Starting my modular

I found that many small, seeming unassuming, less glorified modules (i.e. cheaper than seq modules etc.) together can be very beneficial to a modular system, I don’t have any seq, modules, for example, but I discovered that a few clock division modules, switches, matrix mixers (and vcas of course!) can do wonder. Cheaper, vanilla/utilities modules can place you in a more experimental situation. At least that’s my experience. :+1:

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If u starting with eurorack i wouldnt recommend the dfam and labyrinth as the “core” of the set-up. You should instead try to focus on a different system more complete and then you can work with them together.

If you’re a visual learner, an oscilloscope will help you “see” how CV and audio signals are affected by various manipulations. The Korg NTS-2 or Mordax Data are two options focused on synthesis, but there are lots of cheap digiital oscilloscopes that would work equally well with a little more effort.

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Personally before buying anything i would explore the combo you already have, there are lots of I/O´s between the two, the fun part with modular is doing uncovential modulation. use the outputs of the oscillators to modulate a filter (FM) or a wave folder. Let each sequencer modulate each other to create a feedback network etc.

after doing this, i would sort out what i enjoyed doing most and try to get modules which lets me explore that further.

one of my favorite things to modulate is clock with audio… by either converting the audio to CV or directly. the key for that is to be able to dampen the signal so that it only affects the clock by a tiny bit. so for that i would need a VCA of some sort and an envelope follower. I only came to that realization by experimenting with what i already had at hand.

So my advice is to do that.
Imo FX is the most boring part with Eurorack!

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I have the dfam and sure i know it lacks from 2 or 3 lfos, also only two rows of 8 step is not much,
in simple and efficient modules i added the quad mini lfo from doepfer and the varigate 4+ wich add some randoms in the 8 step sequencer , you’re at 4hp +12hp , i think the seq qwitch from doepfer is a good inverstement two and it’s 4hp;
dfam and labyrynth have zero effects so you could go on that , the perfect winner for me is the monsoon, a 12hp clone of the clouds with augmented numbers of controls.

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one thing that was annoying whle i was crosspatching the dfam and the neutron was the lack of real mixer, i was using dfam mixer but was loosing the noise output, there’s plenty of good mixer in tiny form factor, just check they’re suitable for audio & cv mixing

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No offense but thats how things usually turn out in the end if you start with eurorack, you always want something new. I would recommend to just play with the two and stop there. If you want to expand with eurorack I would recommend to buy a complete system, there is a lot of good systems out there

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Sorry for my last comment. It was sarcastic and I should know better. Thanks for your input.

I have a DFAM (and a lot of euro) and without even looking at the Labyrinth’s functionality in depth, I could think of a couple things you could add.

First, I agree you could stick to those two only for longer and really push against the limitations of what they can do together.

But one thing I do when I break off things in a 48hp pod, often to test a new module ‘alone’, is to include Pam’s. For a single module (and I actually kind of enjoy the accuracy of the menu diving and per click parameters) it is so useful to test something with clocked modulation. It would give you many more modulation options, as well as sequencing options to trip up the Moog units in new ways. So, for only 60hp, I would hands down vote for a Pam’s while also embracing the nature of it’s workflow. Frankly, I think the clarity of understanding with it is worth the menu diving aspect of it.

As an extension of that, you may consider a 3hp MFAD which can add a reset to the DFAM. It greatly expands on the 8 step sequencer which could in turn probably expand the Labyrinth as well, if only by triggering the Labryinth with the DFAM somehow.

And lastly, I think you’re right about FX. And I won’t make a case for in rack or out, but those Moog units definitely want some processing. If you take the advice about the Monsoon, I’d also look at the Typhoon while you’re at it. However, I think for your setup, you may get more mileage and benefit of learning by a more straight forward delay and reverb. Not the cheapest option, but if you stayed in rack, 2 FX Aids would provide MANY options for a long time to come, as well as allow you to try more experimental FX. They would cover a huge amount of FX territory without the pressure of committing to one kind of FX unit at this stage. The FX Aid XL has 3 cv ins for modulation, and regular only has a single assignable input. I have 2 of the XL’s.

TLDR: get a Pam’s :sunglasses:

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I think @MichaalHell is right that you should work with these two for a while and see what you need. But @Wilshire is also right that Pam’s is good in a small case, especially for someone starting out with Eurorack. While I have mostly sidelined mine in favour of more immediate (if less precise) options, I did pull it out recently to pair with a new large module I was learning. It isn’t what I’d call “playable” but I can get it to do what I want without having to remember elaborate button combos.

(They did a small production run!)

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I know, I looked it up. It’s a bit chonky for a quad LPG, but that’s MN’s style, I guess. Two Natural Gates are only $200 more and take up the same space. If you could get them at list price, which you could for a few days just a short while ago.

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I assumed you knew about the QMMG, the surprise was that makenoise announced a new run of QMMGs today.

(for those less familiar with oldskool modular memes, QMMG has been an unobtanium grail for a long time, and MATHS is a meme module due to its incredibly flexibility and complexity)

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Thanks, I missed that detail. A new run of unobtanium is always welcome, even if the price is eye-watering. I guess it will not be sold in Europe?

I should probably have bought a Natural Gate, used it for a month or two, and then sold it to recoup my costs. But I haven’t sold anything since leaving the US, the payment and shipping options are just too fraught when I can’t speak the language. Plus I’m pretty sure I’d like it and want to keep it, and I am really out of space at this point.

OP, gaze on this in horror. This is what Eurorack does to people.

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highly recommend the FX-Aid by Happy nerding. they are small (or large, i have the 4hp) and sound massive… another rec is the versio series by noise engineering… the main reason? both modules are interchangeable FX you can swap/build. there are a TON to choose from. everything from reverbs to freq shifting or wave folding or granular delays. i recommend getting things that can change with you over time as your modular expands, which is inevitable as you are about to go off the deep end.

They say they are shipping to dealers world wide, so probably a good idea to talk to your local dealer if you have one.

One of my acceptance tests to confirm that my language skills are good enough to move to Japan is to buy and sell some used gear in Japan, in Japanese, at one of the stores that assures customers that Japanese is the only language spoken by the staff.

There is some sort of vactrol ban in Europe, is what I was referring to. I do not have a local dealer. It’s Elevator Sound in Barcelona or Schneidersladen in Berlin, both of whom are very helpful.

Very different challenges for me with Portuguese and Japanese. The only thing that saves me in Japan is the overuse of ritual phrases (plus the fact that the language is uninflected and pronunciation is relatively straightforward). I will pass that test in Portugal long before I do in Japan, I think. But I could not live there. I will be content with visits (a lot harder since I moved five time zones east and Russian airspace was closed).

So after doing more research I’ve identified a couple of modules I would like. One is a hands on delay (no menus) and the other is a nice envelope generator to expand the labyrinth. Any suggestions?

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For the delay, do you want to modulate its parameters using CV or just turn knobs? Edit: will it be end-of-chain or do you want to process the resulting audio further within Eurorack or semi-modular?

For the envelope generator, do you want ADSR or will AR/AHR do? The latter is more common in Eurorack, but there are full ADSR generators (I have never felt the need, even though I can build one). Would you consider a function generator, which can also loop, so provides LFOs, regular gates/triggers, and audio-rate modulation (in some cases even an oscillator voice that can track V/oct pitch)? Maths is the most popular example, but there are many others.

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Modulate parameters with cv. The audio from the delay will be fed in to other modules. AHR would be enough for the envelope. I’ll have a look at Maths.