You've been working with this configuration for a month, right? What have you tried that did something you want to expand on? What have you tried that didn't work?
Hi all
I am very new to modular, and I have a bit of a weird system. As such, I am having some difficulty working out basic patches.
I'd really appreciate it if someone could show me some really basic patches for my system so that I can get started (also, so I can tell if it is 'operator error', or if something is not working properly).
Thanks
Happened to me one time and it was a dodgy Erica synths mixer. The way I identified it was buy putting my modules in one by one and then turning the power on and off to see if a particular module was causing the issue.
I'm so glad I put in the extra money and bought the Intellijel’s 84 hp 7u case which gives you 3000mA on the +12v compared to arturia's 1600mA (I think), I know people rave about Arturia products but I personally have never been lucky with that company. I had power issues with a beat step pro too and when I took it apart the usb power was unsoldered from the board - really poor and cheap design choices.
I'm new here and new to Eurorack. Would love to get some thoughts on what to add to this build.
Have purchased thus far: the case / Pittsburgh lifeforms / erica synths polivoks / maths. Others in the case I have not purchased yet but am leaning towards.
Interested at least for this rack in subtractive synthesis. Interested in melodic composition.
Have Moog DFAM and Matriarch as well as Arturia Drum Brute Impact with which to play.
Plan to sequence from DAW.
Plan to utilize pedal effects ( Strymon Big Sky / Erica Synths Zen Delay / Animal Factory God Eater / Empress Delay ) in addition to the BBD within Matriarch.
Conversations I have with myself include: a) quad LFO ? ( Batumi vs ? ) b) VCA options: tube VCA such as Erica Synths versus quad options versus something like Talin ?
I appreciate any and all thoughts.
Regards,
The same thing happened to me -- it went on but shortly after went off and the led on the power brick was off. Luckily I realized that the cable at the back of the power brick just loosened over time. So if you are panicking right now if you trashed your rack, make sure the cable (into the power brick) is properly inserted. (I needed a good amount of force to get it in, even if it looks plugged, it might not be).
Hi,
I am trying to understand which is the right card for flangers/phasers on the tiptop z-dsp series. it could be me but i can't really understand which one is the right one. Do they have a card with flangers/phaser? is the time-fabric the only one with pitch-shifter?
thanks
Mat
This is not the Module we deserve, but it is the one that we need!
Supposedly the noise goes away if you put a dummy load on the 5V line, but you'll never get a straight answer from anyone online as to how to go about that (don't ask me, nobody would tell me, either) because everyone assumes you'll kill yourself.
-- milkmilklemonade
I don't have one of these supplies so I can't speak to specifics of the noise problem, but a dummy load is just a big resistor from power to ground to ensure there's a minimum load on that rail by wasting a little energy as heat. As a wild ass guess based on that supply's specs (https://www.meanwell.com/productPdf.aspx?i=484 - 5V rail 5A, and they want 20%->1A minimum load) I'd probably start with a 10 ohm 50 watt (like https://www.amazon.com/LM-YN-Wirewound-Electronic-Industrial/dp/B071Z8B9FN) which will be a 0.5A load, and experiment from there with a second/third in parallel. The actual amount "required" will depend on the other 5V load in the system, and if it does help you'll want the smallest load that solves the problem, to minimize the wasted power/generated heat.
In my experience, that's how Meanwell power supplies are. Supposedly the noise goes away if you put a dummy load on the 5V line, but you'll never get a straight answer from anyone online as to how to go about that (don't ask me, nobody would tell me, either) because everyone assumes you'll kill yourself. These power supplies are not designed for powering modular synthesizers and can't really be relied on to be stable voltage sources. They're primarily intended to be used as 5V power supplies. You're paying for what you get. I used to have one in a small case and you could hear the pitch drift in the oscillators, they were never totally stable. I switched to an Endorphin.es 2hp power supply for that case and it cleared everything up.
Hey, I have 2x meanwell rt 65 b P/S. (9u case NANO BUS BORDS)
I have really bad noise problems. I puted 2 ferrites on wires before they go in bus board but it didint help.
Am looking on NKP (noise killer plugs), but not shure will it help.
I have noise only on filter modules. I user erica synth vcf1 and wasp filter.
If I put lfo in filter cv input then filter out to mixer (no audio input in filter)
I can hear lfo sweeping noise when audio is at 30%+ I need put my Volume at 20-29% so there is no noise.
