Modular recommendations

[dblondin]

I'm planning a 44 space dot com system and looking for 5U modules to help give me some enhanced tonal capability. The type of sounds I'm most interested in generating are fairly traditional synth bass, soft distortion, short sequenced notes, Moogy leads, etc. Perhaps the opposite end of the spectrum would be explorations in noise - which I like, I just don't intend to go that path right from the get-go. One example of a module I'm interested in is the MOTM-440 lowpass filter which would help me cover more sonic ground than I could exclusively with dot com filters. Unique filters, oscillators, analog signal processors - I want start with tools that I'll use a lot but are something special. I'm less interested in modules that sound awesome but I might ignore except for that special occasion. This is very much the beginning stages of my modular education so anyone's two cents about what to put in are certainly welcome. Recommendations?

[b3groover]

You need the STG mixer.

http://stgsoundlabs.com/products/mixer_mu.htm

The State Variable Filter from dotcom is very good. I also like the Buchla LPG clone from MegaOhm, which can act as a filter or VCA.

http://www.megaohmaudio.com/CdSVCFVCA.html

And the MegaOhm Delta filter is awesome, too.

http://www.megaohmaudio.com/deltaVCFv2.html

[schmidtc]

The nice thing about 5U is how DIY friendly it is --- a lot of people don't take advantage of this. Pretty much the whole MOTM lineup is great, especially the 440 and 410. Generally their filters are stable enough to be used as sine wave oscillators that track surprisingly well and the 300 is the most solid VCO out there IMHO. One thing to keep in mind is that stuff requires a lot of patience and dollars to actually get a nice setup. Many 5U manufacturers take months to years to actually ship your orders, and their empty promises will truly hurt your feelings. People on the muff's forums generally have a better knowledge base than here on VSE.

[meatballfulton]

Most modular nuts want all kinds of oscillators and filters. I disagree, the real power is in modulation sources (EGs, LFOs, etc.) and having enough mixers and multiples to be able to control complex modulation routings.

[dblondin]

Thanks. The STG mixer is just the type of thing I'm looking for and I'm considering that LPG clone as well. And yes, I'll be sure to get lots of LFO's, EG's, and such.

I like the idea of soldering some stuff up myself. Especially because it's easy to sneak small parts past the wife. Those little Mouser boxes I don't have to smuggle - I can set her heart at ease by displaying a box of resistors. She always gives me a big smile and a rub on the head when she sees me soldering something to a PCB in my shop. "You're so clever", she says. I just have to lock the studio from now on so she doesn't discover the fully operational death star.

[Stab Frenzy]

I've got the Euro version of the STG mixer and it's great. Love the soft clipping you get running oscs through it, it really thickens things up heading to the filter.

[bouzoukijoe1]

Most modular nuts want all kinds of oscillators and filters. I disagree, the real power is in modulation sources (EGs, LFOs, etc.) and having enough mixers and multiples to be able to control complex modulation routings.

+1, agree

although I think that it's handy to have at least one 12db/oct multimode filter, a dedicated 24db/oct lowpass filter, and something different like a screeching filter or a synthacon style, or even a vactrol style like the MegaOhm CdS, just to cover different ground. but you could get just two to start I guess. I would go for a multimode and some type of nasal or screeching or acid type filter. you could possibly get a lowpass transistor ladder and a multimode synthacon style if that exists and is available in 5u. (I really love screeching highpass filters, thanks to the MS-20)

modulation is definitely severely under-discussed compared to VCO's and VCF's. personally I'm not as picky about VCA's and VCO's. as long as the VCO covers the basic saw/square/tri/sine and cv control needs, and I have enough LFO's (maybe at least one per VCO). and at least two Q108's. make sure you get a Q125, Q130, and Q141 too.

[analoglsd]

Most modular nuts want all kinds of oscillators and filters. I disagree, the real power is in modulation sources (EGs, LFOs, etc.) and having enough mixers and multiples to be able to control complex modulation routings.

Agreed as well.

You should check out the Toppobrillo Triple Wave Folder. It's great for thickening up sounds and complex drones, among other things. It's also fairly accessible, unlike the Sport Modulator which I still have yet to really wrap my head around.

[dblondin]

Those Toppobrillo modules are euro, correct? I'm planning 5U but I'd certainly like to hear if anyone here has strong opinions about which format is best overall with respect to price, ease of mounting, selection, creative potential, etc.

And is there anything besides midi<>CV and mixer modules you guys would recommend to help integrate external line level gear like 19" sound modules with a modular? Are the levels generally compatible?

[analoglsd]

Those Toppobrillo modules are euro, correct?

Yeah. Sorry.

