Yep. Yepyepyep. Can’t agree more. The effects modules are often challenging to use, and inventive use of them requires making use of lots of their inputs. For instance, Clouds really comes to life with lots of modulation - that’s what all those input jacks are for, after all. Buying an effects module without suitable modulation tools to manipulate it - LFOs, envelopes, looping envelopes, function generators, noise/random/s&h, etc, etc - will often lead you to wondering how you can’t replicate the way other people use it.
More generally, and more personally: I generally believe “modular as a big effects board” can often be a hiding to nothing: you end up spending a lot to do things that are not always its strong point; once you’ve put an input module, enough modulation to manipulate your effects, enough utilities… you have a very, very expensive alternative to a guitar pedal. Even compared to an expensive boutique pedal.
That said: building a small system, carefully working out what might be next, and ending up with an effects module as the ‘icing on the top’ can often be super-rewarding; all of a sudden, all the simple tools and utilities open up new possibilities in the effects module, rather than an effects module that’s only doing one trick.
Finally: modulargrid in moderation. So many people spend ages on that damn site theorycrafting their perfect rig. Don’t be that person. It’s useful to see what’s out there, get some inspiration; but it doesn’t tell you what things are like to listen to or use or how they synergise with each other. Listening and playing will tell you that.
Question: do you have a budget?
