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Agree and at first I thought that they were overpriced and not worth getting since I started using a cheap external mixer. But after having a couple modular mixers that can blend audio and CV, they are super useful and fun. Mutes are very important to me as they let me punch in and punch out melody and beats rapidly. Also help my workflow to be way more productive in modular. Once I get the WMD Performance mixer will let you know. So far, WMD modules like Fracture, Chimera, Crater and Metron are superb! They were made for the live performing modular artist and I can feel the easier workflow. Praga is ok but more a pain to use and need the Hrad expander for that.

Hi Garfield,

Sure will do that and just waiting until next major online sale this year. I have the Befaco Hexmixer/Hex VCA combo which is great and love the mutes and options and XAOC Devices Praga in my other case. Eurorack mixers are expensive but I find them super useful for modular performance and submixes.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah it is super fast to create lots of variations and chain them together into songs and then instantly punch in a dramatic change for variety on the Metron. Very immediate sequencer once you get the hang of it. The random and probability modes are tons of fun and you can create a lot of unique patterns and save them quickly. I am enjoying my Eloquencer as well and that has even more sequencer modes and features. Probably look at getting the new Erica Synths Black Sequencer and Vector with expander when I get an 18u studio case in few years but have more than enough to keep busy for 2021. I do plan to get mixer expanders and the WMD Performance mixer and the comparator that Lugia advised for my setups and more drum modules hehe.

Thanks Exposure! It is a very powerful live sequencer and once you get the hang of the workflow, very fast to program and save dozens of patterns and sequences chained together. I do wish idiots would quit down voting my YT channel videos. Not sure why they hate on my channel videos?

Had fun learning my new WMD Metron sequencer and came up with fun creation tonite:

Finally getting the hang of the Metron sequencer it is super fun and powerful and great for on the fly changes to create dozens of variations and patterns on the fly in second! Can save for later recall as well.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah WMD percussion modules are crazy fun and do way more than traditional 808/909 drum beats that is why I love them so much like BIA does weird stuff as well. Making a drum machine on modular is too expensive if you just want regular dance beats get an Elektron Rytm for that way less expensive easier to program. But for experimental beats ah that to me is the sweet spot of nirvana for modular! I would never be able to get these weird sounds that easily otherwise and also the modulation madness.

Cool Garfield, its a fun modulator :-)

I do want an Abstract Data Octocontroller for my Doepfer monster base case in the future but its sold out for a while since that case needs a bit more modulation.

My MDLR 14u has plenty of modulation now with Mob of Emus, Kermit, and Acid Lab Technologis Maestro.

Hi Garfield,

Yes, Detroit Modular and Patchwerks should have them for pre-order or Acid Rain website has them for direct online purchase plus videos:

https://acidraintechnology.com/products/maestro

The folks at Patchwerks recommended it to me for a super modulator device and it is super fun!

Thanks Garfield,

Yes you can dim the brightness of the LEDs for the sequencer by rotating the bottom encoder of the Euclidian Circles. I am still learning it along with my Eloquencer and Metron. I bought a lot on sales so the year will give me time to learn the new modules and then create fun music! I think that with several complex sequencers and plenty of drum and effects, the options are endless.

Probably stock up on expanders for my Praga and Hexmixer at next sale and get a WMD Performance mixer at next major sale toward end of the year and more support modules like VCAs, logic, comparator and a monster Doepfer case to put on my Doepfer monster base then all good.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah I can make long drone next time and record it even for you all.
The module with all the buttons is my new Acid Lab Maestro super modulator! It lets you setup six channels of crazy modulation sequences and chain them together. Super fun and endless modulation possibilities. The other new modulator that I use a little bit for accents is the Rossum Mob of Emus which can be 6 LFOs or 6 oscillators and combos and more.

Hi Garfield,

Both are very different sequencers in their approach. Eloquencer has more programming functions and is closer to the Vector sequencer. WMD Metron is a different beast- it can do basic things as well as more complex sequence patterns and save them like Eloquencer and Vector but it lacks reverse and probability features of these sequencers. Once I have more time and understanding of both then I will do a jam with both at the same time for comparison. I also have a smaller new trigger sequencer the VPME Euclidian Circles which is the opposite very bright lights that rotate in various colors and fun to create weird random patterns.
Here is a quick demo:

With the Euclidian Circles, it has an internal clock but that is hard to control and I prefer clocking it from a dedicated clock source like Pamela New Workout or Mordax Data. It is super bright enough to light an entire dark room so for a club scene would be fun.
I needed a small trigger sequencer for my 6u case after moving things over to the larger cases. Probably pair a drum voice like the VPME Quad Drum synthesizer or Endorphin.es Queen of Pentacles in the future for a small mobile beat boom box hehe.

