#122

I’m not sure :thinking: Gibson is going bankrupt but Fender is beating expectations.

#123

yes there is a saturation happening in eurorack.

2 Likes
#124

can’t wait for the next big music thing(s)

https://www.musicthing.co.uk/modulegenerator.html

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#125

Coming next from Music Thing Modular is a noise-reducing sample and hold module that is inspired by John Cage, with vactrols.

:ok_hand:

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#126

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#127

Fat vape? I think you’ve been beaten to that by the Soma PIPE!

1 Like
#128

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#129

And I think I have a good idea what it sounds like without ever hearing it.

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#131

I agree. I’m not a fan of the cramped Eurorack format or (lack of) power, and hate that it has become a byword for modular synthesis in general, but there’s never been a better or cheaper time to get into modular than now.

#132

Personally I’ve noticed that modules seem harder and harder to sell these days… one needs to really drop prices down to be able to sell (at least with “less exciting” modules). Once those 50€ behringer eurorack modules come out…

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#133

I’m eagerly waiting for it to tip. Right now there are too many modules that are not built to last.

I strongly believe that the likes of Cwejman, Birdkids, Macbeth and other companies with high quality products will be the only ones to survive.

#134

Could you elaborate here? I don’t own any Cwejman, Birdkids, or Macbeth yet I’ve had almost zero problems with any of my modules in the few years I’ve owned them. Have you had many issues yourself?

9 Likes
#135

Yes sure.

There are currently a lot of makers who are trying to stay competitive and using cheap solutions to do that. This often results in the use of cheaper components that have a lower life expectancy.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but at the same time: when you spend 400/500 on a module it’s a bit unfair to find out the components are the cheapest out there.

I have had issues yeah. I think quality control is one of the biggest issues in euro right now. Both on the software (I’m looking at W/) and hardware side.

1 Like
#137

I haven’t started working in Euro but I’m curious, do you have specific examples of hardware failures? And do you have any experience making/producing modules yourself? How have those experiences helped you form your opinion?

In defense of w/, it’s common to ship a piece of hardware with very functional but potentially buggy software because there are only so many use cases that can be tested before public release, or at least that’s how I understand it. I see bug fix releases and improvements for software and firmware quite often. But I also don’t have one (a w/) so I’m not exactly familiar with your specific issue.

1 Like
#138

Pots that start scratching within a few months of use. The usual clean won’t fix it and then it needs replacing. I’ve had this on a few modules now and its really annoying. Especially in a situation where I don’t have time to get it sorted and have a show planned. There goes my filter sweep…

One module that really annoyed me hardware wise was Mangrove. The module cannot be tuned without a dummy cable because of an internal offset. This is a known design error. It’s not a huge deal, but in a live setup where nothing is pre patched/need to do everything in a rush, it’s a pain in the ass.

I do not, but I have people who do make modules for a living in my circle and have gotten a ton of information from behind the scenes. It wasn’t something I became interested in until I started running into the issues mentioned above.

W/ was simply not functional for the first months. As much as I love it now, I cannot understand how it was ever released in that state. It would freeze within 20 minutes of use(hard reset needed), recordings would glitch and just end up sounding like harsh digital noise. This was not a case of people trying to break it, it was simply not ripe for public and it took a lot of time before it eventually became functional.

EDIT: This is a good read about the modules from Rabid Elephant. They take good care to deliver something that will last: https://rabidelephant.com/pages/inside

#139

In the past three years I’ve owned 122 modules (resold/traded 90 of them), so that’s I-don’t-know-how-many pots. Exactly one pot on one module was scratchy. I also have one module with a jack that’s kind of loose and the cable has to sit in it just so. I’m 100% sure the manufacturer would fix it at no charge, and I maybe could fix it myself (certainly anyone with soldering skill could replace the jack).

Overall, Eurorack has a better record for reliability than the non-Eurorack synth gear I have owned.

8 Likes
#140

I’m sure they would, but for me it’s a matter of overal reliability. If it happens during preparations for a show it is terribly annoying.

I guess the overall point I’m trying to make is we all would benefit from higher quality components and quality control.

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#141

Anecdotally, the one piece of gear I have that has a scratchy pot… is made by Cwejman. (To be fair I bought it used and I don’t know what kind of abuse it may have gone through)

2 Likes
#142

I’ve about 700 horizontal hp of Eurorack. I’ve had a problem with two modules in about four years.

  • One was with a small manufacturer in Eastern Europe who replaced free of charge immediately.

  • One was with a larger synth manufacturer who didn’t support the firmware properly and never prioritised fixing it.

From my experience, I don’t see a problem with quality control. Appreciate experiences can be very different; I don’t know if there are any statistics available, otherwise we’re stuck with interpreting the anecdotal experience of individuals.

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#143

I’m glad to hear you’ve had less trouble than I’ve had in the last 7 years.

I think in about 10 years time it will become a more apparent issue. I’m not saying lower build quality is bad out the box, but you will definitely notice it the more years come and go.

Each component has an expected life cycle. Would you rather have a pot that has 500.000 cycles or a few million when you pay a premium price?

1 Like