If Only Filter module in case noise is there to.
Hey Lugia. I have 2x meanwell rt 65 b P/S.
I have really bad noise problems. I puted 2 ferrites on wires before they go in bus board but it didint help.
Am looking on NKP (noise killer plugs), but not shure will it help.
I have noise only on filter modules. I user erica synth vcf1 and wasp filter.
If I put lfo in filter cv input then filter out to mixer (no audio input in filter)
I can hear lfo sweeping noise when audio is at 30%+ I need put my Volume at 20-29% so there is no noise.
Marbles is playing the 2hp Bell (starts on 2hp Pluck, then I swap), that goes into Mimeophon, Marbles is being clocked by Mimeophon ;-)
Enjoy your spare HP, don't rush to fill every last space, this is not like filling sticker books. Resist the urge to 'complete' your rack, its never complete so just relax.
@modnico What are you going for? Do you have a budget? Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into? Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences? Lots of questions before could recommend something to fit your needs.
-- obscuremachines
@modnico What are you going for?
-- obscuremachines
The general idea is to set up a rack to create kicks and bass. I would like to integrate such rack with other gears that I have in my "studio" (bedroom) and be my DAW (Ableton installed in my Macbook ) as the center of the musical pruduction.
So, in other words, with Ableton I would like to arrange a song taking the kick and bass from the rack, and other synths sounds from other gears.
To connect the gears to my computer I'm using via USB a Fireface UCX connected via adat to a Beringher Ultragain PRO-8 digital (to have more inputs)
Do you have a budget?
-- obscuremachines
I don't know the budget. I'm not rich so I can't spend a lot of money on it. Let's see all the possibilities that will come out and I will make a decision based on what I can spend on it.
Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into?
-- obscuremachines
More than a case (which I could make it by myself) maybe I prefer to have a good power source in case I would expand the rack in the future.
Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences?
-- obscuremachines
I would like to be able to program sequence either via Ableton or with a controller MIDI connected to the rack
Thank you @obscuremachines for asking and helping me
>
A few things come to mind as I have actually built such a rack. One- a much larger case at least 6U and the bigger the better.
Two- you need a decent sequencer. I have great experience with ones like Winter Modular Eloquencer it can let you program sequences for recall later to use as preset templates plus view all 8 trigger and cv tracks on one screen- very handy for live use.
-- sacguy71
Hi @sacguy71
the sequencer that you have suggested is very interesting, above all in combination with the EME module (MIDI expansion). If I understood correctly I could connect a MIDI device (like a MIDI pad controller) and play the Jomox with it. Right?
FIRST ROW
- first module “the trigger sequencer” for the Jomox. I don’t know if I want to go just with a knob to assign steps to the sequence. I would prefer to do it with pads. Maybe even through a kind of MIDI controller (or keyboard)
- same for the synth part. I own an Arturia Keystep and I could use it to play and sequence the Bouchla 258t.
- the Antimatter Audio Crossfold seems cool (watching some Youtube videos) and the Dual Borg filter sounds amazing.
For a sequencer with pads checkout the new TrigSec-1 from Tenderfoot Electronics. He is also coming out with a new clock with some great features. It is tempting me to reconfigure the reconfiguration of my drum pod...
I would just stick in a Squid Salmple and Pams for starters and then go from there. Probably as much modulation I could cram into the remaining space.
Hi all,
I've been into Eurorack for a year or so now, and have finally got a rack which can start doing some things (allowing me to move away from VCV). I'd be interested in advice on expanding the rack with the intention of creating generative ambient.
I thing some kind of delay is a necessity (I'm thinking the Befaco Lich), and I'm not really in love with Plaits (so maybe I need some kind of filter or wave folder to get more interesting noises out of it).
Here's a pic, and happy to get any feedback: https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1508602.jpg
I LOVE Palette challenges! This is a rig I did and yeah it's for techno, but there's a way to set up Pam's so that you can use the CV in to change the loop length and you effectively end up with Turing Machine style generative patterns. Couple that with Euclidean for some fun. Add a Ladik Dual Probability Skipper for even more variation. You can also use Pam's in the same way to generate quantized CV patterns!
Also, for 1U take a look at the Mosaic 1U drums...they are really good. I use the Bass Drum and their Low Pass as a sub bass sometimes in addition to normal drum duties.
