Razmo's Gear Rant Thread...

[Razmo]

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/656564

Moduar grid link to my new modulation case... including modules I intend on getting later ... 6HP left for something I do not yet know...

There's a lot of great things you can do with 6HP. A second Blender might be a good choice in a nice modulation case like this. You can also fit a Boss Bow Tie. I freaking love Boss Bow Tie. A CV switch solves so many logic-related problems, and there's pretty much nothing like it in the hardwired synth world.

Or, you know, leave that 6HP blank for a while and see if anything jumps out at you.

The ToolBox in there actually has a switch that is CV controllable... maybe that will do?

But you're right... I'll wait until I find something I feel that I need... I basically took all from SSF/WMD that has to do with modulation, and I can see that i could have a need for those modules in certain cases when it comes to modulation stuff for sure... modulatioin of the audio modules at audio rates is what really intrigues me a lot since it gives so many weird and wonderful timbres for FX and stuff... I'm using my Random module all the time and it keeps on surprising me with it's versatillity and usefullness... even using it's clock output works as a square oscillator that is wonderful for modulating stuff at audio rates, and the random clock output is really something special... I've not even utilized all its potential yet... to me it's the master random module.

here is by the way, a link to my Audio Case.. .it has a few modules I yet have to get... the TRSHMSTR and the uFold...

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/653930

[chysn]

here is by the way, a link to my Audio Case.. .it has a few modules I yet have to get... the TRSHMSTR and the uFold...
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/653930

Your rack is private, we can't see it yet.

The ToolBox in there actually has a switch that is CV controllable... maybe that will do?

Oh, yeah, there's plenty of stuff you can do with a 2:1 switch. Boss Bow Tie is a 8:1 or 1:8 switch. It can gobble up all of a Tetrapad's outputs and send them all over the place. It's changed the way I think.

[Razmo]

Ahh yes... it was private... it's not anymore... but also I decided to restructure things a bit... I thought that when getting a MOOG case I could as well go for a three-case stand, and then call it the end.

I thought about creating a hardwired setup anyway, so I chose to let the three-case stand hold anything that modulates audio or CV sources, that is; modules that do not produce signals by themselves, but manipulate them instead... filters, waveshapers etc...

Oscillators, LFOs, Envelopes and other modules that actually create signals will be inside the KB37, with the TONESTAR being sort of like the centerpiece in which other tone generators are plugged in...

This setup allow for a great deal of flexibility without getting completely out of hand, and I can see an end to buying stuff when it's all setup...

Reason I chose this is because the ideer of constantly taking modules out and putting them back inside the KB37 is tiresome really, and also it will stress the connectors in the long run. it will also give me a setup with 287HP in the end.

[chysn]

I thought that when getting a MOOG case I could as well go for a three-case stand, and then call it the end.

I get having one Moog case for eurorack, but by the time you're thinking about three, you should maybe look at a Mantis.

First off, you're looking at (US dollars here) $88 each for the cases, and a µZeus and 2A power supply for each one ($115 for each case) for a total of $609 for 168HP (note that 12HP is wasted in µZeuses). Of course, you could cut holes in all three cases and fish the power through, and get away with one µZeus to keep the price at $379 for 176HP. But this is extruded aluminum and it's going to be a pain in the keister to drill.

But a Mantis is $335 for 208HP, and it's got its own power supply.

There are other options, too, with and without power. Erica makes a nice-looking 168HP skiff without power, Intellijel and Make Noise both make 208HP skiffs with power.

I mention this because my first plan was the triple-Moog. I even had the rack assembly in my possession before I realized what an expensive and awkward solution it was going to be.

[Razmo]

I thought that when getting a MOOG case I could as well go for a three-case stand, and then call it the end.

Its a matter of space... I do not have the width on my desktop for a Mantis case, if I had, I would certainly have done that... There really are no other options spacewise that will suit my requirements...

