KVR Audio

SHall1000 · Post by **SHall1000** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:46 pm

Some great discussion in this thread
viewtopic.php?t=593223
but the conversation is mainly around euro rack starter setups.

I’m considering getting two or three desktop semi modular units that would play nicely together on the basis that if I get frustrated with all the cables they might still be useful standalone.

Maybe something like a neutron, west pest and K2 maybe. Interested in any suggestions folks might have for combination that invites experimentation

Small and cheap would be preferably but not essential if it compromises flexibility.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:49 pm

what sort of thing are you looking to use it for?
you want a synth you can play with keys, or something that you patch up and let go! ?
or any number of ideas of course

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:52 pm

as i mentioned on the other thread, both the west pest and east beast are great little units. a lot of similarity in the functions, but different enough they compliment one another, and sound great patched together.

SHall1000 · Post by **SHall1000** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:55 pm

Patch up and go as I have other stuff I can play. Also have a Beatstep Pro and SQ 64 to drive sequences and drones.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 8:23 pm

SHall1000 wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:55 pm Patch up and go as I have other stuff I can play. Also have a Beatstep Pro and SQ 64 to drive sequences and drones.

ah youre good to go then really.
i usually recommend the two above, specifically because they come with the onboard sequencer, but if you are covered there, they might not "both" be as useful.

other than these my only other semi modulars are the make noise bits, which are a bit more expensive, but either the 0coast or strega are great little noisemakers, so maybe if you get an xmas bonus we can talk about them

the neutron, i dont have, but gets a lot of love, mainly from people who used it as a starter for a full rack, but i think it would serve the same purpose alongside the behringers and cre8audio pieces, by giving you a few different functions for next to nothing.

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 8:57 pm

Behringer stuff is the obvs choice foremost for affordability. Most of their recent synths have some kind of CV connectivity up to fully semi-modular potential. ProOne has reasonable amount of CV connectability, Crave and Neutron definitely would be on my hitlist for that kind of thing - Neutron more so simply because it's dual oscillator and more features than Crave. ModelD looks like it can be connected quite well via CV too. Though I have a real MS20 (and will likely get a Behringer K2 at some point soon), they're less easy despite being obvious semi-modular dream machines. Beware MS20s, hence K2 also work on Hz/V not V/Oct. You can interconnect but you'd need a box to do that. I have an old Kenton, and the Arturia controllers can do both Hz/V and V/oct nowadays - they seem to be well thought of. Some of the Arturia ones have CV sequencing capabilities too IIRC? Nevertheless you can't effectively directly connect v/oct synths with a Hz/V one.

Behringer Proton was announced but hasn't appeared yet - that one is on my list if it ever comes out. Basically a Neutron on steroids with all the connections of a Neutron. The nice thing with the Behringer ones is that they're all synths in their own right that have midi etc and are usable on their own straight from the box but with the connection capabilities.

Don't forget Dreadbox. IIRC Erebus has lots of CV connections and would do what you want superbly, though most of their others don't or are severely limited, but I've not kept up with all their releases. From what I've heard of them they have gorgeous filters. Dunno if they have proper midi for standalone use? I vaguely thought some of them were midi only via USB, but could be completely wrong - if so then it's a dumb choice from my perspective. Having access to Dreadbox filters with other CV synths would be great IMO. I almost bought one, but too many of the Dreadboxes are so small and fiddly with too much menu-diving to access much of the good stuff for me. But they're still seriously tempting.

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:01 pm

I forgot Behringer Wasp - has some connectivity and is a great little character synth, but its CV options are quite limited. Has ext audio in and basic CV control though. I think it's one of the best value synths I ever bought - hard not to get carried away with, it's such a character growly little bastard. It's the synth version of a Jack Russell terrier - tiny wee dwarf that thinks it's Napoleon and will take on anything and everything. It could be slotted into semi-modular stuff...

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:04 pm

kritikon wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 8:57 pm Behringer stuff is the obvs choice foremost for affordability. Most of their recent synths have some kind of CV connectivity up to fully semi-modular potential. ProOne has reasonable amount of CV connectability, Crave and Neutron definitely would be on my hitlist for that kind of thing - Neutron more so simply because it's dual oscillator and more features than Crave. ModelD looks like it can be connected quite well via CV too. Though I have a real MS20 (and will likely get a Behringer K2 at some point soon), they're less easy despite being obvious semi-modular dream machines. Beware MS20s, hence K2 also work on Hz/V not V/Oct. You can interconnect but you'd need a box to do that. I have an old Kenton, and the Arturia controllers can do both Hz/V and V/oct nowadays - they seem to be well thought of. Some of the Arturia ones have CV sequencing capabilities too IIRC? Nevertheless you can't effectively directly connect v/oct synths with a Hz/V one.