Outstanding! Maybe one day my modular skills will be solid enough to contribute some music to a future edition :-)

Hi jingo,

No worries. The PHMK3 on my wish list- for now been loving my crazy Hertz Donut, Schlappi Angle Grinder, and Rossum Trident complex oscillators. Those keep me busy for 2021.

Thanks Garfield,

Both Metron and Eloquencer are superb sequencer modules!

My Euclidian Circles v2 also arrived:

Very fun trigger sequencer and those lights are so bright they could light up an entire galaxy! I find it better to use an external clock for tempo as the internal clock is not precise. Anyways, 2021 will be the year of the modular sequencer and percussion modules for me besides the new effects like 4ms Dual Looping Delay and Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio. I still would like a multi-function FX module like the new Synthesis Technology E520 Hyperion processor or the 1010 fx box. Maybe end of year I get those as well as the mixer expander for my Befaco Hexmixer and Xaoc Devices Praga plus WMD Performance Mixer.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah the WMD Metron is really fun! I am still learning it but not that bad- the Voltera and Axxent are key for adding spice to patches. I like being able to see multiple track sequences at one time and to quickly change all 4 tracks instantly on the fly with quick touch on the pads. Also can save the sequences on the SD card for future use and use random and probability patterns, add accents to beats. It really was made for percussion! That said, I also received the excellent 4ms Dual Looping Delay which is a super fun module for adding massive forward and reverse delays. Here is a video on it:

I did get carried away and it sounds more like space alien video games but that was the intention to make drums sound like something else. I am really enjoying the WMD percussion modules- very unique and can do traditional drum beats or weird stuff.
Also got first Hexinverter Mutant drum module the hi hats which is great. What can I say: sequencers, modular eurorack mixers, percussion modules and effects modules are super fun!

Sounds great! Would love to see a video of you jamming on your Honda modular setup. I want one but had to choose between that and Hertz Donut MK3.

Experimental drone using 4ms Dual Loop Delay and Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio. I used tons of modulation from Acid Rain Maestro.

I have Doepfer cases and MDLR case. By far, love my 14u MDLR case. Here is why:

2 rows of 126HP for 1u tile modules: Intellijel 1u are super ace

4 rows of 126HP for larger modules that are HP pigs like Rossum and 4ms modules- I am looking at you wonderful HP piggies.

Two massive 85W power supplies- never had issue power modules even piggies like Rossum Trident and Mob of Emus. Funny the modular guy at Patchwerks I think mentioned someone had issues power Mob of Emus in a smaller case. Not me!

I bought smaller 6U case in the beginning and was a mistake! You will want the larger piggy do cool modules sooner or later and not many fit and leave room for the oh so critical support modules like matrix mixer, attenuator/attenuverters, VCAs, LFOs, sequential switch, etc.

I am now a fan of MDLR cases they fold easy and come in all sizes. Not cheap but hand made of nice wood and well engineered. They make a 9u and 12u case if you don't want to go supersize like I did. Plus knurlies fit easy. I had a hard time screwing in knurlies to Doepfer monster base case.

My new Winter Modular Eloquencer sequencer arrived today! A fun jam I put together

Used my new Hexinverter Mutant Drums High Hats that came as well. The Eloquencer is more immediate and easier to use to me thus far than the WMD Metron sequencer.

I started with a 0-coast as my first modular then a Doepfer A100 Basic system. Now I have a lot more. Pamela New Workout is a fantastic module and can do a lot like clock, sequencer, quantizer of notes fed into it and so forth. Larger case is my advice- I ran out of space fast and now have 14u and that is almost full already.

Finally arrived today! So fun and lots to learn. I have an Eloquencer on the way as well for my other case so tons of options to create submixes and sequences that are sequenced by other things.

Finally after a long two month wait, my new WMD Metron sequencer arrived! I am learning it and really enjoy using it with my Stillson Hammer for perfect drum and basslines. I have the Voltera and Axxent modules that add more spice as well.

Then got crazy and carried away with a weird bird drum jam trying different patterns and features of the WMD Metron:

I can make some really unique things with it.

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah the Stillson Hammer is super easy to use and very playable for live on the fly performances. It has ratcheting, multiple random, ping pong, forward and reverse modes with 4 CV outs and 4 gate outs. Plus lots of quantizer scale options even. It has a very basic screen not as fancy as the Vector but I got it for a good price.

