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Greetings ModularGrid peoples

This is my first post here.

So, the setup below is my initial design for a more-or-less standalone ideas/fun factory. It will be installed into an Intellijel's 7U 104 Performance Case. Roughly, the top row is all IO and utilities. the 2nd row is all sampling and percussion sequencing. The 3rd row is two synth voices. All this will be to be sequenced an controlled by an Arturia Keystep Pro.

What I want this system to do:

• be a inspiration factory in the studio
• integrate with my pedal board both at home and on the road
• be an accompaniment/effects processor for me during live performances both solo and in my band.

Plan A (at this moment) is to integrate this design with my pedal board and studio via a mixer of some sort - I can't decide which one. Said mixer needs to have at least two aux sends, 8 inputs and very as small as possible. Any ideas peoples?

As for this design itself: I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice. I'm an old hand with synthesis in general but have never built a earorack system before.

My current thoughts are:

• not enough stereo audio routing and control for all the sound sources
• no enough effects (my logic is that all the effects are in my pedal board. The more I think about it, the less I like this idea)
• Maths.... just.... why? It's very big. Will I reeeeally miss it if I swap it for a more compact envelope generator?
• which modules are totally redundant and what functionality is sorely lacking?

Advice would be much appreciated

Spanx

Hello, everyone,

I have a question about the different types of euroracks or how you set up your racks. I have a guitar background and have played in different bands. I have always been very enthusiastic about experimenting with effects pedals and different sounds. The entry into the modular system has always been a great wish of mine. I am currently playing with Mi Marbles, various oscillators and effects. Often I sit there for an hour and build a song on which steadily rises and varies. It's a lot of fun and you get to know the functions of the individual modules more and more.
Now to my real problem. When I play with other people, of course, my approach doesn't work. I would like to jam to songs or loops. To do this, of course, I need full control over my system. For example, when which tones come. Would intellijel scales be an option in combination with marbles? Or are there other modules that can control my system or a patch? Sequencers are a great thing, but I only want to program things to a limited extent beforehand. I would like to control everything only with modules,without an external controller.
The system should serve as an instrument rather than a workstation.

I hope I was able to explain my problem well and I am grateful for all answers

By the way sorry for my bad English

well i cant figure out how to set it up (patch it to work)with the doepfer clock divider?
-- Broken-Form

I've got this derived-square patch working on my system right now. Here's how I'm doing it:
1. square wave from any OSC patched to input of A160-2
2. take an output from A160-2: that's the result. Note this is POSITIVE voltage only.
3. apply a bit of offset (negative voltage) using a utility. I have ShadesV2 doing this. SISM would work fine, lots of others would work fine.

I'm getting a square wave at 1/2 rate. Varying settings on A160-2 gives me different pulse width on the output. Both audio and oscilloscope are showing me this works on my end. Note the result is just a lower version of the original square wave.

Of course, assuming you want to mix the original and the derived square, you'll need a copy (mult) of the original.
-- nickgreenberg

yes thanks for this,i got it working:)

I thought I better record this before I pull all the plugs out of it, we were a part of the National Science & Media Museum in Bradford UK, we were serving our beers and the Modular Synth was part of it alongside our bar.

Here's the various links that will help make sense of this:
https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/sound-check
https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/sound-season
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVVl-RDq_rP/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVUsdMEqajt/

There was much crowd noise and I'm sure my patching sounded much worse on the actual night via a one-speaker PA and i forgot to take my headphones so I had no way to monitor what i was playing.

A fun experience.

The LB5 is a cleverly designed (with a beautifully finish!) module dedicated to logic functions. It allows very creative patching. I own one and no other of my modules can replace it. The Disting mk4 is a good Swiss army knife, it allows more or less to temporarily compensate for the absence of this or that functionality. Currently, for example, I use its delays a lot... while waiting to buy a true delay module like the Chronoblob.

Start with a dual filter, then. Something like the Intellijel Morgasmatron, which can work as a stereo VCF but which ALSO can work as two separate VCFs. You can also use this as a "mixer" to go from two sources to a post-filtered "sum" output. This is what I would suggest, as these filters have plenty of different modes as well as separate modulation paths...which, again, you can apply to BOTH filters if desired.

-- Lugia

So glad somebody made this recommendation to me ;) I have Sirius' Veil sitting between my Void Modular Gravitational Waves on one side and Instruo Ts-L on the other.

