#2220

My bad, just wanted to talk 104HP, but maybe my comment was too broad?

#2221

It took most of my second year with modular to work that out. At this point Marbles is honestly my main sequencer, backed up by Teletype (usually for more complex clocking) and a Korg SQ-1. And lots of drones, or running fixed voltages through manual switches to change notes.

I still do occasionally use MIDI, and leaned on it heavily early on. For that I have CV.OCD ā€“ fairly cheap, 0HP, 4CV and 12 gate/trigger/clock outs, and much more configurable than many interfaces.

3 Likes
#2222

I really need some voltage sequencing next in my rig I think, the LFOs in the SWN are surprisingly useful though and cross patching with the CV and Gate out on The Morphagene can yield some interesting results. I guess this is the most appealing thing about modular to me is the Rube Goldberg machine aspect

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#2223

what manual switches are you using? Iā€™ve been having a lot of fun flipping the switches on my mannequins modules as part of the ā€˜performanceā€™ element of a patch and some kind ofā€¦ switch bank [?] seems like it would compliment my 16n nicely.

#2224

That is tricky in 104hp. Hereā€™s a brain dump:

Pico Drums would be your friend. Youā€™re clearly considering Varigate, which might work for you. Itā€™s worth a try, as itā€™s a lot of functionality in a small space, but itā€™s also dense, so you have to really grok itā€™s workflow to make it dynamic. There are a lot of options for sequencing obviously. You should get a uO_C, simply because Hemisphere Suite can do so much. If you like the ā€œRube Goldbergā€ quality of modular, it will give you a bunch of new toys in an easy to use, compact package. SWN is a huge module for that size of a case, but if you love it than stick with it. Itā€™s better to nail things down than to keep swapping things out until youā€™re sure. Morphagene and Radio Music is some of the most fun Iā€™ve had with modular, and I think Morphagene makes for a pretty fun module to ā€œplayā€ around with loops with when clocked. As mentioned, a filter would be good. Iā€™d recommend Sisters myself. QPAS is fine, but itā€™s huge and power hungry. Sisters can mix your voices for you too, if you want it to. Basimilus Iteritas Alter is also massively fun to play with in a groove box style case. Plaits is a ton of bang for the buck, so it seems right that youā€™re keeping it on board. Seems like Pamā€™s would also be happy in your case, even if itā€™s not the most exciting recommendation. Clocks, LFOā€™s, random. All easily controlled and scaled - though itā€™s mostly a set it and forget it module, as it doesnā€™t offer much in the way of control. Tuesday and Marbles are both a lot of fun (with different angles) if you want random sequencing. Iā€™d recommend Tuesday for a groovebox.

4 Likes
#2225

Iā€™ve got a Ladik P-075 Dual Switch ā€“ I liked the price and the combination toggle/momentary buttons which invert the toggles.

I kind of want a Divkid Mutes, but suspect for switching pitch CV directly, vactrols might not be the best idea.

I think if the ADDAC manual gates / manual latches module was combined so it was half and half, that would be my preferred switch.

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#2226

I have the SM010 and use it for audio. Works great. Also works for CV, but itā€™s not buffered so put your quantizer after it.

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#2227

Wow, thanks for all the responses; thanks for moving the question from another thread too !

Reading these has been enlightening.
I hope Iā€™ll be able to format correctly because im on my smartphone.

@tejomay, you highlighted my main problem, it is indeed choice; I feel quite overwhelmed by it. Its as if because everything is possible its hard to stay focused on a single path, while what I got from your answers is that I should, at least to some extent. For me modular isnt the components its all the roles a component can take depending on the context, but it is so easy to get lost.

On that point, thanks @grey for putting the emphasis on that. The truth is that Im not so sure what I want my rack to do anymore. My first intention was to create textural backgrounds mainly sample based, or live processing of acoustical/synth sources. my morphagene is perfect for that, but then I got a Plaits, and I guess it opened possibilities to different ways of manipulating synthesizer sounds and thats whats losing me right now. Should I just focus ? Its hard to be conjointly focused yet open minded on possibilites. And I dont really want to get caught in a consumerist train and buy many many modules just to explore while spending so much time and money just thinking about it, these last few days I took refuge on my piano because I couldnt not think about it once on an electronic instrumentā€¦ And you know sometimes this just feels like a luxury!

