So how exactly do I start interfacing with my Eurorack?

Matthewsavant · 2013-11-15T16:52:25.000Z

I bought a pair of these:

Amazon.com: Hosa YPP-117 1/4" TRS to Dual 1/4" TSF Stereo Breakout Cable:...

Buy Hosa YPP-117 1/4" TRS to Dual 1/4" TSF Stereo Breakout Cable: Musical Instruments - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

and I am hoping they do the trick, Frankly I don’t know enough about CV.
But I think this should work? All I would need to get now are 4 1/4in to 1/8in adapters to snap on the end of 4 patch cables and I should be good to go right?

What do you guys think?

avantronica · 2013-11-15T17:36:12.000Z

quick bit of fbk - there’s already a couple of threads regarding cv setups etc but i’d urge you to get 1/4 male to 1/8 female adaptors at the end of your breakout cable so you only offer adaptor free 1/8 cables to your eurorack … ah on re-read i see that’s what you intend to do, so yeah that’s gonna get you connected just fine - fwiw stereo adaptors will work fine and should be easier to find, but get mono if u can

use the fx track for pitch/gates to begin with (Press SRC, Enc E to toggle track CV is lifted from)
use the full set of toys on the cv track for whatever you like
set the voltage range appropriately (-ve too)
and save a kit with the settings and Ext input settings if you pull audio in via a4 fx

then ignore all that advice and break some rules but not circuits !!

Cocker · 2013-11-15T18:15:51.000Z

That should all work very well. Nice and tidy. Won’t be good for your eurorack sockets having heavy adapters hanging out of them for long periods of time.
I’m going a slightly different route.

I bought 2 of these:
http://www.dv247.com/cables/cordial-dual-mono-jack-to-stereo-jack-cable-1-5m–200458
And four of these:
http://www.thomann.de/ie/thomann_1011_miniklinkenstecker.htm

I plan on soldering the mini jacks on to the ends of the insert cable.

I purposely picked the cordial insert cable as the shields screw off giving easy access to the jack soldering bits. Don’t have much soldering experience but hoping this will boost my DIY skills and give me nice tidy no adapters no fuss solution

avantronica · 2013-11-15T19:04:42.000Z

musical chops : coding chops : soldering chops : it’s all the same thing right ! it’s worth getting your fingers dirty in the long run. separate cables & no adaptors

@cocker - that y cable looks mighty fine, just be careful that you get good strain relief from your 1/8" plugs as the cable looks wider than you’d normally feed a jack that size (maybe scalpel the dia down inside to clamp it well)

Matthewsavant · 2013-11-15T19:08:37.000Z

Very informative avantronica, Thanks! I do plan on running the output though the A4 as well and saving that kit. I’m only on day 3 with my A4 so still a little bit to learn but I am loving it!

I’m going to have to read up on what to set the voltage too etc…

@cocker that solution looks good too I just couldn’t be bothered to solder anything.

thanks again!

Cocker · 2013-11-15T20:06:52.000Z

""avantronica"":

musical chops : coding chops : soldering chops : it’s all the same thing right ! it’s worth getting your fingers dirty in the long run. separate cables & no adaptors

photo.JPG600×450 84.3 KB

@cocker - that y cable looks mighty fine, just be careful that you get good strain relief from your 1/8" plugs as the cable looks wider than you’d normally feed a jack that size (maybe scalpel the dia down inside to clamp it well)

Now that’s a nice cable in your pic. Did you make that yourself? That’s probably more the kind of thing I’m after. What kind of core cable or wire (not sure what the proper term is) did you use? And more importantly where did you get it from? Looks to be the same gauge as your average eurorack patch lead. I’d prefer something like that. means I wouldn’t have to hack up my nice insert cable too. Links / Info much appreciated. Kind of new to the whole DIY aspect so not really sure what to be looking for in terms of supplies. But plan to get a little DIY work shop going for in the near future. So much cheaper to buy kits when it comes to eurorack stuff. Cheers!

avantronica · 2013-11-15T21:10:50.000Z

That’s one of mine. The cable is about the gauge of a regular HiFi in-the-box interconnect, same figure-of-8 dual core/screen. I’ve made cables for ages, so I can’t recall where every plug cable came from, but I’ve stopped shopping at Maplins years ago due to the high prices, these guys do very good prices and free delivery (uk) - i tend to get a bunch of stuff in when i have a few projects to do

I used Neutrik TRS, but the method to attach the screen with those (otherwise top drawer) is fiddly^n - the Rean brand is Neutrik(china) and those particular 1/8 jacks are v good with strong clamps, the little black marker is a bit of sheath from another cable to denote Tip in my studio wiring. I’m pretty sure all of those are readily available, try finding a different TRS though. Some products on that site have pdf diagrams so you can see the config.

If it were me, I’d get some very long stackables, split in two or sacrifice one plug and put two of those in a TRS

For anyone else tuning in there’s this route too

avantronica · 2013-11-16T09:24:25.000Z

@OP if it’s not too late you need to find a pair/4 of these, got one of these with my Dark Energy, forgot to recommend !

Matthewsavant · 2013-11-18T02:21:29.000Z

@avantronica Too late I already grabbed 2 of those y cables and have 4 1/4 to 1/8in adapters on their way so that would work out nicely. But thanks! Can’t wait to get the A4 talking to the modular!

jonah · 2013-11-19T18:14:14.000Z

I had tried these patch bay cards, for use with insert cables, but it didn’t work for me.

I’ll have to try again at some point, (like after I post this! ) but it was not behaving as expected.

