#1365

I just built my soundwich after the kit arrived today. It’s kind of silly but it’s neat. It sure looks more serious than it sounds.

Haven’t tried triggering anything with it, but I sampled its piezo into the PO-33 and the latter’s filter did nice things to those PCB-and-washer rattles.

Also the 0HP LPG is not too shabby, although it has a pretty slow attack.

1 Like
#1366

has anyone used animodule line amp with contact microphones ? (more specifically, contact mic on acoustic guitar)

lil worried it might be too quiet, though i suppose it’s possible to chain the two amps so long as they don’t clip.

if it’s too loud i’ve got a spare vca

EDIT: or knob.farm ferry ? - which I think I could also use as an ouput instead of an HPO

#1367

2

does this seem like it would work with a powered 4ms Pod48X and one of these:
https://4mscompany.com/mpc16.php

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& This?

i’m just going to get the case, power supply, nebulae v2, and micro o&c for now. I have the Circuit mono station or transferring midi from my other gear to cv output. then i figure i can get rings and some other mults/attenuverters/filter eventually for extra fun. probably not a great idea to start so small, but i’m poor and for now i just need something to mangle samples and granulize audio live & something to modulate that, which i assume o&c can do with the quad lfo thing and some other modulation functions.

Apparently you can hook that 16 pin extender to a single header in the pod but i guess its hard to fit 6hp and smaller modules for some reason having to do with the rails. I considered the pod64 but that is not wide enough for some modules and i dont know if it would give me problems with any of these. its also slightly more expensive, so i’d rather get this if it will work. The niftycase looks handy too, but its ugly and i dont like it. also more expensive than this option. the intellijel palette would be ideal i think, but this will do for now as long as i’m not overlooking anything, i believe

i have just enough for the 2 first modules, case and power brick in my revolving gear fund, so it’s either this or a subharmonicon and a tensor or shallow water

#1368

I have started building my first rack, looking for recs for a VCF. I was thinking of getting ripples V1 since patchwerks has them in stock (open box sale too) and I could pick it up today…I was also interested in intellijel polaris. A lot of the modules I originally wanted are out of stock or going for double (like pnwo :confused: )on reverb. I am waiting on mannequins restock so I can start building my rack from modular grid I have Marbles and Rings on the way in transit with the post. edit: updates just bought plaits on reverb for a decent price (factory build too!)

Heres my rack so far

IMG_8270
IMG_82703024×4032 2.44 MB

I don’t really know what to do with scales and steppy right now. Its been a while since I looked into patching. I feel kinda over whelmed, I have been reading patch and tweak and it’s great but i wish there was more examples and guides on how to patch.

2 Likes
#1369

Have seen references to using gates + LPGs in an additive context instead of envelopes. I understand how this works in principle (I think): the LPG’s tail becomes your decay, but I’m curious how one gets varied envelope shapes from this technique, or generally how to ‘extend’ it, since there are so many resources for complex EGs and not so many additive-centric ‘gating’ resources. I can see the flexibility of this more ‘atomistic’ approach in the abstract, but am uncertain how to apply it.

I have the DPLPG and Optomix to test with!

#1370

@grey I was wondering which self-contained modules you use and like (and also which ones you tried and didn’t like) and why?
I’ve been diving into the Manis Iteritas recently, I get the basics but definitely haven’t explored everything, but I like how self-contained it is and was looking for similar self-contained modules.

#1371

DPLPG and Optomix both have a trigger/strike input which opens the LPG, following the natural decay of the vactrol used. In addition to the strike input, the Optomix has a CV input for opening each channel. You can send an envelope here and it behaves in a similar manner to a VCA controlled by an envelope.

#1372

I would be concerned about module depth. Double check the module depths on modular grid, if any of them are close to 50mm then it’ll require more research unless you’re willing to do trial-and-error. Basically sometimes manufacturers measure depth in different ways, the most common issue is that they haven’t included space for the power connector in their depth measurement, so a 50mm module plus the power might not fit inside a 51mm depth case… Also sometimes measurements are just imprecise—I’m guessing 4ms’ case depth measurement is very precise so they can avoid getting blamed for things not fitting, but a manufacturer saying somethings 50mm could mean +/- a few mm that could make a difference. I’ve seen people use spacers/washers in between the module panel and the rail to add a few extra mm for space, so that can be a solution in a pinch.

You should be fine as far as power goes, though! Looks like an interesting little system :slight_smile:

@yams noisetrees is right you can just use envelopes and it behaves similar to a vca, but if you want to use gates then modulating the strength and pulsewidth can get you some variation, at least with DPLPG. I don’t have optomix but I think you’ve got some modulation/extra cv inputs built in that you can use to modulate

2 Likes
#1373

This exactly. I had mine planned out and several of the modules did not fit, even though they met 4MS depth requirements. If any of the modules is close to the advertised depth, or has something like a bottom power header (that doesn’t take into account the extra room for the cable), you’ll likely end up investing is some standoffs, which honestly work fine, but tweak my OCD more than a little bit.

2 Likes
#1374

VCF is too personal a choice for others to recommend.

I would suggest setting Steppy aside and starting with Scales into STO first. Set Scales to chord tones only. Send output from one channel of Maths into it for quantization. You’ll get arpeggios. Send the other side of Maths into the transpose input. Even more beautiful variation. So much music from just three modules!

3 Likes
#1375

So I decided on ripples for my VCF, picked it up today along with monsoon. You’re right about leaving steppy alone for now. It’s pretty frustrating to use with sto as I can’t seem to get any sort of melodic sound out of it and all demos seem to be using a percussion for it.

#1376

at the risk of telling you something you may already know, Steppy is a trigger/gate sequencer. you won’t get melodic sound out of it (at least not if used as intended).

