I’m working on a smaller setup at the moment - currently 3u 84 hp down from 9u 84hp but I plan to go for about 104hp in the future as I think it might be a sweet spot.
My 84hp initially had Morphagene in it but I took it out last week. It’s great fun to play around with and you can create some amazing textures, but it always felt somehow separate to the rest of the rack. It was a second voice, essentially - and I decided that if I was going to use it I’d rather have it as a standalone instrument ideally in a 4ms Pod type thing (though I’ve heard it doesn’t fit). Instead, my small system would focus on what can be achieved with one voice: currently an STO into a 2hp LPF and then into Magneto with both Stages and Maths for modulation and envelopes. And I guess that’s the decision - do you want the 104hp to be a voice contributing to a wider setup? (e.g. other instruments, computers, synths, etc.) Or do you want it to be its own thing with multiple simultaneous voices? I’m sure if I’d spent more time with Morphagene I could have better incorporated it.
I can really recommend Sisters as a filter and I’ve been hot swapping it with the STO using it as a main voice too - which is also really lovely. It’s also lovely with the Mangrove, which I’ve never been able to tame so it’s sitting in a box for now until I get the slightly larger rack.
I love the Magneto. Can’t recommend it enough, even with all the hp. You can take your one voice and turn it into a chorus.
One of the reasons I’m pairing down is to get away from the indecision that comes from having Plaits, Rings, etc. all in one case. I’ve found more pleasure and more immediacy in modulating a smaller number of sound sources. So how about a Cold Mac so you can have the Mangrove and Braids dance and swirl around each other? I’ve never really understood mine - but I’m hoping that’ll change now!
As for the Disting, ultimately I found I was mostly using it for a few key functions and I preferred instead hiving those out to 2hp modules instead.
