#244

You’ll learn the middle part of Maths eventually. Polarizer offsets, attenuverters, and cv mixers are super useful in any rack.

2 Likes
#245

I have both a Maths and a Double Andore mkii and I really like them both. I find that DA Mk2 is wonderfully compact and can do a ton without a ton of patching. When I want to just get rolling quickly it is my go to. It has VCAs, envelopes and a mixer (and cross-modulation, and EOC/EOR and so on). It is super quick to patch it up.

As noted above, I find it a little harder to dial in a nice feeling attack if you are looking for “snappy” envelopes or percussion but It makes drones and “pad” type evolving dynamics very easy as you have sliders for a base “drone” as well as AR and ASR envelope shapes easily available (via button press).

Maths has more extensive mixing and offset possibilities. If you don’t feel that you need those things, then yeah, a DA mkii could be a nice alternative!

4 Likes
#246

Back a few months there were a couple of mentions of the Sequential DSM03 Feedback module, and how there was very little information out there about it.

I won one almost accidentally in a charity auction (I expected to be outbid and wasn’t) and it arrived yesterday. I’d summarize it as “Karplus-Strong in a module” but with some extra applications. I was expecting more of a general “resonator” feel, but it’s not really that.

It’s got a white noise generator with an AD envelope (and unfortunately no way to keep the noise going continuously without retriggering, which has some consequences that can admittedly be pretty interesting for the noise texture). There’s no separate noise output.

That, plus an audio input, feed a short delay. The delay can go just long enough for rapid echoes but is more suited to Karplus-Strong; it tracks 1V/octave without any ugly slew and is capable of covering a good few octaves.

There’s a lowpass filter in the feedback path for the delay, but unfortunately increasing resonance, or lowering the cutoff more than a little, very strongly suppresses the feedback. I really wish that was compensated, and/or there was just more feedback gain to work with (which would also allow longer echoes at lower speeds). If using the noise generator, the noise is still very much audible in the output, and there’s no wet/dry control. The filter can throw off the pitch tracking a bit but in a way I like pretty well honestly. Modulating the feedback amount and/or delay line tuning both work very nicely.

Overall it sounds pretty nice. I haven’t tried it just for the filter, nor experimented too extensively yet with processing oscillators, or supplementing the feedback externally. Self-patching the output to the noise envelope trigger input can be fun though :slight_smile:

With two Rings, Mimeophon, Supercell, Filter8 and Ripples in my system already, it feels like I should already have this well covered… and yet kind of maybe not…? At the very least I’m going to hold onto mine and keep playing with it until the SynthTech E520 ships, and see if it still feels interesting. I feel like it’s one of those modules that might serve me well on its own merits, though it’s not really what I was expecting when I bid on it.

3 Likes
#247

If you don’t care about the attenuvertors and mixed outputs of Maths you could also try

It’s effectively the two slew limiters/envelopes/LFOs of Maths with their attenuverters + an additional VCA per channel in 10hp.

I haven’t tried it myself yet so don’t know how the slopes of the envelopes/slew limiting compares to Maths.

3 Likes
#248

not sure if this is the right place to post this.

im looking for something to switch easily between cv pitch sources.

for example id like to have marbles and keystep both control an oscillator at different times without repatching. is a split cable gong to cause issues for pitch?
thanks everyone

#250

Sounds like you just need a simple switch, like the A-150.

2 Likes
#251

A voltage-controlled switch selects from one of (possibly two, possibly more) inputs and pass it along to the output.

A sequential switch steps through the possible inputs (two or more) each time it receives a trigger.

Either of those, or even a manual A/B switch, sounds like it would work, depending on how you want to control the transition.

2 Likes
#252

As mentioned above you could use either a sequential switch or a cv switch but another option is something like the Doepfer a-185-2 precision adder, which lets you manually switch between cv sources as well as transpose by octaves (or semitones if you tune the top section). A very handy module. There is also a 1u module made by Pulplogic that does something quite similar and is what I’m currently using for manual cv switching. But I also have 3 vc/sequential other switches in my system - RYO paths, Doepfer a-152, and the bottom section of the wmd/ssf toolbox. Switches are great!

4 Likes
#253

Yeah, I just don’t need MIDI capabilities :slight_smile:

#254

Thanks for the tip :wink: but I am fixated on Maths right now

1 Like
#255

Thanks for the comment. I have, and they have offered to repair or replace it. Really good of them considering I bought it 2nd hand. I assume it’s out of warranty also. It’s currently on the way there, so I’ll wait and see what happens…

#256

Open ended question here…

I’m seeking general advice on utility modules.

I’ve got my eyes on things like the WMD/SSF modbox and toolbox.

I’m ok for most other categories…

Thanks!

1 Like
#257

Any specific utilities your looking for? WMD/SSF Toolbox is fantastic and gives you a lot of different utilities in 6hp, so if you aren’t totally sure what you need it’s a good bet. If you have something specific you’re looking for, Doepfer is a good bet for most utilities, as is Ladik. I ended up adding a 1u row of Pulplogic modules because there are so many good utility options in that format.

3 Likes
#258

Well, I’m mostly looking for suggestions for things that one might overlook in the process of building a rig, since oscillators, filters, modulation, sequencers, LPG/VCAs are more obvious building blocks…

I’ve been thinking about more esoteric stuff like logic, switches, adders, etc…

Hoping to find some relatively small hp and money investments that open the doors to new thinking and new patches…

Thanks!

1 Like
#259

Have you looked at Cold Mac? At its most basic level it has quite a few utilities, but can be driven way past it into very new thinking.

3 Likes
#260

have you looked at the disting yet? Its the swiss army knife of modular and it does all of the things. I basically think most everyone should have one. And its small and relatively cheap for what it does.

2 Likes
#261

A good companion to Tool Box would be some kind of offset and/or attenuator. Good for getting different effects from the comparator or rectifier.

1 Like
#262

I find DC coupled crossfaders to be quite useful. You can use them for audio shaping but also for crossfading between modulation sources or even between sequencer outputs. Doepfer makes a 4hp one that is fairly inexpensive and works well.

I use minimum and maximum functions quite often as an alternative to mixing modulation signals (the WMD/SSF Toolbox calls maximum “Analog Or”).

Ladik and Blue Lantern make really nice 4hp logic modules. I’ve moved my logic to the 1u row but I’ve had both of those logic modules in the past and they are excellent.

I think everyone should have at least one sequential switch. While there are plenty of fancy options, the Doepfer a-151 is cheap, small, and functions perfectly.

3 Likes
#263

Alright I’m just about finished up with my rack and I’m having a mini crisis as far as where I would be best served with this last 8HP. My main three options are Tangle Quartet, Cold Mac, or Optomix but any other suggestions would be great too!

1 Like
#264

i love CM and it’s great but i feel like you’d be best served by Tangle Quartet given all the places audio can go in this build