Thanks @TumeniKnobs. Totally agreed on the Rev2. I love that thing. On this track, I combined a Rev2 pad with the VC340 voices and strings, and then faded in a split signal going through an external effects pedal chain.
As far as sections and transitions, that's definitely the "work in progress" part of this track and my project as a whole. I'm just experimenting with a bunch of raw semi-unrelated parts and seeing how I can fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle. In the end, I hope to make all of the transitions more natural. I'm used to one-track, one-take improv stuff, so it will be fun to practice mixing techniques and EQing the finished collage of multiple tracks.
Good luck with your project!


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As a fan of Erica Synths modules, I can vouch for how awesome their filters are since having both their black polivoks and dual vcf filters. I love making them self oscillate and screech plus they can be modulated easily. Filters are one part of the variety and joy of modular besides sequencers for me.


I totally dig it! That was a really good listen. Going to play it again. I love the pads from the Rev 2 - I really do love mine.

My recent long piece was a good experiment in the long form, but it still doesn't approach where I want to go. This is closer. As you say, this is in the Tangerine Dream/Schulze style. I am struggling to conceptualize multiple separate sections that all marry into one long form, but maybe I am overthinking the transition requirements. Cheers!


Great - thx for maintaining this.

Ralf asked for patience when I ordered because they needed time to made an update to the final version. https://www.instagram.com/p/CU9L9Q9o__p/


I want to underscore what Lugia said about MD needing a quantizer, if you want to play notes in tune (not needed for triggering samples or percussive sounds). The Ladik Q-040 isn't available right now, and Ladik may not ship to Australia anyway. Honestly, I would wait on MD, and see what you can do without it at first. It shouldn't have supply issues if you want it later (famous last words...).

Maths isn't needed but some sort of envelope generator would be nice, since Pam's is limited in that respect. There are lots of possibilities.

3xVCA, if you can get it, is a fine bridge to Veils 2020, and will still be useful afterwards. I don't think any of the Veils clones or modules inspired by Veils (e.g. Intellijel Quad VCA) have the same four-slider interface as Veils 2020, but I could be wrong.


Thanks navicore for the update. It looked 18hp but the RS site mentions 20hp, that's why I changed it to 20. Now it is 18hp again.


Thanks so much, @troux and @mowse. I appreciate the support!


well i cant figure out how to set it up (patch it to work)with the doepfer clock divider?

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Got a Mantis Case and a Grandterminal+expander for sale,PM Me


Maths not required. If you want more plucky sounds you have a low pass gate built into plaits. From what I can see he likes using plaits to give chord drones. He is using md to drive the melody in the 0 coast. He is using the veils as a mixer. If you want the veils sound, get a clone there are plenty available. Just type in veils clone


Hi team,

I am building my modular synth and as I do own some of the modules in the "final rack", the Price that is shown is for the overall rack.
Is there a possibility to tag modules that the user owns, to tick them out of the general "Price" field, so we can see the ""Remaining Price/cost" of the other modules.
Visual enhancement, somehow with a click on the "remaining price" field, it will gray out the already-owned module and leave the rest be shown in as they are.
This surely will help manage building system with the end-goal.

Looking forward to hear your input (=


The A&H mixer has 2 headphone sockets - why not just use 1 of them for now? you can add a headphone output in the future if you find you need it! but it is totally unnecessary right now, so I would skip the listen module, unless the a&h mixer is in one room and you intend to use the modular in another room

it will absolutely be enough to get going with and learn with...

Maths is great - as mentioned previously...

Stages is also a great option - I have both - in a case this size you will probably find yourself wanting both - and probably a matrix mixer and a load of stackcables to provide adequate modulation - as you have pams though and could use this for some heavily synced modulation I would recommend getting Maths and a matrix mixer before adding another modulation source ie Stages

Rings and Beads or Rings and another effects module - I like FX Aid XL will make a great addition in the (near) future - but I would wait amd play with what you have and work out what you are missing - it might not be what you think it is...

a disting (mk4 or ex) would be a great addition as you can audition lots of different types of module - especially useful for filling occasional gaps! but don't try to over learn it if you buy one - set up favourites and concentrate on just a few algorithms

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


4ms Ensemble Oscilator


Another update:

Have added in the 2HP mult, trim, Kinks and replaced the Veils with the MIA 3x VCA (while waiting for Veils to come back in-stock).

