EVERGREEN ENSEMBLE

Do i have enough plumbing/ utilities ?
elements and the other sound generators really need a lot of modulation, and i'm wondering if this design has enough built in here.

thanks.

if you have to ask "do I have enough xyz modules", then you probably don't have...

if it were me I'd want another row (maybe 2) dedicated to more utilities (and probably another modulation source and/or envelope generators) based on what you have in that rack...

if you have to ask "do I have enough xyz modules", then you probably don't have...

Hah, yeah good point

just to add - rack seems very sound source/voice heavy... seems a bit light light on sound modification too

see my signature for a guide formula to get the most versatility out of a rack for the least cost... utilities are often comparatively inexpensive...

Yes, I have seen your signature before while browsing, I think it makes a great deal of sense.
please check out the rearrangement of the rack.

what do you value most in utilities?
what utilities do you feel are most essential/ least essential?
thank you.

Yes, I have seen your signature before while browsing, I think it makes a great deal of sense.
please check out the rearrangement of the rack.

a bit better:
links is a good buy - versatile - especially the middle section
kinks is discontinued - used or there's a clone version
the 2 2hp mixers next to each other are impractical - split them up? how are you intending to use them (I'd want 1 next to the MCOs)
do you really need the black sequencer and the pachinko - I've got both (well Marbles) but I've got a lot more
modules/ rack space - I wouldn't have both in this size case...
I'd probably replace the blinds with happy nerding 3mia & 3vca

I'd probably only have 2 or maybe 3 sound sources in this size case - you have 4/5 - 2MCOs, beehive, quarks, nRings & monsoon - but only 2 filters & some overlap with sound sources in terms of sound modification (clouds and nRings) - & no stereo sub mixing before hitting doupples

I'd probably want an FX Aid XL or 2 - versatile, useful effects modules with 1/2 decent ergonomics and

given that the black sequencer can do modulation as well as gates/triggers and pitch I'd probably look at dropping one of the stages at least in this size case!

so still imo not very balanced - as I said I'd add another row to this to house more 'support modules' which would probably get you into ball park of balanced system - at least with this number of voices

what do you value most in utilities?
what utilities do you feel are most essential/ least essential?

sequential switches, switched multiples, trigger combiners, matrix mixers, sub mixers, logic, attenuators, inverters (or combined as attenuverters), trigger/gate delays, sample and hold, mults etc etc... they're all good - it's how you use them that counts

I have more or less all of these (& more) sometimes in multiples

the more you have, the more you can copy, alter and combine more signals to create more interesting ones

thank you.
-- fretless19

NP

I'm in agreement with Jim on this; if you want this amount of THESE modules, you're probably looking at at least one more row (and preferably two) in order to get the right complement of modules in here, provided the present modules stay the same.

One way to avoid some of this, however, would be to either move the Black Sequencer to an external powered "pod", or to just find a very small sequencer. One suggestion might be this:

This is built into a 4ms Pod 48X, and has the Black Sequencer paired with one of Erica's Pico Quants and a buffered mult so that you can keep CVs stable even if you're using this on some other synth along with the modular. That gets you 42 hp back in the main cab. But you can chuck out even more...one of the Marbles, the 2hp mixers, many of the Mutable clones (you're apt to discover that those teensy knobs aren't a lot of fun to work with), and some existing modules can be "smushed" into different and more efficient configs. F'rinstance: your pair of MCOs. These retail for $175 apiece, more or less, and they take up 6 hp. All well and good...but you can also drop a single Plaits where those are and get a more powerful device in the same space. You can then drop the Plaits clone and open up 8 hp more. Oh, and it costs $259 as opposed to the $350 for the less-capable MCOs. This sort of thing.

I'm sure there are other "condensing points" in there as well. But one thing I'd jump on immediately with this design is how to do it smaller yet still make it ergonomically sensible.

I'm as usual - mostly - in agreement with @Lugia on this...

Mutable Instruments modules have good ergonomics - the clones trend away from this - and I like good ergonomics - eurorack modules are small enough already, don't make them harder to play with than they already are!

I do see the pico quant as superfluous in the satellite case though - black sequencer already provides quantization - any external quantization other than something (and there is nothing) like the sinfonion - which will give you chord progression sequencing and quantize (up to 4 sequences to those) is pointless imo...

I very much value both of your inputs!

I have the pachinko/ marbles as an alternative to (Turing machine with extension into a quantizer)
I know that the black sequencer provides for much/ all basic sequencing, but I'm not sure if it fully makes the marbles superfluous?

The idea behind the two stages was to have them provide all of my lfos adsrs,or slopes not provided by the black sequencer. It also works for clock division and sample and hold.

EDITED Feb 12th 2022, 22:21

it's not that marbles and black sequencer make each other superfluous - they just take up too much space together in this size case!! I've got both and a other sequencers besides (sinfonion, step fader, peaks, beatstep pro, pico seq plus some I'm probably forgetting - ah yes stages!) but I have much more rackspace - one or the other in this size case - personally I'd go black sequencer - if you want random - hit magic!!! and I truly love my Marbles

I know all about stages - I've had one since the 2nd batch - it's a great module - but it's also good to have different modulation sources - I usually recommend maths as a first modulation source - mostly because of the fantastic 'maths illustrated supplement' - which is a great introduction and jumping off point for patch programming - an incredibly powerful modular synthesis technique... working through and building on the examples given in the supplement gives a great introduction to modular synthesis - rather than just patching some modules together (what I call 'synthesis with modules' - as opposed to 'modular synthesis')