EDITED Oct 23rd 2021, 03:25

When I hear 5HP, I think Xodes LB5. Great logic module!
-- Sweelinck

Thanks for the recommendation! Have not heard of the LB5, looks very interesting. I was hoping between the CVilization, Boundary, and MK4 that I would have a decent amount of logic control potential but maybe I need to consider something additional.

In my case, I've got a MOTU 828 mkii connected to the multitrack, which is running Ableton's CV Tools. Totally open-ended, cheap, effective, and if you need to make adjustments, you can do most everything from inside the DAW.

Well, for what it's worth I just ordered some faceplates from Control and got them in maybe just slightly over a week?

I am more generally finding, like others in the US, that USPS is pretty slow lately, though I've been fortunate enough not to have the epic waits some are reporting above. I order at least something or other weekly for eurorack, be it from Perfect Circuit, Control, Reverb, or elsewhere, and haven't had a waiting time of more than maybe two weeks on anything from within the US.

I always ship my own Reverb sales via UPS. Maybe I should emphasize that in my listings more, since it's an extra cost that I eat and it seems to be more reliable. Which definitely isn't to say that UPS never has delays or issues of their own, but I feel like it's a better option, and the UPS store by me is much less unpleasant to stop in at than the local post office.

As for ordering from outside the US though, you're lucky if you can get around USPS. The costs to ship internationally via UPS are way over the top. I assume that's true with FedEx as well.

EDITED Oct 23rd 2021, 01:35

I’ve had the Steady State Fate Vortices on my shopping list for a while for this purpose. Really cool mixer. As far as doing it in the rack vs. plug ins, etc. the benefit is always cv and hands on control for me.

LOTS of options in this domain, I think many of them are good options. The ones I know about and would suggest:
-- top recommendation is to get something from the Expert Sleepers lineup as those are well regarded and you would get a robust hub/interface to the rest of your studio. It is probably more than you need presently, but kind of "future proofs" your setup some
-- Befaco also offers a good and fairly broad line of selections
-- Polyend Poly 2 is a good option if you need MPE support

Since the cheaper offerings for this function are not that cheap, IMO it makes more sense to spend up a bit and get a more robust module that will last in your setup for years to come.

Hi folks,

I've been getting into Eurorack percussion and am REALLY digging the results. I've got Tiptop, Erica, and WMD modules, and just latest added the Jomox kick unit which is awesome.

@sacguy71 was recently on another post saying how the combo of Jomox kick + Hexinverter Mutant Hot Glue (bus mixer with compression and distortion) produces his favorite kick sound. I would be interested in trying that kind of setup BUT I don't know about Hot Glue for me because:
1) I don't see it in stock at my normal vendors
2) functionally, it is maybe both more and less than I need
3) at $400 list, it is fairly spendy

SO, I wanted to ask:
A) do you folks know of good alternatives to Mutant Hot Glue especially for compression / distortion particularly for use on Eurorack percussion?
B) is there any great reason other than convenience to use a Eurorack solution for compression/distortion? I do have other hardware/software compression/distortion alternatives BUT the convenience of doing this in Eurorack (vs. having to link up to my broader studio gear) is on my mind.

Thanks for your ideas!

EDITED Oct 22nd 2021, 23:52

I always thought that was an interesting set of chaotic modules. I can't say that I completely understand what they are doing, but Fourses and Sprott appealed to me when I was looking into them. I think they're getting harder to find nowadays.

Someone whose opinion I respect very much recommended them but I don't know where to start! If the only option was to buy one module to integrate into an existing setup that already has a little bit of everything, which module would you recommend and why?

Curiously, no one mentions Dfam. It's an amazing machine, solo or in conjunction with a modular.
Here, a performance among dozens of others on YT.

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tubbutec-%C2%B5tune-

My recommendation!

When I hear 5HP, I think Xodes LB5. Great logic module!

Excellent video, nice performance. The track is very pleasant to listen to. Ambient and space music can easily become boring. Here, it is not the case. Polygogo and Panharmonium are definitely on my list.

No prob...plus, the Chinese stuff is so cheap that if you DO happen to get something that doesn't fit, you're out only the money you'd need to take a family of four to MccyD's. But even so, some of the "doesn't fit" issues DO hide useful musical tricks. For example, the Mosky Spring Reverb really doesn't sound like a spring reverb...but when you get the "Dwell" control up too high, this tuns into something of a feedback generator, giving you a feedback "tail" without the need for amplification to get to that instead. The Chinese pedals are rife with useful tricks like that, where the reverse engineering wound up adding some odd capabilities to their emulative pedals. And this ALSO makes them useful in no-input systems, because you can get at sounds you normally wouldn't find in those.