ModularGrid Rack

Would this be enough to get me started? And would the 3x VCA serve as a temporary replacement for Veils in the interim? I am also tempted to add something like a Rings + Beads (or alternatives?) to compliment the Plaits with more ambient stuff.

Happy to take suggestions to rearrange the rack for best use cases, along with maybe another utility module that can keep me busy for the next few months. Have added Maths as a placeholder, so would love to know whether this is enough to get me going? Someone else recommended MI Stages, but I really don't know!


I would get the modules from the videos and then follow his patches one by one for his voices. He did a patch from scratch one time
-- greenfly

That's the plan! Only thing is I can't seem to find the Veils in stock anywhere, most are on pre-order until December at this stage :(

Will try find one second hand, but are there any alternative solutions for the interim?

Also little update on my progress: I've managed to buy the Plaits and PNW online and have found another store that stocks all the other modules in my original post (minus the Veils). Would the 4MS Listen 1/4 also be a good replacement for the Intellijel Outs? I do plan to use this with headphones mostly, but have a A&H ZED60-10FX mixer I can run it through to listen on my monitors too.

A friend of mine also has a 2HP mult and trim, along with a Kinks that I can borrow. Would this be enough to get me started for now, or is there another utility module (maybe from Lugia's build) that I can add which will keep me busy while learning?

Edit: Typo in mixer name.


Okay, after thinking about it for a bit, I realized that the MV doesn't have attenurandomizers or a built-in reverb. I just might want that.


I have this from Ralf, ordered from RS site, arrived late last week - 18hp. Installing it now. Definitely positively 18hp.


In other words, the "fat sub" issue is maybe coming from your instrument, or maybe it is your speaker/room setup? Getting a good sub from your instrument really should not be problematic. The "fattest" subs are often primarily a sub sine, or sub triangle.
-- nickgreenberg

Very true. My actual fave subbass patch has actually caused physical damage...mind you, it was feeding into a 20 kW array of bassbins, which might have something to do with that. But what did I create this astonishing, pounding, tactile bass with, you ask?

A Casio CZ101.

Which pretty much proves another salient point: modular isn't always the right answer!


Thread: First Try

If you had mentioned the Sarah Belle Reid video as a motivation in your first post, the responses might have been different.
-- plragde

Ah, yes...I've seen that Sarah Belle Reid piece too. Had to turn it off as I personally don't like hurling projectiles at my TV. That gets expensive after a while.

One salient point to keep in mind here is that she has a very tight relationship with PC. And PC is in the business of selling hardware. Make of that little revelation what you will (I know what I make of it!).


I would get the modules from the videos and then follow his patches one by one for his voices. He did a patch from scratch one time


Great headphone listening, loving the pads and evolving melodies, nice insight about peeling back the layers... sometimes easy to forget on a modular!


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Nice Lugia! Yeah I am finding the advice to buy support modules very helpful. I really only need a couple of oscillators and filters to generate cool tracks with the features of utility modules like matrix mixers, logic modules, and sequential switches! Which is great because it saves me cash as support modules are usually way less expensive than say a complex oscillator for instance.


Nice work as always @mowse, your production and sound design skills are excellent. Put some of this up on bandcamp so I can buy it!


Loving this @farkas, gonna relisten with headphones later... more please!


Thread: First Try

If you had mentioned the Sarah Belle Reid video as a motivation in your first post, the responses might have been different. Along those lines, context on what other synths, grooveboxes, samplers, or keyboards you have owned or own now, what if anything you plan to use alongside Eurorack, and more than one word ("ambient") about what you hope to achieve would also help.