It works great for acid bass lines and random CV type stuff. Hopefully my new Metron arrives tonite if the UPS driver does not mess up the delivery. I have the Voltera and Axxent expanders to give me 4 CV outs and accent for percussion. I like that I can chain a bunch of Voltera expanders up to 16 for huge sequencing options. Since the Stillson Hammer has the random, reverse modes that fits the gap that Metron lacks but metron has probability and other modes that I look forward to using. I also have an Eloquencer on the way which gives me 8 gates and 8 cv outs for my monster case and tons of modes like random and forward/reverse. Maybe in few years when I have a much larger modular setup, I get a Vector sequencer with expander and maybe Black Sequencer or Ground control.

EDITED Jan 5th 2021, 01:23

Thanks Garfield,

Yeah really digging the WMD modules. Fracture and Chimera are super fun and can make amazing range of sounds besides percussion from clap/crash to broken glass and so forth. Crater has an intense kick and can be tweaked for serious techno mayhem on par with my Noise Engineering BIA module. I love my Stillson Hammer sequencer and will keep using it with the Metron to create subsequences. I have a few smaller sequencers arriving as well and plan to use Eloquencer to control the other sequencers. I want to get into the whole master sequencer controlling other smaller sequencers and same way with master mixer and submixes.

Did you get the expander module for your Vector sequencer? That would be a powerful combo.

Glad to assist. Another option you may want to consider after trying out VCV Rack and so forth could be to get a prebuilt modular system like the ALM Busy Circuits Super Coupe, Make Noise Shared System, Doepfer A100 Basic System or Endorphin.es Shuttle System that comes with the required ingredients like case, power, support modules and so forth. I started with a Doepfer A100 Basic system (under 2k) and built from there over time. Plus you can always use modules with other gear or sell them over time.

My recommendation in addition to what has been provided is to get a copy of the excellent book Patch and Tweak by Chris Meyer. It really is such a great book and will save you a lot of time, money and frustration learning modular concepts and how to put a system together. Chris also has a website of tutorials called LearningModular that I recommend. I use VCV Rack still to try out routings and modules that I don't have to buy until I try them first. It is free and very useful way to learn the basics of modular for FREE.

Now regarding Elektron connectivity and sequencer, I use the CV.OCD box that works great for sequencer to modular and using the effects from Elektron Octatrack to modular system. I have the Doepfer A190 but that thing was a royal pain to use. The CV.OCD is small easy to use and works with any MIDI controller/sequencer so it is great way to use external MIDI gear with modular. That or you could get an Expert Sleeper ES-9 module.

I probably need to upgrade my Ableton and patches and drivers for the K-mix. I will see what Ableton and KMM support advice for Mac OS X. Funny a few years ago, I never would have imagined diving into modular gear. Now here I am with tons of Eurorack but love it. Especially when record to a DAW and use with other synths it shines.

Hi Lugia,

Yeah I need to open a support ticket with KMM why Ableton cannot recognize the K-Mix via USB connection when it should. I will probably do that this week as time permits. I was troubleshooting different options to determine the weak link in the recording chain. At least for now I can dump audio from the modulars to my RME Babyface and record that way so all good in the short term. I tried a bunch of driver ASIO settings on Mac OS X and it would not recognize the mixer. It did recognize my RME Babyface and my A190 USB to MIDI CV module.

Lovely track- how did you sequence and record it? I am experimenting with different recording, mixing and sequencing options so always love to hear on best ways to go about it.

@the-erc, nice sounds ace and fun video.

I have some sequencers hopefully arriving next week as my birthday present and another percussion module. Should be fun once I get mine sorted and recorded.

Nice Lugia,

I need to check out those Tascam recorder units. In the short term, I have basic recording of the modular covered but long term will need a better solution. I was disappointed to find out that I could not get the USB of my Keith McMillen K-mix unit to be recognized by Ableton DAW as a plugin or external instrument. That would have been nice as it is supposed to already have an audio interface built in.

Agree with you @Lugia,

I have enough channels between my eurorack mixer and audio interface to dump but long term I will need something with more inputs like the MOTU audio interface that can take 8 inputs from my modular system so I can split up tracks and be able to cleanly remix in the DAW. That and an ES9 would be ace for me. If I ever perform live with my modular post-COVID, something quick and easy like a Zoom recorder or 4ms wav recorder would be a simple way to capture live performances for later import to a PC and DAW.

Also check out Piston Honda and Hertz Donut these can do intense dark drones with ease. For ambient chill drones, the Mutable Instruments stuff is super ace. I really like Plaits into Rings then using Marbles for some nice relaxing ambience like this one:

@Lugia,

I had the best success dumping audio from my modular mixer to my audio interface and recording into Ableton quickly and easily after some setup. Now I can quickly record my patches from modular and edit later in the DAW. So, would spending the money on an Expert Sleepers ES-9 or a 4ms wav recorder module be worth it? Since I have my audio interface and computer right next to my modular systems, it is not difficult to record now direct.

