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The screen failed twice the first year I bought it, outputs are not responsive in the second year of use, Customer service was not helpful in taking responsibility.

Hi everyone!
Our humble manufacture presents the flagship device – bit-crushing unit made on Soviet components! We made a little video with basic functions review and lots of sounds from the machine.

Module's page – www.modulargrid.net/e/vg-line-12-bit-crusher

Will gladly answer any questions!

The Akai MPC Live family running update 2.10 or later has probability incorporated. It also comes with 8 CV outputs should you want to incorporate modular gear into the mix. The MPC Live II is probably the best fit as it can be powered by its internal batteries. To me, that would make more sense than trying to create what you need out of modular gear.

Have you considered an Elektron Digitakt or Octatrack?

Hallo :-)

I want to minimize my rack to a intellijel 64 or 104 Case. The goal should be a standalone techno system to jam and have fun. My Modular got to big the last months, and this blocks out my creativity. Need something smaller :-) What would you do? What Modules would you choose for a smaller case? I need some inspiration.

Hello!

I am planning to make a small, all-in-one portable case as an extension of my main case, which I'd primarily use to build clicky-clacky drum/percussion loops. I write a lot of tension-style music for libraries and want to build some more weirdness and probability into my background percussion.

So:

Rample is the sound source, utilizing stock samples as well as my own. Pam's triggers it and the ADSR, clocks Varigate, and has enough additional outputs for clocked modulation. Varigate is extremely important here, if only for its per-step probability. I'd probably run it in 2/2 mode so I can also CV sequence some other parameter.

Also important was a feature-packed delay. I use delay a lot in putting together loops like these, and having one like the Imitor with a lot of CV inputs felt good -- I'm wary of having a lot of modulation options and nowhere to put them.

Otherwise I have the MIA for CV mixing/attenuating, the Doepfer mixer for the Rample voices, and additional utilities. Headphone output can be used as a stereo line out, so I figure that could help with the portability factor.

I want to be careful to not have any redundant modules in such a small case, and I may have missed other options that do the things I'm looking for in a better way. Would really appreciate feedback!

received an email today from mr milstein himself, saying an updated newsletter coming very soon with the first 2 modules to be released in january (no date).

+1 on Sample Drum for chopped breaks.

Erica Sample drum is amazing. Perfect for breakbeats.

paypal

One final question: do I need to do anything special to get my sound out?

maybe

turn everything down as much as you can on the modular and plug it into the audio interface with one or more normal (not floating ring) 1/8"->1/4" cable(s)

if there is an input gain control on the audio interface then turn that down 1st a well and then increase the gain until you can hear the audio

if there is clipping - unwanted distortion - then the 1st thing to try is a passive attenuator on each channel - these are inexpensive and almost always useful - 2hp trim is an example module

if there is still unwanted noise - then you may want a balanced output module - but that really depends on your interface and whether or not it expects balanced inputs

I have a floating ring CV patch cable that ends in a jack that will fit my audio interface. As far as I can tell, that should be enough as long as I don't do anything stupid with the gain on the AI. Please correct me if I am wrong...

floating ring CV patch cables are not meant for audio (hence the "CV" in the name!)

My Arturia has a CV out on it, so I am 99% sure I can go directly from it to the modular. Again, let me know if I am wrong.

you can send cv from the arturia to the modular using the cv out

I was just looking at the Rample and Erica Sample drum. Would you be willing to share your thoughts on the two?
Which one of the two would be more suited for chop up breakbeats. Thank you in advance!

Thanks for all of the advice everyone!!

I'll triple check my power ribbon, and give it a go!

Thanks for the module/rack upgrade recommendations too. I will await the next big sale, once I have had a good play with what I have :)

One final question: do I need to do anything special to get my sound out?

I have a floating ring CV patch cable that ends in a jack that will fit my audio interface. As far as I can tell, that should be enough as long as I don't do anything stupid with the gain on the AI. Please correct me if I am wrong...

My Arturia has a CV out on it, so I am 99% sure I can go directly from it to the modular. Again, let me know if I am wrong.

Thanks everyone!

Basic sample only patch.

Sequencing:
- deluge -> poly 2 to sequence drum patterns
- PNW clocking bloom -> 2 SD channels
Voices:
- rample for drums
- SD for lead/bass
FX:
- SD -> DB -> Beads -> Prism
Modulation:
Zadar modulating bloom/beads or any combo of fx parameters

outs to bluebox

Buchlas "around the first of the year" ... Thanks for the update!

EDITED Dec 22nd 2021, 01:56

thanks for the info, i.e., 'around the first of the year'. that sounds promising - i hope it's accurate and not just stringing us along!? i suppose i can be patient until mid-january. i also contacted tiptop and i'm still waiting for a reply.