I watched the video, and while she makes some good points, others are contradictory. She's right to say start small and slowly, but she conflates starting with a few modules and using a small case. She is doing that for performance, but she's probably not performing with just what you see. There is probably more extensive sequencing, drum machines, effects pedals, a mixer, and so on. More importantly, she knows a lot about what she is doing, and is not a beginner.

She says 2-3 sound sources... in 84hp. That's half the rack, leaving not much other space for other things. She has two Functions because Maths wouldn't fit. Maths is two Functions plus more, so all of them together unbalance your rack. Even Maths alone is rather wide. There are smaller alternatives, like the Cosmotronic Delta-V, or Quadrax. (There are also smaller clones of the Mutable Instruments modules, but ergonomics are an issue.)

She is also using an 0-ctrl, and you said nothing about external sequencing. That's why she chose Shifty, to mix up the sequence coming in, but it doesn't really make sense for your rack by itself. Marbles can generate random sequences, Plaits is a sound source, Ikarie both a sound source and sound shaper, Veils a good quad VCA and mixer. That leaves you some space, and you should think about how to use it. I don't think it's impossible to put together 104hp that will sound good. But you might find it limiting and give up, or decide to get a bigger case. If the second, the smaller case can still be useful to you, or you can sell it.

As for semi-modular, at the risk of muddying the waters further, I will mention something I was considering before I went full Eurorack: the Pittsburgh Modular SV-1b Blackbox, and a Korg SQ-1 (or a small keyboard that puts out CV) for about $800 total.


Thread: First Try

well it's definitely an option...
personally I think that if you want a modular you are better just going straight to modular...
starting small is a very, very good idea - but that doesn't mean that the case has to reflect that - a slightly bigger case is always going to beat a tiny case economically - and experience points towards the fact that modular is fun and more modules are more fun - there's a reason they call it eurocrack!
saying that there are no wrong paths - just some are more expensive than others - buying used in particular will save money but only because if you realise that you are on the wrong path you'll have lost less if you come to sell it.. not that I've ever sold any modules - I just accumulate - that module that wasn't working for me 6 months ago does now as I have xyz module to plug into it, etc

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


Thread: First Try

Thanks y'all for your advices.
The truth is that I am still quite lost / overwhelmed by the amount of information in the form of videos, reviews, articles and stuff like that. I know that these questions tend to be quite recurrent, and the most forum veterans, they will be tired of answering.

I chose a 104HP system, thanks to a Perfect Circuit video where Sarah Relaid recommended starting with a small system, and I started with that idea in mind. As you mention, in the long run, the investment of money will be much higher due to the lack of space and the poor decision of the modules acquired.

In the current scenario, and given my little experience, I consider the following:
Start with a semi-modular system where the options I was considering are,
Make Noise O-Coast / O-Ctrl - Mother32 / DFAM / Subharmonicon.

Other options are, as Lugia suggests, is to get a B2600 and gain experience, to later, and with better knowledge, move to a really coherent Eurorack system in terms of modules and orientation of the sound that I'm looking for.

Do you think that is a good option start with a semi-modular system?

Thanks again!


Digging this one a lot @GarfieldModular, feels a bit like time traveling to the beginning of electronic music, really well done.


@Broken-Form, what is the problem you're having? Can you describe the patch setup you're using and what's not meeting your intentions?

I can tell you from experience on this end, my own "fat sub quest" took me on a runaround for YEARS. After a lot of buying stuff I thought would help and it didn't, I'm now pretty convinced my studio room is incapable of good bass performance (between 20-100hz); a credible studio acoustics shop confirmed my room issues, and quoted me about $9k of custom treatments to start to handle the problems. I will be making that investment at some point but don't have the $s now. The good news is I have some headphones that give me a pretty satisfying bass experience (Blue Microphones Mix Fi); yes it's not ideal to do all soundwork on headphones, but these phones give me the artistic / visceral relation to bass when I'm looking for that... IMO they are the 2nd best thing to being in a great room with great speakers. I do most of my work on my nice studio monitors, and when doing critical bass work I switch monitoring as I know there are still bass problems in my room setup.

