I wonder. Maybe I’ve gone modular without knowing it, and just don’t use modular gear yet.
I got a Blackbox. I record all my stuff into that, and then use Chase Bliss pedals to resample stuff back into the Blackbox, from which I then build the track.
But there’s a lot of workarounds, patching to and fro, switching cables and shit, to make this work. And it hit me -
If I got a Bitbox Micro, a Squarp Hermod, and a couple of modular fx - wouldn’t that be kind of the same, but actually more convenient, even? I’d miss the Chase Bliss character but given the vast world of modular, surely there must be equivalents to the Mood and Generation Loss (which would be the two I’d miss the most) if I went down this path.
I just watched a few videos on the Mutable Instruments Beads, thinking “Yeah, that one’s for me. If only I was into modular.”
I think you’d love eurorack! The great thing about it is that once you decide on your initial modules you find that there is no more GAS and you dont feel any need to get more modules or change your rack! Ideal fit!
There are modules that convert guitar-level and line-level to modular-level, so Chase Bliss is still doable. Plus Bead’s inputs (& Morphagene & many others) can accept & boost line-level signals. It’s the outputs you gotta worry about.
Pittsburgh Modular even made a small Euro case marketed towards guitarists, but it’s gone out of production.
Don’t be like me and try to recreate MnM’s multi-synthesis engines in Eurorack. I purged all Euroack 4 or 5 years ago, but still find myself on ModularGrid, watching Morphagene and Beads videos (hmmm, Morphagene has 2 CV and Gate outputs and Beads has internal modulation, they’d go so well together in a 4ms 34hp pod…)
Yeah, I won’t go into synths at all, if I do this. I’m thinking all the stuff I do with the Blackbox and pedals, might just become a lot more interesting and streamlined if I merged it all into modular.
Syncing is a pain in Euro.
So is ergonomics (your neck; cable spaghetti; jacks on top, jacks on bottom; case/module depth, cases like the Doepfer angled base case - bottom row is unusable for some modules whose jacks are on top, etc.).
Different companies use different CV ranges - you’ll need offset generators, attenuverters, etc.
Some modules have inverted waveform outputs (unintended). Wild Wild West. Eurocrack.
I recently went back to modular (3rd revisit) simply because I missed the feng shui, desk tidiness it can offer, one mains plug easier cable management and less desk space used up.
Mainly stereo effects modules so it’s more like a pedal board effects setup rather than a synth build, Eurorack is catching up to the stomp box world slowly long way to go yet but the choice is there now where one could build a whole studio set up in a modular case
Mine only cost a couple g lol, but spread out over months and like we all do buying and selling (my desktop effects mainly)so that covered most of the cost
@circuitghost If you choose very carefully, get a case with little room for expansion, of course you could build a compact and very unique fx rack for not too much money. Just stay away from demos of beefy analogue osc’s modulating and FMing each other, or amazing, unique sounding analogue through-zero FM ;-}
