Help with first modular skiff

These small skiffs and use cases are exactly why I use this (it’s two sections of blinds polarising vca on a single pcb so very shallow in 4hp - it’s also chainable indefinitely), DIY only though…

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What you have currently is:
Quadrax, Manis, Polaris (3U)
MIDI, Dual VCA, Quadratt, Stereo Line Out (1U).
That is enough to get started.

If in future you want to send MIDI to the Digitakt instead of just from it, we can talk. Right now there’s no need for this.

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Thanks for confirming @plragde :pray:
Did not want to start with more than I can actually deal with for the moment. And yet this is a lot as you can read here below…

From what I understand (that is where it gets scary for you guys :joy:):
1U MIDI will serve to receive clock, CV and gate from the outside world (DT/DFAM in my case).
Quadratt will serve to attenuate CV received before modulation being applied to either OSC, Filter.
Am I correct so far?

Here comes the stupid question: what will serve the (1U) Dual VCA and Stereo Line Out. How will they be connected?
In the case of the latter, I ask the question since the Intellijel palette comes with stereo line out.

Sorry for asking all these questions but I cannot get my head around it.

I don’t have the case so my interpretation might be wrong. Perhaps someone who has it can confirm or correct.

I think you just get jacks with the case. You have to connect the two 1/4" jacks to something (Stereo Line Out, Stereo Line In, Pedal I/O, or the 3U Mixup). You have to connect the MIDI jacks to MIDI 1U. I don’t know if anyone has succeeded in connecting anything else. There is a thread with 335 posts on ModWiggler…!

MIDI 1U will receive from DT. You don’t need to send MIDI from DFAM (again, I am theorizing); you should be able to connect directly using standard modular cables. Same for Subharmonicon if you want to integrate that.

You’re right about Quadratt but it can also receive and mix audio signals from your oscillator and filter.

Stereo Line Out will need to be connected to those 1/4" jacks to be of use. This is why I suggested the Headphones 1U. With that, you can use the case on its own (part of the appeal with these small cases is portability).

There are in-rack and out-of-rack MIDI solutions that aren’t tied to the Intellijel case. The Stereo Line Out is just convenient, not necessary; people do without an output module, sending one or two signals on 3.5mm cables to a mixer or other unit. You could use the audio inputs on the Digitakt, for example.

The Dual VCA 1U has ins and outs. You send it whatever you want from within the case, and send the results wherever you want within the case (or even out of the case, see the previous paragraph).

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@plragde (and @ all others here that have helped / are helping and will keep helping - the most courageous and patients :joy:) I cannot thank you enough for taking the time.
I really appreciate :pray:

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With regards to your question about what to use the VCAs for: You can use vcas as amplitude modulators (opening and closing volume of audio or modulation over time) ór use them as simple attenuator knobs**. So if you already have attenuators in your rack (the quadratt), then you won’t need many more VCAs, as the Manis already has simple Envelope+VCA built in. So a 1U double VCA should be fine, just to have some lanes of movement (for example using an envelope to open up another modulation signal like an LFO).

**PS oh I see you had a 1U VCA withoút it’s own knobs, which should be fine in combination with your Quadratt

Confirmation on the case jacks from someone at Intellijel. Intellijel Palette 4.5U Cases - Page 5 - MOD WIGGLER

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I’ve read this thread and it’s really hard to offer anything - you seem to have some nice ideas. Anything I suggest would really be my preferences! About the only comments are regarding attenuverters and my main one - if it was me, I’d definitely get a larger rack to start with - the initial cost for a larger rack is small - you can always blank off the holes with cardboard/cut aluminium etc. But it gives you a lot of freedom to play later. I definitely found (for me) that there was a critical mass of modulation, vcas, logic, plumbing modules etc before modular became great fun and became worth the effort - for me it started at around 6-9u…. I loved playing with a simple voice initially but all the fun came with the modulation and clocking possibilities that happen when the complexity of the system reached a certain mass - hope that makes sense…. and it’s just one opinion that reflects my personal preferences :slight_smile:

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If I can ask, why did you remove the Mimetic? It’s actually a very easy and fun module for a small rack: I would (and do) use it in this kind of setup to live record some accents/hits that feed into some of the Manis inputs. It’s very hands on that way. When you have a sequence via your midi that runs for example 8 steps, or 2 bars, you can use the Mimetic with another amount of steps (for example 16, or 5, or 6) and have some offset rhythmical stabs of modulation.

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There is an Intellijel 104hp Palette case. Just sayin’.

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@frosty_raver I do appreciate your input and your objectivity.
Receiving that many answers, opinions and testimonies is overwhelming.

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Will keep it for later :slight_smile:
I am going simple for the moment.
Which for me, yet, is quite complicated :slight_smile:

My brain is frying…
I have come across a quite good second hand offer on Reverb including a bag…

NOTED.
That means the 1U stereo OUT has to be connected to the stereo jacks OUT?

Sorry to add to your burden! There is a lot of potential knowledge to assimilate in modular, and it’s not easy to tell what will be informative. I made some decisions to cut down the search space, and even then, it can be quite overwhelming. Also my natural curiosity gets the better of me…

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Yes, that’s right. If you look at the 1U tile itself, it has two input jacks, and one knob. There is no output! The Headphones 1U does have an output (1/4" TRS).

I would let it go for a few days/week and do what you want.

Have fun with it.

I will probably sell my eurorack before moving to Greece and put that money in our food forest … time for a big change in life style, we are ready!

Will still make music but more (electro-) acoustic probably. Less focus on gear, more on skills.

It’s a journey.

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That explained a lot now… Until I get lost again :slight_smile:
Also am I correct in saying MATHS is similar to Quadrax?

Don’t worry, I feel you. First time I went into modular, I bought aimlessly and frantically, and didn’t like it at all. Second time around I bought way less often, took my time, put gas on pause in between modules, and liked it a lot more.

So you’re doing right by starting with the minimal amount of modules based around connecting the Manis to your other gear!

Enjoy it and take your time!

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Other question - sorry that is coming one after the other…
Could I plug the VCA out of DFAM in the 1U VCA (a) and the Iteritas in the other 1U VCA (b)?