@modnico What are you going for? Do you have a budget? Do you want a big case eventually to do other stuff and grow into? Do you want generated sequences, do you want to program sequences? Lots of questions before could recommend something to fit your needs.
great build @Lugia
@modnico - the compressor will be useful but bear in mind that you could make a side chain easily in Lugia's build with a spare envelope from the quadrax which will need to be inverted and a spare vca. If you are only using the rack for kick and bass this is what I would do
Yeah, there's a lot missing here. For one thing, if this is to do all of those things you want, well...it's doable, but not in that cab. Gonna poke at this and get 'er set up right...
(a few minutes later)
OK...kick and bass. This has those in spades! I rebuilt the whole thing in an A-100 2x84 cab, for starters...and that's important, as the Jomox module you want is pretty deep. Given that the whole draw is nowhere near a Doepfer A-100P6's current load limit, plus the roadcase build on the cab itself, means that this is pretty much a goof-proof rig that'll work for both studio AND live use. Here's what's in there...TOP: First up is an EMW trigger sequencer, with 8 steps for each of 8 memories. This is for the Jomox, right next to it. Then a Bastl Popcorn handles your pitch sequencing (and it's internally quantized!) for the thing next to it...a Buchla 258t from Tiptop's collab line with Buchla USA. This oscillator is the grandpa of most complex VCOs out there, because it can internally modulate VCO1 against VCO2, or you can use one as a modulating suboscillator to get huge subbass notes. Or a lot of other things, for that matter. And to help do that, there's an Intellijel uVCA that'll allow you to impose modulation onto the output levels of each 258t VCO, so you could have VCO1 sounding, and then let VCO2 fade in its audio modulation to modulate it. Loads of possibilities...and if that's not interesting enough, the Antimatter Audio Crossfold wave processor allows you to create a composite waveshaped signal by having inputs for both 258t VCOs. Last up is the classic Wiard Dual Borg Filter, which is actually not merely a filter pair, but the individual filters can be switched into lowpass gate mode. This means you can use VCF1 there for timbral shaping, then set VCF2 to the lowpass gate mode and send it some fast envelopes for PUNCH.
BOTTOM: Pam's. You've got two sequencers, so you'll probably find it useful for those as well as other clocking/sequencing duties. The uMotion is a clone of the Mutable Tides; I'd have rather put in the actual thing, but the space dictated otherwise. Then a Mutable Shades and another uVCA handle the modulation treatments. An Intellijel Quadrax/Qx provides envelopes as well as further looped envelopes in case more LFOs come into play. And with the Qx, you can "cascade" envelope triggers and turn the whole thing into a really complex modulation source. Then we get into FX...the Stasis Leak gives you a tap-tempo delay, plus stereo reverb and/or stereo chorus, and the Messor is the stereo compressor with sidechain that you need to get that French House "pump" going. Branch off a signal from the kick, and there you go! For mixing, I went with a Tesseract Tex-Mix, so there's four mono inputs (with VCAs...these are your final audio chain VCAs), and the master module for that contains two AUX send/returns, your headphone preamp, a monitor/cue output, and pretty much a partridge in a damn pear tree! And last, a Happy Nerding Isolator...which you'll be very glad of if you take this to live gigs, with their typical janky AC. The Isolator does two things: 1) - it kills DC, and you want DC killed as excessive DC in your output will kill things like amps, speakers, etc. But it also 2) - prevents crud from getting into the modular via the outputs (ie: everyone's fave - ground loops).
So, yeah...it's bigger and it costs more. But it's now COMPLETE...and as low-end instruments go, this one might have what it takes to give ME and my top-secret CZ-101 subsine bass patch (has been known to cause structural damage! really!) a real run for the money. Plus, this is no sonic one-trick box...the bass voice architecture is loaded with modification tricks, the sequencers let you do set-n-forget setups, there's ample modulation and modifiers for that, and you get a true performance mixer on top of that that can be expanded with more Tex-Mix expansion modules when "M0AR" happens.
-- Lugia
Hi @Lugia
Thank you for your amazing and very informative answer. It goes beyond my expertise in modular field (which is close to zero), I had to read it more than once and I’m still reading it, again and again, to try to get it fully.
For now, are coming to my mind these questions:
FIRST ROW
- first module “the trigger sequencer” for the Jomox. I don’t know if I want to go just with a knob to assign steps to the sequence. I would prefer to do it with pads. Maybe even through a kind of MIDI controller (or keyboard)
- same for the synth part. I own an Arturia Keystep and I could use it to play and sequence the Bouchla 258t.
