Your modulars (Part 1)

[plragde]

@sloki

I think if I were to sum up what my issue with Maths is, is that it’s sort of a jack of all trades but with extra steps.

I think Maths was historically very important, as it brought Buchla/Serge ideas to Eurorack, and the quirky design/presentation probably helped sell it. But it feels a bit dated, like the dish that made a restaurant’s reputation but they can’t take it off the menu or change it, as that will upset the regulars. And from an educational point of view, the packed-in utilities and creative writing in the manual really get in the way.

I should count up how many modules I own that can do a decent kick drum. Probably more than I would estimate.

[J3RK]

I feel like Maths, Serge USG/VCS/etc. Buchla 281 all do exactly what they should do. However, there is definitely room for more interesting or more traditional or more East (depending on point of view) modulation sources. I absolutely have to have some linear slopes available in a modular if I’m going to be using it. (loopable of course) However, I also like to have various types of LFOs, sometimes an ADSR (also loopable when possible) and then I like to have more less conventional modulators as well. I always liked the Envelators, and the IME Harvestman Slope/VCA module as it had wave tables for the shapes. (can’t remember the name off the top of my head) I’m sure there are TONS of variations available in Euro now, but I haven’t been following closely for almost 20 years now. After I started designing, I stopped buying modulars. I still miss some of my old Euro, Frac, and 5U systems though. I wouldn’t call a standard function generator dated exactly, as it performs a very specific and necessary (for many at least) function but yeah, there are definitely some snazzier options available. Multi-point envelopes for example are cool. Triggerable LFOs too. I like trapezoid generators as well.

I made a trapezoid generator that could also do splines. (I did a bit of a hack and used a sine shaper to do the curves rather than try to do something like real splines, but the results were similar.) The problem was, being an all analog and CMOS design, the board was a pain to build for a single modulation module. There is only one of them out in the wild. It’s in Ireland now. I was thinking about refining the design, and building a few more though. It was kind of fun.

I love that analogy Yes, we know about the fois gras, we want something NEW!

[g0r0s]

This is mine, sadly I’m selling it, but made some amazing things with it:

[elxsound]

I don’t think it’s a matter of them being beholden to a design people expect of them. The current version of Maths is version 2 (Unchanged since 2013). Additionally, when they made the last batch of QMMG, they described it (QMMG) as an old way of designing modules, not modern and that Maths was originally intended as a patch-buddy to QMMG.

Then there’s a design philosophy that I’ll reference loosely (because Mimeophon) where they talk about a preference for fewer controls on a larger space as opposed to cramping features together seen in some newer modules, and definitely some of the shrunken MI clones (not digging at Falistri - and again, they made Mimeophon).

I wouldn’t be surprised if Make Noise designs something new, simply because Behringer sells Abacus that’s often on sale for $50, compared to Maths at $290. It won’t be long before Abacus is on every intro-to-eurorack mockup on MG instead of Maths more so because of price.

[ignatius]

@elxsound

I wouldn’t be surprised if Make Noise designs something new, simply because Behringer sells Abacus that’s often on sale for $50, compared to Maths at $290. It won’t be long before Abacus is on every intro-to-eurorack mockup on MG instead of Maths more so because of price.

shit. wasn’t aware that behringer ripped off the MATHS. just looked at sweetwater and it’s on sale for $59. wtf. crazy. i wonder how the curves? maths/function make really awesome shapes… especially the exponential attack. fckn behringer.

[J3RK]

It’s kind of sad that they’re copying the “little guys”. I mean in the modular / Euro world MakeNoise is big, but in the world of synthesizers, they’re not big.

Makes sense that they could get it down low though. The core of the VCS/USG/Maths is four transistors controlling an integrator. But it’s something that’s remained a sort of mystical, “touch it with care” sort of design for decades. Most people make their own versions of it for that reason.

I never quite know where to stand on the Serge / Serge derivative thing, and even less so with this now. Yikes, is all I’ll say about it.

Guess it was bound to happen. I wonder when Uli is going to raid my GitHub now. I make all my designs public. (obviously some of my designs are based on past circuits too, but I generally like to only use parts, and ask for permission when I do want to borrow something)

Uli probably wouldn’t like my designs anyway. I use a lot of expensive parts.

Anyway…

[brut_zero]

I have an ES-9 and love it. It’s my only interface now. I use it with bored brain xcelon and i/o for both modular and line level signals. Works perfectly! No more aggregate devices, no more issues. Been running this set up for a year and I’m very happy with it.

[plragde]

@J3RK

I wouldn’t call a standard function generator dated

That is not what I was calling “dated”. That is a timeless concept and an important building block. I was referring more to the specific design of Maths, both aesthetically and functionally. I don’t think Falistri gets it quite right, either: the separate skew unit has no CV control over rise/fall, for example. But it’s closer. There’s still room to innovate in this area, I think.

[elenacortes]

Don’t you have a MI Stages ? I thought you had few MI

[plragde]

The only MI I have is a clone, Calsynth Pachinko (Marbles), which frustrates me. I replaced it with SIG, and then again with Clank Chaos (it’s still racked, but in a third case).