I scored a deal on the VC8 Erogeneous Tones and Radar so figure perfect for my 14u MDLR case. Hex VCA and Intellijel are fine choices and I have those in my other cases. I find that better to have more VCA and support tools and modulation sources than to be without.

Mastered some fun techno beats

Hertz Donut MK3 sequenced by Stillson Hammer MK3
WMD Percussion modules

Great idea Garfield!

I scored a good deal on the Hertz Donut and Stillson Hammer which is why I ended up getting them. They work well together.

Nice Garfield,

Sounds fun. I will do some recordings and videos once my Metron and Eloquencer arrive hopefully by end of next week. I figure that will give me two solid sequencers in my two larger cases and then have smaller sequencer/clock in my 6U case. Now I just a larger studio space house and to get out of the ghetto downtown area.

Thanks Garfield,

Considering I had a few drinks was fun exploring the new modules. Now that I figured out how to record to DAW, I plan to do a lot more track recordings and remix into future album. I love Marbles- it works great for slowly evolving patches like complex drones and generative things. However, it is not precise like a complex sequencer or clock generator so for beat focused stuff like techno, I prefer to use Pamela New Workout or a sequencer. Yeah I need to do that- sample the gun shots into my Octatrack from the video then send to Ableton and use in future recordings! Crazy here in downtown Sacramento, where I live the nut jobs shooting their damn guns off.

Hertz Donut is a beast! Can go from brutal mean to mild jazzy beats per the video demo. Still learning my around it and the Stillson Hammer and how FM synthesis works.

Thanks Garfield,

Happy New Year as well. Hope you are having fun with your new Vector sequencer!

Yeah it was a lot of fun last night jamming into the new year on my MDLR modular after having some drinks. Now that I figured how to record to my DAW, I plan to do a lot more to spin off to some albums for my screenplay film project. The Hertz Donut is super mean and aggressive I love it! Funny- Mutable Instruments is the ying to the yang of Harvestman/IME modules. Ambiences vs brutal industrial. I love having both in my rack to craft various types of music. I have a few new sequencers arriving soon.

thanks yeah figuring out how to record from the modular to Ableton was more work than patching the modular!

Hi there and happy new year!

I recently am dealing with this issue since I want to record my modular to Ableton DAW and remix for a future album. I use a Keith McMillen K-mix which supposedly has a way to do this direct to PC via USB but alas that did not work. SO, what I had to do was send the output from modular mixer to my Babyface RME and get Ableton to recognize the audio and then I was able to record.

My test run using the VCA patch from defragmenteur earlier:

I do have a Doepfer A190 in another case but this method is way easier for me plus no need to take up precious HP for another expensive MIDI to USB to CV module. However, the Expert Sleepers ES-9 appears to be the way to go direct to a laptop or ipad to record into Ableton and receive CV and clocks from a DAW to modular. I will probably pick up this module later next year or get another better mixer like the Roland MX-1 for recording all my synthesizers and modular to a DAW.

Another option is the 4ms WAV Recorder Eurorack Module that lets you record modules directly to an micro SD card and use later.

EDITED Jan 2nd 2021, 03:11

Test recording with Mutable Instruments Plaits into Rings and Marbles using VCAs for a chill track today:

Thanks @defragmenteur! That was fun patch to try and deepen my understanding of VCAs, clocks and envelopes!
Now working on recording some patches to Ableton. Here is the result:

EDITED Jan 1st 2021, 23:15

Agree and I have one and prefer my Intellijel and Erogeneous Tones VCAs at least they have LEDs for polarity and activity with CV inputs.

@the-erc, thank you for sharing your methods. I have an external K-mix that I need to send to my DAW to record my modulars. Since I have some time off this week, will try that and share. I also have barely scratched the surface of using my modulars but plan to dig deeper this year to record a concept album soundtrack to go with my screenplay/novel/anime concept project. Modular is the perfect platform for that goal.

@defragmenteur,

Oh ok so on my Erogeneous Tones VC8 would you mean to patch the output from an LFO or EG to the CV input and also turn the CV level and CV offset knobs to taste?

Fun jam session to welcome in the new year 2021 modular style

Fun jam tonite to welcome 2021

Mutable Instruments Plaits into Rings to Marbles
WMD percussion

how did you record it to your daw? sounds amazing!what sequencers did you use? Look forward to the video.