2 Likes
#1377

Still struggling with this. There aren’t a ton self-contained voices. Here are some observations:

I haven’t had Plaits racked in a while, but it’s kinda the ultimate if you can commit it’s details to memory. That is where I struggle. It’s a deep module. Rings does what everyone knows Rings does. I’m actually using the JakPlug Braids design, as it is one of the few Mutable downsizes that makes sense to me in terms of layout. The two most important controls are sliders, which works well. I’m using it with a 2hp VCA at the moment. I wish Braids could take an envelope for an input, but otherwise I love it. It’s not self contained, but it’s compact. Braids with an Manis-Iteritas-like envelope would be awesome.

Noise Engineering does self-contained well, and aside from Mutable, seems to be one of the few interested in making such modules. Basimilus Iteritas Alter and Manis Iteritas are both good. I have MI racked at this moment. They definitely have “a sound” but it’s broader than many of their demos let on. I struggle with exploring them live, as they both have some knob combinations that can sound really disonant. MI is a little safer in this regard. BIA has a number of sweet spots, but the inbetweens can be rough. I really wish BIA had MI’s pitch knob design! I’ve accidentally detuned BIA before while practicing, and it sucks.

I’m going to be writing my own envelope generator for crow once the next batch ships this week. Streams was almost ideal, but the envelope shape curve was tricky to control and the volume can become unpredicable, and the source code for Streams is very complex. Manis’s envelope is pretty good. BIA’s is solid too. I’m not sure why NE hasn’t done a 4hp VCA with an envelope generator with drive or somesuch.

Alternatively: The Multisample mode on Disting EX or Squid Salmple’s pitched samples both work well for voices. Disting giving you high fidelity, Squid has pitch shifting artifacts, but I like that character myself. You can envelope tones from Squid via it’s inputs as well if you don’t want the envelope shape to track with the time manipulations. Though at a meta level, I prefer a balance of synthesis to samples. Not everything needs to be dynamic, but I like letting inspiration have a foothold in timbre beyond the effects chain.

This is all stuff I’m actively thinking about still.

1 Like
#1378

Like Sinc Bucina with drive instead of filtering? I feel like with the harshness and complexity of some of their voices the LPG might be preferable (and they’ve got like a 4 or 5 distortion/drive modules). I’m not in the NE world really but that LPG seems like one of their best/most versatile modules.

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#1379

The key difference is that MI and BIA work with triggers and not gates. It could certainly be a filter, but they tend to have a “gungifying” component in their designs, so I’m just spitballing. Sure you can ping, but that’s instant attack. I like MI because it drones in the far right, where as BIA doesn’t go full drone, but has it’s own interesting envelope curve. My system is driven entirely by triggers, so something more akin to their self-containted voices would be really useful for me.

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#1380

Is the youtube eurorack community dying off? I’m subbed to a lot of eurorack related accounts and see new vids pop up here and there but the most popular accounts haven’t been posting much lately this year (ann annie, r beny(he still posts but not much eurorack stuff ), light bath, emily). Whats going on these days?

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#1381

Don’t know that it’s dying off, particularly… Agree that the ‘big names’ are less active but here are three not-so-big Eurorack names I’ve come across in the past few months, whose videos I really enjoy. Maybe you will, too!

Hélène Vogelsinger: She has recently released an album (find it on Bandcamp) which I’m playing a lot but her YT vids are amazing; usually filmed in incredibly atmospheric derelict buildings, which adds a whole other dimension of ambience(!) - Also a fascinating recent podcast interview with Johno Wells at Dotwave (https://podtail.com/podcast/dotwave/episode-013-helene-vogelsinger-voice-and-voltage/)

Hélène Vogelsinger YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeleneVogelsinger/videos

Also, from la France, Tom Leclerc (his ‘Colorful Trees’ vid was a real lightbulb moment for me, gave me the push I needed to dive into putting together my first rack [work in progress!] and turned me into a fullblown fangirl of both Mutable Instruments and the dreaded ‘houseplant ambient’ genre :grinning: )… He also makes occasional forays into the Great Outdoors to record sessions

Tom Leclerc YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tom4_music/videos

And my most recent discovery is ScottMFR (disclaimer, if that’s the word I want, is that he works at Intellijel) - he’s been a great source of support and encouragement to me on my Eurorack journey (over at Instagram) but has been posting a series of ‘Modular by Nature’ YT sessions, also from outside locations.

ScottMFR (aka brasscat) YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/brasscat/videos

Afterthought: it occurs to me that all three of these good folks have a commonality, in that they all make outdoors vids - joking here, but maybe that’s why so many of the ‘bigger names’ have gone quiet - they’re all off hiking around the place to record stuff! :rofl:

Anyway, point is that I’m not so sure the YT Eurorack community is dying off, so much as it’s going through a period of change while newer voices come through?

Edited for typos

9 Likes
#1382

Thank you for the recs, I have seen some of these vids in my recs but scottmfr is a new one!

dreaded ‘houseplant ambient’ genre

lol! same here with no shame. I totally fell down the youtube eurorack hole before starting my journey.

with the state of things i figured everyone should be inside playing w/ their rack ahaha but also this is an incredibly stressful time for many so hopefully we will see a bit of a revive when things go back to normal if they ever do

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#1383

Yeah, I guess we’re all reacting differently to the spread of Corona - for myself, I’ve found it really hard to focus on anything creative for long enough to achieve any kind of results, and I don’t suppose I’m alone in that.

Saying that, Jogging House (@boboter here on Lines) has been jaw-droppingly productive recently - as has his compatriot Hainbach - so maybe there’s hope for the rest of us yet! :grinning:

6 Likes
#1384

does anyone know how deep the nebulae v2 is? can’t seem to find it anywhere

or that particular ornament & crime module?

maybe i should just go with the niftycase