin in with the Zadar. Jam a Konstant Labs power monitor 1 hp module in the gap, and there you go!
I use the 2HP TM for pitch, and it doesn't need a quantizer if you don't mind that it misses 'true notes' and comes out really random. Good for non-pitch things too of course.
Problem I'm seeing is it likes to start off at super high notes, like when blank it boots up to all max voltage, has anyone else experienced this behavior?
You can build a floating passive atten with two jacks and a knob. Cost about $2 if you've got a soldering iron already. See the original instructions over there http://www.doepfer.de/DIY/a100_diy.htm . of course it assumes some electrical know-how, and mine looks like a ball of duct tape. Still super handy to have a one-off inline 0HP solution for things that CAN be passive like attenuation or low-pass filtering.
So as may be the case in the coming weeks, I'm a long-time drooler and VCV rack convert. Thanks to the serendipitous convergence of my birthday, the holidays, and some extra cash, my wife has given me the OK to put together a skiff (it ain't much, but it's a start). To attempt to keep costs down, I'm assuming I'll start with the Cre8audio NiftyBundle which will cover a good number of essentials and allow me to put that money towards other modules.
Nevertheless, 1 row of 84hp (60hp after the Chipz and Cellz modules from the NiftyBundle) ain't much to work with and I'm looking for any advice for packing as much functionality into the space as possible. Here's my first go:
The blanks on the left are placeholders for the Chipz and Cellz modules.
The Vult Freak, while digital, offers a whopping 10 filters +1 distortion unit.
Quad VCA was virtually a no-brainer to me.
Erika Dual EG/LFO (plus the QuadVCA as needed) gives an already good amount of modulation for such a small unit.
Kinks I figured would add S&H and some basic logic.
Dixie II+ would add some more basic waveforms not provided by the Chipz osc.
Twin Waves offers so many functions and I only had 8hp left when I picked it, so it just seemed like the right move. More osc, more lfo, a trig output for kinks S&H, and whatnot...
Then, of course, Disting. I mean... it's Disting.
So, did I screw it all up? Am I overdoing the modulation and forgetting some basic utilities?