In other words, the "fat sub" issue is maybe coming from your instrument, or maybe it is your speaker/room setup? Getting a good sub from your instrument really should not be problematic. The "fattest" subs are often primarily a sub sine, or sub triangle.

Last, I should point out, the Novation Bass Station is actually brilliant at low end duties. Not Eurorack, but a very worthy (and cheap!) piece of kit.

Anyways, yes let us know what isn't working on your end and hopefully one of us can suggest a good fix.


Hi, designer of "dust of time" here. It has a VCA built in, so you can use one of the 4 internal envelopes to control the output level. you also have 2 aux outs which can be connected to any of the internal modulators if you need extras. New firmware on github has randotron and other goodies.


I am so up for this.


I would also go with Plaits or the Erica Pico Synths Modules


and the inevitable second case etc etc
-- JimHowell1970

lol...i remember saying the Rackbrute 6U was where I would end...now my Rackbrute 3U will be on the way soon.

-- jb61264

I know the feeling... I thought I'd be done with a 6u/72hp case, then I wanted Maths - so bought a mantis, then I discovered video synthesis and DIY... now at 1500hp ish - and soon to add another 12u/84hp just need some holes drilling!

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


depends - if you have a mixer, possibly not - otherwise you may want to check out the ALM HPO - which is just a headphone output
-- JimHowell1970

I've got an Allen & Heath ZED-16 FX mixer lying around that I could use. Would that work or would I still need the output module? Also I think this mixer is a bit overkill for my setup. Would you happen to know any other mixers as a replacement for the Eurorack, 0-Coast and DT/DN?

I'd keep and use the mixer you have - if you have the space for it - especially as it has effects and headphones and will cope with eurorack and 0-coast and dt/dn + room for expansion

you almost definitely don't need the output module, but it's a bit try it and see - might need some attenuators - but passive ones of these are inexpensive and can be small, 2hp trim, for example and always useful - I use one of these either side of my Clouds for attenuating modulation!

BTW I'm Agawell on Reddit - so we have a conversation going there too!!
-- JimHowell1970

Ha, I've been caught out! Good to know and thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate it. These threads have been amazing so far!

-- charliechunk

NP

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


and the inevitable second case etc etc
-- JimHowell1970

lol...i remember saying the Rackbrute 6U was where I would end...now my Rackbrute 3U will be on the way soon.

JB


what would you recommend be the first, say, 5-7 modules to get me started with?
-- charliechunk

You're getting a lot of advice, but you're the one who knows best what you want to do with your devices. Treat everything as potentially useful information rather than authority. And go slowly!

Of the modules Lugia added, I own the A-138s, Quadrax, Qx, and 3xVCA. These would all be useful immediately (you wouldn't think the mixer would... but Quadrax can provide oscillators also!). Happy Nerding modules are hard to get hold of. I actually use the 3xMIA even more than the 3xVCA; it sits next to some free-running LFOs from one of those boring modules you'll eventually consider. Pam's and Quadrax can attenuate their envelopes/LFOs but neither is convenient to tweak on the fly. I love Frap modules, but I was advised to get the Klawis Mixwitch over 321. It does a lot, and has a nice feature that makes it easy to zero out an attenuverter (though harder to sweep through zero).

Remember that OS 1.3 means your Digitakt can mix input from your modular, pan it dynamically, and apply its effects (and a similar Digitone update is considered likely). Both the Digitakt and the A&H can deal with Eurorack-level signals, but an output module is convenient. I like my Befaco Out v3, which has a cue input to let me audition part of a sound without repatching.


depends - if you have a mixer, possibly not - otherwise you may want to check out the ALM HPO - which is just a headphone output
-- JimHowell1970

I've got an Allen & Heath ZED60-10FX mixer lying around that I could use. Would that work or would I still need the output module? Also I think this mixer is a bit overkill for my setup. Would you happen to know any other mixers as a replacement for the Eurorack, 0-Coast and DT/DN?