- the Antimatter Audio Crossfold seems cool (watching some Youtube videos) and the Dual Borg filter sounds amazing.
SECOND ROW
- not sure what to do with the PAM. It seems to be an impressive clock/sequencer. Should I use it to control the other two sequencers?
- why do I need another uVCA for envelopes? (noob question)
- Sidechain: watching Youtube videos I noted that side-chain effect can be achieved without compression. That’s why I added a Maths module in my rack. I don’t know which way is better though.
- With Tesseract can I connect the rack to my DAO via Fireface UCX and make a kind of hybrid system?
I have a few gears and I use Ableton. I would like to integrate the rack to the DAO.
So the rack will be my kick and bass ext module, the other gears (various synths) as .. synths, and the DAO my post-production point.
Keeping this thread alive by dropping some more heavily lit jams.
I like some bits and pieces of this and dislike a whole lot. Next would be something this full and distorted but with more control over pitch and more variation detail in the drum voices. Any suggestions and patch ideas are more than welcome.
Before I forget: This is not using my tiny ORCA midi sequencer form the last post, but for the curious I made a tiny guide and put it on the ModWiggler DIY section as it's not a eurorack only thing: https://www.modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=257717
The Machine: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1601144
Great video! I've subscribed...was a particular video that you watched on Beads that inspired you for doing this in Morphagene? Would you share if it was one in particular? What is the module sandwiched between Maths and Plaits? Also learned a new technique to try out with my Maths (looping envelopes to create a drone) :)
JB
I have my drums setup in a 64hp 4ms Pod. Currently it looks like this...
But I am not super happy with it. It requires external clock input and while Kompass is pretty great it only has three triggers out and I need more than that so I am still pulling more triggers and gates from Pams in my main case.
This is the dream that will eventually be reality.
The Shakmat Clock O Pawn is awesome and the Time Wizard is great too and provides all the triggers I would need and is super playable. I have really liked what I have heard/seen from the Prok drums and I have one Disting mk4 for samples and one for effects. The vortices mixer is overkill, but the feedback looping you can do with it is crazy. Ochd is just there to modulate things. The only thing I am missing is a way to sidechain the kick.
I bought a 1010Music BitBox. It responds on up to 16 triggers, or I can avoid the mess using MIDI (some sequencers output MIDI as well as CV). There are four outputs so it's decent for separating my outs if I need that. I can add new samples to the SD card, and with a little bit of XML editing on NotePad++, I can quickly put together whatever I need and avoid doing things slowly on the front panel.
I have some other stuff capable of percussion like the BIA... but sample playback seems to offer the most bang for the buck. There are plenty of samplers and ROMplers out there. You don't have to go with BitBox. But I would just rather sink resources into other areas besides percussion.
UBMs are no joke.
-- Vtapes
No lie! I've got two of these monsters living in here, tech-matched. And they don't just do kick drums, they can tweeze out some very strange metallics, percussive clicks, and so on. Stocki had the right idea, using these...but he didn't have a TR-606 laying around. I discussed my (ab)use of these with Cholly's assistant, Bryan Wolf, when I was over for studies in 2001, and mentioned the "damage potential" and his eyes got wide. I just smiled and said "yeah...well, I like the sound of shattering plaster!" Which they found to be quite cool, actually; remember, this is the period where Stockhausen and a certain Mr. James from Cornwall were in fairly constant contact.
Actually, you can make a very workable one in LESS than 62 hp + tiles. The build below is designed for a 4ms 48X Pod:
Temps Utile for basic sequencing/clock, Delptronics LBD-2 set which contains a number of classic electro-style circuits, Doepfer Quad Decay to give percussive envelopes off to the Mazzatron Quad Lowpasses, which can process up to four of the drum sounds from the LBD-2, then this all gets mixed down to mono with an Erogenous Tones Levit8, and the mix then has a Zlob 3-band "tone stack"-type EQ at then end to manually emphasize various different timbral accentuations.
Pretty easy, really. Took all of 10 minutes. HOWEVER...with the Pod, this would run you over $1k. And THAT is one of the big reasons why drums belong in drum machines.
You can totally make a cool groove box in 62, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! I've got a percall-based drum rack in 48hp and it rules.