I know it is more expensive mostly because of the tripple power modules, but I do not need to buy all of the cases and power modules at once... In the long run it will be more expensive, yes, but I can find no cases with about 42-60HP width that is also having the upwards slanting that the MOIG stand offer... If you know of any such case, do not hesitate telling me

I get having one Moog case for eurorack, but by the time you're thinking about three, you should maybe look at a Mantis.

First off, you're looking at (US dollars here) $88 each for the cases, and a µZeus and 2A power supply for each one ($115 for each case) for a total of $609 for 168HP (note that 12HP is wasted in µZeuses). Of course, you could cut holes in all three cases and fish the power through, and get away with one µZeus to keep the price at $379 for 176HP. But this is extruded aluminum and it's going to be a pain in the keister to drill.

But a Mantis is $335 for 208HP, and it's got its own power supply.

There are other options, too, with and without power. Erica makes a nice-looking 168HP skiff without power, Intellijel and Make Noise both make 208HP skiffs with power.

I mention this because my first plan was the triple-Moog. I even had the rack assembly in my possession before I realized what an expensive and awkward solution it was going to be.

[chysn]

Well, you can't bend space, and Moog is unique at 60HP. At least it looks pretty nice in the tiered stand.

[Razmo]

Got the TipTop Audio ONE today, and promised to say what I feel about it...

first... the quality of the playback is really good... 24bit up to 96KHz is definitely hearable compared to the modules working at 12bit output.

One of the nice things is that there is no interpolation going on... no hardwired samplerate... it's the sample rate itself that is changed... this means that the sample data is played back 1:1 ... this also introduce some "aliasing" (in lack of a better word) when playing very slowly simply because the samples play back so much slower and has no interpolation algorithms (it cannot interpolate since the actual sample rate is slowed down... there are no ekstra "sample slots" to interpolate in between... still, it sounds marvelous in my opinion.

There is ONE caveat though that I did not realize until I thought it over... the CV input is NOT 1v/o... the manual states that, but at the same time it say that it is not needed as the module have a quantize mode to give you the 12 equal tempered scales... that made me think that in this mode ONE would track the keyboard, BUT IT DOES NOT! .. .if you think of playing this module from a keyboard, it will NOT fit the 1v/o as the manual state, so many keys play the same note in succession (about 3-4 keys in a row).

ONE was probably made without a keyboard in mind, and more as an audio file player you could use in a modular system without an attached keyboard... you simply choose a pitch, and use ONE to play back a sample in that pitch... if you need to have sequencers or a keyboard play it correctly you would have to use some kind of scaling module to process the 1v/o CV before entering the ONE module.

Luckily for me, I'm not going to be playing this module melodically, otherwise it would have been returned because of this... I need it primarily to play back sampled chords and FX Vocals and Drones for further processing, so being able to just select a quantized pitch is fine with me... when I get a scaler module I might try to see if it's possible to process the CV input for playing it from the keyboard, but it's not an essential requirement for me in any way... the module does exactly what I want from it ... if you need such a sample playback device (for drums/FX for example), then it does sound really good, is easy to use as well. And the fact that it can also be used as a complex LFO at very slow rates makes it interesting in this aspect as well...

One thing more though is that it seems that the ONE module play back in "chunks" of 1024 samples (or was it lower? can't remember)... this means, that if you intend on making LFO waveforms or seamless single cycle audio loops with this, you should keep that in mind... they HAVE TO fit in those "windows" of 1024 samples, otherwise you'd get clicks and pops when the thing loops... this is quite easy to do though if you know how to use a sample editing application, so it does not pose a problem for me either. i bet this has to do with the way you read from an SD card... the ONE is playing back samples live by reading from the card, and it will read in banks of sample data, most likely 1024 samples at a time, and for some reason it play these chunks to the end... it's just the way reading from an SD card works... I once wrote assembly code to read from an SD card, and I remember this clearly.

[BobTheDog]

Hi Guys,

I don't know if this will interest you but the Bela Salt and Salt+ are now available: https://blog.bela.io/2018/05/02/salt-a-programmable-eurorack-syntesizer/

I have both modules ordered, I have a couple of existing Bela setups but getting it in a Eurorack format is a dream come.

