Taiga from Pittsburgh Modular

The Lounge Other Gear
#182

I haven’t used either, but I find it fascinating that they both share some cool modulation heritage (e.g., wavefolding and dynamics) yet their sound comes across quite different in demos. Taiga has more knocking, thocking, and softer organic sounds in the tunes I’ve heard. The third oscillator adds a lot to the sound too.

In contrast, I haven’t heard nearly as many demos of Cascadia, but the few that I have felt a little more aggressive and dirty, perhaps owing to the FM and ring mod. But the sample size is too small to generalize from.

#183

Cascadia does have some lovely clean tones I’ve found, the sinewave wave pushed into soft clipping in the mixer is really really lovely pure sound, but yeah with all that FM / Ringmod / post filter wavefolding all normaled ready to go on top of having numerous places to drive and soft clip I think first thing people are kind of driven to is seeing how they can push those boundaries.

I think a biggest design difference between the 2 is Taiga is a bit more focused on being a Mono/Para and while it has knobs for setting the depth of something like FM you don’t get an mod input to control that knob with CV. Cascadia while also routed as a mono has a ton of mod inputs to go with its offsets so you don’t need to go use your VCA to do that like you might need to on the Taiga. Like wise things like the folder on the Cascadia is a separate module from the osc and only outputs the folded sound, using the mod means you can use it like another VCA of sorts. Ringmod also can be used with an envelope like a more bootleg VCA. So you have lots of ways to stop and open sound. Envelope B can run as an osc rate and can track with CV pitch… add the utilities and that sort of stuff kind of adds up to make it feel like more of a full system of sorts.

Still tons of ways to get creative on either. Taiga has a unique design and will do things that cascadia won’t but cascadia likewise is gonna have a lot of things it can do that are beyond the scope of a taiga on its own.

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#184
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#185

What a wonderful video, Nilsec, thanks for sharing :slight_smile:
Can anyone help me with some guidance? I’m looking for something semi-modular to pair with my Hydrasynth Desktop. I’m currently looking at both 0-Coast and Taiga. Both seem like very fun additions, but how limiting is the 0-Coast compared to the Taiga?

For reference, I adore making ambient slowpaced music (everything upbeat and with lots of instruments and beats I handle in the box). I like sampling and layering to make drones and walls of sound etc.

#186

3 vs 1 oscillators. Taiga has a lot more to offer in the pads and drone department I think. Would love to have either of those one day though.

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#187

there’s a lot of great semi modulars. Pittsburgh Modular also makes a modular synth called the Voltage Research laboratory that excels are weird droney, West coast stuff. Although you really can’t go wrong with the Taiga.

#188

Made. Can’t get it now, and everyone is waiting on the VRL2, which has been teased for some time now.

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#189

I have an original VRL with the custom case and touch controller. (It’s even signed by Richard Nicol!)

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#190

This is what I’m doing right now: I recently picked up a pre-owned 0-Coast in a trade, my first “real” semimodular. I really admire the Taiga, so I’m going to try the 0-Coast as a way to gauge whether semimodulars are a good fit for me. If I love using 0-Coast and make cool stuff, then maybe a Taiga would also be a good fit down the road, but if the 0-Coast goes largely unused, that tells me a lot. Following this progression, maybe a Cascadia someday, but I won’t spend >$2K figuring it out.

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#191

Nice. I’ve read about a lot of people kicking themselves for not getting one when they had the chance…

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#192

Some semi-modulars are “more modular” than others. I wouldn’t judge the Taiga (or any other semi-modular) based on the 0-coast.

The Intellijel Atlantis, for example, really needs other modules and utilities to to do interesting things with it outside it’s default architecture,

I’ve own/ed the following semi modulars

  • MS-20 mini :-1:
  • Intellijel Atlantis :+1:
  • Voltage research Lab :heart:
  • Cascadia :heart::heart:
  • Volca Modular (this one hits way above its price point!) :heart:

The MS-20 mini was my first semi-modular and I didn’t get along with it, and ended up never using it.
a few years later I got the Voltage Research Lab and absolutely loved it. Same with the Cascadia
(the Cascadia’s utilities and comprehensive Envelopes make it absolutely amazing to patch with.)

#193

I wouldn’t judge the Taiga (or any other semi-modular) based on the 0-coast.

Sorry, I must not have been clear. I’m not judging the Taiga at all. Just explaining how I found a less expensive way to evaluate whether I enjoy the experience of trying weird patches.

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#194

Yeah I think the makenoise semimodular stuff is pretty brilliant, they make it really feel like an instrument and not just a ready made modular. I think a good affordable counterpoint to try is the pico system 3, kinda of a more raw modular experience, no built in attenuation you need to make use of your limited supply of mixers. Between the two you will get a really good idea of where you might miss a nicely placed attenuator or where you might wish for some random utility.

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#195

Being this is a Taiga thread there is relevance to discussion of Taiga’s qualities vs other semis. But may I suggest a thread like the one below for a “which semi” discussion :

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#196

Thanks a lot, friendo :slight_smile:

#197

I think I should get the Taiga to at least get a taste of what modular can offer.
At present my modular=0, but I have the Werkstatt, K-2 and MS-20Kit which allow limited connectivity.

I have been oohing and aawing on whether to go modular since at least 2017, but have not acted on it, as I am have been vetoing almost all of my synth purchases.

The last synth I bought was a Modwave in September 2021, and before two Abyss in 2018, so my MTBS (mean time between synths) is fairly long.

As I DIY my own S&Hs, I think I could do well with the Taiga!

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Starting small with modular
#198

Got the Taiga here for a while, and this dfamy acidy thing is the first thing I came up with. Syntakt is just sending Midi. Enjoy :wink:

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#199

I’m also a fan. It’s feels very friendly as you’re learning to use it.

Has anyone else noticed that the knobs have the same colour palette as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ logo? Surely a deliberate choice, methinks!

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#200

Has anyone encountered the following problem with their Taiga?

After a few days of leaving mine in its box, when I switch it on (with only the power connected, no MIDI, no patch or audio cables), it appears to start up in a frozen state.

There are random wave LEDs and a few others illuminated but none of the little black buttons anywhere on the device respond. I think the analogue circuit is active but it’s like the digital control component is inactive.

Turning it off, waiting 20 seconds and turning on again makes no difference.

The only reliable solution I’ve found is to perform the factory reset (three-button salute), switch off and then on again. This returns the Taiga to an apparently fully working state. However, if I leave the unit off for a day or so, I’m back to the frozen-on-power-up situation.

#201

I’ve never encountered anything like that, and that sounds weird. Contact technical support – they are very responsive and helpful.

1 Like