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Help! I've gone modular blind!

Hi Friends,

After years of lusting after a modular, I've decided to pull the trigger and put together my first Rack which i aim to start buying early 2023.

Budget is about £2750 to start.

I'm a big fan of drone, especially mego records, Jim O'Rourke , Fennesz etc as well as krautrock such as Cluster, Harmonia etc , I don't require a drum mod at present as I can add any additional beats with Ableton for now.

I aim to record pretty much live then incorporate minimal edits / effects in my DAW. I do not have much room so a large case is out of the question, i certainly wouldn't be able to go bigger than a Arturia RackBrute 6U or a mantis.

I'm considering going for a Caixo 104 skiff as it seems decent value for money and includes a number of utility modules included although i still have an eye on a Arturia RackBrute 6U and i know there is a lot of love for the
Mantis also.

I also already own a Behringer Crave which i can use as a CV controller for now but may upgrade to something like a make noise Zero Control at a later date.

I want a system that can make interesting multi layered drones with moments of extreme noise and also twinkly generative granular beauty so have chosen an analogue Oscillator (Benjolin) and also a black wavetable VCO for more interesting granular sounds.

I'm hoping the remaining modules i've chosen cover most of the things i will require, especially incorporating the Caixa 104 modules. I would prefer more hands on mods and i'm not into menu diving too much.

Question 01 : Does anybody have a Caixo 104 and if so, would you recommend? the utilities and build quality look great although I'm aware of the space limitations.

Questions 02 : I welcome any feedback on this as a starter rack . Any suggestions for cheaper and smaller modules that will achieve the same kind of sound or any glaring omissions?

Question 03 : I know that i still need to incorporate a USB / CV module to sync with Ableton if required and would also welcome any glitchy effects that would help achieve that mego / autechre-esque sound. ( if my chosen mods don't already achieve this ) Does anybody have any suggestions?

I'm drowning in youtube videos and modular grid posts but it really is hard to choose anything! too much choice so i need help to zone in on exactly what i require to do the job in a budget /HP friendly way. Any links to vids / racks etc welcomed.

Any help for a complete newbie suffering for information overload would really be appreciated.

Many thanks for any help / advice you can offer.

Stoffaboy UK