This sometimes feels like a hardware version of Magic: The Gathering. The longer you play, the more different cards/modules you know about. And there are a lot of them. Surprisingly the prices are about the same as well if you want the good stuff.
-- chlb

Or Pokemon: "Gotta install 'em all!"

Part 2 sound exploration: feeding few outputs into Rings, with filter an reverb after.
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/pU9TWrdvhuJSzLF18

I may not be one to ask, because I chose Erica’s Techno System for my drum machine ; ) It is really worth it for what it does, and it is a joy to play. What it does NOT do is set and forget. It’s much more its own instrument/mini studio. That said, I’ve thought hard about getting Queen of Pentacles or Quad Drum Voice to add to my regular rack, leaning towards the latter because of its size and convenience. I also have a TR-8S which I love but don’t integrate with my modular unless it’s going into a sampler.

+1 to sacguy71's point that modular drums sound pretty damn good. I DO own several of the nicer "groovebox" hardware pieces. I kind of always love some parts and hate others--I generally like the sounds, but don't like the sequencers or internal song data structure...

In the last few months I decided to go ahead and jump into Eurorack percussion. YES it is expensive and takes up HP in a rack. BUT I get to use my favorite sequencers AND the sounds are very good. Tiptop's versions of 808/909 I think are very strong and also decently priced per unit. THOSE things give me the kind of bouncy electronica percussion sounds I've been looking for yet never achieved with other stuff including loads of software.

The Jomox bass drum just recently arrived for me, I have yet to get it plugged in and tried out. I heard so many people praise it, I decided to give it a swing, as a strong yet versatile kick is very important in my setup.

Save to say, there's a bunch of good options in Eurorack. Furthermore if all one needs is kick snare hat, that is not too spendy on $s or HP. Worth a thought...

That sounds amazing! Is Usta just feeding a slow sequence into Polygogo? Where’s the envelope coming from? Looks possibly like the attack is slowly modulated by a Batumi sine wave, but I’m just guessing. Cheers!

CHINA!

-- Lugia

LOL...I will take a look at some of these...I've zero experience with anything stompbox related so will need to do the research but the ability to sort of exponentially add flexibility to the 3U setup with a module that can add a couple of these sounds really interesting...Thanks for the references!!

Start with a dual filter, then. Something like the Intellijel Morgasmatron, which can work as a stereo VCF but which ALSO can work as two separate VCFs. You can also use this as a "mixer" to go from two sources to a post-filtered "sum" output. This is what I would suggest, as these filters have plenty of different modes as well as separate modulation paths...which, again, you can apply to BOTH filters if desired.

-- Lugia

Thanks again for the advice, Lugia.

This sometimes feels like a hardware version of Magic: The Gathering. The longer you play, the more different cards/modules you know about. And there are a lot of them. Surprisingly the prices are about the same as well if you want the good stuff.

Yeah I had bad slow experiences in the past with ordering stuff from Control. Since I am on the west coast here in California and they are in NYC may explain it. I try to order from Patch Werks in Seattle or DM and usually get stuff way faster. Had bad service experience with Control as well they were supposed to send me a replacement cable for one of the modules I bought a while back and never did that!

I have not found a portable drum machine that really sounds as good as modular drums. A friend loaned me his Elektron Rytm MK2 and while it sounds ok and has many nice features not quite the same. I say invest in one drum voice like VPME Quad Drum or Endorphin.es Queen of Pentacles and be done with it. That is my plan for my mobile Doepfer 6u case. Now for modular drums, I love running my Jomox bass drum module through Hexinverter Mutant Hot glue with distortion and compression. Hands down best kick drum bass sound ever!

Why ask someone to spend time programming a new feature when one could easily make a spreadsheet to track this information?

Sunny and funny! Thanks for sharing.

I've noticed this module as well...doing a bit of a closeup with it makes me think that this is sort of like the Serge Triple Waveshaper but with WAY more direct control (hand or CV) over what goes on behind the scenes. And a little more besides, such as the octave subdivider. Sheer brilliance!

The one thing I don't see is any sort of filter.
-- mog00

DFAM, Subharmonicon and Manis have built-in filters, so I think I can work with those before I have a more refined taste on what I want in a filter. And if I get the Bitbox, it has a built-in filter for the samples as well.

