Modular software options?

[kropotkin303]

Voltage modular is the one I use the most. You can trade up to be able to use polyphonic modules if you grab a sale. Previous poster said there were too many cables, but they can be viewed or not. Again if you wait for sales you can get specialist add ons based on other cherry audio synths. Previous poster asked about cpu. I haven't found this a problem. Also can use 3rd party vsts within the environment.

[Qwertytops]

Archangel by StrongHand Audio is my personal favourite.

But I may be biased since I created it

[mtank]

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Maxine is a new modular synth that works in the browser and it's FREE -> https://mediatank.co.uk/browser-studio (https://mediatank.co.uk/browser-studio)

Excellent sound and the sequencers allow some really interesting things.

(disclaimer I worked on this).

[DRMR]

(disclaimer I worked on this).

The web page is extremely glitchy/buggy. There seems to be some sort of "TV Effect" over the whole page, but it looks pretty bad and I'm very sure that people with epilepsy would not be happy to click on this.

[DRMR]

Well, it mimics the functionality and limitations of hardware modules. With some rare exceptions

I think the vast majority of modules go well beyond hardware limitations. Just polyphony alone is a key example of this, for instance.

[stratology]

I tried Softube Modular, VCV Rack, Cardinal, Voltage Modular, and thought they were all different degrees of awful.

Softube Modular is abandonware that, at times, cannot play back a basic MIDI track that every other soft synth can handle without issue.
Awkward navigation and usability.

VCV Rack and Cardinal showed some odd, buggy behaviors, usability is better than Softube, but not good.
Ruled out mainly because of software quality.

Voltage Modular, to me, just doesn't sound good. Similar to the rest of Cherry Audio VIs. Not for me.


I ended up buying modular hardware to start a small modular setup. One of the best decisions ever. Hardware is an entirely different ballgame, I did not expect the basic physical interaction and usability to make that much of a difference.


I use the hardware in combination with soft synths, like the wonderful, awesome U-He VIs.
U-He ACE has some aspects of semi modular synths, like routing cables, and is a good example of just how good sound and usability can be if done right.

[mtank]

(disclaimer I worked on this).

The web page is extremely glitchy/buggy. There seems to be some sort of "TV Effect" over the whole page, but it looks pretty bad and I'm very sure that people with epilepsy would not be happy to click on this.

ok good to know thanks. Seems fine on the browsers we've tested it on. We'll do some work on accessibility soon. Ironically accessibility is a big thing for us (hence making it free). thanks again.

[DRMR]

VCV Rack and Cardinal showed some odd, buggy behaviors

I suppose you never considered that you might report these issues so that they can be fixed?

Afaict we never received anything on our (Cardinal) end anyway ..

[VariKusBrainZ]

Mnodes is coming soon. Looking really powerful. Modular environment with built in modules, can host vst and takes prompts to build patches

[stratology]

VCV Rack and Cardinal showed some odd, buggy behaviors

I suppose you never considered that you might report these issues so that they can be fixed?

Afaict we never received anything on our (Cardinal) end anyway ..

My objective when trying out software is not to be a beta tester, but to figure out what's good, and not waste time with the things that aren't.


Once I found something that is good, and an issue shows up somewhere during usage - that's when I would report it.

But standards are pretty high - like with U-He software, I've never encountered any issues. Not saying there are no bugs - there certainly are - but you don't see crap outs the very first time you use it.


UI design and usability are at least as important as well.


Bug reporting also depends on the general shittiness of software. I have reported quite a few actual, reproducible bugs to Apple, but macOS Tahoe is so far beyond the pale that it's really not worth the effort. Better to wait till they clean up house internally, and wait for the next, better release, IMHO.

It also depends on the company, and the level of customer support. Like with Native Instruments - don't even bother. On the opposite end of the spectrum is a company like Thomann, who have fantastic customer support and return policy. I'm mentioning them, because they recently helped me out with a software/hardware issue - one of several extremely positive experiences with them.

[ghettosynth]

VCV Rack and Cardinal showed some odd, buggy behaviors

I suppose you never considered that you might report these issues so that they can be fixed?

Afaict we never received anything on our (Cardinal) end anyway ..

My objective when trying out software is not to be a beta tester, but to figure out what's good, and not waste time with the things that aren't.

Agreed. Moreover, I think that open source software often has some level of entitlement here in that authors think that because they are giving the software away that it is "fair" for users to report bugs.

