100% modular LIVE showcase

[Constructed Identity]

I am excited to present my 1st 100 percent modular recording from the euro rack I am still in the process of building.
https://soundcloud.com/constructed-id/l ... al_sharing
It is 84 bpm and starts a little slow, that's how I wanted it. Its actually the 2nd take because the first take started off with bass drum and I didn't want that. I wanted to build tension.
Since going to Knobcon in early September 2024 and hearing people play live I have been planning out what I would do so this is a waypoint on the journey.
Now I want to hear what others on here have made straight out of their euro rack and also what you do with the recordings as far as getting them finished etc.

[justin3am]

Some really nice sounds in there. Great work!
I have a bunch of modular focused videos on my youtube channel, under the '3am noise' playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... iNdmxs4xJU

Here are a few of my favorites:





I have two approaches to recording modular performances... typically I create a patch, record several variations of that patch and then stitch them together into a composition.
In the videos above, I put together several patches at once (which often interact with each other). I then play with those patches for a few days/weeks to frame out the composition until I feel comfortable performing it live.

In either case, I prefer to multi-track, so that I can mix and edit later. I try to do those video recordings in a single take, to keep the improvised feel but I've gotten pretty good at dubbing over the first take of these performances.

A little trick I use... if I'm generating clock from the modular, particularly if the clock rate changes rate over time, I will record the raw clock signal in addition to the audio from the patches (no need for DC coupled I/O to record clock signals). That way I can play the clock back out of my audio interface to "re-clock" the modular, so it's in sync with the first take. That also gives me the opportunity to clean up awkward tempo changes. Not much different from constructing a click track for a song which has tempo/meter changes.

[bmanic]

A little trick I use... if I'm generating clock from the modular, particularly if the clock rate changes rate over time, I will record the raw clock signal in addition to the audio from the patches (no need for DC coupled I/O to record clock signals). That way I can play the clock back out of my audio interface to "re-clock" the modular, so it's in sync with the first take. That also gives me the opportunity to clean up awkward tempo changes. Not much different from constructing a click track for a song which has tempo/meter changes.

That is an absolutely superb GOLDNUGGET of a trick!! Super elegant and extremely useful.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!
bM

[justin3am]

For sure!

I hope we hear from vurt about his approach to live modular improv. I'm impressed by his workflow and output. One of my goals this year is to start live streaming, so I'm interested to know more about that.

[pekbro]

Nice work guys, I need to put mine back together.

[Constructed Identity]

Justin, really like that second recording! I used Pam Sync on a channel on the DAW to sync Pam - that's the master clock in modular, is it any different recording a clock out from Pam?

Overdubbing is a classic recording technique. I feel like I will try to deconstruct a performance by recording musical phrases and then arranging/looping them. I've been listening to a lot of Richard H Kirk lately and I love the way he would play something live with a short hook and then loop it with new stuff.
here -

[justin3am]

Justin, really like that second recording! I used Pam Sync on a channel on the DAW to sync Pam - that's the master clock in modular, is it any different recording a clock out from Pam?

It's the same idea. I do something similar with my ERM Multiclock when I need tight sync with my DAW. It listens to a 24PPQ audio pulse to generate MIDI and analog clocks. However, if you are using Pam's as a modulated clock divider and you use some kind of random generator to do the modulation, it would be difficult to replicate resulting clock pulse timing. Each time, you would get something different. By recording the clock output and then sending it back into the modular (this time bypassing Pam's) you can repeat the same series of clock pulses exactly. It also gives me the ability to edit and manipulate those clock signals in interesting ways.

It's particualrly useful when clocking from the modular, without being synced to a DAW. Like when I gradually reduce the rate of the clock generator, near the end of that second track. If you have an interface with DC coupled inputs and outputs, it can really useful to record all sorts of modulation signals as a form of editable automation.

Overdubbing is a classic recording technique. I feel like I will try to deconstruct a performance by recording musical phrases and then arranging/looping them.

For sure! Even the simplest techniques can be used to great effect. I used to be a heavy beat chopper/loop mangler and while I still love those sounds and techniques, I tend to use them a bit more subtly these days.

[vurt]

For sure!

I hope we hear from vurt about his approach to live modular improv. I'm impressed by his workflow and output. One of my goals this year is to start live streaming, so I'm interested to know more about that.

technical: i use obs, lately using prerecorded loops, because my camera was packed, or rather my usb cables were, the camera was sat next to me.
straight in to track 1/2 from rosie, in the mn rack.
so audio has always been straight to youtube, do not pass mastering

artisan: unlike many of you, i very rarely do anything that is dependent on a single clock source, i like different things coming in and out, often with clocks changing time here n there too. although i guess thats only really important if we want to overdub, rather than a straight live recording. which, in my case, id probably be adding a keyboard line, by hand. i guess i might want my delays and other time fx in time...

generally (outside jamuary, thats less dependent on step 1) step 1 is sit and play for hours, patching and sitting around listening, tweaking and so on. then something will grab me, that i think is interesting enough to share, or that i want to listen to later, then ill just open a livestream and go!
the one thing i decided before taking on livestreaming, its going to be as if you came to see me in a venue, where if it f**ks up, i cant just stop, delete and go again, so i have to bring it back around, this has imo helped me hone my emergency landings to a decent enough standard, id be happy to play out live now (except the carrying everything).
so any advice id have would be, go in expecting to f**k up, and no deleting afterwards!! keep a record of your warts and all
not allowing deletes makes me work harder to not mess up so bad it hurts my ears

ill usually have two or three mono voices (pre fx) in to a mixer, then while they are doing their thing with modulation from lfos etc, ill tweak one voice, then bring that back to similar to starting, move to next voice and so on, that way, i always have something thats playing nicely, while im noodling along.

final words : if in doubt, modulate delay times!!!

hope this helps, im not very good at explaining what i do, and im high. feel free to ask any specific questions of course, ill answer where i can

this however, is a single out from audrey, in to morphagene, in to bruxa, in to erbe verb, in to mimeophon, and out!

[Constructed Identity]

Sounds like it should be in the end credits to a really good horror movie

[vurt]

Sounds like it should be in the end credits to a really good horror movie

given much of the decor (i really need to get finished and get some pics) it's not surprising i lean to the dark side

fun fact: me n the missus, call my studio "the nightmare room".

[justin3am]

Thanks vurt! I plan to spend some time with OBS once I'm done with my current projects. Maybe sometime this spring or summer. The folks who put on the LA Synth Club events have started to stream most of the shows we do, they are using OBS to stream to Youtube and Twitch.

[vurt]

Thanks vurt! I plan to spend some time with OBS once I'm done with my current projects. Maybe sometime this spring or summer. The folks who put on the LA Synth Club events have started to stream most of the shows we do, they are using OBS to stream to Youtube and Twitch.

no probs.
not to make it all about me but this one, is obs as usual, using the same prerecorded loops from the last video, but this time, under blending mode, set all 3 to subtract, over a live video feed, for that "this guy has no idea what hes doing" effect