#1127

Yeah, you can try Plaits on VCV Rack, and the Befaco Rampage is also available there for free, and is a function generator that is similar to Maths.

If you have a midi controller with knobs, you can map those to controls in VCV rack and effectively get the hands-on aspect of modular right away.

#1128

I have a question! Have any of you ever found a buffered mult to be necessary? I exclusively use Stackcables for multing, and am curious if youā€™ve ever found a need for more than passive multing.

#1129

Do you care about sequencing? Thatā€™s actually a consideration at the beginning, if you want ā€˜notesā€™ that are specifically pitched or not.

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#1130

I only have a small skiff, but Iā€™ve actually had good luck using a stackcable to mult (gasp) pitch CV! That said, Iā€™m hardly pushing it: usually a max of just two Mannequins modules, and if I lose a few cents as I go up a bajillion octaves, I havenā€™t paid enough attention to know.

4 Likes
#1131

Thanks :slight_smile: This occurred to me while looking over Richard Devineā€™s live rig on Modulargrid (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/39699). He has a number of mults distributed throughout his rack. This surprised me initially because I use Stackcables, but thinking about it, Stackcables have a FILO problem (first in last out), where if you want to repatch and the cable you want to repatch is plugged in under others, you have to disrupt the whole stack to get at the cable you want to change. Itā€™s not an enormous problem, but in a live context it could be a consideration.

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#1132

Yes this was my concern as well with a lot of the semi modular synths, like ms20 and especially the moogs, man I love that sound but itā€™s just not where I want to go, although @alanza had a wonderful example of the flexibility of any setup in the right hands. Youā€™re right, the modules you mentioned are kind of what Iā€™m after - Lightbath, as a reference point, is a good example of the direction I want to pursue https://youtu.be/FMyYi0BCCFk

In fact, Iā€™m considering this setup as a start, certainly not to directly emulate as I definitely want to do my own thing, but because itā€™s the only example Iā€™ve seen of a very small collection of modules that I know are complimentary to one another and in a style I like - so possibly a good jumping off point - although Iā€™m sure my results will vary :grin:. One of the difficulties in choosing modules is that most examples you see of their use are in conjunction with 15 others so itā€™s hard to tell what could be done if you only had 2 or three of the 15. Anyway, I think VCV will help with that, gonna check it out for sure before deciding on anything - Thanks!

#1133

Oh I do yes, very much - itā€™s a big part of the way Iā€™m working currently, Iā€™m definitely gonna want them, but Iā€™d be willing to add those later if need be, in order to start with the vco, vca, eg that Iā€™d need and get comfortable with those even if I canā€™t do much. But that may be related to my ignorance - my understanding was that specialized modules like rings, or maths, or clouds, or whatever had to be integrated with/fed from VCO, VCA, which in my case means I would need those first and therefore would have only them initially, but then again itā€™s confusing because so many are multifunction - but you couldnt have a case with just rings, maths, and disting, for example, right? Am I correct that youā€™d need at least a vco in that situation? Iā€™m learning more all the time but still a little perplexed by the minimum requirements of a very small setup of just a few modules, say three, and what Iā€™d have to have vs what Iā€™d have to add to it later - It is not common to see examples of a set up of less than 8 or so. This is the smallest setup Iā€™ve seen so far and is encouraging :slightly_smiling_face: https://youtu.be/FMyYi0BCCFk
Iā€™m gonna look those modules up to find out what they are function-wise to give me a better idea of what can be paired together in a small group like that in a way that worksā€¦anything I get will be about that size for awhile - 3 to 4

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#1134

Itā€™s worth noting in that Lightbath video that he is sequencing the whole thing from an external sequencer (Squarp Pyramid), so heā€™s not really making all that music with those four modules. Itā€™s also heavily reverbed. Itā€™s lovely! But itā€™s not just those 4 that you see there.