In the US, Markertek has nice, cheap 1/8 to 1/4 cables. tecnec…

oh look at this: http://www.markertek.com/Cables/Audio-Cables/Audio-Y-Cables-Y-Cables/TecNec/Y-SPFS-2M.xhtml

if you’re like me and plug the a4’s CV into mults this is perfect…rad! Ordered.

Also, I have my a4 vertical (far from something for heavy plugs or jacks to rest on), so using right angle plugs with a longish cable distance to breakout jacks/plugs helps reduce stress on the a4.

sicijk · 2014-01-10T09:29:29.000Z

""avantronica"":

musical chops : coding chops : soldering chops : it’s all the same thing right ! it’s worth getting your fingers dirty in the long run. separate cables & no adaptors

photo.JPG600×450 84.3 KB

@cocker - that y cable looks mighty fine, just be careful that you get good strain relief from your 1/8" plugs as the cable looks wider than you’d normally feed a jack that size (maybe scalpel the dia down inside to clamp it well)

Hey there Dude! what cable manufacturer is that?
Looks like the cable i’ve found in some churches…but i really need that because of the diameter,and i dont want to go to a priest asking him (if he ever knew that) where to get 'em.
Thanks mate!
-gg-

avantronica · 2014-01-10T09:39:47.000Z

""sicijk"":

[quote=“avantronica”]musical chops : coding chops : soldering chops : it’s all the same thing right ! it’s worth getting your fingers dirty in the long run. separate cables & no adaptors

photo.JPG600×450 84.3 KB

@cocker - that y cable looks mighty fine, just be careful that you get good strain relief from your 1/8" plugs as the cable looks wider than you’d normally feed a jack that size (maybe scalpel the dia down inside to clamp it well)

Hey there Dude! what cable manufacturer is that?
Looks like the cable i’ve found in some churches…but i really need that because of the diameter,and i dont want to go to a priest asking him (if he ever knew that) where to get 'em.
Thanks mate!
-gg-[/quote]
Avantronica Industries SpA Inc PLC (Scotia Division)
It’s the sort of cable (ignoring the ends) you might find bundled with a HiFi appliance, a stereo, figure of 8 cable, available from your electrical bits 'n pieces store, or the internet - shouldn’t be a problem to source, even in short runs, but if you struggle PM me, i’ll help you out - not necessarily with the soldering though

sicijk · 2014-01-10T12:22:17.000Z

ahahahhaha…ok ok !!

No problem with soldering (it’s one of my zen hobby)

So i’llsort them out!

cheeeeersss!

poonti · 2014-01-10T13:06:42.000Z

“I love the smell of burning flux in the morning!”

Jonzey · 2014-01-29T02:46:16.000Z

Great thread here guys!

Just got my A4 a few weeks ago.
DIY cables are the way to go. Works like a charm.

The A4 is such a great machine. It has made my moduar come alive!

low_resolution.jpg3721×2481 1.02 MB

Sink_LowRes.jpg3888×2592 1.08 MB

avantronica · 2014-01-29T10:49:50.000Z

^ very smart job

that SEM filter is a wee affordable gem in a rig full of goodies, fun !

nice to see some non smart phone pictures too

Cocker · 2014-01-29T16:53:53.000Z

""Jonzey"":

Great thread here guys!

Just got my A4 a few weeks ago.
DIY cables are the way to go. Works like a charm.

The A4 is such a great machine. It has made my moduar come alive!

low_resolution.jpg3721×2481 1.02 MB

Sink_LowRes.jpg3888×2592 1.08 MB

That’s a nice job you did there. Any deets on how you put them together ? Materials wise I mean. What kind of cable is that ? I have yet to make my own cv gate cables for my A4. I got a nice temp controlled soldering iron for christmas and I have a few 4MS diy kits waiting to be made. So the time is now

Jonzey · 2014-01-31T06:36:46.000Z

""Cocker"":

[quote=“Jonzey”]Great thread here guys!

Just got my A4 a few weeks ago.
DIY cables are the way to go. Works like a charm.

The A4 is such a great machine. It has made my moduar come alive!

low_resolution.jpg3721×2481 1.02 MB

Sink_LowRes.jpg3888×2592 1.08 MB

That’s a nice job you did there. Any deets on how you put them together ? Materials wise I mean. What kind of cable is that ? I have yet to make my own cv gate cables for my A4. I got a nice temp controlled soldering iron for christmas and I have a few 4MS diy kits waiting to be made. So the time is now[/quote]
Start by picking up a Insert Y Cable. I bought mine locally, but most music stores and online retailers should have plenty. Get 1/4" stereo to dual 1/4" mono. I clipped off the mono ends and replaced them with 1/8" mono, which you can buy cheap at Radioshack or any electronics supplier.
When attaching the 1/8" plugs, note that the Y cable has copper wire in the center (hot) and copper wire that spirals around (shield/ground) when making your solder connections.
Also, I took a tip from Avantronica’s photo and marked one of the plugs with tape to distinguish the difference between Tip and Ring.
Let us know if you get tripped up anywhere.

Area303 · 2014-01-31T07:44:00.000Z

""Jonzey"":

Great thread here guys!

Just got my A4 a few weeks ago.
DIY cables are the way to go. Works like a charm.

The A4 is such a great machine. It has made my moduar come alive!

low_resolution.jpg3721×2481 1.02 MB

Sink_LowRes.jpg3888×2592 1.08 MB

Wow, really nice job! Smart move with the Mults as well.

I just paid for one of Daren Ager’s adapter boxes. That’s a very nice alternative. Not as cheap, but rather handsome