I think the pallette case only has 12 headers (probably you can extend somehow, but not sure), so that might be a limitation.
my notes w/ it:
-The kickall looks badass, but you can make a pretty sweet kick w/ a vco + percall + attenuation if you wanted to save a module. If you ran the envelope out from the percall into the pitch of the VCO w/ some attenuation you can get a good kick timbre.
-I do white noise for 'hats' channels 3/4 and combo a mult of it with the pico vco for a snare (which sounds good).
-A simple drum machine w/ percall could be: VCO + Pico VCO + Percall + Attenuation + White Noise + Triggers. a module like the Junction (or a triplatt, etc.) can mix the noise and do the attenuation. For this i went with:
- Percall / 1u VCO / Pico VCO / Noise Tools (which can be the sample and hold and a slew!) / Junction
- with the 1U midi, that leaves 43hp and four headers of room for whatever sequencing, voice, effects you are interested in! The pico drums could hop back in as well.
Trigger Sequencing: There are tons of ways to go. I like things that you can 'mute' to make it for fun to play, so i'd go with something like a Tempi, Permutation, or a Running Order. I put in the Maestro, which I haven't tried, but think it'd be cool in this set-up, given that it can trigger or make complex (and mutable) modulation
-Just to 'finish it off' I also put a domino as a voice and a Milky Way for effects (and mixing). For cv sequencing the domino, i thought quantizing (the disting) a LFO (attenuated by the junction) from the maestro would be good way to get melodic cv.
-Other cool sequencing options I could see: Marbles (which would be another way to get melodic cv) and the Kompass for drums. Though, these don't have 'mutes'.
-Honorable Mention: Dark Matter. Running percall into that is pretty savage.
I think i'd prob have fun with this:
https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1819734.jpg
Thanks for the very thoughtful feedback, Ronin.
I also have this linked his up with my studio gear (Lexicon Delays, guitar pedalboard, Sub37, & (B)2600, samplers, etc.)
I also just picked up a (b) Pro-1.
There are many colors in this audio paintbox. Lots to learn and I'm loving the process.
Cheers!
Command Centre thumbnails (rack images) for the past few weeks/months(?) seem to be regenerating/refreshing erratically, with racks of the same specification rendering at different sizes, then those preview sizes changing when "update screenshot preview" is selected. There are other sizing behaviours I can't figure out, but I'm finding it almost impossible to view all my racks at the same size (when they're the same sized racks). This is a relatively new behaviour/bug but I can't say when it started. I'm using both the latest Chrome and Firefox browsers under Win 7 Pro. It seems dependent on how many "columns" of racks are displayed, and the width of the browser window - I'll get one full column of racks that are much larger previews than others. Anyone else getting this? Cheers!
Hi Troux,
I hope you are doing well? Haven't heard from you for a while... and well... you know...
I was wondering... how is the compilation going alone? :-)
No pressure, just checking ;-) Thank you very much in advance and kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Hi ModLifeCrises,
Nice to hear from you again and to watch one of your lovely videos :-)
This might sound silly, though I can't become a subscriber of your video channel yet because I don't have an account with YouTube yet. I feel it's a pity that only if you have an account with YouTube and login, only then you can subscribe or like a video. I plan to become a member on the mid-long term, once done that, I definitely will become a subscriber of your video channel at YouTube!
Meanwhile I would like to wish you success with the continuation of your video creations, keep up the good work and kind regards, Garfield.
For review reports of Eurorack modules, please refer to https://garfieldmodular.net/ for PDF formatted downloads
Well, with those two modules, you will have an arm and a leg of a drummer. So that is allready a half drummer :)
-- M01C
Just an update:
I managed to get sorted bring the individual audio outs of my drum machine in to my case by using x2 Erica Synths Links
http://www.modulargrid.net/e/erica-synths-link
It's meant to take a Modular level 3.5mm connection DOWN to Line level 1/4" Jack but.... it also takes a 1/4" Line level and bumps it up to Modular level with a 3.5mm output. In other words it works in both directions so two of them give me 8 channels in and out.
£49.99 each at Signal Sounds, perfect for getting my external gear in to the case.
Thoughts:
Remove the DFAM from the case (mentioned above). Rackspace is expensive AF. Your DFAM is taking up nearly 1/3rd.
Remove the blank panels from your virtual rack. It'll make it easier to figure out how much HP is left in this build for modules.
