Hello all. As of the last couple months, I’ve decided I want to go down the (as small as possible) modular rabbit hole. I have an analog four, and I’m hoping that can be the sequencing centerpiece of the whole thing. Because of the analog versatility of the A4, I’m mostly looking for strange digital sounds - FM, wavetable, etc. Keeping the A4 in mind, and thinking of relatively price conscious individual modules as starting points to achieve these ends, where would you start? Thanks so much!
I’m considering the same thing, and I’m thinking about building a minimal system from the Dreadbox Chromatic modules. chromatic modules - Dreadbox Synthesizers
Anything Dreadbox seems to be worth it, their stuff sounds fantastic and is fairly priced.
0-coast is a pretty fun intro to the world of modular. Mini versios of a few Make Noise modules in there, and quite an unusual waveshapy sound which I really like. You can do a lot with it, especially if you have something to combine it with like the A4.
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I’m actually about to buy my first module to pair with the A4. It’s gonna be u-he’s CVilization. 
I’m interested to see how you get along. I got a nifty case a little over a year ago and I just can’t get into modular. It seems like every time I want to make a sound I say “well shit, I need an LFO for that”. Then have to go buy an LFO. Or I needed another VCA or something.
It was just the constant feeling that I never had what I needed to make what I wanted unless I had a huge system
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A list of modules to start with:
- After Later Audio Benjolin V2 (noisy, gritty, mad)
- Qu-Bit Surface (acoustic-like but totally digital, has VCA)
- Make Noise Telharmonic (my personal favorite, you can easily get it for cheap on Reverb)
- Make Noise Morphagene (sampling and granular synthesis)
- Mutable Instruments Plaits (all times classic, cheap, has it’s own VCA, but I don’t like it too much)
Though I would recommend to start with semi-modular synth like 0-Coast or Moog Subharmonicon, otherwise you’d get in that rabbit hole eventually. You would buy VCAs, LFOs, MIDI to CV converters, utilities for mixing and monitoring, effects, etc.
For example, let’s take Make Noise Morphagene, one of their best selling modules — in order to use it fully, it requires a lot of modulation! They even built a whole system around it, Tape & Microsound Music Machine, which costs about ~$2000.
0-Coast sounds like a perfect segway into modular, because it has all the utilities you’d need to start and it’s sound is pretty unusual and sometimes otherworldly. Also, it’s perfect modulation source for modules like Morphagene.
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My attraction to HW modular is bold/rich analogue sounds, analogue FM and waveshaping. IMO, digital synthesis in eurorack is more of a luxury thing and the immediacy of combining, say digital oscillators with analogue filters; with a good soundcard and a bit of time investment Reaktor 6 can sound as good as any combination of digital modules, then you can stream / clock Reaktor into eurorack analogue modules with Expert Sleepers. Having said that, if I had more funds, I’d look at the Synthesis Technology modules - they do sound very good and very flexible from demos, and I’d definitely get Rainmaker, but that’s just me. Really depends on what your aims/expectations are.
If you’ve got limited funds / limited rack space, my advice would be to get VCV (free) to test and plan very carefully - in VCV (or miRack on iPad) there are emulations of many, many eurorack modules.
I strongly recommend you get a Makenoise Maths.
Also a Disting is really nice as a digital omni module. It’s great to have a module that fills in the gaps of whatever you are patching.
Decided to get an ES-9 from the start so I can get a lot of juice from the giant digital module called a laptop and mix that with eurorack modules that matter to me most, filters and performance related euro modules.
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Realise that elektron machines are modular
And the answer is simple.
Buttons not wires.
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Elektron grooveboxes
become modular modules
with one connection.
.
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I’d second/third that! While it’s not digital, it’s compact and it has a bit more of a west-coast approach (wavefolding) that you can’t get from the A4. It pairs really well with the A4 (esp if you send it through the A4 for fx/filtering/etc), and then if you want to go further down the rabbit hole, it has it a mini Maths module, plus a cycling slope and contour modules built in, which are going to be pretty handy
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I was in a similar situation when I started, with everything driven by an Analog4. My first modules were a 2hp Pluck and a Plaits. For a fair while they were my only two modular voices, with both sequenced by the A4. I still use them both. Plaits is a great first module, particularly while you figure out how best to integrate the modular into your setup. You’ll probably figure out what direction you want to take it from that.
I agree with everyone saying a 0-Coast is a cool step towards modular. My only reservation would be that mine didn’t track too well over more than an octave or so using the CV/Gate inputs.
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thinking about it more and starting to feel like maybe an 0-coast or some such piece would be a better start than diving in to collecting modules. I’ve strongly considered the 0-coast in the past. Any thoughts on the moog DFAM as something to run through the A4? Maybe for the stranger Fx kind of stuff and drum/bass synthesis.
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Maybe sounds like 0-Coast might suit you better, but as a huge fan of the DFAM wanted to point you at this lengthy thread with a lot of good tracks based (sometimes solely) on the DFAM.
A couple of my favourites that also show you how you can go to various directions with it. You can certainly get the blips/blops/fx/even drones out of it but you can also do more melodic stuff.
Something like an Expert Sleepers FH-2 or ES-9 would let you sequence and modulate with the gear you already have.
FH-2 let’s you convert MIDI notes, velocity, CC#’s, etc… to CV signals. It acts as a host and USB MIDI device at the same time. It also has a lot of other capabilities in a pinch like lfo’s, envelopes, Euclidean sequencers etc.
FH-2 would let you plugin your Elektron boxes (supports a usb hub) or DAW and sequence or modulate via MIDI
ES-9 would give you a DC coupled audio interface so you can use things like Max for Live CV tools in Ableton live to modulate your Eurorack.
Both are expandable if you want to grow.
Both take some setup but have presets so you can set it and forget it once you have it how you want.
This would free up your limited space to use mostly fun modules (Oscillators, Filters, Modulation sources, etc) and a few versatile utilities or performance tools that you’ll need.
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i also wanted to take advantage of a few select eurorack modules (namely plaits and basimilus iteritas alter) without having to setup an entire synth voice and control system with eurorack, and the A4 has been an invaluable piece of that puzzle. it’s got the sequencer for super flexible and fun control of 4 separate cv signals, effects, and even allows the modular signal to be processed through its filters, distortion and envelopes. very happy with my A4 and 40hp minirack!
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mutable braids is also a great choice as it can be a full voice on its own.
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How about some sample playback?
The Erica Sample Drum is two voices, which you could trigger with 2 of A4’s CVs, and use the other two for CV control of tuning, length, and granular playback.
Just make sure to use attenuators when sending them back into your A4’s external input for some p-locked FX.
I used a Roland TM-2 .wav drum module in a similar way, but just triggers only. It really helped me get full tunes out of the A4 sequencer by itself, as just a couple extra drum voices really helped.
But I’m jealous of what some of these more recent euro sample modules are capable of.