#85

Rene is one of my most favorite sequencers out there. I love the possibilities to work on both the x and y axes and have each run on a different time. I also like the ability to remove steps easily during performance (x or y or both) to create different patterns on the fly. Not to mention the ability to turn notes on and off. I love this as a performance tool as I can start with a simple melodic sequence (only Cs and Fs for instance) and then add additional notes as the pattern repeats to evolve into a complex melody and then back to a simple one yet with different notes.

While I agree the logic abilities are academic the compositional methods listed above more than satisfy me when I perform.

I also like how in Eurorack we each utilize modules differently. In this case Rene wasn’t for you and I got along with it. I have a buddy who can’t seem to fall in love with the echophon yet I love it. I can’t seem to make the Erbeverb do anything pleasing sounding and to me it definitely sounds like someone throwing an old shoe down a metal chimney, ha. Great analogy there! I’m sure there are others out there who love the erbeverb.

8 Likes
#87

Sounds like you should sell your euro stuff and it’s not for you, lol

#88

Welcome to eurorack gatekeeping 101, where we will learn to sarcastically exclude people from a community due to their hardware preferences…

My own approach to freeing myself from gearburden was to sell all my elektron gear and move the least accessible / most powerful modules into a separate case. Now ER-301 / Teletype / Just Friends are a happy but brain-burning 3U instrument of their own, while the 6U rack remains a playground.

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#90

I dunno if I’d call responding to “this thing is GARBAGE!” with “uhhh ymmv I guess?” gatekeeping, but I am sorry for dog-piling

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#91

I’ve had this (naive?)idea since starting out that I should find The perfect setup and THEN sit down and really start creating with it and masterering it.

My little system has already gone thru many iterations, and I’m starting to feel like I’m just bumbling around losing slight amounts of money from buying/reselling with no real end goal in mind.
Of course now I’ve started collecting Eurorack which is a whole other can of worms…

I think I need to stop the searching, doesn’t matter if my little system could theoretically ‘be more perfect’.
I’m going to stop lusting and start recording at least every week.

Maybe that will give me a focus, or at least center things around sound instead of some half-baked conceptual ideas.

4 Likes
#92

Sorry, didn’t mean to come across that way, but I find it sad when people trash something that a small company like Make Noise put a lot of love and thought into. The way I read it, the original post seemed to be stating that the Rene was not useful for anybody (not merely a hardware preference).

Hope there’s no hard feelings. @nutritionalzero - my wish for you is that you find something that inspires.

13 Likes
#93

@crushthered, I share very similar sentiments and have questioned my own desire (need?!) for the Elektron boxes in the midst of the eurorack system I’ve pieced together. I have an intellectual respect for the design of Elektron machines, but feel I am more an active participant in creative expression that resonates with my own aesthetic when I work with my eurorack system.

It’s an interesting conflict of interests. Recently I’ve worked to stay centered in the activity of the moment, choosing the most appropriate instrument to realize my expression, rather than attempting to utilize EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT IN THE STUDIO…SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Living, learning, and creating!

5 Likes
#94

I also found this approach to work great for me recently. In the past I wanted to use everything I have at once and it did not sound great so I started to make smaller setups from things that I have (and I have too much and right now I am selling some stuff that have been lying unused for past few months). Like for example if I want to make acid techno I use octatrack with some monosynth. If I want to make electroacoustic composition I use reaktor plus custom scripts in processing.org etc.
The nice thing in hardware is that everything has specific workflow that is suitable for some things and unsuitable for others. I tried to make techno before using computer and it was the most boring thing and it did not translated well to playing live but on the octatrack with monosynth creating song that people can dance to is a matter of minutes. On the other hand in the past I tried to create more experimental stuff using hardware synths that I have and it did not turn well compared to what I can create easily using Reaktor.

3 Likes
#95

The same struggle is real for me. Daily. Haha.

1 Like
#97

…and now I want a Rene. Awesome, thorough explanation. So tangentially inspiring to see how others are inspired by the tools they favor!

1 Like
#98

awesome! Grab one, I love it.

#99

I have often looked for excuses over the past 2 years when I started Eurorack to keep my prized modules, like Benjolin, but a few weeks ago sold it, and don’t regret it, I figure I can always rebuy if I feel I need one again. I have sold apprx. 70 modules this year already (6 months) and replaced with maybe 60 others, this is all due to trying stuff out. This includes starting my Buchla system, which I have also scaled back on since (expensive). Cant afford to have stuff sit.