Hi all,

I've been using the site for a while but never used the market place.

I am considering selling some modules and have some questions regarding payment methods.

How do people usually transfer money to each other on here?

I would prefer to avoid big fees charged by eBay and Reverb, but I am also concerned about selling things 'off grid'. Is there a safe way of doing it this way?

Could any of you explain the usual way of doing business here and which methods are most at risk. Is it possible for people to reverse payments even after they have received a product?

Saying that, I imagine this is quite an honest place. Please enlighten me :)

Thanks in advance

Well, the rep I was communicating with said we'll see the first two "around the first of the year". My guess is that they're aiming for a pre-NAMM launch of those so that they can say "we've got these now...and here's what's coming".

+1 on the FX Aid XL! That module is a real gamechanger...there's been Spin FV-1 FX modules before, but what HN's done with them really ups the game.

Hi folks, any updates on ETA for Tiptop / Buchla modules to be available? I've done some internet search but haven't found any new info.

I'm expecting some holiday sales at my favorite US vendors. BUT if the Tiptop / Buchla stuff will be available soonish, I may wait and save $s to go to the Tiptop Eurorack Buchlas!

Thought I'd check around and ask if ya'll are hearing more than I have on this front. Thanks!

don't worry too much about plugging the power in - iirc uZeus comes with a flying busboard on which the headers are keyed - mostly power cables are the right way round - out of 60 or so bought modules only 1 was incorrect and that was an old doepfer module - with a non-standard power cable (power header on multiple pcbs)

but it's still a great idea to know how to check power cables

on modules that don't have keyed headers they should be marked with a stripe or -12v - this corresponds to the red stripe on a correctly made power cable

if the headers are keyed then the power cable should just plug in one way

power cables should be red stripe match up to a small triangle to the left of the key on the connector

NB some modules/power cables don't work like this but they are the exception and I don't think any of the modules that you have are in this group

re: swiss army knife modules - another one is fx aid (xl) - igor keeps adding more and more algorithms - there are over a hundred, of which 32 can be loaded at any one time - including - reverbs, delays, filters, drum sounds etc

Well, as long as the modules are plugged into power correctly, there shouldn't be an issue. Knowing about the red-stripe is day #1 knowledge. Getting your modules plugged in is very easy to do. It's also very easy to plug something in backwards if you're not paying attention and get over-confident.

It looks like your case is full. So after you've explored what you have and how it works, I would say the next evolution is to transplant your modules to a bigger, more useful case. The Tip Top Mantis seems to offer the most value for the money from what I'm seeing. You'll have lots of room for expansion.

As far as exploring new modules, multi-feature modules are great. The Swiss Army Knife type usually allow for exploration in functionality. The big three I can think of are Pamela's New Workout, Disting EX, and Ornaments & Crime. There are others that are nice to have as well. In my opinion, you'll probably keep these three modules as there always seems to be an application for them and for the price (less than $1000US) for all three, you'll get a LOT of use and learn a lot from them.

I've mentioned the big three in other posts. I hate sounding like a broken record. But the questions seem to be the same. :)

Personally I would remove the pittsburgh waveforms and get the ataxia from dreadbox.

I would remove the Pittsburgh stuff and create a separate voice around it in a new skiff. I like the dreadbox chromatic modules and will eventually buy all of them at some point - excellent starter modules.

Nice...the only thing that immediately comes to mind here is that the buffered mults aren't necessary. There's not enough CV destinations to justify them, and in something this small you'll want to use stackcables or inline mults instead. However, what I would suggest as a substitute is, as far as reverb goes, the sort of thing that fits into a Buchla-esque rig that's got tiles: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-multi-fx-1u It gives you a mono-in/stereo-out processor that does reverb, chorus, and delay. Chorus isn't so Buchla-y, but the other two...yeah.

Don't be afraid to plug it in, or in fact, to plug anything into anything else.
-- plragde

With the standard caveat that you probably don't want to plug an output into an output, of course.

I'm thinking this rack as a drone-y, noise-y a very sacrilegious inspiration of the Buchla Easel.

The MI Elements an the Quadrax with the athru are the main sound sources/shapers here, with the Quadrax acting as a complex voice and modulation. The veils acts as a cv mixer/vca. Following that is a bank of lpgs with the Bizarre Jezebel being the more unruly one of the two.

Below that there is a ton of sequencing and modulation with Pam's the Varigate, Maths, Stages and the ochd. The NLC Helvetica Scenario is a twin source of uncertainty with the uOC acting mostly for more modulation and some sequencing.