BTW I'm Agawell on Reddit - so we have a conversation going there too!!
-- JimHowell1970

Ha, I've been caught out! Good to know and thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate it. These threads have been amazing so far!

Edit: Typo in mixer name


depends - if you have a mixer, possibly not - otherwise you may want to check out the ALM HPO - which is just a headphone output

I often run a external laptop speaker from a headphone output for monitoring purposes as well as headphones - but both my headphone outputs are mixer based... (rebel technology mix02 and tesseract modular tex-mix)

BTW I'm Agawell on Reddit - so we have a conversation going there too!!

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


places to look for used modules - modwiggler, here and facebook
-- JimHowell1970

Thanks, I'm in a local Facebook group so will check there. Seems like this site (https://www.elevatorsound.com) has pretty much all those modules in stock, except for Veils which is pre-order. Seems like they're a bit cheaper too even with shipping!

I'm planning to use headphones a lot, so I'll probably need an output module right?


thanks will put the fold processor on my list.

already have the doepfer clock divider but cant figure out how i get it to work to get what i want?

https://www.facebook.com/BrokenFormAudio

Got a Mantis Case and a Grandterminal+expander for sale,PM Me


I heard that Catalyst were going to restart manufacture and add a few more modules - but when that will be is anyone's guess!

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


places to look for used modules - modwiggler, here and facebook

there's also wigglehunt - which is an aggregator for shops + reverb - but misses a few I think

you may or may not need an output module... I don't need one for example (UK and don't play gigs - where a balanced output may be an advantage)

if you're going into a mixer or audio interface I would try passive attenuators 1st, before spending money on an output module!

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


not really - you don't have to fill the case at one go - get some blind panels - if you are pushed for cash use cereal packet cardboard - then add more modules as and when you can afford it - and the inevitable second case etc etc
-- JimHowell1970

Yeah I know, but I do have a budget I'm able to spend now, so just wanting to know which of those modules would be the best to start with. I just ordered the Plaits and PNW from Juno as they only had 1 Plaits left in stock. I will buy the case and the FH-2 from our local dealer tomorrow as they have them in stock. They've also got the Salmple and Digitalis in stock, but not Marbles, Veils or Outs, so may have to look on the second hand market for those.


Oh, I forgot to mention - my budget will also need to include the case, which will be the Tiptop Mantis (AUD$580) if that helps :)
-- charliechunk

not really - you don't have to fill the case at one go - get some blind panels - if you are pushed for cash use cereal packet cardboard - then add more modules as and when you can afford it - and the inevitable second case etc etc

"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia

Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!

sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities


Oh, I forgot to mention - my budget will also need to include the case, which will be the Tiptop Mantis (AUD$580) if that helps :)


Poked at it, opted to go ahead and come up with a filled cab that used your initial module selection. The only thing that didn't make the cut was the output module, and you'll see how that got fixed in a bit. Here's the build:
-- Lugia

Wow, this is unreal. Thank you so much for taking the time to build this system out! I have just replicated and saved a copy in my racks for future reference.

So after reading your descriptions, it's quite evident I've got a LOT of homework to do. I'm sure this alone will keep me busy for the next few months, so I appreciate the help. Would you say this system would be good for both the music heard in those videos (e.g. deep house and minimal 4/4), along with ambient soundscapes and soothing generative stuff, etc? I have been looking at modules like Morphagene, Beads, Rings, etc but I'm also wary that a lot of people use them to make very similar sounding music, even though I do enjoy the videos I've watched on them so far.