[shaft9000]

i have a medium (80 module) sized euro and a medium (30 module) sized modcan a
i would love to get a moslab or cotk system as well but would need more studio space first

i considered going MU/.com or MOTM as a format, but the 1/4" jacks and multing them is restrictive and somewhat archaic imho

i went with modcan a instead and i could not be happier!
bananas are truly the much better connector - you don't have to break your path just to mult,, for one - in every way for modulars, imho. much more robust contact area. more reliable. dead-easy and cheap to make and repair yourself. they feel great, use less space per foot and won't scratch up your panels like heavy/massive 1/4"-ers do.

and you can have the Moog circuits and ARP filter and polyfusion, e-mu designs, some Wiard.....not to mention the wide world of Cynthia! and the beauty of megaOhm....all in modcan a
it's like having a foot in serge, a foot in Moog/5U, a taste of buchla w/ digital modules that have memory, and "the innovation of the now" running parallel to eurorack but in more robust and integrated way.
Bruce Duncan at modcan is probably the leader right now across the entire landscape in innovation, quality and user satisfaction. He has some help, but all buck stops with him and he pretty much IS the company.
MacBeth, Cwejman, Serge, Bugbrand and Buchla and quite a few others are right up there, too.
But I give modcan a the edge due to it's innovation, affordability due to robust used market, and musical efficiency, feature range and performance density of the modules, and sheer sonic variety and pleasure is unbeatable

it's soooo sweet and i'll never look back.
check my Youtube for many many examples of my system in use

BUT ANY modular even a cheap Paia is an awesome thing and as long as you care enough you will hardly go 'wrong'

/2 c.

[Stab Frenzy]

Those Toppobrillo modules are euro, correct? I'm planning 5U but I'd certainly like to hear if anyone here has strong opinions about which format is best overall with respect to price, ease of mounting, selection, creative potential, etc.

Price: Euro if you go for the cheap stuff, Ease of mounting: not sure what you mean by that, Selection: Euro by a million miles, Creative Potential: that's up to you.

I went Euro because although I like the robust look and feel of 5U there was just so much more available in Euro. Portability was also a factor for me, again Euro wins out there.

And is there anything besides midi<>CV and mixer modules you guys would recommend to help integrate external line level gear like 19" sound modules with a modular? Are the levels generally compatible?

Line level is lower than modular level, generally modulars are 10V peak to peak. There are a selection of input and preamp modules that do a good job of bringing line and instrument level signals up to modular level.

[bouzoukijoe1]

And is there anything besides midi<>CV and mixer modules you guys would recommend to help integrate external line level gear like 19" sound modules with a modular? Are the levels generally compatible?

Line level is lower than modular level, generally modulars are 10V peak to peak. There are a selection of input and preamp modules that do a good job of bringing line and instrument level signals up to modular level.

yeah, depending on how you want to bring in and use the line level signals, you have a couple different options in modular - for 5u there's the Q118, which can boost signals up to 1000x. line level is only around 1-2v PP if I'm not mistaken, so it's a big leap to modular levels which is around +/-5v, +/10v, depending on what module you're using (different modules work with different signal levels). in eurorack there's the A-119 and cv tools for example.

[dblondin]

i went with modcan a instead and i could not be happier! bananas are truly the much better connector - you don't have to break your path just to mult,, for one - in every way for modulars, imho. much more robust contact area. more reliable. dead-easy and cheap to make and repair yourself. they feel great, use less space per foot and won't scratch up your panels like heavy/massive 1/4"-ers do.

Stacking outputs like that is very attractive. And I know the smooth feel of the um...banana penetration from working with O-scopes. But I look at those prices and it scares me a bit. I don't know the general lifestyle of a modular junkie but I have 2 cars, school tuition for two kids, a mortgage, home improvements and my own school bills to take care of. Based on price alone, both dotcom and euro would probably work the best for this fist plunge into modular.

it's soooo sweet and i'll never look back. check my Youtube for many many examples of my system in use. BUT ANY modular even a cheap Paia is an awesome thing and as long as you care enough you will hardly go 'wrong'

Awesome gear and sounds!

Any devices that will get me to start thinking and creating in modular are worth looking at. I'd consider one of those Tinysizers, but I really do want to experience the process of personalization.

Thanks for all your help guys, everything written here is helping me figure this s**t out. I'm still a bit undecided on some things but I hope to make my decisions and purchase this week.

[tunedLow]

I'm a bit late here, but anyway...

I started with a 22 space .dot com system, and they are really nice. Just built really well, and sound absolutely great. However, I ended up selling it and going Euro. Like Shaft mentioned, I got tired of the format size itself - the jacks and the overall size were just kind of difficult to deal with, and in addition I found myself wanted a bigger sonic palette. I'm much happier with Eurorack. For what it's worth, I'm not really into making pure noise on mine either, I actually do a lot of straight up sequencing on it, but I like that I can pick from a variety of filters and oscillators. I'll do drones for background stuff as well, in which case it's also handy to have the variety eurorack has of AD envelopes, LFOs, etc.