Making stand alone modular instruments

[xenus_dad]

Don’t worry I plan on doing a fun coherent instrument with it…Mobenthey set and a couple friends.

[its_your_bedtime]

Got inspired with this concept and made this small system for now, waiting er-301 to arrive

[misc_frank]

Seeing a remarkable number of variations on uniform-looking, Monome / Mannequins module-heavy (+ ER-301) systems… what are the advantages of using these sorts of arrangements / builds? Is it the functionality?

[Olivier]

I jumped on the Mannequins wagon back in 2015 and never looked back. What I personally love about the collection is its flexibility - it can be lush, but it can also be pushed into more chaotic realms with minimal effort. For example, cross-patching 2x 3 Sisters with Cold Mac as a mediator between the two is just…literally years of fun.

I’ve recently ventured into i2c land with Teletype/Ansible, which has only further extended the overall possibilities. Balancing chaotic patching tendencies with something more programmatic is fantastic.

[mateo]

It’s surely in part due to the association between this forum, monome, and manequins. But these modules pack a lot of functionality into a small space, and keeping things compact definitely helps things feel like an instrument.

[fever606]

The Mannequins modules are what got me back into eurorack in 2016… they all just work so well together, and do/can function as an instrument when used together. The monome association surely doesn’t hurt, as I’ve been on that train in one form or another since… 2009? Holy moly…

And also, they’re just fun to play. The controls are well thought out and do both obvious and interesting things, the ranges make sense for interaction, and something like Cold Mac can control your whole patch with one knob.

[ceedotgeedot]

Is there a portmanteau for Monome/Mannequins systems yet? Monoquins? Mannomes?

Anyways, my system has been one of those for most of its short life, and is currently looking like this:

Helluva lot of fun, though I’m still working some things out.

[alanza]

I definitely was poking fun at the same thing you observed in my post above. that said, I like the intertwined functionality and the vision towards small, polymorphic instruments rather than huge racks, so I guess I have to laugh at myself as well

[xenus_dad]

The end goal is a 16hp case with an Ansible and 3 Sisters, with a Grid, powered by solar, being played near a stream in a clearing in a bamboo forest, with a 32oz mason jar of home brewed turmeric kombucha and 4 succulents you brought along for the ride.

Actually that sounds lovely.

[bgc]

Just planed this one. If i get the case and the addac manual gates, i’ll be good to go.

As for the instrument itself, i guess i’ll have to explore it.

[prussian_zen]

Nice setup!

Loving some love for Kermit.
Curious, may I ask: How are you using it in this environment?

[ceedotgeedot]

Thanks! I just got the Kermit a few days ago, so I’ve been experimenting with patching it every which way. Mainly though, I’m taking the description of “Modulation Aid” to heart by focusing on using it for the wavetable LFO’s and FM-ing the other voices in my set-up. As it’s own voice, Kermit is pretty cool; I got ok-ish snare/bass drum sounds running it through the QMMG and it can get pretty nuts pretty quick, but it’s hard to tune IMO and scanning through the wavetables can get a little fuzzier than I’d like. Overall, a keeper though.

[kbit]

I’m probably just echoing what others have said here, but in my eyes Mannequins modules hit the sweet spot from a design perspective: immediate interface, relatively simple concepts, and vast possibilities in use. They all offer a lot of functionality, but there’s an ever present degree of limitation due to the interconnected nature. I personally find these limitations and interconnections extremely inspiring and conducive to experimentation and exploration when patching them all together.

For example, the other night I was patching Just Friends (sound mode) into Three Sisters and accidentally found a fairly convincing steel drum sound. I wasn’t trying to make a steel drum sound, prior to then I had no idea what elements I would put together to make a convincing steel drum sound, but due to the simplicity of the interface I was able to deconstruct what I had done very easily. That mixture of learning synthesis and sonic gratification is something I feel very often when I patch with these modules.

[philmaguire]

Tweaked my previous idea(s). I think as far as Serge stuff goes, I’ll go for a R*S panel at some point in the future.

For euro, I have this NLC/IFM idea. Null-A2 takes care of most drone-based things and beds of texture, with triple sloths for some extra slow modulation. The IFM modules, Let’s Splosh Timbre&Timbre, add some racousness; glitchy pellets with waveshaping and noise wash. The A*B+C will be an expander for the Null-A2’s mixer and/or ring mod and/or offset source. I’ve found a UK NLC builder so should be able to start putting this together soon.

[_mark]

Do you know what the going rate for an A2 should be in the UK? Been eying one up, but not sure if it’s a good deal…

[philmaguire]

20 chars of PM!..

[yoyosandshoes]

Definitely functionality. Each module is so deep it kills GAS for me. i know the system can make the music I want to make plus much more, the only thing left is driving my creativity. So no new thing is more appealing than learning what is in front of me. Also the fact that development is continuing for teletype (and subsequently Just Friends and w/), ansible and ER 301 is extremely exciting.

[quixot]

Teletype is such a great GAS cure. Instead of lusting after a new module, one instead says how can i make teletype do THIS…?

[AlessandroBonino]

Well…

[hypnosapien]

Kunoff and Petro