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Hi guys
This is my first attempt to plan a rack.
My goal is to set a simple kick and bass rack.
I like the Jomox kick sound and I found Erica black double bass module interesting. To play such module I would need a VCO which I choose Pico from Erica.
With Maths module, I would like to side chain the kick and the bass.
Questions:
- Do I need other modules? (maybe a VCA?)
- Is the power module enough or is it better to choose something more powerful?
- I have as an audio interface a Fireface UCX. Which is the best way to connect the rack to the UCX?
Yeah, there's a lot missing here. For one thing, if this is to do all of those things you want, well...it's doable, but not in that cab. Gonna poke at this and get 'er set up right...
(a few minutes later)
OK...kick and bass. This has those in spades! I rebuilt the whole thing in an A-100 2x84 cab, for starters...and that's important, as the Jomox module you want is pretty deep. Given that the whole draw is nowhere near a Doepfer A-100P6's current load limit, plus the roadcase build on the cab itself, means that this is pretty much a goof-proof rig that'll work for both studio AND live use. Here's what's in there...
TOP: First up is an EMW trigger sequencer, with 8 steps for each of 8 memories. This is for the Jomox, right next to it. Then a Bastl Popcorn handles your pitch sequencing (and it's internally quantized!) for the thing next to it...a Buchla 258t from Tiptop's collab line with Buchla USA. This oscillator is the grandpa of most complex VCOs out there, because it can internally modulate VCO1 against VCO2, or you can use one as a modulating suboscillator to get huge subbass notes. Or a lot of other things, for that matter. And to help do that, there's an Intellijel uVCA that'll allow you to impose modulation onto the output levels of each 258t VCO, so you could have VCO1 sounding, and then let VCO2 fade in its audio modulation to modulate it. Loads of possibilities...and if that's not interesting enough, the Antimatter Audio Crossfold wave processor allows you to create a composite waveshaped signal by having inputs for both 258t VCOs. Last up is the classic Wiard Dual Borg Filter, which is actually not merely a filter pair, but the individual filters can be switched into lowpass gate mode. This means you can use VCF1 there for timbral shaping, then set VCF2 to the lowpass gate mode and send it some fast envelopes for PUNCH.
BOTTOM: Pam's. You've got two sequencers, so you'll probably find it useful for those as well as other clocking/sequencing duties. The uMotion is a clone of the Mutable Tides; I'd have rather put in the actual thing, but the space dictated otherwise. Then a Mutable Shades and another uVCA handle the modulation treatments. An Intellijel Quadrax/Qx provides envelopes as well as further looped envelopes in case more LFOs come into play. And with the Qx, you can "cascade" envelope triggers and turn the whole thing into a really complex modulation source. Then we get into FX...the Stasis Leak gives you a tap-tempo delay, plus stereo reverb and/or stereo chorus, and the Messor is the stereo compressor with sidechain that you need to get that French House "pump" going. Branch off a signal from the kick, and there you go! For mixing, I went with a Tesseract Tex-Mix, so there's four mono inputs (with VCAs...these are your final audio chain VCAs), and the master module for that contains two AUX send/returns, your headphone preamp, a monitor/cue output, and pretty much a partridge in a damn pear tree! And last, a Happy Nerding Isolator...which you'll be very glad of if you take this to live gigs, with their typical janky AC. The Isolator does two things: 1) - it kills DC, and you want DC killed as excessive DC in your output will kill things like amps, speakers, etc. But it also 2) - prevents crud from getting into the modular via the outputs (ie: everyone's fave - ground loops).
So, yeah...it's bigger and it costs more. But it's now COMPLETE...and as low-end instruments go, this one might have what it takes to give ME and my top-secret CZ-101 subsine bass patch (has been known to cause structural damage! really!) a real run for the money. Plus, this is no sonic one-trick box...the bass voice architecture is loaded with modification tricks, the sequencers let you do set-n-forget setups, there's ample modulation and modifiers for that, and you get a true performance mixer on top of that that can be expanded with more Tex-Mix expansion modules when "M0AR" happens.
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A few things come to mind as I have actually built such a rack. One- a much larger case at least 6U and the bigger the better.
Two- you need a decent sequencer. I have great experience with ones like Winter Modular Eloquencer it can let you program sequences for recall later to use as preset templates plus view all 8 trigger and cv tracks on one screen- very handy for live use. You need a good trigger sequencer that cannot be understand. Third- attenuators are key and VCAs with envelopes will be essential for drums and bass. Fourth- effects- some reverb is nice on the kick drum and can spice things up a bit. I have the Jomox module and love it but it does take up a lot of space. For bass, any low tuned VCO works. I get mileage out of the Doepfer basic VCO and Noise Engineering Cursus Iteritas. Feed it through a nice filter for squelchy effects when you crank the resonance and get fat bass! I use Doepfer SEM filter and Doepfer Wasp filter for my bass eurorack filters to great results.
Yeah, there's a lot missing here. For one thing, if this is to do all of those things you want, well...it's doable, but not in that cab. Gonna poke at this and get 'er set up right...
(a few minutes later)
OK...kick and bass. This has those in spades! I rebuilt the whole thing in an A-100 2x84 cab, for starters...and that's important, as the Jomox module you want is pretty deep. Given that the whole draw is nowhere near a Doepfer A-100P6's current load limit, plus the roadcase build on the cab itself, means that this is pretty much a goof-proof rig that'll work for both studio AND live use. Here's what's in there...
TOP: First up is an EMW trigger sequencer, with 8 steps for each of 8 memories. This is for the Jomox, right next to it. Then a Bastl Popcorn handles your pitch sequencing (and it's internally quantized!) for the thing next to it...a Buchla 258t from Tiptop's collab line with Buchla USA. This oscillator is the grandpa of most complex VCOs out there, because it can internally modulate VCO1 against VCO2, or you can use one as a modulating suboscillator to get huge subbass notes. Or a lot of other things, for that matter. And to help do that, there's an Intellijel uVCA that'll allow you to impose modulation onto the output levels of each 258t VCO, so you could have VCO1 sounding, and then let VCO2 fade in its audio modulation to modulate it. Loads of possibilities...and if that's not interesting enough, the Antimatter Audio Crossfold wave processor allows you to create a composite waveshaped signal by having inputs for both 258t VCOs. Last up is the classic Wiard Dual Borg Filter, which is actually not merely a filter pair, but the individual filters can be switched into lowpass gate mode. This means you can use VCF1 there for timbral shaping, then set VCF2 to the lowpass gate mode and send it some fast envelopes for PUNCH.
BOTTOM: Pam's. You've got two sequencers, so you'll probably find it useful for those as well as other clocking/sequencing duties. The uMotion is a clone of the Mutable Tides; I'd have rather put in the actual thing, but the space dictated otherwise. Then a Mutable Shades and another uVCA handle the modulation treatments. An Intellijel Quadrax/Qx provides envelopes as well as further looped envelopes in case more LFOs come into play. And with the Qx, you can "cascade" envelope triggers and turn the whole thing into a really complex modulation source. Then we get into FX...the Stasis Leak gives you a tap-tempo delay, plus stereo reverb and/or stereo chorus, and the Messor is the stereo compressor with sidechain that you need to get that French House "pump" going. Branch off a signal from the kick, and there you go! For mixing, I went with a Tesseract Tex-Mix, so there's four mono inputs (with VCAs...these are your final audio chain VCAs), and the master module for that contains two AUX send/returns, your headphone preamp, a monitor/cue output, and pretty much a partridge in a damn pear tree! And last, a Happy Nerding Isolator...which you'll be very glad of if you take this to live gigs, with their typical janky AC. The Isolator does two things: 1) - it kills DC, and you want DC killed as excessive DC in your output will kill things like amps, speakers, etc. But it also 2) - prevents crud from getting into the modular via the outputs (ie: everyone's fave - ground loops).
So, yeah...it's bigger and it costs more. But it's now COMPLETE...and as low-end instruments go, this one might have what it takes to give ME and my top-secret CZ-101 subsine bass patch (has been known to cause structural damage! really!) a real run for the money. Plus, this is no sonic one-trick box...the bass voice architecture is loaded with modification tricks, the sequencers let you do set-n-forget setups, there's ample modulation and modifiers for that, and you get a true performance mixer on top of that that can be expanded with more Tex-Mix expansion modules when "M0AR" happens.
