#45

oh philosophers!

lets talk about synth!

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#46

The lines drawn day after day. Different paths snaking in tangle cords. Some days the paths flow easily to sounds of pleasant synced tones Other days sounds emerge rougher, dark and stabbing, nagging pushing blowing. The Tao of the synth moves, and keeps moving and moving and moving the next idea.

#47

oh poets!:sunglasses:

lets talk about synth! :heart_eyes:

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/610931

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#48

As I said, my working methods evolved as I got more familiar with the modules. It’s still happening. Right now I have reached the point where I want more Utility modules - so I am researching and demoing those.

There are quite subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) differences in flavour between modules from different manufacturers which appear, on the surface, to provide the same functionality.

Take filters for example. There are hundreds of filters available. Of those, there are at least 30 basic, vanilla LPFs! There may be slight differences in the Resonance but the biggest difference will be in the feel and placement of the pots!

If you put 8 filters in a rack and used them for a few days - you would find you much preferred one to another. I tried and didn’t like 4 of the most popular filters. I knew what they did before I bought them - in fact, I usually read manuals inside out before the module arrives at the door.

Here are my ModularGrid racks, in case they are of interest.

This was my first 6U which I bought over the course of 3 months after playing with an 0-Coast for a couple of weeks. The modules reflect the fact that I hadn’t had much experience using eurorack - and was basing my decisions on what I was reading online.

rikrak’s first 6U

Here is a rack of modules I have tried and then sold/traded away or returned. Note that almost all of the first 6U are in here! I researched every one of these modules and thought they would work for me. The only module I think I will buy back is the ErbeVerbe - I needed the cash there:

rikrak’s sold modules

Here are the modules I’m currently interested in. There are a few ‘deep’ modules in there - but many of them are VCAs, Envelopes, Controllers.

rikrak’s wishlist

Finally, for the record, this is my rack today. I just collected my ER-301 yesterday so I won’t be online much today - unless it is to watch ER-301 tutorials!

rikrak’s rack today, feb 25 2018, LCB + LC6

You may find you can tell whether you will like a module just by reading about it - but, I’m sure many people on here travelled a similar path to mine when they were getting started with modular.

With regards to Philosophy and Poetry - that’s Lines! I love it here because the breadth of discussion is so wide. I always seem to come away having learned something. There are other forums discussing modular synthesis - and they definitely have their place too!

4 Likes
#49

hello everybody,im giona from italy, total n00b here, first post.
i’m considering getting a grid and one of the monome euro modules.
i have a 12u portable rack with which i compose and perform. until now i was using it along with external mixer, octatrack and beatstep pro mainly to clock the eurorack from the octatrack and as cv keyboard every now and then. i’m not a fan of classic step sequencers so the bsp is underused and i’m selling it.
considering that i have an er-301 in my case (absolutely in love with it) i think i will first buy an expert sleepers fh-1 so i can recycle my old usb midi controllers (novation remote sl mk2 and korg nanokontrol mainly) and have plenty of knobs\sliders to use as offsets with the 301.

i’m seriously thinking i’d like to have almost all inside the rack, i like the octatrack under many aspects and i became very fluent with it but it always feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the system. given that sample-wise the 301 can do everything i need i’d like to free myself from the octa but i really appreciate his sequencer, especially with latest firmware which brings in trig conditions.

do you think swapping it with a monome grid might be a good choice for having hands on sequencing power? which modules do you suggest to have a weird but effective grid-based hands on sequencer? i’ve been offered a 128 grid + ansible for now.
thanks for your patience!!!
g.

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#50

Recent (and upcoming) developements for ansible have solidified it as best possible euro sequencing module imo.

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#52

Ansible if you want something off the shelf that is instantly awesome.

Teletype if you want to invent your own unique sequencers (and also have a utility toolkit, and and and…)

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#53

Hi!

I’m sorry, this has probably been asked many times here already. But the thing is, I’ve been searching for information on and off for maybe two years now, and haven’t really got a comprehensive answer. I’ve watched all the videos on YouTube and Vimeo I can find, and also read through monome.org, and searched Lines.

My question is:

How workable is the Grid&Ansible combo in a live situation? Could you, say, perform with an hour with the pair taking care of the bulk of sequencing duties?

I currently have a Cirklon, which is of course very flexible, but the reason a Grid is enticing is that it probably lends itself better to live improvisation and on-the-fly creation. Not that it can’t be done on the Cirklon… But in any case, I currently have practically unlimited sequencing power, but am wondering whether the Grid&Ansible combo would be more fun.

Thanks for any advice, and please if you think I’ve overlooked a resource, I’d love to have a link! And would very much like to hear how people are incorporating the two into their live setups and whether they use other sequencers to complement the Grid&Ansible.

3 Likes
#54

So I’m rebuilding my modular from the ground up in a 104hp 3u skiff. I’d like it to be mainly monome/mannequins because I love the look, sound and functionality of those modules. My question is this: for sequencing, do I go with grid+ansible or teletype? or save up for both? what is the best combo for sequencing dynamic, evolving melodies? I do not need to sequence drums, i’ll be starting out with mangrove and hopefully finding an ER-301 at some point.