Behringer Proton was announced but hasn't appeared yet - that one is on my list if it ever comes out. Basically a Neutron on steroids with all the connections of a Neutron. The nice thing with the Behringer ones is that they're all synths in their own right that have midi etc and are usable on their own straight from the box but with the connection capabilities.

Don't forget Dreadbox. IIRC Erebus has lots of CV connections and would do what you want superbly, though most of their others don't or are severely limited, but I've not kept up with all their releases. From what I've heard of them they have gorgeous filters. Dunno if they have proper midi for standalone use? I vaguely thought some of them were midi only via USB, but could be completely wrong - if so then it's a dumb choice from my perspective. Having access to Dreadbox filters with other CV synths would be great IMO. I almost bought one, but too many of the Dreadboxes are so small and fiddly with too much menu-diving to access much of the good stuff for me. But they're still seriously tempting.

did they not convert the k2 to euro to play with their other synths?

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:09 pm

I didn't think so. Last time I watched one of those kermit demos, he mentioned Hz/V. Which is weird, yeah, because they made all of their synth modules Eurorack fittable. AFAIK you can put a K2 into a Eurorack setup, but it will still sulk and not talk to its neighbours

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:11 pm

As I mentioned in the other thread, I think that the B.2600 is a great semi-modular with enough room on the panel to really enjoy it.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:14 pm

I'm not a modular guy, so take my suggestion for what it is, but I owned an Arturia MiniBrute 2S for a while and, while I sold it because it wasn't really my cup o' tea, it seems like it could be a very cool centerpiece for a small semi-modular setup. Another option would be the regular MiniBrute 2 (with keys instead of sequencer/pads). They can be had for pretty cheap on the secondhand market these days.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:18 pm

kritikon wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:09 pm I didn't think so. Last time I watched one of those kermit demos, he mentioned Hz/V. Which is weird, yeah, because they made all of their synth modules Eurorack fittable. AFAIK you can put a K2 into a Eurorack setup, but it will still sulk and not talk to its neighbours

well that does seem like a missed oppurtunity!
i just assumed as they made it as you say, fit in the cases, and i believe use euro cables even (the ms20 uses bigger ones doesnt it?) youd think theyd have added the converter at least.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:19 pm

ghettosynth wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:11 pm As I mentioned in the other thread, I think that the B.2600 is a great semi-modular with enough room on the panel to really enjoy it.

another i dont personally own, but have heard many great things from people whos opinion i trust

and ghetto

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:21 pm

From Sweetwater: "Note: The Behringer K-2 uses the historically accurate Hertz per Volt (Hz/V) convention rather than the One Volt Per Octave (1V/oct) convention standard to Eurorack. Hz/V will scale pitch voltage dramatically differently than 1V/oct and is not compatible in the traditional sense. Non-pitched Hz/V control voltages like LFOs and envelopes may be used with Eurorack and other 1V/oct devices but may behave in unexpected ways. Care should be taken to prevent damage when using these two different formats! For more information, please contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer."

I checked the Behringer manual, and it looks like -5/+5 V for things like filter control, but not for CV stuff.

Ghettosynth mentioned the B2600. Dunno how I forgot that one - I bought one myself

Yeah - shitloads of CV connectivity. Still not too bad a price considering. Last time I looked it was NZ$1300 - I got one when it came out for $1000, so it's not been bumped too high. And it makes a great light show.

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:41 pm

cryophonik wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:14 pm I'm not a modular guy, so take my suggestion for what it is, but I owned an Arturia MiniBrute 2S for a while and, while I sold it because it wasn't really my cup o' tea, it seems like it could be a very cool centerpiece for a small semi-modular setup. Another option would be the regular MiniBrute 2 (with keys instead of sequencer/pads). They can be had for pretty cheap on the secondhand market these days.

For simply practical patching reasons, these pair nicely with a Neutron. Both have the patch panels on the right hand side of the synth, out of the way of the knobs. Because you have the 2/2s, you have a better output circuit than is on the neutron and so you can patch the Neutron into the 2S. The only thing that would irritate me is the form factor. You could spend the money on the rackbrute, and if you wanted to add other modules that would be fine, but, without that, it just drives up the cost of the Neutron just to get them sitting nicely and solidly together.

For me, this matters for patching. YMMV.

Suggestions for synergistic semi modular combinations.