#2088

does anyone have any experience with the meng qi brass module? i wanted to get the diy kit to interface plumbutter and eurorack but i had a pretty specific question.

when making it you can install diodes that permanently block the negative voltage spikes (as opposed to using the switches?), but i was wondering if that then means you get no usable signal from the jacks that deal in those voltage spikes. does anyone know? figured i’d ask here since it’s actually about eurorack interfacing.

#2089

Gear centric post here. I’m looking into starting a new Skiff here based around a mixer module. But I am torn on which mixer to get. I know I want it to have at least 4 available in’s, but other than that, I’m all ears. Any suggestions?

#2090

Do you want a stereo mixer? https://doudoroff.com/mixers/

Main price factor is CV control (VCAs). Lots of other considerations, depending on what you want to accomplish (sends, EQ, panning, multitrack output, etc.

1 Like
#2091

Sorry! Yes should have specified. I’ll more than likely mostly be taking it straight into the in’s of my MN Shared System’s CV Bus. So no real need for 1/4” outs.

Also not really in need of EQing either. Though that would obv be a nice perk.

I guess in order of importance for my purposes I’d say: # inputs>CV control>mutes>cost

For me, the WMD Performance Mixer seems be all end all. Followed closely by the Befaco Hexmix. But those are both a little pricey and possibly slightly more than I need.

What comes close?

I do have a decent amount of stuff. Shared System, 2 M32s, 2 DFAMs, Subharmonicon and then a full Skiff, and one more 84 HP…so it’s not as if it wouldn’t be nice to have the WMD. But I’d like to start off smaller if possible.

#2092

There are so many sorts of mixers that you’ll probably need to provide a bit more context to get meaningful suggestions. Do you want to mix CV or audio? Should it only mix and nothing else (EQ, sends, pan)? If audio should it be mono or stereo? Do you want CV control (i.e. VCAs) or do you just want a manual mixer? etc

#2093

Did a little editing to my previous post. Hopefully I’m being a little less vague now.

Thanks!

#2094

Is this for end of chain mixing? If so, euro is possibly not your best approach. There are plenty of mixers capable of handling euro levels.

#2095

I wish they made half of one of those. 4-5 channels would be perfect. I don’t need 8 channels at 40 hp, but a smaller one? Sign me up.

3 Likes
#2096

That helps indeed :slight_smile:
@mdoudoroff’s site is very helpful, especially for comparing the the more advanced mixers like the WMD performance mixer.

Personally I’ve been looking at mixers with at least two sends that can be used simultaneously, I’ve pulled what I’ve found so far in a rack, mainly to get a feel for their size. Maybe it’ll help/inspire a bit. The WMD isn’t in there because it can only do one send at a time :slight_smile: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1056891

There are smaller complete audio mixers available, some with a bit more and some with a bit less features. For audio mixers I quiet like the idea of https://www.modulargrid.net/e/cosmotronic-cosmix.
There are also the ones from tesseract https://www.modulargrid.net/e/tesseract-modular-tex-mix-4-mono-channels which offer a VCA as well. ST has been building several mixers as of late (https://www.modulargrid.net/e/st-modular-phoebe and https://www.modulargrid.net/e/st-modular-sum-2) plus they have a modular mixer as well http://www.st-modular.com/stereo%20sum.htm and there’s always Doepfer :slight_smile: which offers among others the https://www.modulargrid.net/e/doepfer-a-138o + https://www.modulargrid.net/e/doepfer-a-138p. Tha a-135 offers the same as the a-138 with VC over everything with an additional module https://www.modulargrid.net/e/doepfer-a-135-4b

Hope this gives you some ideas/options :slight_smile:

+1 for this. I’ve mailed WMD about this in the past, if you’re interested in something like this I’d suggest to send them a mail as well. That way they’ll at least know there’s some interest for it :slight_smile:

1 Like
#2097

For many of us, this is not that much of a limitation (easy to patch around). For others, yeah, a problem.

That’s exactly what I thought. Instead, I find I routinely use most of the inputs and I have added the channels expander. :joy:

I can see a market for a mini version, despite there being a ton of stereo mixers on the market now. I might be interested in one for use as a submixer. I’d really like to see a Mk2 design, eventually. I’d like to see the multiple send situation addressed. I don’t think we need as many panning and level VCAs—it’s a luxury to have them on every channel, but I’d bet 99% of us don’t need more than about 4. That space could probably be put to better use.

#2098

If you want to send more than one input (let’s say 5 total) with different amounts to three (main out, effect 1, effect 2) destinations at the same time I don’t think there’s really a simpler solution? I use a matrix mixer at the moment because it’s less hp but I prefer the UX of a regular mixer. I don’t think making three separate submixes/using three different submixers would be an enhancement. Are there other approaches that I’ve missed?