They are limited in number so if you want them hurry up.

[chysn]

I don't know if this will interest you but the Bela Salt and Salt+ are now available: https://blog.bela.io/2018/05/02/salt-a-programmable-eurorack-syntesizer/

That's very cool! There's always part of me that's drawn to this kind of thing. I used to write custom firmware for Mutable Instruments Peaks, and I pushed that thing pretty far before letting it go. I've sort of been looking for another platform on which to revisit my Palimpsest sequencer code, which is basically a sequencer that's programmed via triggers leaving scars on a rolling virtual substrate.

For me, ADDAC's Open Heart Surgery is more compelling because of the hardware angle, but I'm always looking out for programmable modules. Thanks for sharing!

You should start up a thread in the Modular forum to show us what you do with the thing, when you've had some time with it.

[chysn]

Got the TipTop Audio ONE today, and promised to say what I feel about it...

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Do you find that it's pretty responsive? When you say Go does it Go? In other words, can you use it for pretty tight percussion sequences?

ONE was probably made without a keyboard in mind, and more as an audio file player you could use in a modular system without an attached keyboard... you simply choose a pitch, and use ONE to play back a sample in that pitch... if you need to have sequencers or a keyboard play it correctly you would have to use some kind of scaling module to process the 1v/o CV before entering the ONE module.

This is a good use for the Tetrapad/Boss Bow Tie combination. You can dial in a set of voltages in Tetrapad's Voltages Mode, and then select between the voltages with Boss Bow Tie. This is how I get DSM03 to track melodically.

[BobTheDog]

I don't know if this will interest you but the Bela Salt and Salt+ are now available: https://blog.bela.io/2018/05/02/salt-a-programmable-eurorack-syntesizer/

That's very cool! There's always part of me that's drawn to this kind of thing. I used to write custom firmware for Mutable Instruments Peaks, and I pushed that thing pretty far before letting it go. I've sort of been looking for another platform on which to revisit my Palimpsest sequencer code, which is basically a sequencer that's programmed via triggers leaving scars on a rolling virtual substrate.

For me, ADDAC's Open Heart Surgery is more compelling because of the hardware angle, but I'm always looking out for programmable modules. Thanks for sharing!

You should start up a thread in the Modular forum to show us what you do with the thing, when you've had some time with it.

Ah, I thought that section was for DSI stuff only. I will stick something there with more info: https://forum.davesmithinstruments.com/index.php/topic,2527.msg27354.html#msg27354

[Razmo]

Got the TipTop Audio ONE today, and promised to say what I feel about it...

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Do you find that it's pretty responsive? When you say Go does it Go? In other words, can you use it for pretty tight percussion sequences?

ONE was probably made without a keyboard in mind, and more as an audio file player you could use in a modular system without an attached keyboard... you simply choose a pitch, and use ONE to play back a sample in that pitch... if you need to have sequencers or a keyboard play it correctly you would have to use some kind of scaling module to process the 1v/o CV before entering the ONE module.

This is a good use for the Tetrapad/Boss Bow Tie combination. You can dial in a set of voltages in Tetrapad's Voltages Mode, and then select between the voltages with Boss Bow Tie. This is how I get DSM03 to track melodically.

I've not sequenced it yet... don't even know if I will be using it this way, but when triggering it from the gate output of my KB37 it responds instantly... I can feel no kind of lag or anything... I do know though, that in the manual it states that some of the trigger modes are more responsive than others... but what they mean by that I don't know... yet.