Passive mults are okay. But they really aren't worth devoting HP space to. They can easily be done in-line. Intellijel has little red passive mult boxes that are dirt cheap. Just keep a couple of those about.
I prefer grouping my "like" modules together: oscillators next to oscillators, envelope generators next to envelope generators, etc. It makes it easier to find things for me.
Things to explore:
I couldn't find a noise source in the rack. Noise (especially white and pink) are great for thickening up sounds, generating random voltages (with help), etc.
Sample and Hold. Look into this. They are often paired up with noise generators.
Quantizers.
Small sequencers. It seems that Yarns is your primary source for pitched CV and gates. A small format sequencer is nice for those times when you don't want to use an external device OR if you're looking for some looping modulation.
Dedicated mixer. I see the Dreadbox VCA/Mixer unit. A small dedicated mixer that can handle audio and DC (control voltage) would give you more flexibility. The Maths can be drafted to do this. But it's a bit of a waste for the Maths.
Small multi-function modules like Ornaments & Crime, Pam's New Workout, Disting EX, Temps Utile, etc. are always great for exploring new functionality and options.
Enjoy yourself.
Thank you Lugia & Jim!
I really appreciate your insights. Helps to put things into perspective.
Looks like it is time to do some shopping/trading.
KR, Graigless
A few things come to mind as I have actually built such a rack. One- a much larger case at least 6U and the bigger the better.
Two- you need a decent sequencer. I have great experience with ones like Winter Modular Eloquencer it can let you program sequences for recall later to use as preset templates plus view all 8 trigger and cv tracks on one screen- very handy for live use. You need a good trigger sequencer that cannot be understand. Third- attenuators are key and VCAs with envelopes will be essential for drums and bass. Fourth- effects- some reverb is nice on the kick drum and can spice things up a bit. I have the Jomox module and love it but it does take up a lot of space. For bass, any low tuned VCO works. I get mileage out of the Doepfer basic VCO and Noise Engineering Cursus Iteritas. Feed it through a nice filter for squelchy effects when you crank the resonance and get fat bass! I use Doepfer SEM filter and Doepfer Wasp filter for my bass eurorack filters to great results.
The Hyper Fist from Beast-Tek today.
A very audio-rich but, with some quirks to the build. Video is a bit long because I spent more time in the demo section that usual even though I barely scratched the surface on this beast.
Moderate complexity build.
Recommended.
C.K. builds a Hyper Fist from Beast-tek eurorack module
Would it be possible to display the current firmware version for modules where applicable..?
Would depend on the community/manufacturer to keep it up to date but would mean I look in one place
Sounds like something's misconnected. Did you verify the polarity on all of the ribbon cables? Given that this was a result of a rearrangement, that would be my guess.
-- Lugia
it was my Doepfer clock divider ribbon cable that was connected wrong
https://www.facebook.com/BrokenFormAudio
Got a Mantis Case and a Grandterminal+expander for sale,PM Me
NB: I'm also actually a tad AFRAID of the RD-8, for one specific reason: there will eventually be a point in time where I'll get curious enough to run its kick through one of my UBMs, and an UBM can turn a 606 "blip" kick into Marvin the Martian's "Earth-shattering KABOOM!". If you hear something about part of downstate Illinois being reduced to a smoking hole of rubble, that'll probably be the result.
-- Lugia
Yeah I noticed that TipTop was bring Buchla stuff over to euro, which is really cool. I might check out those modules and see what I can fit in. I do really love the west coast sound. At the moment I do own Elektron's fm drum machine called model:cycles. It can do some great kicks and hats on its own, and if I sample it I can make them shine. All Behringer hate aside, that RD-8 is a great piece of gear. Hopefully you can keep your ear drums and Illinois safe. UBMs are no joke.
Yeah, leave the Frap stuff in there if you're comfy with it. And to build onto it, you might want to have a look at the Tiptop Buchla collab modules, which are starting to show up now. Hell, this is awfully West Coast as it is, and if you go with the Buchla stuff, you can take it right over the edge into that! Maths is also a great fit into that, too...plus there's a few more Buchla-esque things out there (like Feedback's timbre shapers, etc) that can nail it right on down. But those Buchla modules are missing one critical thing...the HIDEOUS pricetag! The 258t, f'rinstance = $200. Which is utterly BONKERS!!! And they'll also integrate nicely with the sampling aspect, as something like their 281t ($220!!!) is perfect for elaborate keying envelope patterns via the quadrature function.
