Starting a modular

This is the best way to try out the mutable modules. Free as well

https://vcvrack.com

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Yeah, but I have a problem : glass just destroys my vibe, I can’t seem to be able to play music with a computer or an iPad :weary:
That might change in the future… Organelle may be the link for me to get back to the screen…
But so far I’ve been swallowing my pain, I’m just a hardware guy :level_slider::musical_keyboard::level_slider:

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I’m the same way right now. I’m going to have to change back to computers at some point, i’m sure, for where I want my stuff to go. But I’ve got Reaktor 6 and VCV Rack and I just get annoyed at trying to patch things together instead of having fun. Purely a personal thing - they’re both fine software and implementations, but that disconnect that I used to love (used to do so much in SuperCollider 2 and then Reaktor and friends) just bugs me these past few years.

Organelle seems like a nice compromise.

That crazy modular lust I was feeling a week ago is subsiding, for now.

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Vcv rack is a great way to try before buying the mutable hardware

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VCV Rack sounds great and is a good way to try out modules.

My MacBook Pro’s fans go full out within seconds of launching – no other app causes this to happen – even with no modules loaded and nothing running.

Been that way the last 3 or 4 minor version bumps.

Shame, as it generates some unique sample fodder…

I’ve read that if you go through all background running programs and Apps and close the ones not in use it will reduce the fan noise.

I have an Organelle- and I just bought my first rack with about $1300 worth of modules. Organelle will not cure the modular lust, at least it didn’t for me! However, I did put the OTC software on my Organelle today and now have a video synth which is super bad ass!

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moneypit!
timesink!

don’t do it :slight_smile:

It is a bit as getting a DAW … everything is possible but you have to invest time… and time is the enemy of creativity…
inmho

:slight_smile:

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My own thoughts bling exactly.
Plus these days I do a lot of music out of my house, so some powerful gear I can bring in a bag is ace.
And I have this Paula Berthe project : electronic / no beat / noise /ambient…
So Organelle it is.
:slight_smile:

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thanks to everything I am broke…
otherwise I would take a closer look to organelle :slight_smile:

Thanks for suggestion, tried lots of options already, nothing works. Launch VCV and CPU hits 100% in seconds.
Guess it’s hardware incompatibility or something.
I’ve uninstalled and moved on…

I have a friend that now sunk 12000€ in his Modular Quest, and its never ending. Oh that new function, and this makes such a nice bleep.

When i look into youtube, there is a lot of videos showing guys doing some bleeps, but a lot doesn’t feel like actual music.

The modular can generate very good sounds, but in a musical context, how long does it take you to come up with a good patch ? On analog 4 it takes me 10 minutes, up to 1h for a sound that i really like, and which is usable. I can recall this sound, whenever i want.

I can record this sound, and if i later think, that the recording was not ok, i can come back later, and start form that point.

With modular you have to record everything, and you need to process this recordings. Often there is no way back.

If you really want to do it, i would think about a module that is continuously recording what you do.

I would also go for Hermod, or a Pyramid, to sequence it.

There will be a lot of utility modules needed, a lot of things which are standard on a normal synth, will cost you 100 - 150€ to get this function.

Cool an oscillator , its just 400€, ohhh - now i need an envelope for it, another 150€, now an LFO, 150€, and so on, etc. Oh, there is this fancy wavetable module, its just 800€. And it comes with a cool sticker. (totally worth it.)

I personally would avoid it, its a serious money and time sink. Maybe in a limited format like the Fusebox. But the risk with a open ended system is that you don’t find a limit. And limits enhance creativity.

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I don’t get how people work with modular synths to actually make music that other people will enjoy ( I mean something other than Tangerine Dream- like stuff).

Not having patch memories, and having to deal with cable spaghetti would make me totally bored very quickly.
Do people with modulars create sounds and sequences that they want to use, then sample them and layer them with other samples in a DAW?
I just can’t see the use for modulars apart from pure synthesis for sampling, sound effects etc.

There are plenty of people out there that play their modular quite well.
I’ve played with Le Comte once, and he was amazing.

You don’t have to unpatch each time, and you can just play the synth you’ve built until you want to make it another way.

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I can definitely see why they call it eurocrack. In the world of music there are so many toys, so many tiny aspects of your sound to get caught up on. infinite kinds of subtle coloration, compressors and mixers, external effects, synthesizers, drum machines and samplers, monitors and computers, then virtual instruments and effects on top of that. New toys being released every 6 months and old toys becoming more and more unattainable. Then whole communities form around it and the industry feeds it. Every one of these people builds their own rig, over years of deliberation and reading comparing gear and talking with other gear heads about X vs Y.

I think the thing about eurorack for many is, once we’ve reached a point where we’ve got what we need to make quality music the lust for more doesn’t end. Eurorack allows people to truly build a high quality custom instrument. Thousands of hand made modules to choose from that add functions, effects and otherwise drastically alter sound. It allows people that new gear feeling endlessly without the sting of spending 50k on a mixing console for a couple of FX and a nice subtle sound coloration. there’s definitely something to say for the creative aspect of modular patching but in my opinion it’s often significantly easier to make creative noise than music. I’d love a modular. I love customisation and I love making noise I’ve never heard before even if no one else would want to hear it; deep down though I know I’d just be avoiding making music

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these days, many people use the modular as a full blown studio environment.
Everything happens inside the modular, beats, melodies, pads, effects, noises. They mix everything inside the rack and record the whole output as one stereofile ready to master…

don’t know your musical taste, but I enjoy listening to a lot of music created on modulars. That’s what got me excited in the first place. Not sound effects, noises, farts but beautiful tracks coming out of a modular. Found many artists that I love now by watching eurorack videos on youtube.

It’s expensive yes, and you can do a lot of that stuff otherwise. But it can be extremely fun and creative.


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Ok fair enough. but these were just two examples of tracks I really like.
I could go on forever with posting videos of unknown artists :slight_smile:

i see. the more i think about the whole eurorack world and the lack of saving states of patches i
feel that something like the organelle is a good compromise between the modular patching based approach
(in the digital domain) and the hands on side using a interface with a dedicated dsp. but still pd can be pretty challenging. its a whole universe of options. a lot of time to spend learning the system…if you want to edit or build your own patches.

The Nord modular is a great compromise

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good hint. i never thought about this! thanks