In my case it really does not matter anyway because I'll be using it mainly in loop mode, and will not even trigger it from a gate signal... I'll just fire it from the button on the module... this is because I want to use it as a simple audio file player... I will be playing long looped atmospheres, drones and nature FX from it, leaving it "on", sort of like an oscillator... it's sound will be recorded live while it's output is being manipulated live... so I have no need for extremely low latencies or similar. I can say though, that firing sound from the button works in a not so performance friendly way... if you press the button, the sound is triggered when you RELEASE the button again... but other than that, it works fine

I like the module a lot ... it's not going anywhere... i could have gotten a Disting mk4 instead which has a crazy amount of features instead for almost the same price, but for some reason that module does not kick my GAS anymore... mainly because of the convoluted menu system, and because I usually go for one-knob-per-function modules... I was intrigued by it having both sample playback and a wavetable oscillator, but I'd much rather have my Kotelnikov (which I really like too by the way) and ONE in my rack at the same time...

Besides these tone generators, I'm looking to find modules that can fire off some chord progressions easily... until now I've found two that catch my interest, but there are probably others... these are the Telharmonic and Plaits... I might get both, but specifically the Telharmonic has a nice way of controlling chord progressions with just a single CV input... that's pretty interesting... I also need another stand alone analog oscillator, but that will be the Studio Electronics - Slim O... simply because it's the same as in my TONESTAR module, and I'd like the two analog oscillators to be of the same type electronically..

[Razmo]

Well... I thought it over and cancelled the moog case and power order... I see where this is heading, and i do not have the space to continuing a eurorack setup growth... I will stick with my initial plan, only using what can fit in the KB37, having more modules stored to pick from, when making a setup for a project.

When I though about it, what I tried to du when selecting the modules for a project was getting as much variety squeezed in, whick naturally allways left me with the feeling of having to miss something... This let to an urge to expand with more racks, but even then, I get this urge to vary the modules even more... There is no end to this in eurorack.

So i thought it thru really hard, and decided that what i really should do, is create a "synth" for each project... One not meant for doing everything, but a dedicated setup for a purpose, a synth that I could give a name, and with modules specifically chosen to act together in a more hardwired fashion.

Thus I do not need a lot of different oscillators... 1-3 is enough... No need for different filter flavours, one filter is enough like in any standard synth... So it will be a selection of oscillators, a mixer, a filter, a VCA and an FX module... With the usual complement of modulation modules to go along like LFOs, EGs etc.

Each new project will feature a new synth, all with their own strengths and weeknesses... It will also make each project not sound as if coming from the same synth... I will be able to never gro tired of a bigger but static system.

I thus ordered two new filter modules instead, as I feel I need some various filter flavours to work with... Doepfer WASP and SEM filters.

[chysn]

I get that. I'm a big fan of small systems. It's a totally different philosophy than the common scattershot theory. Keep it small, give it focus, hone the module selection until it's perfect. No need to do everything, even when everything can be done. I love the process of developing that kind of system, but it does take a long time.

The Doepfer SEM is a good choice.

[Razmo]

I get that. I'm a big fan of small systems. It's a totally different philosophy than the common scattershot theory. Keep it small, give it focus, hone the module selection until it's perfect. No need to do everything, even when everything can be done. I love the process of developing that kind of system, but it does take a long time.

The Doepfer SEM is a good choice.

Yeah... I listened to the SEM from Doepfer and found it sounds just as good as any other SEM clone, and it's a lot cheaper than anything else... nothing fancy in design, it just does it's job, and that's fine... you could probably find something that sounds a little better, I don't know, but then again, what is better? ... There are quite a lot of those variable state filters out there, so it would take forever to listen to them all, even more choosing one... It is also often a problem choosing between sound and HP... I like to find them as narrow as possible without sacrificing sound quality... but the Doepfer SEM sounded nice and strong... In general, I wanted a state variable filter because I really do not have any voltage controlled Hipass/Bandpass filter ... I have a bandpass in the Erica Dtech Polyvoks filter... but even if i like that filter, it has so much "character" it generally smash anything you put thru it, into a destroyed mass of grungy, acid screaming sound... I call it "The Flyswatter" ... because that's the aural sensation I get when putting something nice thru it... it's outcoming being the audio equivalent of a smacked fly

[chysn]

The only reason I got rid of my Doepfer SEM is that I wanted a 24dB filter. So among all the filters I had tried (including Doepfer SEM, DSM01 Curtis, Boomstar 4075 ARP, WMD MMF), I kept Ripples. It's 8HP with 24dB and 12dB lowpass outputs, and a 12dB bandpass output. It's also got an internal VCA, like the DSM01.