The Pulsar's a really good idea, too...I've found over the years that "compartmentalizing" the different musical functions, while it results in more gear laying around, does make it a lot easier to keep your mind focussed on the task at hand, instead of trying to do several things at once in the same box. One thing I'd suggest adding to the Pulsar, though, would be a more "conventional" drum machine...you'd use that for the obvious sounds (kick, hats, etc) and then the Pulsar can take care of percussive noises, weird hits, and other things it likes to do. I actually just picked up one of Uli's RD-8s (TR-808 clone...and rather convincing-sounding at that!), and that might make a good pairing with a Pulsar in that sort of usage.
NB: I'm also actually a tad AFRAID of the RD-8, for one specific reason: there will eventually be a point in time where I'll get curious enough to run its kick through one of my UBMs, and an UBM can turn a 606 "blip" kick into Marvin the Martian's "Earth-shattering KABOOM!". If you hear something about part of downstate Illinois being reduced to a smoking hole of rubble, that'll probably be the result.
Hey Lugia! I've been lurking in these forums for a bit and have seen your tips and advice, and they've helped a lot.
You know, I have been eyeballing Soma's Pulsar23. It would be better to bite the bullet and save for that some day than to waste hp in this case with drum stuff. In the mean time I can load samples up on my sampler and use those. Message heard loud and clear on the nerdseq expanders, and mults removed. I am going to go with some stackables. You make a fair point about the Castle, I'd be better off placing it in some sort of smaller case like that if I find that I still want it later.
Do you think I should make this case strictly centered on the Brenso and sampling? I am thinking about adding Supercritical's Demon core for some more cool sounds and chords and leave the rest to modulators, attenuators, etc.
Yeah, there's a lot missing here. For one thing, if this is to do all of those things you want, well...it's doable, but not in that cab. Gonna poke at this and get 'er set up right...
(a few minutes later)
OK...kick and bass. This has those in spades! I rebuilt the whole thing in an A-100 2x84 cab, for starters...and that's important, as the Jomox module you want is pretty deep. Given that the whole draw is nowhere near a Doepfer A-100P6's current load limit, plus the roadcase build on the cab itself, means that this is pretty much a goof-proof rig that'll work for both studio AND live use. Here's what's in there...
TOP: First up is an EMW trigger sequencer, with 8 steps for each of 8 memories. This is for the Jomox, right next to it. Then a Bastl Popcorn handles your pitch sequencing (and it's internally quantized!) for the thing next to it...a Buchla 258t from Tiptop's collab line with Buchla USA. This oscillator is the grandpa of most complex VCOs out there, because it can internally modulate VCO1 against VCO2, or you can use one as a modulating suboscillator to get huge subbass notes. Or a lot of other things, for that matter. And to help do that, there's an Intellijel uVCA that'll allow you to impose modulation onto the output levels of each 258t VCO, so you could have VCO1 sounding, and then let VCO2 fade in its audio modulation to modulate it. Loads of possibilities...and if that's not interesting enough, the Antimatter Audio Crossfold wave processor allows you to create a composite waveshaped signal by having inputs for both 258t VCOs. Last up is the classic Wiard Dual Borg Filter, which is actually not merely a filter pair, but the individual filters can be switched into lowpass gate mode. This means you can use VCF1 there for timbral shaping, then set VCF2 to the lowpass gate mode and send it some fast envelopes for PUNCH.
BOTTOM: Pam's. You've got two sequencers, so you'll probably find it useful for those as well as other clocking/sequencing duties. The uMotion is a clone of the Mutable Tides; I'd have rather put in the actual thing, but the space dictated otherwise. Then a Mutable Shades and another uVCA handle the modulation treatments. An Intellijel Quadrax/Qx provides envelopes as well as further looped envelopes in case more LFOs come into play. And with the Qx, you can "cascade" envelope triggers and turn the whole thing into a really complex modulation source. Then we get into FX...the Stasis Leak gives you a tap-tempo delay, plus stereo reverb and/or stereo chorus, and the Messor is the stereo compressor with sidechain that you need to get that French House "pump" going. Branch off a signal from the kick, and there you go! For mixing, I went with a Tesseract Tex-Mix, so there's four mono inputs (with VCAs...these are your final audio chain VCAs), and the master module for that contains two AUX send/returns, your headphone preamp, a monitor/cue output, and pretty much a partridge in a damn pear tree! And last, a Happy Nerding Isolator...which you'll be very glad of if you take this to live gigs, with their typical janky AC. The Isolator does two things: 1) - it kills DC, and you want DC killed as excessive DC in your output will kill things like amps, speakers, etc. But it also 2) - prevents crud from getting into the modular via the outputs (ie: everyone's fave - ground loops).