For FX Ive got the AFA Coma Reactor as a really wild distortion and which likes to misbehave along with MI Beads to process internal/ external sounds and the NE Desmodius Versio acting as a reverb though I'm also fairly interested in the alternate firmware especially the 12 tap delay. These modules along with the chloe can be patched in feedback loops as most of them are stereo (The Coma Reactor has send/return IO)

Apart from that I'm thinking of the steppy and the Laspus os are some more performative elements to the rack along with the 0 ctrl for some oddball external sequencing.

Thank you!

Lugia's build is also more attractive, aesthetically. Enjoy your rack! Don't be afraid to plug it in, or in fact, to plug anything into anything else. Experimentation is part of the reason to go this route.

I've got to agree with plragde above...explore what you have until you absolutely know where the gaps are. I did do a quick reordering of what you've got, though:

In this rework, I split the modulation off from the "voicing" path. For one thing, it puts the non-audio modules next to the uZeus, so that you won't have to worry about induced crud from the P/S getting into the audio end of things. Then the audio comes in with the Waveforms VCO and runs all the way down to the final mixer. Otherwise, this is how a small build can and should work. No surprises, no "Sexy" modules...just very basic stuff with nothing odd about it, with a good amount of usability for exploration AND learning.

I will...Igor replied to me that Cool Audio wasn't making their chips anymore

-- jb61264

OK, now THAT'S disturbing. Cool Audio is, basically, Uli. There's one of two possibilities...

1) Tribe is depending on the same chip fabs in China that ALSO have the production lines snarled for any number of things from cars to appliances. If this is the problem, then it's a big one.

2) Uli's squandering the chips for his own production lines since there ARE serious supply issues going on, and Tribe needs to keep their factories going.

My bet is that the truth consists of parts of both of those possibilities.

Then I think you should probably use them for a while, and see what you think you are missing, and what you aren't using.

You might let them know that it might be worth their time to dig around eBay for a while. It's possible that they can find some NOS ones...there's been a bunch of components on reels turning up as of late.
-- Lugia

I will...Igor replied to me that Cool Audio wasn't making their chips anymore...I'll let them know about the eBay potential.

I have all of them (got them cheap), and they are in a Tip Top Happy Ending.

I will probably split them up in the future, but they are what I have right now

EDITED Dec 21st 2021, 02:02

How many of these modules do you have already, and what case (if any) do you have?

Hi all

I'm very new to modular, and would love some feedback on my build:

Many of my modules are multi use (particularly the Dreadbox gear), so I think that I have everything needed to make some sound.

That being said, if there is something that I need, I'd be grateful for any suggestions. When you do suggest something, please state whether it is essential (E), useful (U), or just fun (F). As I said, I am new, and I am just trying to get a system up and working, and there is so much to consider!

Currently I am afraid to plug it in...

You might let them know that it might be worth their time to dig around eBay for a while. It's possible that they can find some NOS ones...there's been a bunch of components on reels turning up as of late.

I'd just trust the Doepfer's OEM supply. Dieter's worked for many years on working out the PERFECT Eurorack supply, and the current revision of his big supplies are pretty spiffy.

Plus, if you've got concerns about hum and switching supply noise, there's other ways to fix that...namely, ferrites.

Ferrites are small bits of formed iron (and other metals) that are used to kill crap on DC lines. They're more common in RF applications, but they're relevant here, too. Have a look: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-csb31-275-10 Now, how you'd use these in a modular is to kill crud before it gets into the DC busses. So, with each DC leg coming off of the P/S, you would take that wire, loop it around the inside and outside a couple of times, then snap it closed. That'll kill switching noise as well as sizable amounts of DC ripple.

Now, to avoid the hum issue...in this case, this is important if you do any live gigs, where you don't know how the grounding circuits work (if at all!) in order to dodge ground loops. It's also useful for killing crud that might be sneaking in via the outputs from a mixer/faulty cable/god knows what. And that device is this, or something along the same lines: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/happy-nerding-isolator. This is perhaps the simplest implementation of that...but simple doesn't equate to unusable in this case. Rather, the internals in that module offer ground lifts, transformer isolation, and a ganged "master out" control. Mind you, if you do work in a studio in some place that has balanced power, this can still have some uses from hitting its transformers with a bit hotter signal, which then gives you some nice, warm, "big iron" saturation.

Lastly, your bus boards should be the filtered variety. Not only does this help with external crud, these can help keep module leakage signals under control to some extent. Granted, if you've got one rogue module that INSISTS on dumping RF junk into the rest of the synth, they're not apt to deal with that...but then, if you've got a module that IS doing that, you should probably have it looked at or swap it out for a different one.

And by now we all know that you don't like small systems.

-- Quantum_Eraser

Which isn't true. It's not that I "don't like small systems". What I don't like is the mistaken concept that you can cram an entire full-on modular into a small case...mainly because it's not true. Or rather, it CAN be true, but the build will require a pile of 4 hp and down modules. In theory, that could be playable, but the experience of playing it would be pretty awful due to having to snake your fingers around the patchcables, the tightly-placed knobs, and all of the plugs.