If you decide that you need a Roland Jupiter style filter, it's nice. But you've got me wondering how the Doepfer A-106-5 would sound in my current system.

I call it "The Flyswatter" ... because that's the aural sensation I get when putting something nice thru it... it's outcoming being the audio equivalent of a smacked fly

Heh. That counts me out. I like 'em smooooooth.

[Razmo]

The only reason I got rid of my Doepfer SEM is that I wanted a 24dB filter. So among all the filters I had tried (including Doepfer SEM, DSM01 Curtis, Boomstar 4075 ARP, WMD MMF), I kept Ripples. It's 8HP with 24dB and 12dB lowpass outputs, and a 12dB bandpass output. It's also got an internal VCA, like the DSM01.

If you decide that you need a Roland Jupiter style filter, it's nice. But you've got me wondering how the Doepfer A-106-5 would sound in my current system.

I call it "The Flyswatter" ... because that's the aural sensation I get when putting something nice thru it... it's outcoming being the audio equivalent of a smacked fly

Heh. That counts me out. I like 'em smooooooth.

I guess it's also different for each user, what you really need when it comes to filters... in my case I find that the filter is what gives the sound it's special character... I definitely hear the delicate differences, not only between 12 og 24db ones, but also within the same type... thus I want some variety to work with depending on what sound I am after in a given project...

I've always liked filters that have a vintage timbre to them... possibly because I'm a huge Jarre fan of his first albums... ARP is one of my favourite filters, which i know Jarre also used heavilly back then... that muffled warmth takes me back to that era.... this is also why I got the TONESTAR 2600, and I simply love the sound of that filter...

But... I sometimes need a highpass filter as well, especially when synthesizing stuff like snares, hihats and cymbals... they are almost impossible to create without a highpass filter, so a State Variable filter is very useful to me in many situations... but I also like gnarly, distorted and unstable filters for screaming leads and crunchy basslines (probably a left over from my Hardcore Techno days i guess)... so I soon realize that I must have a few different flavours of filters... I'm also very much into the filter I think you or someone else mentioned earlier in my rant thread... it was one modeled over the KORG mini 700... sounds absolutely fantastic.

But then again.. a lot of modules intrigue me... that's the danger of Eurorack land ... I've catched eye of the new Mindphazer from Hexinverter too... love it when they cram a lot of features into few HP spaces, and the more wicked stuff you can make with it, the better

[BobTheDog]

I get that. I'm a big fan of small systems. It's a totally different philosophy than the common scattershot theory. Keep it small, give it focus, hone the module selection until it's perfect. No need to do everything, even when everything can be done. I love the process of developing that kind of system, but it does take a long time.

The Doepfer SEM is a good choice.

Yeah... I listened to the SEM from Doepfer and found it sounds just as good as any other SEM clone, and it's a lot cheaper than anything else... nothing fancy in design, it just does it's job, and that's fine... you could probably find something that sounds a little better, I don't know, but then again, what is better? ... There are quite a lot of those variable state filters out there, so it would take forever to listen to them all, even more choosing one... It is also often a problem choosing between sound and HP... I like to find them as narrow as possible without sacrificing sound quality... but the Doepfer SEM sounded nice and strong... In general, I wanted a state variable filter because I really do not have any voltage controlled Hipass/Bandpass filter ... I have a bandpass in the Erica Dtech Polyvoks filter... but even if i like that filter, it has so much "character" it generally smash anything you put thru it, into a destroyed mass of grungy, acid screaming sound... I call it "The Flyswatter" ... because that's the aural sensation I get when putting something nice thru it... it's outcoming being the audio equivalent of a smacked fly

The Doepfer SEM filter is pretty good I think, I have a couple of other SEM filters in my Tinysizer and they sound a bit nicer (to me) but not that much difference. I keep thinking of getting a Polyvoks, probably the Elta one: https://www.eltamusic.com/polivoks-filter not eurorack but on the list.