-- Lugia
Hi @Lugia
Thank you for your amazing and very informative answer. It goes beyond my expertise in modular field (which is close to zero), I had to read it more than once and I’m still reading it, again and again, to try to get it fully.
For now, are coming to my mind these questions:
FIRST ROW
- first module “the trigger sequencer” for the Jomox. I don’t know if I want to go just with a knob to assign steps to the sequence. I would prefer to do it with pads. Maybe even through a kind of MIDI controller (or keyboard)
- same for the synth part. I own an Arturia Keystep and I could use it to play and sequence the Bouchla 258t.
- the Antimatter Audio Crossfold seems cool (watching some Youtube videos) and the Dual Borg filter sounds amazing.
SECOND ROW
- not sure what to do with the PAM. It seems to be an impressive clock/sequencer. Should I use it to control the other two sequencers?
- why do I need another uVCA for envelopes? (noob question)
- Sidechain: watching Youtube videos I noted that side-chain effect can be achieved without compression. That’s why I added a Maths module in my rack. I don’t know which way is better though.
- With Tesseract can I connect the rack to my DAO via Fireface UCX and make a kind of hybrid system?
I have a few gears and I use Ableton. I would like to integrate the rack to the DAO.
So the rack will be my kick and bass ext module, the other gears (various synths) as .. synths, and the DAO my post-production point.
@modnico - the compressor will be useful but bear in mind that you could make a side chain easily in Lugia's build with a spare envelope from the quadrax which will need to be inverted and a spare vca. If you are only using the rack for kick and bass this is what I would do
@modnico What are you going for? Do you have a budget? Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into? Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences? Lots of questions before could recommend something to fit your needs.
FIRST ROW
- first module “the trigger sequencer” for the Jomox. I don’t know if I want to go just with a knob to assign steps to the sequence. I would prefer to do it with pads. Maybe even through a kind of MIDI controller (or keyboard)
- same for the synth part. I own an Arturia Keystep and I could use it to play and sequence the Bouchla 258t.
- the Antimatter Audio Crossfold seems cool (watching some Youtube videos) and the Dual Borg filter sounds amazing.
For a sequencer with pads checkout the new TrigSec-1 from Tenderfoot Electronics. He is also coming out with a new clock with some great features. It is tempting me to reconfigure the reconfiguration of my drum pod...
A few things come to mind as I have actually built such a rack. One- a much larger case at least 6U and the bigger the better.
Two- you need a decent sequencer. I have great experience with ones like Winter Modular Eloquencer it can let you program sequences for recall later to use as preset templates plus view all 8 trigger and cv tracks on one screen- very handy for live use.
-- sacguy71
Hi @sacguy71
the sequencer that you have suggested is very interesting, above all in combination with the EME module (MIDI expansion). If I understood correctly I could connect a MIDI device (like a MIDI pad controller) and play the Jomox with it. Right?
@modnico What are you going for? Do you have a budget? Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into? Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences? Lots of questions before could recommend something to fit your needs.
-- obscuremachines
@modnico What are you going for?
-- obscuremachines
The general idea is to set up a rack to create kicks and bass. I would like to integrate such rack with other gears that I have in my "studio" (bedroom) and be my DAW (Ableton installed in my Macbook ) as the center of the musical pruduction.
So, in other words, with Ableton I would like to arrange a song taking the kick and bass from the rack, and other synths sounds from other gears.
To connect the gears to my computer I'm using via USB a Fireface UCX connected via adat to a Beringher Ultragain PRO-8 digital (to have more inputs)
Do you have a budget?
-- obscuremachines
I don't know the budget. I'm not rich so I can't spend a lot of money on it. Let's see all the possibilities that will come out and I will make a decision based on what I can spend on it.
Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into?
-- obscuremachines
More than a case (which I could make it by myself) maybe I prefer to have a good power source in case I would expand the rack in the future.
Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences?
-- obscuremachines
I would like to be able to program sequence either via Ableton or with a controller MIDI connected to the rack
