@cameliamusic
I have already heard about that, I would like to rather use the O_c for its complex CV Modulation, or can you use more algorithms at the same time?
-- VincentDano

If you have Hemispheres loaded, both sides can be used independently as different algorithms :)


regarding keeping the Scales in the rack for quantization of random voltage sources, the uO_C has brilliant quantizers in the original firmware & Hemispheres Suite!


Hi Cameliamusic,

Welcome to modular! I don't think I have seen it yet, so generally I would like you to advise not to buy everything at once. Start with a few main modules, gain some experience with them and then slowly by a few more, build up some more experience with them, and keep repeating till you either reached your target plan or till your bank account is zero ;-)

Many members have provided you already with some excellent comments, so there is not much to add other than the above remark.

Good luck, have fun with modular and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

Edit: Removed typo.
-- GarfieldModular

Hehehe, so far I only have 2 modules in my rack but I plan to learn them as well as I can before moving onto the next one! I don’t want to get overzealous & then end up learning 5 modules at the same time. I’m looking forward to the long & wonderful journey ahead! Thank you for your input, Garfield!


Both Disting EX and Ornament and Crime are swiss army knife modules of modular! Either is worth checking out.
-- sacguy71

Yes! I’ve had my eye on the OC as well, but seeing that it’s more geared toward sequencing, I think the Disting EX seems like a more logical choice given the amount of sequencing options I have available at the moment!


Well, the reason I have the Mutant Brain in there is because I’m looking to get away from doing my sequencing from the laptop & keep everything in a nice network between the machines! I will definitely read the ES-9 manual before making a concrete decision but so far from what I’ve read, it seems to be a great solution for both audio & cv routing to & from the rack! I’ll also take a further look at the EX! Thanks again for all your help!


Lots to take away from this! I've already started to make adjustments after reading your previous response & a lot of it makes so much sense. I had a further look into Links/Kinks & now I see how valuable they can be & even better they fit so many utilities into a small amount of HP! I already scrapped Levit8 & the VC8 - as I had a feeling the amount of VCAs I had planned for this case was overkill & having a mixer with submix capabilities within a rack when I planned to buy an external mixer was quite redundant. In turn, I may add a 2hp mix for how nifty & convenient it is. Then, I was led to the realization that an ES-9 can indeed be incorporated into the rack like you had suggested & since it has SPDIF I/O, I can link it up to my Scarlett & BOOM, everything can be recorded into the DAW without the need for an external mixer! And instead of getting a cv.ocd to do my sequencing via MIDI, I added a Mutant Brain since plenty of space was freed up. The Disting got scrapped, as I now don't really know what I would use it for + I don't really want to deal with that tiny screen & its 1 million algorithms. I feel I still have plenty of research to do, but your feedback & suggestions really have cleared a lot of things up & I definitely feel more confident about the end results!


Hey Jim! Thank you for your input on this!
I added Cara into the rack as a last minute attempt to save space BUT originally, I planned (& will ultimately end up with) to have the actual Marbles in there! I hate how cramped the panel on Cara is. I really love the possibilities of random & probabilistic gates/triggers & voltages that Marbles provides & I would use it, for example, to trigger an Optomix or one of the Doepfer ADSR’s! I’m actually so far VERY 50/50 on Clouds or any of its variations. Something about me likes it & wants to LOVE it, but I just can’t fully commit. As for VCV Rack, in all honesty, I haven’t used it for quite some time now — a few months since I last opened it up. As for the buffered mult, I totally agree. It was another thing I was thinking about ditching & since I probably won’t be doubling up on 1 pitch sequence to 2 different oscillators, it can definitely get the boot. Will definitely look into Links/Kinks & all their functions! I have read many posts on here recently & you’ve recommended this combo time & time again, so it must be for a good reason! As for VCA’s, do you think there could be such thing as TOO MANY in this situation? Also, what do you say about Levit8? I like the ability that it can do more than attenuate & it also provides the possibility to create sub mixes before sending out to an external mixer. And as for tracking equipment that I have now into the DAW, I have a Scarlett 8i6 BUT all of its inputs are taken up by the 3 Elektrons so I am running Plaits to an external input on the Analog 4 which allows me to records my experiments & noodles for the moment! PNW is a module I have been watching very closely with googly eyes since its release & I really love how each of its 8 outputs can be freely assignable & I love that it has LFO’s & Euclidean options. I will definitely look more into Batumi & have a look at Zadar as well! They are both modules I have come across many times in my search, but for some reason, I never gave them much thought beyond a glance. I sincerely appreciate your feedback! It cleared up some things I was flip flopping back & forth about!

Edit: Also, which matrix mixers would you recommend having a look at? I know Doepfer has one which seems to be popular. Matrix mixers are something I still have to wrap my head around as well but there’s plenty of time for that!


Hahaha yes, I am aware of the rabbit hole. That’s why it’s taken me about 2-3 years to plan & start a rack! It was overwhelming at the beginning with all the research & the endless universe of modules that are available! I’ve been reading the forums here a lot lately as well, getting lots of valuable information! I await Jim & Lugia’s thoughts. I know those 2 are held in high regard & they always have plenty of constructive feedback to give


Thank you! Yes, I have to look more into sequential switches! I’ve been researching them a bit these last days but I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around how they work just yet


Yeah the ochd seems great for adding instant movement to any patch but I’m too finicky with my LFO rates & shapes haha. Although for ambient stuff it seems almost a no brainer to snag up an ochd for endless moving pads & soundscapes! The Filter 8 was the last piece of the puzzle. I think the hardest part of all this was finding the right filter


Ah thanks! It’s good to hear I seem to be on track then! I’ve been contemplating adding an ochd but on the other hand, I don’t want to go overboard on the LFO’s. Hmm


ModularGrid Rack
Hey everyone! So recently, I have finally dipped my toes into the modular waters & bought myself a Mantis case, Plaits & a Maths. Before getting into starting my case, I had already been planning for about 2-3 years, doing an insane amount of research, playing around on VCV rack & making hundreds of revisions to so many case sketches. Recently, I think I’ve finally managed to solidify (or at least put together something cohesive) my rack plan! My goal is to make an instrument that is geared towards sound design with lots of modulation, some controllable random, & some rhythmic capabilities. As you can see, there are no dedicated sequencers in the rack. However, outside of the rack I have 3 sequencers already. I am currently using one of the Elektron Analog 4’s CV channels to sequence Plaits, with the 3 other CV channels free for any other duties once I start getting more modules. I also have a Machinedrum & a Digitakt (so I’m covered on drums) which I will use for sequencing duties as well via a cv.ocd box. As for a full featured stereo mixer, I am looking to add a desktop mixer, as I never do any type of panning or actual mixing until everything is recorded into the DAW. The Levit8 is there as a way of giving everything its own I/O within the rack so that I can then route them externally but it’s also a plus that it can be used to attenuate/polarize signals & has submixes available. I am not totally married to anything in this plan except for the Shapeshifter (I have compared it to the E352 & the wavetables are too smooth for my taste), Filter 8 & PNW (the expander is an optional thought but I can always just sync it via a pulse from one of the Machinedrum’s various outputs). I am having trouble with the next steps as to which modules I should look to add with Plaits & Maths. Are there enough VCA’s? Is anything redundant? I would like to hear your thoughts, feedback, & different angles of approaching things! Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to give everyone a thorough background & insight into my plans & what I have going on currently! Thank you, I can’t wait to discuss!

PS. I know there is only a uBurst in the rack as far as effects go, but I have a 3U 104HP rack planned solely for effects! I would just like to tackle the meat & potatoes first!