Ooh, I like This Modular Rack...

[vurt]

I'd be interested in an inexpensive Ripples. Stupid font, but would be fun at the right price.

I'm honestly not familiar enough with Marbles to want "Chaos" but I am curious.

marbles can be fun.
the triggers for example have patterns for kick/snare/hat as well as the cv outs.
not as straightforward as other sequencers of course, but has its place alongside them, especially if you have plenty of space. i like having the different choices.

i don't use it a lot, but mainly due to position atm. it's on the rack furthest from my seat, same as morphagene which isn't getting as much love as it used to.
need wheels on my chair.

[whyterabbyt]

But the concept was to have a dawless environment so my modular is currently not in the vicinity of my pc. I may have to rethink that. That would also have the benefit that i don t need to invest in any FX, as i can run it through Ableton then. I ve been holding off from FX modules for the moment.
Still, anyone knows if you can upload the hex file with an ipad? That would make the operation very portable.

Not sure about an iPad, kinda doubt it. My preferred solution ( that Ive never bloody got around to finishing, of course,) for not having to fill up my DAW with programming software, is to use a wifi'd raspberry Pi via the VirtualHere USB-over-ethernet software. Shab's switched USB ports would actually go quite nicely with that.

I guess the easier option might just be a suitably long active USB repeater cable, though.

[ghettosynth]

Still, anyone knows if you can upload the hex file with an ipad? That would make the operation very portable.

If all you want is the ability to have both firmwares loaded, then just buy two modules. Cheaper in both time and money than futzing around with all of that. I'm probably going this route because I like the quantizer in the standard module but I prefer the hemispheres for being a jack of all trades utility module.

That said, I was really lamenting the limits of my voltage processing today and what I wanted in that moment was the equivalent of (Kurzeweil) funs between two jacks in a module. I don't think that u and c gives me that at the level that I wanted. I guess teletype is the closest thing but I'm not sure that I want to build all of that. Maybe I'll build the Euro-pi kit next weekend and see if that's closer to what I want.

[SHall1000]

Thought I would try a Behringer only version replacing Marbles and Batumi with the Behringer versions when they emerge. But it needs a filter and with only 8hp left I can’t find a suitable Behringer option. May have to be a Wasp.

Assuming low prices for the new Bs should be excellent value.

[Stefken]

Thought I would try a Behringer only version replacing Marbles and Batumi with the Behringer versions when they emerge. But it needs a filter and with only 8hp left I can’t find a suitable Behringer option. May have to be a Wasp.

Assuming low prices for the new Bs should be excellent value.

I think your are limiting yourself sticking to one manufacturer or one row of space. I think it is good advice to have the rack fit your modules and not the other way around. Anyway, i went for the Arturia RackBrute 6U which gives me quite a bit of space.

Judging from the mockup of the new Behringer modules and using the existing Behringer CPI-A (= 4 hp) as a reference, i m getting these sizes for the new modules.

Four lfo : 16 HP
Chaos : 20 HP
Surges : 9 HP

I m not saying these values are correct. But these are the derived values I got from the mockup.

Anyway, if your are looking for a nice 8 HP filter that will not break the bank, here are a few interesting options:
* Doepfer A-106-5 Sem VCF
* Doepfer A-103 TB-303 filter
* Tiptop Forbidden Planet MM filter

My limited experience is that Doepfer is pretty good for decent bread and butter modules like utilities and other common modules, at an affordable price. You could get some Doepfer envelopes instead and save some space.

[Stefken]

If all you want is the ability to have both firmwares loaded, then just buy two modules. Cheaper in both time and money than futzing around with all of that.

It might be fun messing around with the code. I ve looked at some examples and basic operations like reading out a cv and sending it out can be accomplished with one line of code.

I ll probably fail as i am not much of a coder, but it might be fun to look into it.
Having your own customized firmware version sounds kinda neat.

[ghettosynth]

If all you want is the ability to have both firmwares loaded, then just buy two modules. Cheaper in both time and money than futzing around with all of that.

It might be fun messing around with the code. I ve looked at some examples and basic operations like reading out a cv and sending it out can be accomplished with one line of code.

I ll probably fail as i am not much of a coder, but it might be fun to look into it.
Having your own customized firmware version sounds kinda neat.

I suppose. I have enough stuff like that such that I'm not really interested in farting around with code in o and c. I'd like a USB eurorack panel though for my patch.init.

Also, in the completely "nobody else probably wants this" category, Amazon has the B.992 on discount for $52 and change. There were at $52 and I ordered two of them, they then shot up to $59. I guess they thought "oh this shit's in demand, raise the price again." Then a day or so later, right back down to $52. No mofos, nobody wants that, I'm just a weirdo who sees some value in it for testing purposes. Being able to quickly switch a modulation source in and out without having to un-patch is useful. Also, I have nowhere near enough attenuverters in my rack. Yes, even at $52 they're overpriced, but, it appears that the minimum cost for a panel+pcb is something on the order of about $25 to $35 for almost anything. So, double that for having it all done and not having to fart around with a boring build is worth it.