If you are leaning towards Mutable and wanting pitched sequencing, I might change my recommendation to Plaits, Marbles, and Tides (v1 or v2). That gets you a VCO that in theory needs no envelope or VCA, pitch sequencing, and a modulation source that can also be an oscillator, so you have two VCOs in theory, which goes well with the pitch sequencing Marbles offers. It also allows you to use Tides as your VCO and take advantage of the noisier side of Plaits when you want to.

These are just my thoughts though!

2 Likes
#1135

(Actually, I just sold Plaits and Marbles, and the idea of Plaits & Marbles & Tides in a small case is really appealing. Hmm!)

#1136

Yeah I think youā€™re right. I experimented with my old Yamaha YPP-200 yesterday and was able to record in to iPad with old m audio interface and was even able to get iPad sequencer app to play it via midi in/out and camera connection kit- if I can do it with that should be able to do it with anything almost :slightly_smiling_face:

#1137

true, but on the other hand: if you didnā€™t already plug a modulation (or other) source into a mult and decide that you want to send it to multiple destinations, you have to unplug, put a mult in the path, and then repatch. that was a very common occurrence for me before I started using stackcables.

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#1138

Responding to your original post: I never noticed the need until I actually folded and picked up a buffered mult. Since then, Iā€™ve noticed a discernable improvement in stability.

I keep my mult outside of the box, however.

https://www.hungryrobotmodular.com/buffered-multiples-x4

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#1139

I donā€™t use buffered mults. From my CV.OCD I seem to be able to passively mult to 2 or 3 inputs with no trouble, and Iā€™ve never noticed a problem multing pitch from Teletype or Marbles (but Iā€™ve probably done that less). It does get weird if I mult even once from the Microbrute pitch CV out though.

#1140

it is helpful to keep in mind that, at least according to my understanding, buffered mults are quite simple circuits (often just a few jacks and an op-amp circuit at unity gain), which just serves to help distribute a given signal without loading down the source. many well-known Eurorack manufacturers build output buffers into all their designs so that most of the time you donā€™t really need buffered mults.

that said, there is no explicit standard, so this isnā€™t always true. the Microbrute must lack such a buffer, for example.

#1141

Microbrute is known for weird interface issues

2 Likes
#1142

Yeah, even the gate output is weird with it. I do love the sound though, and it takes audio rate modulation nicely.

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#1143

Thanks for the Integra Solum suggestion. The ā€œwackā€ mode seems stellar.

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#1144

Newb question: is it possible to have a bus board problem where only some of the ports are not working right?

I am setting up for the first time, and most of the ports are working and modules are working as expected; but plugging same working module into one of these 3 bad ports, the -12V LED turns off, and things stop working.

I unplug from that port then all 3 bus board LEDs, +12V, -12V are lit again and modules work.

BTW Iā€™m being very careful about the -12V to -12V connection from module to bus board, and lining the pins up right on the bus board. (And as mentioned things are working consistently when I connect most ports. Have repeated plug/unplug several times to confirm the issue.)

Iā€™m guessing this means bus board is defective. Itā€™s an Intellijel 7U case that came with the power/ bus board, so Iā€™m guessing Iā€™ll need to return the whole case on warranty.

ā€”ā€”

UPDATE: took it over to Control Voltage (in person; where I had purchased from) and they were helpful in troubleshooting, reproducing the problem, and coordinating warranty fix. Left <30mins later with a working case on warranty. Great serviceā€¦ Love that shop!!!

#1145

If the bus board is defective I think itā€™s impossible to guess which issue / safety there is. Iā€™d stop using it and contact Intellijel.

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#1146

Unlikely to have a single port bad as those headers are typically wired in parallel. If there was something shorting out that rail then it should not work even without a module attached. Itā€™s much more likely to be an issue with the module or the cable. Remember to check the orientation of the red stripe at both the module and the power supply, as even keyed headers are not fully reliable.

Which module is it?

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