I don't agree. Open source has specific value to stakeholders, e.g., themselves, other authors, potential licensing, etc. However, the end user being your tester is not really one of them beyond a general sense of feedback like is being provided here. I'm not saying don't report bugs, but I am saying don't expect end users to report bugs. This is especially the case when you expect them to fill out bug reports and search for existing bugs that match etc.

[stratology]

On a philosophical level: there is the AI approach, where the manufacturers release non-functioning shit to users, and expect the users to use it and report bugs and feedback, so it can be made usable in the first place.


To name an example: I recently tried Google NotebookLM. I uploaded a manual, then started asking questions. Out of 7 questions, 2 answers were completely wrong - that's just from trying to extract info from one manual. The AI also tried to double down on the wrong answers, while weirdly trying to compliment me for noticing the wrong responses - a transparent tactic to keep users engaged.
My evaluation was that NotebookLM was written by assholes, and that it is absolutely useless at the task it is supposed to perform.


(It may seem completely off topic - but the manual was for one of the devices in my Eurorack setup..)

[zerocrossing]

I ended up buying modular hardware to start a small modular setup. One of the best decisions ever. Hardware is an entirely different ballgame, I did not expect the basic physical interaction and usability to make that much of a difference.

Usability is subjective. I can’t stand the hardware modular work flow. Softube Modular isn’t great in this regard, but for me, it’s way better than the alternative. I’ve never had problems with MIDI. I have developed a way of using it where I build a patch and then build presets off of it, as if it was just a bespoke instrument. If you dig the hardware modular thing, good for you, but it’s not for everyone.

[stratology]

I ended up buying modular hardware to start a small modular setup. One of the best decisions ever. Hardware is an entirely different ballgame, I did not expect the basic physical interaction and usability to make that much of a difference.

Usability is subjective. I can’t stand the hardware modular work flow. Softube Modular isn’t great in this regard, but for me, it’s way better than the alternative. I’ve never had problems with MIDI. I have developed a way of using it where I build a patch and then build presets off of it, as if it was just a bespoke instrument. If you dig the hardware modular thing, good for you, but it’s not for everyone.

I was a little surprised at how much I liked the hardware workflow myself...

I completely agree with you - everyone figures out what works for them, and uses that.

FWIW, the MIDI issues with Softube Modular were reproducible, and I reported them to Softube support, who were genuinely trying to be helpful.

[zerocrossing]

On a philosophical level: there is the AI approach, where the manufacturers release non-functioning shit to users, and expect the users to use it and report bugs and feedback, so it can be made usable in the first place.


To name an example: I recently tried Google NotebookLM. I uploaded a manual, then started asking questions. Out of 7 questions, 2 answers were completely wrong - that's just from trying to extract info from one manual. The AI also tried to double down on the wrong answers, while weirdly trying to compliment me for noticing the wrong responses - a transparent tactic to keep users engaged.
My evaluation was that NotebookLM was written by assholes, and that it is absolutely useless at the task it is supposed to perform.


(It may seem completely off topic - but the manual was for one of the devices in my Eurorack setup..)

I think one of the big problems going on now is that “AI” as a term is getting used to describe a lot of very different things that are all really different flavors of machine learning. Machine vision is different than ChatGPT. Voice synthesis is different than machine vision.

I saw something about “agentic AI” that was interesting. It’s mostly being given away under cost, but now prices are going up, but the people who did those jobs are gone. Now the stochastic parrots cost more than the people they replaced and do a worse job. Municipalities are banning data centers. Utah is talking about building a data center that will literally use more power than the state currently uses. I can’t imagine that goes well for the population.

Anyway, I’m sure that when the dust settles, some things will stick and some will fail. Remember, one of these “geniuses” thought that people would flock to hang out in a low poly 3d space that requires a heavy and uncomfortable headset. These are not really smart people, though they sometimes have smart people who work for them. That metaverse folly employed me for years. Some cool music tools will come out of this. Some already have. I did an experiment with mastering a track using plugins and my own knowledge, and when I was done, I did a second version letting Ozone 12 decide and I had to admit that the results were pretty similar, and I kind of liked the software better, and it took me a few seconds to get what took me a day of work. I know iZotope also has a mixing tool, but I’d never use it, and the only reason is that I enjoy that part of the process. Maybe someone will use machine learning to develop an algorithm that nails the old Model D feedback effect. Who knows? All I know is that, it’s silly to dismiss all this technology, just like it’s silly to think it is universally good.