In terms of function generators, besides Falistri, I have Delta-V, and arguably Quadrax qualifies.

[elenacortes]

@plragde : SIG ?
I was interested by it, but find it too much complicated for my modular use, wich i want simple and with few menu diving.

What are your thoughts about SIG ?

[ddiamond84]

I recently got a delta-v and out of all my function generators I own (which is quite a few now) it’s by far the easiest for me to use and the one that makes the most sense. I love it! I’m gonna crack the code on the others one of these days though…these concepts are hard for me to grasp with any fluency.

[plragde]

@ddiamond84

I’m gonna crack the code on the others one of these days though…

I posted a link to my flânerie upthread, which tries to make function generators accessible. It’s a bit of reading, but hopefully not too strenuous.

Your modulars

I don’t hate it. I just think it’s over-hyped, especially for beginners. I set out to write a demystification to help said beginners, but switched to using another module (Falistri) to illustrate the basic concepts, and I explain that choice here: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~plragde/flaneries/FIMS/Falistri__A_Function_Generator.html

[MichaalHell]

I think the coolest aspect of marbles is its CV sampling abilities. I love patching a cv and gate sequence through it and send it out to my oscillators for a remixed version of the original CV.

[plragde]

@elenacortes

What are your thoughts about SIG ?

I really like SIG. It is probably my favourite Eurorack source of V/oct and gates. I don’t think of it as requiring menu-diving, since it has no screen, but there are button combos and hidden states. There is a lot of information printed on the panel, though, and for basic operation you can pretty much ignore it, because there are twelve slides for the semitones, five octave knobs, and five note duration knobs. All of these set probabilities. There are two buttons, LOOP and RUN. LOOP+RUN captures a loop, and then LOOP toggles whether it is playing or not. Crucial difference from Marbles: with SIG, you return to the same loop until you overwrite it. So you can exit the loop to noodle stochastically, then go back to the same loop, much better musically (Marbles throws away the loop when you exit). RUN+LOOP resets everything. Holding the buttons individually lets one access a whack of secondary and tertiary functions, but these can be easily ignored until you are ready to deal with them.

Key jacks at the top are clock in, clock out (there is internal clock), pitch CV, and trig out. Except that it is “TrEG”, the E standing for envelope, which you can control with those 2e/3e functions I said you could ignore. Also there are three more completely independent channels. No screen, so you have to remember what is going on with them, but nice to have.

So, basic functionality: patch CV of channel 1 to the V/oct of your voice, trigger to your envelope generator, tap RUN, push up the C slider, and you will hear intermittent notes. Turn the 16’ and 4’ trimmers to get octaves above and below. Push up G and D# (E♭) and you have a random arp with a C minor chord and gaps, across three octaves. Capture a loop, play it for a while, leave it, go back. This is not what I would call menu-diving. You can boost or diminish probabilities for any note, any octave, at any time. The durations become more important when you are using the TrEG envelopes, or when the note density gets too high for you.

I’ve already posted a link to my flânerie twice recently, and I won’t do it again, but my longer writeup of SIG is in section 3.4.9.7.

One thing I will say, about the complexity of this module, is that it helps to have some rudimentary music theory. You can’t just select minor pentatonic like you can on Marbles. You have to know the notes. This module was designed by a music teacher.

[plragde]

@MichaalHell

I think the coolest aspect of marbles is its CV sampling abilities.

I had high hopes for this but found it awkward in practice (same for CVilization, which I hang onto in anticipation of the completely different oscillator firmware being promised). I hope that Clank Chaos will do better, but I have not spent significant time with it yet.

[elenacortes]

Thank you for your detailled explanation. Maybe i will consider it again.

In fact, few months ago i decided to take a Torso1, in place of a SIG, cause i thought it would be more easy to play with it than SIG. My only deception about it, is the fact that there are not user possibility to modify voicing behaviour. But the pleasure still immediat.

I have put your flaneri work in my favorite and take time to read it. I have so much to learn with modular in particular and music more widely.

[elenacortes]

I would add that with Flaneri you are producing a nice work, maybe a future classic handbook for modular students.

Great respect for writers
Thanks

[goldfarb]

Klee is FINALLY finished, started it a few weeks ago but got the flu and couldn’t think straight enough to finish it…

By FAR the hardest thing I’ve tried to build yet…not because of the number of components etc but be cause the of the front panel - half of those switches are 2-position so no matter what they don’t line up with the front panel without a great deal of wiggling around…the pots are a PIA, and the whole thing is now almost impossible to take apart without de-soldering a bunch of things that were hard enough to solder in the first place…

having said all that I’m a bit thrilled to have finished it and not see any smoke…all the LED light up, I can clock it…hard to tell if the LEDs are lighting up when they’re supposed to given the complexity but after a bit of calibration I’ll know if it’s working properly…

[audiofreak]

Hey guys, I would like to add a small modular case to my rig, I really like the Intellijel Atlantix so I´m planing use a 62 4U palette, already have some stuff in mind but I´m missing a sequencer and a reverb that can fit on the space left, nothing too fancy as I don´t want to use a larger case … any advice? I`m new to this and I just want this small case for live perfomance, thanks!