So, yeah...it's bigger and it costs more. But it's now COMPLETE...and as low-end instruments go, this one might have what it takes to give ME and my top-secret CZ-101 subsine bass patch (has been known to cause structural damage! really!) a real run for the money. Plus, this is no sonic one-trick box...the bass voice architecture is loaded with modification tricks, the sequencers let you do set-n-forget setups, there's ample modulation and modifiers for that, and you get a true performance mixer on top of that that can be expanded with more Tex-Mix expansion modules when "M0AR" happens.
I think you'd be better off without trying to do drum sounds in the build. The Taiko does take up a load of room, but the better reason is that you can get much more mileage out of a prebuilt drum machine and some FX than you would with trying to replicate drum functions in the cab. A few more things that could go include the Nerdseq expanders, all of the mults (you shouldn't need buffered mults...there's not enough CV scaling stuff in here to justify them) should probably be removed in deference to some inline mults and/or stackcables. Another thing: the VCAs in the Tangle Quartet are linear VCAs, and while you can use them for audio, it's much better to use logarithmic VCAs for that, as those have a response curve that more approximates how we perceive loudness. Or better still, something based on the Veils (or the Veils itself) where you've got an adjustable response that can go anywhere from linear to logarithmic.
As for the Akemie's, that thing is such a CHONK that you might be better off just sticking it in one of 4ms's powered Pod cabs and treating it like a standalone instrument...which wouldn't be a bad thing, as algorithmic FM in of itself doesn't need filtering, etc. If necessary, you could even go with a Palette 62, as that'll have enough room for the Akemie's, plus an Intellijel Quadrax/Qx for the envelopes needed for modulating the index, etc. And you can use the tile row there for your I/O and a few other useful things (like a Quadratt for mixing envelopes with inversion if needed).
Hi guys
This is my first attempt to plan a rack.
My goal is to set a simple kick and bass rack.
I like the Jomox kick sound and I found Erica black double bass module interesting. To play such module I would need a VCO which I choose Pico from Erica.
With Maths module, I would like to side chain the kick and the bass.
Questions:
- Do I need other modules? (maybe a VCA?)
- Is the power module enough or is it better to choose something more powerful?
- I have as an audio interface a Fireface UCX. Which is the best way to connect the rack to the UCX?
Thank you in advance guys for your time.
I don't know if it's a matter of too many voices per say, as much as it is a matter of too many hp taken up with voices. Here are a couple things to consider:
-- Do you need the Nerdseq expanders? This is still a fairly small system, and I find it a little unlikely that you'll need so many extra triggers and CV outs.
-- Shakespeare
You are right. I forgot to mention that I would pair this with the semi-failed rackbrute setup I have which has about 4 voices and other things needing modulation. However, even then it is probably overkill.
As much as I don't want to get rid of Taiko, it does take up too much space so I think I will replace it. Stages will probably be a lot better use of the hp than the Megaslope. For vcas I think I was going to use the tangle quartets as mixers/utility, and then the exponential vcas for audio. Not sure if that makes sense, but I may have gone overboard. I am taking suggestions to heart in a duplicated rack, even removing the Castle to see what can take its place.
Thank you for the advice!
I don't know if it's a matter of too many voices per say, as much as it is a matter of too many hp taken up with voices. Here are a couple things to consider:
-- Do you need the Nerdseq expanders? This is still a fairly small system, and I find it a little unlikely that you'll need so many extra triggers and CV outs. Maybe start out with just the basic sequencer, then add an expander later once you're sure you need it (and you may find that you need one or the other, but not both).
-- I'd go with BIA over Taiko just for hp savings.
-- 10 VCAs seems like a lot for a system of this size, so I think you could cut the DVCA (yeah, yeah, I know, you can never have too many, sure).
-- The Castle is huge. If you're dead set on it, you might swap the Megaslope for a function generator that uses fewer hp.