[Razmo]

I get that. I'm a big fan of small systems. It's a totally different philosophy than the common scattershot theory. Keep it small, give it focus, hone the module selection until it's perfect. No need to do everything, even when everything can be done. I love the process of developing that kind of system, but it does take a long time.

The Doepfer SEM is a good choice.

Yeah... I listened to the SEM from Doepfer and found it sounds just as good as any other SEM clone, and it's a lot cheaper than anything else... nothing fancy in design, it just does it's job, and that's fine... you could probably find something that sounds a little better, I don't know, but then again, what is better? ... There are quite a lot of those variable state filters out there, so it would take forever to listen to them all, even more choosing one... It is also often a problem choosing between sound and HP... I like to find them as narrow as possible without sacrificing sound quality... but the Doepfer SEM sounded nice and strong... In general, I wanted a state variable filter because I really do not have any voltage controlled Hipass/Bandpass filter ... I have a bandpass in the Erica Dtech Polyvoks filter... but even if i like that filter, it has so much "character" it generally smash anything you put thru it, into a destroyed mass of grungy, acid screaming sound... I call it "The Flyswatter" ... because that's the aural sensation I get when putting something nice thru it... it's outcoming being the audio equivalent of a smacked fly

The Doepfer SEM filter is pretty good I think, I have a couple of other SEM filters in my Tinysizer and they sound a bit nicer (to me) but not that much difference. I keep thinking of getting a Polyvoks, probably the Elta one: https://www.eltamusic.com/polivoks-filter not eurorack but on the list.

The Dtech Polyvoks clone is the only Polyvoks filter I've ever had, so I'm not too familiar with the correctness of it... but one thing is certain... that filter is really hard to tame I feel... no matter how hard I try, I cannot get any booming basstones out of it, just grungyness, distorted screaming and really insane selfoscillation... it's perfect for the ACID genre no doubt, plus more techno inspired stuff... I actually have used it for other purposed like a modulation source for audio rate modulation of other tone generators when using it in self oscillating mode... i feel it works wonders in the higher of the lower register plus in the mid... it will certainly wreck almost anything coming into it... but I like that unpredicatability, it gives lots of fun surprises when experimenting

[Razmo]

I know that some of you will be facepalming me now, and with good reason because I've decided to drop Eurorack... the reasons are those that I feared when I ventured into it... I have a VERY hard time not having any serious polyphony... the second reason is those darn presets.

My creativity is destroyed when I have to patch everything over and over again, it's that simple. I really do like the variety in sound you can get, but it takes a lot of modules, and to patch them simply kill my eagerness to compose... also I can see that no matter how many modules I get, there will always be something lacking with a compact system, and I do want a compact solution because I want ease of use... I'm tired of technicalities...

So I'm selling out at the moment... luckilty i did not spend a greater fortune on this, and at least I've tried it out so I know it's not really for me anyway.

I've decided instead, that I'm going back to the Prophet REV2 ... will buy one again in a week or two, and then I will not be buying anything again for a straight 6 months (at least), promising myself that I WILL NOT BUY ANYTHING AGAIN until I've actually done some projects with the REV2... just pure ambient synth music.

When these projects have been done, and those 6 months have passed, I'll know if I miss anything in particular... if not, I'll just stick with the REV2 as my only synth... if I feel I need some digital sound generators for wavetable and FM, I'll buy a Prophet 12 to complement... if I feel I miss some kind of sample oscillator, I'll buy a Prophet X as well... but all in all I'll not buy more than 3 synths... my soundcard allow for 3 stereo analog inputs, and I still want my setup to be compact... three will be enough... maybe even one...

There is no need to try and talk me out of selling the Eurorack stuff... the selling has already begun, and I'm perfectly fine with it... it was nice trying it out, but it's just not for me