#2099

Yeah, with a setup that effects heavy, I’d probably turn to an outboard mixing console. There’s just no way to cram a channel strip into 3U without horrendous compromises.

My needs are more modest than yours, but I have an X-Pan sitting around so I can create a submix to pass through a stereo effects module. I can either rely on the dry/wet of that chain, or I can mult everything out, so I have dry channels in the PM and then some crazy stuff happening on the side with copies of the signals.

3 Likes
#2100

I’m thinking of expanding my small (70hp) skiff to having a 1U-esque bit in the middle, but for horizontal modules rather than normal 1U tiles.

I had a quick look on modulargrid.net but didn’t see an option to put modules sideways or anything like that. Are there resources/guides or even size/calculator stuff for figuring something of this out? For example, I’m not married to 70hp but I certainly don’t want to go much bigger than that (don’t have room for 84hp for example), but it would be nice to have a width that would line up well with horizontal module widths (e.g. a couple 3U horizontal modules, with perhaps some 1U stuff to fill in the extra space).

I can work out some maths for this, but no need to reinvent the wheel as I’m sure I’m not the first person to do this.

1 Like
Mobenthey/Ciat-Lonbarde (synthmall) thread
#2101

I’m not sure you can do this on modular grid, but 1U is 1.75" and 1HP is 0.2", so 1 module needs 3*1.75"/0.2"/HP=26.25HP, so basically 27 HP per module. A 70HP skiff seems like it would only accommodate 2 modules in that configuration leaving 16HP to spare. Width wise, 1.75"/0.2"/HP=8.75HP meaning 8HP modules should fit, panel wise. Fitting PCB wise is a different question; the PCB in a module can usually extend to the same width as the front panel, whereas in the other axis you need to leave space for rails meaning you need 6mm taken off the top and bottom to fit (the official recommendation removes slightly more). 1.75"-12mm=32.45mm=6.4HP, so 6HP. This means in the best case you could fit 2x8HP modules, but 6HP is a better maximum width to be safe. To me it seems like you’d be better served by filling the space with actual 1U tiles.

1 Like
#2102

I’m really curious about the IFM modules. Do you have any recordings or videos of your working with these? Thanks!

#2103

Thanks for that detailed breakdown!

The main thing is that I have little-to-no use/interest in the kind of things that are on offer in 1U format. Sure some mults or generic stuff would be useful, but I presently don’t have much of that on my skiff to begin with, so no sense in going bigger just to fill it with stuff I’m not super interested in.

At the moment I’m thinking of putting all my expert-sleepers stuff in horizontally, so all my control stuff can come from “the middle”, leaving the top and bottom for sound producing stuff.

The panel/pcb problem (I guess intelijjel vs pulplogic) is a thing too. I’m not as fussed about this as I’d likely DIY something around that, but by the 1U/2U maths you did above, if I fit everything in perfectly, I should have exactly enough room to put in two horizontal modules and two 1U tiles as well(!). With that being said, which of the two standards would more readily house an 8hp module sideways?

I’m perhaps a bit biased, as I kind of got into modular because he created these modules, but I really like them. The Fourses is a beast, and the Denum plays really nice with others too. The Dunst is my least favorite of them, or rather, the one I find myself using the least, but those funky VCAs that he has in most of them still make them worthwhile.

I filmed a new play talk play video that uses them a lot yesterday, so that will be out in a couple of weeks, but here’s a slightly older video that’s primarily Fourses/IFM stuff:

5 Likes
#2104

sounds like some rad robo-dolphin smooches :heart_eyes:

2 Likes
#2105

Pulp logic allows PCBs up to 28.7mm tall (quoted as the maximum) Vs 22.5mm for intellijel (described as the typical PCB height), so in this regard pulp logic is winner. Looking at those dimensions even some 6HP might not fit in pulp logic with 4HP being more appropriate for intellijel. In other words I think 8HP might not happen in either. I guess the best you can do is measue the PCB an come of your <8HP modules and see which comes under the thresholds I mentioned (in this post).

1 Like
#2106

I just got some adapters to put a few of my Expert Sleepers expanders sideways. 8hp is way too wide for Intellijel or Pulp Logic format. Intellijel 1u can support 4hp and Pulp Logic 1u can support 6hp at 26hp per module horizontally at least with the 3u to 1u adapters I got.
It looks like this in modular grid https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/926483

1115×771

and what it actually looks like
PXL_20201021_015730948.NIGHT
PXL_20201021_015730948.NIGHT1008×756 171 KB

You can probably make your own 2u row which can hold two 1u rows of tiles or 8hp of 3u modules sideways, but I’m not expecting there to be a commercial solution for it.

2 Likes
#2107

Just a quick question here, I’m trying to finish my single voice rack and I’m torn between three possible setup, which row would you chose?