-- chlb

Start with a dual filter, then. Something like the Intellijel Morgasmatron, which can work as a stereo VCF but which ALSO can work as two separate VCFs. You can also use this as a "mixer" to go from two sources to a post-filtered "sum" output. This is what I would suggest, as these filters have plenty of different modes as well as separate modulation paths...which, again, you can apply to BOTH filters if desired.

Well, for AUX send-return stuff, start here: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/ladik-m-053-3-ch-aux-mixer This allows you to return three different stereo processors to a single stereo AUX return. As for the send part, I would suggest using buffered mults here to keep your send levels up and close to identical for all processors.

Now, as for transitional links, one potential solution would be to use a Tiptop ONE player with some prerecorded material (or suitable loops) so that you're "covered" while changing the rest of the patch. This also gives your live set a "ground point" to start with between each piece, so that if (or more likely, when) things DO fuck up horribly, you can at least return to a sonic point where you can regroup.

However, I have a few issues with the build as it stands now. First up, that DFAM doesn't belong in there. It might be convenient that way, but the truth is that you're wasting 60 hp in this cab on a device that already has power and a housing. That space is FAR better used for things that have NO power and NO housing. Secondly, the cost...one thing that puzzles me is, if there's so many modules in here, why are there so few sources? I only see two: the Verbos Harmonic Oscillator and the E-RM Polygogo. And much of the rest of the space depends on these large, spendy modules that might work better as smaller and less-expensive alternatives. Lastly, keep in mind that we're finally getting actual Buchla Eurorack modules starting around Xmas, and these are quite different critters from the Verbos modules in a number of cases. Take the difference between the Dual Envelope at 22 hp for $479 and the Tiptop Quad Function Generator 281t with 28 hp for a projected street of $210. I know what I would rather have...and not merely due to the huge price difference!

Hmmm...I've never looked at stompboxes...any suggestions on where to start?
-- jb61264

CHINA!

Seriously, there's a plethora of stompboxes coming out of China these days that are utterly jaw-dropping, both in capabilities AND price! Fave brands are Aural Dream (especially their Breath Delay and Super Ring), Rowin (I've got PILES of these), Joyo (their "white flanger" kicks the old MXR AC-powered ones out the window, and their high-end stereo boxes are to die for), Cuvave (FUZZ!!!!!!), Sonicake (great little things, super-clean), Mooer (more high-end), and on and on.

Much of this is going on on Amazon, but my personal go-tos out there seem to be the Brantford Pedal Mafia up in Ontario, with their cross-border inventory making sure the US users get the same free shipping as their Canadian customers. Check here on Reverb: https://reverb.com/shop/andrews-gear-depot-553 and on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/str/music4pros?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 LOTS of stuff to sift through! And the prices are such that you can haul off a bushel of these little widgets for as much as some high-end devices.

One other more "pro" device that's worth having if you're going to dive into pedals is this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TriParMix--electro-harmonix-tri-parallel-mixer This thing is basically abuse potential turned into hardware! Just a look-see at this will give you ideas for weeks. It convinced me so strongly that I put together a parallel system for the studio's rack FX processors, using a Studio Technologies 1->8 stereo distro amp and a Rane SM 26B splitter/mixer for the summed return.

Hi Gworn,

Nice demo you give us here where this voice steals the main show ;-) I hear quite a few interesting sounds, much appreciating that and your video does the rest!

Thanks a lot for sharing this with us and kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular

Thanks for the kind words!

Hi Xanaxunder,

Interesting demo video, pity it's in French but luckily you added English subtitles :-)

It's by the way Mathias Kettner ;-) (you wrote in the subtitles Kesnerr) I met him at the Superbooth this year and saw this Droid, indeed very interesting! He also designed the Sinfonion, yet another great product from him.

The motorised fader, is that from him/Der Mann Mit Der Maschine or is that from an other company? I can't find it on the website from dermannmitdermaschine.de

Do you have more information about that fader, then please share :-) Thank you very much for your demo and kind regards, Garfield.

Hi KanalEntlang,

Thanks a lot for the demo, indeed an interesting concept as well as a bit weird module :-) Kind regards, Garfield.

Suggest you check out some of the Akai MPC lineup. For example MPCX is built to fit in nice with other gear, including 8 configurable CV/Gate outputs, so it can be a hub for other stuff including your modular. Plus its a killer groovebox+

Hi Gworn,

Nice demo you give us here where this voice steals the main show ;-) I hear quite a few interesting sounds, much appreciating that and your video does the rest!