So I guess Im going to get back at it like this:
I want to build a 104hp focused on sample and live sound processing to provide mainly textural backdrops for my compositions. Id also like to have some kind of way to interface with it, thats easily manipulable and more than a knob; maybe a grid, or pressure points ? If in need, I can use an Analog four to sequence it.
And finally if theres a way in there to fit some synthesis, maybe as part of a module that fulfills an other role, like the three sisters i have, id be glad to. Im going to investigate this direction but any further help I will much appreciate.

Again thanks for all your responses !

#2228

would love to hear about how you use it with audio. I tried giving it a go last night but couldnt get it to work well. Part of that is likely my issue due to constantly confusing myself with the signal routing. I was trying to use the SM010 to allow me to use my 2 aux sends from the WMD performance mixer but route the sends to many (4-5) different effects. I ended up getting confused by it all and shelved it for the time being. I did get alot of distortion when i got to route more than 3 audio signals back and forth though, fwiw.

#2229

What is it that you want but can not do with your current system? In terms of both result and process? Answering that will help us and more importantly help yourself to get a sense of direction :slight_smile: I have a little 104hp rack that on itā€™s own for me is a mix of sample mangling plus some synthesis. Happy to discuss this if it helps.

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4 Likes
#2230

For switches, itā€™s worth looking into the Acid Rain Switchblade.

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#2231

For interfacing I am having a lot of fun with Pressure Points through a slew module (Maths in my case, but something simpler will do the job). Three rows of cv that changes with each active pad, and touch pads that are sensitive to touch area - allows room for expression.

Incidentally two modules Iā€™ve never thought about sellingā€¦

1 Like
#2232

I will second this, but it is worth noting that Switchblade isnā€™t bi-directional, so it only works for 2 inputs to 1 output scenarios.

#2233

I think getting into modular will slowly change the way you feel about sound and composition. So maybe part of the frustration is that you start to develop interest in areas you never cared much for before. In this light I think youā€™re fine. I found that making actual music through it all helped me figure out what should be a part of my future and what was just a passing fad.

6 Likes
#2234

I recently added an FH-2 to pair with Marbles. Itā€™s very easy to change the scales on Marbles via FH-2 interfacing with the DAW. You end up with the original sequence in the DAW and three related sequences out of Marbles. Iā€™ve been really happy with the results.

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#2235

have put together a fun little drum skiff and getting a lot of rhythmic options that I like, but am running into some timbrel difficulties (or, at least, could use some advice re: signal flow)

right now itā€™s two pico drums, pamā€™s, grids, cold mac, three sisters, and an optomix. I know thereā€™s a lot of potential for distortion here between sisters and optomix, and on an ā€˜earsā€™ level drums -> optomix -> sisters (have shuffled which in/outs Iā€™m using to taste) -> optomix aux -> reverb is sounding the best, but I wonder if thereā€™s a signal flow option Iā€™m missingā€¦

every discussion Iā€™ve found on drums in euro seems to just be a list of distortion modules to buy // a discussion on trigger sequencing (which is the ā€˜solvedā€™ part of the equation on my end).

#2236

What role is Optomix playing between pico drums and three sisters? Just as a mixer? Iā€™ve got a similar setup but havenā€™t put a VCA between standalone drum voices and a filter.

#2237

Yes, primarily as a mixer (esp. since sisters distorts ā€“ often I have the opto pots below noon). Also prefer the sound of drums through optomix before hitting sisters. Also going to try patching up sq-1 to optomix for emphasis reasons.

#2238

Nice idea with sq-1 for emphasis. I donā€™t make enough use of mine.

#2239

Iā€™d like to hear more about your setup in the drums thread.

Sorry, just to be clear: Are you experiencing unwanted distortion, or are you hoping to introduce it? Depending on how I read you post, Iā€™m seeing it both ways. :upside_down_face: