#19

Doepfer modules are not all that dense. They tend to do one thing well. This is an advantage in that you are truly pursuing a modular approach. This is a disadvantage in that a complete system can take up a lot of HP. Fortunately the modules are a bit less expensive, so that can help with the increased cost of a larger case.

Point I’m trying to make is that Doepfer is a great starting point, but “the best” is a very subjective evaluation.

#20

everything in this thread is subjective. that said, I’ve been on mw for almost a decade (and mostly participating in euro discussions) – the amount of confusion that occurs when new players enter modular with ‘dense’ modules is staggering. doepfer is advantageous because it’s affordable and provides good clarity for how specific functions can or should interact.

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#21

Sure. But the thing I’m trying to say, more than “Buy [x]” is “learn about what you’re buying and think hard about it before you buy it”.

And there’s a reason new people buy dense modules. HP/$ constraints are real.

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#22

I don’t think we are in disagreement-- imo doepfer is the easiest way to learn about modular systems and figure out what you need, especially for a new player.

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#23

Lunchbox cases are worthy of consideration:

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#24
#25

Haha, I just watched this on the train home today. Spooky coincidence! I think I’ve decided to start small and simple. Single oscillator, filter with vca, and a modulation source. Combined with the system 1m and Werkstatt should give me plenty to play with.

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#26

Cheers for this. These are now back in stock so I have one on order.

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#27

So I have been made an offer for my system 1m that is more than I paid so I’m going to sell to add to my rack. I’m thinking about adding a maths to this setup for its versatility. I value the opinion of the collective lines mind here… Is this a wise addition?

Screenshot_20170802-170330~2.png1080×642 846 KB

I am sequencing with circuit via cvocd and have an effects send on my (now fixed) tapco mixer, where I can apply reverb and delay(s).

#28

I can’t imagine an argument against Maths having a use in any modular case. I think it’s one of the more essential multi-purpose modules.

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#29

you without a doubt would be able to find many uses for a maths module. it’s one of those modules (although also i generally think all of them are this) that you realize how much you need it or don’t need it/gel with it or don’t gel with it once you have it. luckily the 2nd hand modular market is thriving and you can easily buy and sell for the same price fairly quickly.

my advice about adding modules would be to, instead of immediately going to those “crucial” forum hype modules and trying to find ways to need them with your setup, look at your rack and imagine all the things you can do with it and all the things you would like to do with it. if there is something you want to do but can’t, figure out what module would get you there. if you can do everything you want… stop buying modules :grin: (i should take my own advice)

have fun!! maths is a great tool and you probably wouldn’t regret getting one, if not at least trying one out for yourself.

5 Likes
#30

Maths is definitely an useful module but in your case there could very probably be ways of filling 20HP that would be more useful to you…

You already have LFOs/modulations well covered by the Batumi and O&C, and even though Maths does more than that, I’m not sure it’d necessarily be the best thing for your specific system.

What are you using the modular with (if there are other things), and what would you like to do now but can’t ? The answers to these questions should drive whatever you get to complete your system.

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#31

I think it’d go nicely with that top row:

  • you have a nice set of looping modulation (LFOs) in Batumi
  • you have some dedicated VCAs
  • you have sound sources that like modulation
  • O+C is a catch-all but not super-manipulable given its UI.

so you’d get some triggerable modulation, or some interesting looping things, or some audio-rate utilities, or a grab-back of useful tools to have on hand.

@stripes is definitely right about working out what you want and avoiding “forum-hype”.

And yet: I’m increasingly convinced that some kind of (dual) function generator is a super, super handy thing to have, and unlocks lots of things that modular synthesizers can do: yes, it can be ‘a pair of envelopes’ and you can loop them to make cycling modulation (and, using the offset channels, make them genuinely bipolar). But there’s so much more in there - making use of the EOR/EOC channels to delay gates, or generate square/pulse waves, or using a channel as a slew, or a crude filter, or etc, etc. And a key part of what makes Maths specifically interesting is the way its voltage math channels - the attenuverted 2/3 channels - interact with channels 1/4, if you like. The other trick with Maths is not to think of using it for something that isn’t complicated or rich as ‘a waste of Maths’; if you need a trigger delay, and you have a Maths channel free, use Maths!

It also unlocks a more west-coast (sorry) style of patching that I, personally, find interesting and rich, and barely represented outside modular. I think it’s a key part of the vernacular of the modular synthesizer, and Maths is a great way of discovering it.

@oscillateur is also right in terms of asking you what you want to do, though. 20HP of Maths is a lot if it’s not quite what you’re interested in or need, though I reckon you’d never get rid of it and get a lot of use out of it. But if your inkling to acquire one is ‘maybe I need a Maths, I dunno’, then perhaps there’s another direction to go in first.

As with so much in modular land: it all depends on what you want. Maths is one of the few things I think is never a waste of time, simply because it’s such an effective tool at reprogramming one’s brain as to what synthesizers can do or can be.

2 Likes
#32

Thanks for the advice. I was looking at for several of the reasons you listed, so I’m glad you brought them up.

#33

Quick question for any users of CV OCD. I was running a sequence (for the last junto) from my circuit into rings v/Oct and it seemed to miss the first note when the phrase looped. I am totally stumped as to what was going on. Is there something really obvious I am overlooking?

#34

Are you also triggering Rings with a gate out?

If Rings is just being fed V/Oct, it will automatically trigger as long as the pitch is changing. If the last note of the sequence and the first note are the same, you won’t get a retrigger. Solutions are: patch a gate into strum for each note of the sequence, or, don’t end the sequence with the same note it begins.

#35

That’s the reason! Thank you @infovore. I forgot to connect a gate (or my cheap radio for noise source) to the strum in. I knew I had to have missed something obvious.

Everyday is a learning day! :smiley:

#36

you probably don’t want to connect noise to strum - strum is just a trigger input to make a new note. If you’re looking to use your own noise as impulse, you should connect it to IN. Note that you’d still need a STRUM input - when you hit strum, if nothing’s connected to IN, Rings normalises an appropriate source (noise or pulse depending on the mode it’s in).

I mean, it could be interesting, but I’m not sure that’s the effect you were looking for.

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#37

Oops, that’s what I meant to say! Early morning coffee not doing its job haha!

#38

I’m guessing a filter could be useful in there. There’s lots of DIY options. 99% of my small case I have bought 2nd hand or DIY.

I guess you have the clock sorted now. I was looking at the MIDI Bastl, but they don’t make them anymore.