To answer your last question - I definitely don't have a dumpster load of money, but I do have around AUD$3000-$4000 max to spend on my initial setup (preferably less). With this in mind, what would you recommend be the first, say, 5-7 modules to get me started with? Or whatever fits under US$3000 / EUR2,500? Anything that's flexible enough to experiment and have fun with while learning and figuring out my next steps really. Keeping in mind I will be getting my hands on an 0-Coast soon, along with already owning a Digitakt and Digitone, the latter which I'd even consider selling depending on how this goes! Although I do like the idea of being able to have different options and combos to play with - kind of like a modular home studio :)

Thanks again for the super thought out and insightful replies (everybody included). I'm almost getting to the point where I'd be happy to just go off recommendations to get me started. The knowledge everyone seems to have on these forums is insane, so I'd be comfortable with starting based off these recommendations. Seems like the more I look into individual modules, the more I confuse myself. I'm sure it will all fall into place and start to make sense one day... I hope :D


So they're not going to keep going with the 100 modules? That's a damn shame, since they finally got those to play nice in Eurorack, and some of those 100 modules would pair really nicely with the 200 modules. Someone should poke Buchla USA over this, or maybe they could farm those out to Tiptop or someone else...?
-- Lugia

Yeah the big question is whether Catalyst Audio will continue making them as they were prior to Buchla absorbing them for production. There was a schedule to release the 112 keyboard and spring reverb and Module 93 which consisted of an LPG and a Band Pass Filter but not anymore. On top of everything Buchla had special custom made knobs for the Red Panel modules and Catalyst Audio doesn't have right to those so if they released them again they wouldn't look the same. Plus they graphic would once again be blue. I don't want to re change my modules again thats irritating. That would be the third time for me since I originally had the Catalyst Audio System 100 until Buchla snatched them and released them as Red Panel. I think I am gonna write to Catalyst Audio and ask Dave Smalls I think.


So they're not going to keep going with the 100 modules? That's a damn shame, since they finally got those to play nice in Eurorack, and some of those 100 modules would pair really nicely with the 200 modules. Someone should poke Buchla USA over this, or maybe they could farm those out to Tiptop or someone else...?


That Ciao! should be just fine, compressor or not. Since they're planning to go direct from the Ciao's outs to the A/D, it would probably be better to apply a VST to the incoming signal in the DAW itself. That way, it's possible to futz around with compressor topologies, which may be necessary for different patches. For example, with sounds that tend toward percussives, you'd want to do some basic compression to mash that a bit and keep the peaks under control, but if you're wanting to slam the hell out of a source, then using a VST clone of an 1176 with the "four-button trick" would be perfect.

As for using TRS 1/4" to 3.5mm, that's a decent plan, but MAKE SURE not to try and do this with 3.5mm - 3.5mm TRS cables because, invariably, they'll get in with the rest of your patchcords and then when you NEED them, well... But at a pinch, you could use unbalanced TS cables, but that's sort of a kludge with certain drawbacks of its own. But as for the headphone-to-modular preamp idea...don't. Headphone signals are hotter than line-level, which is what the Ladik's expecting. A better idea for getting the Hydra in with other signals would be to run a small stereo mixer, connect all of the toys you want to run through the modular on that, then send the mixer's out to the Ladik inputs. Convenient and simple!


Poked at it, opted to go ahead and come up with a filled cab that used your initial module selection. The only thing that didn't make the cut was the output module, and you'll see how that got fixed in a bit. Here's the build:
ModularGrid Rack
This was a little tricky when I was trying to make a single voicing section work...because it didn't seem suitable. Instead, there's TWO paths in the voicing section, one for the Salmple and one for the Plaits'. Here's how it works...

Top row: Konstant Labs PWRchekr to keep an eye on your DC rails. Then there's a buffered mult, because this thing actually has up to SIX pitch CV destinations, and I didn't want to risk voltage sag. I put a manual stereo mixer after this to sum the separate track outputs down to a stereo pair. After that, TWO Plaits...because while one oscillator is good, two is BETTER. With that, you can do a bunch of detunings and make the Plaits sound huge, or use one as a "voice" and the other as an audio rate FM source, which the other Plaits can have a field day with. Then a Joranalogue wavefolder...which you'll note has dual inputs, so if you wanted to smash the audio from both Plaits at the same time to create something REALLY out there, you can. Veils is next...now, here's where it gets fun.