Thanks a lot for sharing this with us and kind regards, Garfield.

Clock and Pitch coming from Keystep Pro

All off-case terminals going out to monitors through bluebox.

Thanks JB. The microcassette is just running to the mixer where it gets some verb from the effect send (specular reverb v3). Sometimes I like to run it through monsoon though.

Le mixwitch permet de melanger a audiorate les deux ondes issues du zpo, la modulante du switch doit etre carrée, ça marche mieux.

EDITED Oct 20th 2021, 14:24

The one thing I don't see is any sort of filter.
-- mog00

DFAM, Subharmonicon and Manis have built-in filters, so I think I can work with those before I have a more refined taste on what I want in a filter. And if I get the Bitbox, it has a built-in filter for the samples as well.

A few set-up notes:
Music style is experimental/ambient/generative and long evolving "Berlin school" style sequences. Main clock comes from external by Korg Electribe 2. Sequencing is done by Kilpatrick K4815 Pattern Generator, Marbles and O_C apps (Harrington 1200, Meta-Q, Sequins) and Electribe 2 (midi --> MI Yarns with 4x cv and gate/trigger). Sound sources are Studio Electronic Quadnic, Make Noise Telharmonic, Eowave Weather Drones 1.5, MI Plaits, MI Rings. Qu-bit Nebulae v1 and Music Thing Modular Radio Thing are the key modules for sample playing and manipulation (Nebulae). Effect processing by Make Noise Mimeophon, uBurst (Clouds clone), Typhoon (expanded Clouds/Monsoon on SuperParasites fw), MN Phonogene and Endorphines Milky Way. All signals are mixed in 2x Intellijel Mixup and go as stereo mix from Befaco OUT into Korg D3200 digital mixer (12 bus 16/32 channel with 128 onboard DSP effects and EQ for each channel) and multitrack recorder (32 tracks,@ 48 kHz/44.1 kHz, 16-bit or 16 tracks,@ 48 kHz/44.1 kHz, 24-bit).

EDITED Jun 27th 2022, 23:35

Nice job...love the microcassette samples, what are you running that into on the right?

Hi there fellow wigglers,

This is my live Rack right now... I wand to get a flexible fx routing and an "easy to use" transitioning option.

I also have:

Arcaico Raverb, Doepfer Audio divider, f(h) plaque barreer, afa coma reactor, worng LRMSMSLR, a jomox rackonizer, a second joranalogue switch 4, doepfer 182-2 switch, multiples, doepfer dual switch, doepfer ring mod, doepfer random/ noise,

considering: Strymon magneto (thoughts on this one are welcome - the idea was to use it as a "not in time loop thing") , Verbos cv processor, Verbos random sampling, Worng vector space

What would you do to have a nice and easy way to rout FX, making transitions and sound design for this LIVE rack?

Mix is going to Octatrack, thats used to make the transitions on the meta level (like drops, beat change, ...) - so the rack transition should act as a subtle or slow changes option...

All opinions and thoughts are appreciated! No need to only work within the leftover rack space...

Thanks for your help
Cheers

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1720865.jpg

EDITED Oct 20th 2021, 09:00

The one thing I don't see is any sort of filter.

My tip for filling the remaining hp is to fill it with blank panels until you get to know the modules you have. As soon as you reach for a function that isn't available, that's the next module you should buy.
-- farkas

That is a good tip! I was just trying to see what the filled-to-the-brim case would look like. I plan to get Maths, Øchd and VCAs + attenuverters first and grow the synth from there as needs arise. I really enjoy the DFAM, so some modulation will allow me to get more out of it.

Der Mann Mit Der Maschine made waves this year on a recent synth exibit with his Motorized Fader for Eurorack. He is also responsible of the fantastic CV processor named DROID, a system made of 4 modules. It can do everything you'll need on a CV signal, the only border is our imagination, but well, we'll have to learn a few things before. Droid needs you to write a few easy lines of a specific code in order to actually do something, ut its done quite easily with the help of a comprehensive manual.
See Droid as a modular's modular.
I did a french review, it has caps.

Modulaire Maritime is known for his splendid euro cases and the few modules he has designed. We recently met and have a few breakfasts outside in the splendid city of Marseilles talking bout modular related stuff and especially the new Tarot, a "Pseudo Paraphonic Waveshaper". I finally got it from him directly and am very very happy with it.
It's a true animator for any waveform, but not only it shapes/folds/animates, it can do a lot from subtile to huge moves.
I did a video bout it (in french with captions) :