Hi-
I'm putting together a 2021 rack, and would love feedback! This is my first crack at a larger rack system so I'd like to know if I missed anything or have too much/little of something else.
Looking to have (2) Arturia Rackbrute 6u together or side by side.
I currently have a 62hp palette and a 64hp skiff: 
I'm not into any particular genre and want to have options to make a bit of everything.
Thanks for any help you can give!
Some of it is right...but only some. For one thing, it's really short on necessary utilities...CV/mod mixers, attenuverters, etc etc. Lots of "sexy module syndrome" here; nothing wrong with "sexy" modules, but it's the BORING ones that make them do what they're capable of. Plus, I don't see any sort of cohesive signal flow at all. The dual Rackbrute setup is a good one...but that's jammed with a lot of stuff that's just not going to reach its actual potential. Hmmmmm...
Thanks for the great feedback. This is my first "larger" rack so I'm still figuring things out (one of the reasons I wanted feedback). Any recommendations for modules (adding/removing) is greatly appreciated.
I'll take another crack at this one.
Actually, check this nonsense out...
Ha! Went nuts here...for starters, all of this is combined into ONE build, because it'll function like that when in use, so putting everything in the same build layout made a lot more sense. It also made sense because I opted to "re-function" everything...and I do mean EVERYTHING! The signal flow now makes WAY more sense, plus I've isolated the drum and final mixer/FX functions into the Palette 62 and the 64 hp skiff respectively.
Top row: This is "voicing 1". First up is a buffered mult, because this really does need one. Then your Rample, which I followed with a Doepfer mini stereo mixer for submixing the four voices from the Rample down to a single stereo out. And for that matter, the entire row is stereo. Surface next, then the Ensemble Oscillator, and one of the Stmixes sums those with the Doepfer's output, leaving an extra stereo pair for various possible uses. The Supercritical goes after the Stmix, then I put in an Antumbra dual VCA, which is a dual VCA version of Veils. Warps is at the end, providing effects/processing for this row.
2nd row: "Voicing 2". Ladik Dual Lag because there wasn't really a slew limiter in here (not counting Maths!). Then the STO and Ts-L feed to the Bifold. After that is a Plaits clone, the Chainsaw, and then a Veils clone. The Veils clone sums the previous things in various possible ways, then feeds this on in mono to the MUM M8, then the Rings clone after that can not only do resonances, but also stereoizes the mono feed from the MUM M8. This is followed by another Veils clone, which can feed directly to the Data Bender. After that is another Antumbra dual VCA.
3rd row: "Modulation". I went hardcore with the noise and random source, opting for a Verbos unit which ALSO includes the Analog Shift Register for about the same price as the Qu-bit module + the Intellijel ASR, but in less space. And tbh, "less space" was a running task while working this out, so that even more functionality could be jammed in while trying to not compromise the ergonomics. Quantizer is after the Verbos Random Source, then there's a 3x VCA which can also function as a "breakable" mixer. I tossed the Ochd (it's better to go with total control over your LFOs rather than ganging the control) in favor of a Doepfer Quad LFO. Maths follows, then a Frap 321 for CV/modulation tampering/mixing/screwing with in general. Then I punched this out to EIGHT EGs by going with NANO's Quart for the 2-stages and a Zadar for everything else.
Bottom row: "Control". Your Polyend MIDI is first. Then I put the clocked modulation source in after this. Then I had a bit of fun by adding a Tool Box, which contains a pile of useful utility circuits and the like, followed by a dual CVable Boolean logic module so that you can use those utilities (especially the comparator and the OR) to screw around with clocking pulses from the Tempi and create some more complex timing signals which you can either use in the Arturia stack OR pass these on to the next cab. Last bits are the Tempi and Rene for your primary clocking (maybe...see below) and sequencing/control.
Palette 62: "Drums". I switched the main clocking/sequencing duties over to a Temps Utile, which also gives you a CV out channel plus ample clocking and sequencing, allowing me to drop all of the Pams. This can ALSO serve as your master clock, if you prefer...or you can take a DAW clock via the MIDI interface. The black tile after that is a Pointeuse, which can work as a bidirectional switch, taking either two signals to one, or the other way around...very useful for a number of functions. Then there's your stereo out. Moving down to the 3U row, there's another Boolean module because, well, more timing fun. This got followed by the Plonk, the Basimilus, and then I dropped in a WMD Fracture, a stereo percussive module, following this with another Doepfer stereo summing mixer for those sources. Then for some REAL trouble, I put in a Bastl Ikarie, which is a wild stereo VCF with an internal envelope follower for dynamic-driven VCF activity...this works REALLY well with percussion sounds. This gets followed by the Monsoon, of which I went for a slightly smaller version.
64 hp skiff: "Mixing". This is the nexus of all of this stuff. The other Stmix is there for summing stereo feeds from elsewhere in the build down to a single stereo pair. Then the Mimeophon is placed with this, so that you can easily apply some delay/loop action to those sources. A Xaoc Praga/Hrad performance mixer setup is after this, which provides four channels of your level VCAs, CV over AUX send/returns, CV over panning, cue and headphone functions for the rig, muting, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. This is intended as the MAIN MIX for the ENTIRE system, which explains why all of this got massively restructured. By doing the build THIS way, you have your subsystems unitized, and everything winds up going to this final skiff, dedicated solely to your mixing and processing for the whole damn thing! And as the cherry on the cake, the Prism now serves as your final mix processor, which is a really good use for it given some of the weird stuff it's capable of.
So, now it flows really well. Everything is in specific places, rather than scattered across the entire build, which should make the system much more intuitive and easy to work with. The sole flaw that I see now is that this thing has eight rows in the MG example here, and this might be a bit of a bitch to deal with if you don't have a (WORTH IT!!!) Unicorn account. But aside of that little technical bobble, which I did so that the entire system could be worked on simultaneously (because, after all, it's not like you're going to have these three [or four] cabs scattered around where they can't connect to each other!), this is now DAMN solid...not merely a single synth, but a real modular SYSTEM.
This is so effing fantastic. I honestly can't thank you enough for this.
I've spent the past few hours going over what you've done and it is a perfect system for what I was after.
I'm on the fence on a few things (keeping the MUM M8 and Bifold - I haven't really clicked with them and not sure I'd want to keep them long term), but this is extremely helpful in helping me have a cohesive unit with great flow. I may rearrange that row a bit and see how else other modules might fit in.
I'm also going to create a pared-down version with just a single 6U and see where that takes me. Maybe half the 2 voice rows, some drums, modulation, and then finally control. I'm also toying with just getting 2 more 3U rackbrutes and replacing the 62hp palette and 64hp skiff. Then I can use the palette for random modules when I want to be out and about.
I also opted in for a unicorn account. I didn't want to lose all of the work you did!
I went in a bit of a different direction and configured an Intellijel 7u 104hp with a rackbrute 3u for sequencing and mixing.