As I noted before, this has TWO voicing paths, and here's what controls BOTH. You would send the stereo mixer's out to a pair of the VCAs for stereo control, and patch those directly to the stereo Overseer VCF's inputs. Then the last two VCAs are for mixing the Plaits...for that, you'd use two VCA inputs, but only patch to the LAST VCA in that set. So if you have the Salmple on VCAs 1 and 2, then you'd patch those VCAs individually from the Veils' mixbus. But for the two Plaits inputs, you'd use VCAs 3 and 4, but only patch up output 4 so that VCAs 3 and 4 now act as a VC mixer to sum the Plaits down to mono. Pretty cool, pretty neat!

Anyway, the Overseer is a stereo VCF, specifically there for properly filtering the Salmple's post-VCA outs. Should work fantastically with the stereo signal coming off of the Veils. And the Forbidden Planet stays, because that's your "lead line" VCF; the Steiner Synthacon VCF has a rep for being extremely "out front", something I know first-hand! That gets fed by the summed Plaits output. After that, you'll see a Happy Nerding FX Aid XL, a really capable FX-1-based stereo processor, which can be used in a number of ways, then the stereo mixer at the end is a 4ms ListenFour 1/4. Remember what I said about the Intellijel output module? This mixer HAS the 1/4" outs and a headphone preamp built-in, in addition to having two pannable channels and two stereo paired channels (usable in mono by patching only the left input).

Bottom row: FH-2, Pam's, then an unbuffered mult for gate/trig signals that need splitting for, say, the Salmple, or aspects of the Marbles, and so on. After that, there's a Tesseract VC Logics, which gives you two channels of Boolean logic with CV over gate type on each. By using this with some "contrary" gate sources (via the Pam's, for example), you can arrive at even MORE different gate patterns from just two Pam's channels on each logic gate. Mimey Digits are next (yes, I routinely rip on NE for these schoolboy Latin names), but since it has no internal quantization, I dropped in a quad UNgated chromatic quantizer to deal with that AND to provide even more scalar tesselation CV results from things such as LFOs or EGs when you send those through the quantizer.

After that, an SSF Tool Box, because...SSF Tool Box. One of the best multi-utility modules, jams a buttload of functionality into a mere 6 hp. Then, there's your LFOs courtesy of a Batumi/Poti pair. Marbles follows this, and it now has a host of things to gnaw on for random results. After that is a great pairing: Happy Nerding's 3xVCA + Frap's 321. These are for tampering with your modulation behavior, as the VCAs can control level over modulation since they're DC-coupled linear VCAs -- unlike the Veils, on which you can change the VCA topology in a continuum between linear and exponential. And the Frap is a tiny minimatrix mixer coupled with a few other CV/mod tricks. And lastly, envelopes courtesy of a Quadrax/Qx combo; these can ALSO serve as looping envelopes (ie: LFO with CV over rise and fall, rather Maths-ish). The Qx, also, allows you to implement cascading between the four AR EGs in the Quadrax, or can also be used to trigger other events elsewhere on End Of Rise or End of Fall of any of the EGs.

Yeah, this is much farther along than the original build, but it's here also as a way to see how you can exploit the various aspects of the modules that were there by adding other complementary modules. Plus, take note of the multiple capabilities that many of the modules have; in a small build like this, you NEED to think multifunctionally so that you get your functionality optimized. Using multi-function modules like the ones all over the place in this version is KEY to making a smaller build work by making the space for a single-function module work for a LOT of things besides the desired module function. Not necessarily saying to run out and grab the whole thing at one time (unless, of course, you work like that and have the requisite dumpster full of money to allow that), but this is more to show how to really blow the lid off of a build from just a handful of starting modules. Still, if you DID opt to grab it all at once, you'd have a helluva modular in your hands!


We've even got these in the AE environment, thanks to a 3rd party builder in the UK. 3 x 3 matrix, 2 spaces, and like most all AE things, it's stoopid-cheap. Mine's mounted in the "control" cab (a single row, 20 space case...the rest of mine are dual row, 20 sp) alongside the joystick, since I tend to view matrix mixers as controllers. Nothing like using a couple of knobs to alter the behavior of an entire global patch!