Fact is, I have a Palette 104 setup in my own builds on here, but it's a "mission specific" one for adding some more complex modulation + mod manipulation to other modular gear in here later on. Plus, the 104 hp + 104 hp of tiles is ample space to allow me to directly address module controls by having larger modules in that case. But by no means would I consider it a "complete modular system"...because it isn't, and isn't supposed to be that in the first place.

The "Point" is this: here on the forum, there's been a bunch of people who've put together these super-tight builds and then figure they'll be perfect for their every musical purpose. Then when these pop up, a number of us on the forums will let that user know the basic truth about this nearly-impossible thing. That's not a dislike...it's informing a user that their build isn't going to work as expected, and that they might want to rethink things before dropping $$$ on something they're almost certain to dislike after working with it for a while. Nothing about this being my "dislike" there; rather, it's just another way of putting across the point that it makes sense to "use a case that you're SURE is larger than you want the synth to be...because you'll find that it wasn't too large in the first place".

Sweet, DM me your tracks!

Option to lock SOME modules in the rack but not all of them.
Example: I know I want some sequencing and control in a specific layout. Then "Optimize Rack Space" command would shuffle what is not locked. Thanks for such a fun site / tool!!!

Hello all!

I'm wondering what is the highest quality rack and power supply to place inside a standard 19" rackmount desk or sidecar?

Are the Doepfer A100 G6 ok to have amultiple without hum and noise?

What else is out there, looking for the highest fidelity option.

Thanks!!

Looks really good and on wish list as well as the Dot sequencer. I probably should pick these up at some point.

Adding an offset to your signal requires its own attenuverter to be put in the chain with -5v to+5v available unless you stack more attenuverters together for greater offset
-- jmettlew

Without a source plugged into an input, each attenuverter generates its on static CV voltage. You can add an offset by summing two adjacent inputs together, like A&B. Run your source signal into A and adjust to taste in either uni or bipolar. Then take your output from B. Adjust B in bipolar mode to add an offset. I suppose if you want greater than five volts then to tap at C. B and C should sum...

Maybe I'm not understanding your statement or question.

I wrote Happy Nerding to ask when they may be releasing a new batch of the 3X VCA and received a reply that their chip supplier stopped making the chips that have been used...it looks like they will have to redesign for any chips that may be available going forward, but for now it sounds like goodbye to the 3X VCA :(

Just wow. Won't imagine how much work this takes.

Very impressive.

That famous Break at 4:00 (always see the Car Scene in Waynes World on my inner Eye) puts a smile on my Face.

I also would like to participate !! Totally missed that last year.

You're showing off a patch, but if I can't figure out what's going on because of all of the superfluous patch cords and stuff laying around, then that's likely to be a problem to someone with ZERO experience with these instruments.

I watched the Video and I didn't except it to be a Patch Breakdown Video. It's a Video to show what you can do with a small system and a Looper. And the Video shows me exactly that.

And what kind of argument is that someone with Zero Experience would have a Problem following what's going on with the Patch?
Does every Eurorack Video on YT needs to be suited for absolute Beginners?

And by now we all know that you don't like small systems.

I really can't se the Point for your rant

EDITED Dec 20th 2021, 11:20

Dope, ya that's what I was thinking too.

Well, I for one would be nowhere if it wasn't for the helpful YT videos of Mylar.Melodies, DivKid, Ricky Tinez, Red means Recording, Molten Modular, and that Calm Swedish guy who's name currently eludes me etc etc.
Having someone visually showing you on a YT video or demoing a Module, creative patching or even coming back to a comment you might make on their YT has been invaluable to me.
For me its about gleaning bits of knowledge, from the ordering of modules to learning what sounds I want, patch walk through's, learning what I don't want.

As I've said before though, my main driver in all this is FUN, my own personal entertainment.

Maybe I don't read too deeply into what I'm watching, I would think that would put me in the 'General viewer category'.

When I have the time and space to set up more elegantly I'll be 'Set Dressing' in my own ironic way, I'll be taking the Pi55 out of myself and all of YT, I'll be dressing it up with Post-it notes saying things like 'Succulent plant' 'spare cables' 'small skull' 'piece of bone' 'plastic dinosaur' 'coffee' 'Lego character' whatever ;-)

Yo how do you like the TipTop909 hats? I use the Erica Hats D at the moment.
-- obscuremachines

I’m a 909 lover.. I was thinking about Erica synths too.. but I think tiptop hats909 sounds more like the original one ☺️

Yo how do you like the TipTop909 hats? I use the Erica Hats D at the moment.