Ooh, I like This Modular Rack...

[foosnark]

Not rushing out to buy this, but, god damn if those aren't some good looking panels. Definitely on the quirkier side.

Yeah, very classy panels. Some nice sounds from them too, but I really wish it had individual outputs for the different waveshapes, and maybe FM and sync inputs. It's one of those things where they missed the opportunity to make it transcend its original design when they made it modular.

[Stefken]

not seen this guy before, thanks, i like his presentation style

Yes, he has some really nice videos.
I really like his schematics. I might enroll on his patreon.

schematics.jpg

At the same time, this is starting to get me down because there seems to be no end to the modules that you need. All this stuff needed to get a melody on one voice. This is starting to be one giant money hog.

The Disting Ex is coming back in my viewer as it would fill a lot of my empty spots.
Fx, sample playback & drums, modules like the clock divider + quantizer in the schematic above, implementation of rings, ...

I hope this does n t turn into a nightmare as there seems no end to modules that you need ....
Maybe the safest bet it to try this stuff out in vcv and see what gives...
Behringer Chaos is probably also a good bet as i combines so much of this generative stuff into one module, which will probably be in the same price bracket as their Brains...

[PieBerger]

Edit: got the image link working now!



Is it cringe to like my own Modular Rack? I'm going to do it anyways

I floated the idea of a compact DIY east/west setup, built into a NiftyCase in another modular thread here and I liked the concept so much, I decided to build one for myself.

TZPM and TZFM VCOs with a dual wavefolder and chaos generator (Hypster) provides the "west" influence and the remaining subtractive elements, i.e. multimode filter and standard ADSR envelopes bring the "east" flavour into the fold. 2-channel mixer, precision mult and passive attenuator complete the package.

I really like how this setup turned out especially as there is lots of scope for hotswapping modules in for different flavours, without upsetting the core functionality too much. I have two more 8HP filters in my build pile which can replace the uJove and the 16HP currently occupied by the Hypster and ATT, can be swapped out for any number of other 8HP modulation and utility modules I have lying around e.g. Squid Axon, Primal Hyperchaos, Dual LFO etc. I could also tag in an uO&C or uTU or any other 8HP module in place of the Timbre Timbre, if needed.

Despite experimenting for 18 months or so, I feel like this is my first proper attempt at a proper modular instrument, with a clear purpose.

[ghettosynth]

not seen this guy before, thanks, i like his presentation style

Yes, he has some really nice videos.
I really like his schematics. I might enroll on his patreon.


schematics.jpg


At the same time, this is starting to get me down because there seems to be no end to the modules that you need. All this stuff needed to get a melody on one voice. This is starting to be one giant money hog.

The Disting Ex is coming back in my viewer as it would fill a lot of my empty spots.
Fx, sample playback & drums, modules like the clock divider + quantizer in the schematic above, implementation of rings, ...

I hope this does n t turn into a nightmare as there seems no end to modules that you need ....
Maybe the safest bet it to try this stuff out in vcv and see what gives...
Behringer Chaos is probably also a good bet as i combines so much of this generative stuff into one module, which will probably be in the same price bracket as their Brains...

Everything in that patch that is left or north of the quantizer appears to be about generative melodies though, no? The voice appears to be straightforward.

[vurt]

Edit: got the image link working now!



Is it cringe to like my own Modular Rack? I'm going to do it anyways

I floated the idea of a compact DIY east/west setup, built into a NiftyCase in another modular thread here and I liked the concept so much, I decided to build one for myself.

TZPM and TZFM VCOs with a dual wavefolder and chaos generator (Hypster) provides the "west" influence and the remaining subtractive elements, i.e. multimode filter and standard ADSR envelopes bring the "east" flavour into the fold. 2-channel mixer, precision mult and passive attenuator complete the package.

I really like how this setup turned out especially as there is lots of scope for hotswapping modules in for different flavours, without upsetting the core functionality too much. I have two more 8HP filters in my build pile which can replace the uJove and the 16HP currently occupied by the Hypster and ATT, can be swapped out for any number of other 8HP modulation and utility modules I have lying around e.g. Squid Axon, Primal Hyperchaos, Dual LFO etc. I could also tag in an uO&C or uTU or any other 8HP module in place of the Timbre Timbre, if needed.

Despite experimenting for 18 months or so, I feel like this is my first proper attempt at a proper modular instrument, with a clear purpose.

that's a nice looking rack
congrats

[imrae]

Edit: got the image link working now!

Love it, this is my jam. (Would swap the NLC ADSR for a Tracky Dacks or Triad, though )

The attenuators seem a bit superfluous when most of the CV inputs have their own, including the VCAs. What do you mainly use them for? (And how do you like the NLC VCAs? Thinking about including in the next order...)

[Stefken]

Everything in that patch that is left or north of the quantizer appears to be about generative melodies though, no? The voice appears to be straightforward.

Yes, this is generative. Of course nobody is forcing me to go generative, but that is one of my main interests.

I had another look at Ornaments and crime after my rant.
It could take up the task of clock divider and quantizer, so i might be able to pull it off then or most of the patch.

Towards generative, O_C would bring extra possibilities to the table as this quad quantizer that can be fed with 4 internal turing machines. Bring in a cv, and you can lock the sequence or allow some random notes to come in. The melodic part of Marbles seems to work in a very similar way (adds bias control).

[ghettosynth]

Everything in that patch that is left or north of the quantizer appears to be about generative melodies though, no? The voice appears to be straightforward.

Yes, this is generative. Of course nobody is forcing my to go generative, but that is one of my main interests.