#55

I’d like to know more about this too…

#56

Personally I would start with Ansible. It’s a lot of sequencing power in a very small footprint, especially if you install the firmware with Earthsea in it. Teletype has much broader possibilities, but its a lot easier and more straightforward to sit down and jam with Kria in my experience.

1 Like
#57

teletype has crazy possibilities, but it’ll need you to rethink your idea of control you have over your sequences in a way that it sounds like you are not looking for. if I were choosing between them purely for sequencing, I’d probably pick grid + ansible

(but note, dear reader, I only have a teletype, for I was not looking purely for sequencing)

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#58

I can’t really answer your question since it’s a very personal choice. They’re both capable of creating mind-blowing sequences. So I’ll just offer a few things to think about. Maybe imagine yourself physically using each one.

The Teletype is really undefined until you add code in live mode or in scripts. Which makes it insanely powerful and flexible, but maybe not as immediate. I’d also consider it a bit less tactile. Without the QWERTY keyboard connected, there’s 1 knob and 1 CV in (you decide what they do) for you to control it. Do you like live music coding, or think you would? Do you like creating sequences algorithmically? it excels at that.

Ansible/grid is a lot more tactile. You have the whole grid as a control surface to “play” it - multiple pages per app even. The apps are already built. And the apps are no slouches - very powerful and flexible. You just need to learn how to use them, which, actually can be a fun and rewarding journey. I’m still on it.

Are you planning to use the i2c features with other modules? It sounds like you might have some that support it on your list. I think Teletype is required for that since it’s the only module that can be the master right now. The ER-301 and Teletype connected together with i2c are pretty mind melting. A user defined event computer controlling a user defined sound computer - and no patch cables required. Save your patch cables for connecting your other modules in, or just relish the idea that they aren’t in your way.

Edit: And of course with Teletype 2.3 firmware in RC 2 right now, the grid can be come a user defined control surface for Teletype. So grid/teletype is another combo to maybe think about. Of course once you’re that invested you might as well have the ansible too. Or at least that’s how I rationalized it.

4 Likes
#59

Wow! Thank you both for the detailed and insightful replies. i think grid/ansible is the way forward for me as i enjoy a tactile workflow and immediate responses. Maybe i’ll even throw an arc or teletype in there someday. this is just to get the ball rolling in the monome world. thanks again!

#60

Hello everyone!

My first post on lines, although I used to be on the old monome forum… I’m looking for a bit of advice on my imminent reentry into all things grid.

A short background first: I have an old, beautiful, walnut monome 64, which I used to use with my laptop along with various hand crafted max patches. However, more recently I have got into eurorack in a big way and have left my laptop days behind. I feel escaping the screen has really helped me enjoy music making more.

Currently I use a Beatstep Pro for sequencing my 6u case but I’d like to switch to using a grid. I was about to order a new grid and ansible but I’m wondering if I should hold off and consider getting grid plus Norns plus crow instead (I have very little space left in my rack).

My questions: with Norns and Crow, am I likely to be able to recreate everything that Ansible can do and more? I know some lua and supercollider, so Norns is very interesting to me, but I worry a little that I’m back to the world of screens and I’ll be over complicating things if I bring Norns into my setup! How are people using Norns in their modular currently? In an effects loop? Can Norns attenuate modular level signals or would I need an output module for that?

Basically, should I just go ahead and order a grid and ansible or wait until crow comes out? I suspect that ansible will be a joy to use and cover what I use my BSP for now, but I don’t want to be immediately selling it once crow comes out!

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this was a bit or a ramble!

#61

About the “world of screens” issues, I feel like Norns is a nice way to separate the technical and creative side of the work. Being able to develop applications on the laptop then using the Norns without it is attractive to me.

I don’t think you will want to sell Ansible as soon as crow comes out. The applications there are not available for Norns (yet?) anyway. Also, once you have a pattern running you can remove the grid and plug it somewhere else.

Also, I think the 64 is compatible with the Norns, and applications you write for it could use it too. So you might sometimes use both grid (one on ansible, one on Norns).

#62

Just mentioning i am using grid 64 GS with Ansible in @scanner_darkly‘s Earthsea port and couldnt be more happy!
I also do know reliable that crow will not be a substitute to sth like Ansible as its not meant to be a host for input/controller devices. Ofc i dont know much else either, but to my knowledge its usb will be for programming only, not for grid. Could be wrong ofc and things could also go in other directions you never know.

2 Likes
#63

Oh wow, ansible and gs64, that’s great, I thought there was some issue that meant this wasn’t possible. Very good to know. Thanks.

#64

There are some things missing ofc.
For example i think i still haven’t memorized how quickly get into recording a pattern because i probably miss some dim ligts and its a certain button combination i really should write down. It does work fine overall.

Also things like when you enter revers Runes, no way to get to the forward rune :smile: means powercycle… i just work without runes.

If you want the full experience, get 128 vari of course

#65

Oooh… that’s an interesting thought! I wonder if it would work with my original 2008 monome 64? Does anyone here know? I think I’d still end up getting the 128, but it would be nice to try it out with the grid I have first!