trying to plan out my rig. can anyone tell me if this is a viable system? will i need another amplifier, etc? any general advice? thanks.
This is all personal opinion, so grain of salt and all that…
You’ve got both a midi interface and a sequencer… If you plan to control the system via midi you might consider using a midi sequencer rather than the Q960 and freeing up a lot of space, or, if you plan on using a midi keyboard you might consider an old school CV keyboard and getting rid of the midi interface (synthesizers.com used to make one, but I don’t see it on their site anymore). Also, note that you won’t need the quantizer bank for CVs generated by the mid interface, though it’s still really useful when combined with an analogue sequencer.
I would try to make room for a Q962 Sequential Switch, not only can you use it to switch between output banks on the Q960 Sequential Controller (giving you up to 24 stage sequences), but can also function as a latch or signal selector!
Consider how much you might actually use the Instrument interface, signal processor, and reverb (okay, reverb IS a must-have, but can easily be handled with an external device to save room) if you can make enough space you are likely going to want either a third Q106 Oscillator, or an LFO to use as a modulation source.
Also, consider whether or not you really need the Oscillator Aid and Oscillator Mixer, the Q106 Oscillators already have outputs for each waveform, so the only new functionality you really get from the Oscillator aid is the soft sync. And the Oscillator Mixer can be replaced with a general purpose 4 channel mixer giving you more flexibility.
It's also worth mentioning, that any 1/4" patchbay can be wired as multiples... giving more room for other modules. I use a couple of old Behringer Ultrapatch PX2000's in parallel mode for all my DotCom multiples needs.
first of all thanks so much for taking the time to write all that! i'm ditching the midi interface as the q960 is one of the main reasons i want this machine. i've even been toying with the idea of starting out with just the sequencer. how would you rate the other accessory modules such as the q961 and q963?
the instrument interface is too cool to pass up as i'm also a guitar player. and i think i'll probably stick with the reverb too, as it seems like a more affordable option than most standalone spring reverbs i've seen. i have a danelectro "spring king" currently but it's not the most reliable thing, and cost only a little less than the q115.
The short version: Q962 = 'must have', Q963 = 'almost indispensable', Q128 = 'should have', Q961 = 'cool, but can live without'
Longer winded comments: The Q963 is an awesome addition. The Q960 has independent trigger outputs at each stage, but no summed trigger output, so using triggers directly from the Q960 can require a lot of patching. The Q963 uses an internal cable to bring all of the triggers to a single bus allowing each step to be routed to one of two outputs. The only downside to the Q963 is that a trigger can't be routed to both the A and B output channels on the same stage, but it does allow addition of rests without changing the setting on the Q960 itself, and gives you access to all the stage triggers without a spaghetti mess of cables. If you're thinking long term, and may expand your system later, then up to 5 Q963s can be daisy chained together (more behind pannel cables) and with multiple Q963s you have complete flexibility to use any combination of triggers.
The Q961 has a couple of uses, the primary being combining triggers from the Q960. Note that the Q963 accomplishes this as well. The Q961 also allows for timing adjustment of triggers connected to the column b inputs, this can produce really cool effects, but isn't something you're likely to use all the time, and the same effect can be had using a gate delay module (I use a pair of STG Soundlabs dual Yves Usson Gate Delays)
You might also consider the Q128 Switch, while not technically a Q960 accessory module, it can take inputs from the Q960 oscillator out and the Q963 or Q961. You then get distinct triggers out from the Q128 rather than full stage triggers, this might not seem significant at first, but consider that adacent triggers from the Q960 will result in a single longer trigger.