I don’t buy or use any prebuilt cases or racks, I build my own simple racks with plywood or poplar sides, in different row configurations, both upright and flat or both. I buy uZeus psu’s and tiptop rails and ears as I need them. The bad part is there’s no end to how many rows you can end up with. When you buy a pre-built case, you are limited to how many modules you can fit in it, a boundary.

#101

Well, I’ve sold off most of my Eurorack and feeling pretty relieved about it. Didn’t realise how much stress it was causing me spending endless hours working out the ‘right’ setup. Most of what I want to do can either be achieved with my computer, tapes, or lo-fi CMOS nonsense. Think I’ll stick to that for a while.

10 Likes
#102

My solution is for this 2nd dive into a euro synth to have limited myself up front to a diy 55hp battery powered mini skiff, wich turned out to be 70% mannequins as these just work for me in such small space. Given Grid lives outside with ansible as communicator also for midi things are pretty round to me.

But even with this small hp the euro addiction and the price tags that come with it are hefty for me. I am actually happy i cant really add on to the case. I moved out the passives (lpgs and mixer) and thats it. No way to pile up without letting go now. And i would never shelf unused modules like a collector, it doesnt make sense to me.

#103

Yeah. I had a 100hp case but was getting bogged down even with that! I’m considering building a Doepfer system, but waiting a little while first.

#104

I can’t stop thinking about how the Erbe Verb sounds like throwing a shoe down a metal chimney. For the past few days, it’s all I can hear when I use it. “There goes the clap down the ol’ metal chimney,” & etc. -->

5 Likes
#106

I’m thinking about it right now, I have a started 7U eurorack few years ago, and never managed to make it into a complete instrument (also bought/tried different sequencers for it) though I have lost countless hours looking for every new or old module existing and planning so many configurations… In the end I learned a lot about synthesis but didn’t really used it on projects.

I’m leaning towards building a mannequins system (maybe with ansible+grid later) in a 84HP case from Intellijel and selling everything else, waiting on more news about crow to see if I could pass on teletype and keep the system small yet opened.

Last year I started getting interested in Ciat Lonbarde, built as many small circuits as I could, and built a Rollz-5 more recently that I completely fell in love with, so I’m also thinking about leaving completely eurorack and buying a Plumbutter & Cocoquantus. I really like having a complete instrument in front of me, and the playability of those are amazing.

3 Likes
#107

Ok - looking for some thoughts/input to get me thinking in different directions.

I make, well I’m not sure what you’d call it - my youtube channel is here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6Fj_OrV9jP9cbAcrIWw9Q - instrumental, ?. I have very eclectic tastes - in the car in the last couple of days I’ve listened to Nik Bärtsch, Gaika, Steve Roach, PJ Harvey, William Carlos Whitten, Cat Power, Moskus, Body/Head all of which are things I draw from. So who knows quite frankly? I could probably market it better if I knew what genre it is :slight_smile:

Of late massively into little computer-y boxes - Organelle and an Open source Norns on pisound/push2 (will be buying proper Norns and a grid as soon as they are for sale again) and Elektron boxes.

My Eurorack has taught me a ton about synthesis - I’ve had this rough setup for a few years now https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/223600 (sold mutable stuff to buy morphagene and FH-1 are the main recent changes). (I have a mother 32 as well which does get used a lot)

I find myself neglecting it these days. I’m wondering if I need to either sell it all and move on OR and this is where I’m looking for input - branch out a bit. Is the Monome Crow going to revitalise things? is there more stuff down this road currently available that I could explore? Teletype intrigues me but I’m working in so many languages right now: C, Lua, Swift, C++, Supercollider, Max, PD I don’t really want to have something else on the go. I also don’t want everything I use to need code to make music. I’m not really wanting to buy more case space - I’m thinking of what can I sell and replace modules with to get me into a different space

so - any ideas as to things I might find interesting to do with it? Or am I better off just moving on? I’m just looking for input to help me think creatively about it in ways that may not be occurring to me here…

#108

how long is “these days”?

1 Like
#109

good question - a couple of months perhaps?