[SHall1000]

I think your are limiting yourself sticking to one manufacturer or one row of space. I think it is good advice to have the rack fit your modules and not the other way around.

Yes. It is just a thought experiment, although sticking with Behringer does fit with my primary objective of keeping the cost down. Still haven’t brought anything as I am still getting to grips with the 2600 and haven’t formed any firm opinions on what I think it’s missing so far.

[imrae]

I don’t see much point in even having a filter if your only sound source is the Plaits ripoff; most of the modes sound great without filtering and have their own interesting timbre sweeps. If I had to put an 8hp Behringer module in that slot I’d go with a 962 Sequential Switch or a 921 VCO.

[vurt]

it's to add to the filters on the arp, extra flavour.

[imrae]

it's to add to the filters on the arp, extra flavour.

Ah, fair enough then. Wasp filter is a good pick then. I’d be tempted to double down on the weirdness and go for a Plague Bearer.

I appreciate my contribution so far has just been critiquing other people's choices, so in the interest of fairness here is what I would assemble if you took me to a Behringer showroom and told me to build an 84hp eurorack including a 4hp power module. (Click for modulargrid page.)



Notes:

• This is not quite a standard East-coast synth voice. I don't see a lot of point in making a rack which achieves that at the cost of fun stuff. This is more a generative / drone / texture machine that can also be sequenced for interesting voices if needed.
• To underscore the above, you'll note there are no traditional envelope generators in this rack. But there are two VC slew limiters and a good selection of mixing, offset and inverting. So if you must have some kind of traditional envelope, go build it. (I don't have any ADSRs in my own rack either... AD/AR usually does the job with less hassle.)
• You're supposed to use the filters as additional oscillators at max resonance. I don't have these modules to check that works; if not, you may need to patch a feedback loop.
• No space for mults here, stackables are overpriced and put extra torque on the cheap connectors. Get a bunch of these things, they're great.
• In 84hp, MIDI conversion in the rack is a waste of space and money. If you aren't using something like a Keystep or Beatstep Pro that will do this for you, get a CV.OCD
• There were 2hp left so I filled them with a cheap DIY dual VCA from Zlob. Kinda necessary because the other VCA is also the only way of getting the output of the first filter.
• The most limiting part of the Behringer euro lineup seems to be the oscillators. For this concept of 2 osc + mixing + switching I really wanted something compact with oscillator sync, multiple simultaneous outputs and LFO mode. I had to compromise on both "compact" and "LFO" with the 921. The 2600 VCO seems nicer to use but also lacks sync. Outside of Behringer we'd be better off with something from Doepfer, one of the many 3340-based VCOs or even (in the same hp) the good old "uncle" Richter Oscillator II.
• The 2500-series stuff is way more interesting and I really tried to get the 1050 mixer/sequencer in, but that stuff is just not compact enough to make a "complete voice" system in 84hp without some other big compromises.

[ghettosynth]

I will have more detailed comments, and maybe a rack-in-response later, but, I would very much try to get the 1047 in there. The 297 looks good on paper, but, the slew sliders are virtually useless and the tiny trim pots are really stiff. I may buy another one now that they're cheap, but I may not.

[Stefken]

Maybe the Behringer 132 mixer would be better since it can mix both cv and audio?

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/behringer ... -generator

[ghettosynth]

Maybe the Behringer 132 mixer would be better since it can mix both cv and audio?

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/behringer ... -generator

It's not actually available. I mean, given imrae's restrictions, the choices aren't bad. I'm not sure that you can meet those restrictions and still use only Behringer modules. That said, I also don't think including the diy VCA is a reasonable choice either. For me, I don't think that using all Behringer modules for that kind of a panel is the right approach. The majority of the Behringer stuff is definitely old school east coast synthesis.

[ghettosynth]

it's to add to the filters on the arp, extra flavour.

Ah, fair enough then. Wasp filter is a good pick then. I’d be tempted to double down on the weirdness and go for a Plague Bearer.

I would caution someone going from basics to going to too weird. The Wasp is cool but still a somewhat predicable state variable filter. The Plague Bearer is a bit of an unstable device. They are super popular in the noise scene. I'm not saying that one can't use it outside of noise, it's just a bit too specific IMO, unless you know that's exactly what you want.

I mean, this is dirty, but I'd definitely use it.



This, to me, is far less appealing.



In fact, I'd definitely put the R70 through Plague Bearer solidly into the "sounds like shit" category, but that's just a matter of taste.

One thing the 2600 is missing is filters that are not lowpass and filters that have CV resonance control. If you're trying to get close to the 70s ARP experience, the 1047 is really interesting, again, IMNSHO, of course.