No, but the point being that you can probably go hybrid with some of that for a while using VCV to generate voltages if you have the right interface. If you want to go whole hog modular on that though, then yeah, you're stepping outside of the zone of budget. You just can't get around that you're going to need more utilities in addition to the basic modules.

I'd make a list of the generic module names and their multiples from a bunch of videos like that and then try to distil that down. Am I misremembering, but didn't you buy the 2600?

[ghettosynth]

Edit: got the image link working now!



Is it cringe to like my own Modular Rack? I'm going to do it anyways

Nothing wrong with liking your own build. I was hoping that people would just share racks and ideas and talk about why they like certain elements. Whether it's their rack or someone else's.

I'm looking for new west coast oscillators, but I'm being super picky. I have a few simpler modules that I like, but that all have flexibility limitations that annoy me. Since I have too many VCOs as it is at the moment, with plans to add several more via DIY efforts, I'm not rushing out to buy something that tends to be on the more expensive side without thorough research.

Since you've been building the NLS modules for a while, I'm curious what your preferred building technique is? Do you use a hot-plate, or do you build them using a standard component by component soldering approach? Also, do you use a microscope, and, if so, what type (binocular/LCD) and do you find that it's adequate for the depth perception?

I'm leaning towards getting a cheap LCD microscope just for inspection purposes, even for through-hole that can be a problem.

[imrae]

I know you asked PieBerger, but...

I solder them by hand without a magnifier. 0805 has not been too bad to handle with tweezers and iron: the ST Modular stuff with 0603 parts was more difficult. Occasionally I use a magnifying glass to check joints or read markings on components.

What's really nice about NLC stuff for DIY is that the schematics are available and fairly understandable so you can do a lot of troubleshooting yourself if necessary. Also Andrew's designs don't use too many funny component values which speeds up procurement and assembly. (The Hypster on the other hand... you can tell it's a Fritz design. Fantastic module, well-chosen values, but a lot of them!)

[dumbledog]

Edit: got the image link working now!

I dig the rack but I'm really digging the tablecloth.

I tried my hand at a couple of those little 0 HP things from Mystic Circuits, which is pretty much all the soldering I ever did before I donated my soldering gear due to space-time reasons. I have more space-time now... maybe it's time to give it another try. Those Erica DIY modules look nice and easy to build.

[ghettosynth]

I know you asked PieBerger, but...

I solder them by hand without a magnifier. 0805 has not been too bad to handle with tweezers and iron: the ST Modular stuff with 0603 parts was more difficult. Occasionally I use a magnifying glass to check joints or read markings on components.

What's really nice about NLC stuff for DIY is that the schematics are available and fairly understandable so you can do a lot of troubleshooting yourself if necessary. Also Andrew's designs don't use too many funny component values which speeds up procurement and assembly. (The Hypster on the other hand... you can tell it's a Fritz design. Fantastic module, well-chosen values, but a lot of them!)

I have a magnifier lamp and I find it's not enough for me anymore. I have a hand-held magnifier that is stronger that works better. Often though, I find just taking a picture of the chip makes it easier to see, so I'm thinking that a cheap microscope for inspection might be handy.

Schematics for DIY is something of a pet peeve of mine. I'm really surprised at how many vendors sell kits that don't include them. So that's definitely a plus there with the NLC stuff. I have an ian fritz pcb for one of his non-euro chaos modules from way back when, maybe I'll build that at some point, maybe not. I'm going to hold off on any of those things at the moment.

I really want to hear about success with the hot-plate method. It seems like such a time saver.

[ghettosynth]

Edit: got the image link working now!

I dig the rack but I'm really digging the tablecloth.

I tried my hand at a couple of those little 0 HP things from Mystic Circuits, which is pretty much all the soldering I ever did before I donated my soldering gear due to space-time reasons. I have more space-time now... maybe it's time to give it another try. Those Erica DIY modules look nice and easy to build.

The new Erica (EDU) DIY builds are super easy and the old ones are decent as well. Very manageable due to through-hole everywhere and high quality PCBs. I love the build guides that come with the new ones as they are really a tutorial as well as a build manual. The videos are awesome. The one thing that I would say is that the new designs are on the simple side so make sure that the design does what you want it to do. The older designs have better knobs, the newer ones rely more on the plastic trimmer pots.

This simple mixer (old design, not EDU) is an easy first build.

https://store.synthrotek.com/Erica-Synt ... p_956.html

I am also super impressed with Befaco kits.

This is a slightly more complex but still manageable first build.

https://www.befaco.org/dual-atenuverter/#

[elxsound]

Everything in that patch that is left or north of the quantizer appears to be about generative melodies though, no? The voice appears to be straightforward.

Yes, this is generative. Of course nobody is forcing me to go generative, but that is one of my main interests.

I had another look at Ornaments and crime after my rant.
It could take up the task of clock divider and quantizer, so i might be able to pull it off then or most of the patch.

Towards generative, O_C would bring extra possibilities to the table as this quad quantizer that can be fed with 4 internal turing machines. Bring in a cv, and you can lock the sequence or allow some random notes to come in. The melodic part of Marbles seems to work in a very similar way (adds bias control).

I didn’t realize it had this, so of course now I’m interested, especially with the 8hp version.

I’m not so much interested in generative as I am interested in happy accidents.

[SHall1000]

I'd make a list of the generic module names and their multiples from a bunch of videos like that and then try to distil that down. Am I misremembering, but didn't you buy the 2600?

I am the 2600 guy. @Stefken bought the Moog Grandmother.