#22

Ok, got it!
So how does tehn modulate amplitude using just two mangroves and a three sisters in his last couple videos?
Is there some adsr function in the three sisters module which i’m not getting? :confused:

#23

Haven’t watched all the videos, but I believe he’s running an offset voltage and/or a pulse trigger from the teletype through a vactrol vca (the meng qi dplpg) in order to create a decay curve. Modulars are tricky like that, even small ones :yum:

#24

PS Honestly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, the best thing to do is grab a few modules and start plugging things in. It only gets easier from there. And the only thing you can do “wrong” is plug an output into and output.

3 Likes
#25

hey everybody,
little bump on this annoying newbie post from a year ago :smiley:
after months of fiddling around with other gear and TRYING not to waste too much money on funky beverages, i’m finally ready to really dive into modularland.
i’m planning on buying one of the new intellijel 4U 42hp powered cases to populate with the following:
-monome switch
-monome ansible
-mannequins mangrove x2
-mutable instruments peaks
-wmd/ssf multi mode filter
-intellijel quadratt
-intellijel line out

any suggestion/opinion about the setup?
i read somewhere that plugging modules to busboards with ribbon cables could be risky and a pain in the ass. i’m still a little bit confused about the powering issue in general, so any insight on that part could be useful :blush:

thanks and wish me good luck!

1 Like
#26

Well, it’s a nice selection of things, although:

  • you have no dedicated VCAs. I know the mangrove has its Air control, but if you’re running it into a filter, you’re not going to be able to start/stop the sound very easily. (You could use the Peaks envelope into cutoff, but you’d never have true silence). This is probably the most glaring issue.
  • no multiples. Whilst stackables/passive mults are fine for splitting gates, if you want to FM that pair of mangroves, you’ll need to be able to buffer 1V/Oct to both of them. So you’ll need a mult. Most brands make them. MI Links is a handy mult/mix unit.
  • 42HP is really small. Are you definitely not interested in something bigger? You don’t have to fill a case, but you have no room to expand.

You could solve the above by I dunno, swapping one of the two mangroves for a Dixie or Doepfer Mini Pro VCO and a uVCA2.

As for power: it’s fine, especially if you’re using a quality power solution like the intellijel ones.

Plugging modules to busboards with ribbon cables is the only way to power them, so you just have to use your head: make sure the cable is in the correct way on the busboard; then, triple-check where the red stripe goes on the module, and connec them. Don’t just blindly plug “red to red”, or put your trust in a locking header - follow it along and confirm that the -12V on one goes to the -12V on the other - sometimes people get a power cable that’s been made ‘upside down’, which means your locking header is lying to you, and that never ends well…

#27

hey infovore, thanks for the reply!
much needed insight on a couple themes that i haven’t completely figured out yet.

  • dedicated vcas: what if i lose the filter? is that the only reason why the integrated vca of the mangrove could not be enough?
  • multiples: again… do i need those just to use one filter on two VCOs? (in my setup, of course)
  • i know 42hp is small, but i would still be able to expand by adding another case later. i prefer spending more money on a “starter set” of modules than on a bigger case that i won’t take advantage of in the near future.

regarding power: each module has its ribbon cable, right? :grin:

#28

Exactly. If you put an envelope into the Air control, which I believe is the VCA, you’ll be able to shape the duration of the Mangrove. Once it goes into the filter, though, there’s no VCA on that filter, so you’d need to be able to control it. (Some filters exist that do have built-in VCAs - the Mutable Ripples, for instance). The Mangroves have a lot of timbral shaping in them already, though; they’re not the kinda of oscillators that desperately need a filter after them. You’ll note that Mannequins don’t make a dedicated filter.

Well, you have two outputs and one input, so you’ll need a mixer to merge those to VCOs together into an input. For instance, the 3x1 or 2x2 on Links, or a different brand’s buffered mix. You’d need a mult if you wanted to send them both the same pitch CV.

Yes. Modules come with their own power cables.

#29

the intellijel quadra should function as a mixer, shouldn’t it?
its sum output goes to the intellijel line out and then to my audio interface…
am i missing something?

a mult to send both VCOs the same pitch CV is something i could add to the top 1U row, though…
thanks for the tip!

#30

I was just suggesting if you wanted to run both VCOs into the same filter you’d need some kind of mixer. But you’re right, you could run the VCOs into the Quadratt, the mixed signal into a filter, and the filter out into the line out module.

Yeah, pretty sure Intellijel already have a 1U mult, and if not, they’ll have one soon. Sensible place for it.

#31

What about a Cold Mac for VCA and mixer capabilities?

#32

cold mac is an option i already considered… but then i had a really hard time trying to understand how it works without succeeding :grin: