Modular Synths

Sup Sup Forums, any modular bros in here?


Talk about modular synths. Post pictures of your rig. Ask people about any synth modules you've got your eye on, etc, etc.

Other urls found in this thread:

modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/252929
modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/322778
instagram.com/p/BJF8iahAqKY/
clyp.it/cb1jgrjd
youtube.com/watch?v=KhKw0pxw8Dg
youtube.com/watch?v=nFjTVpx2pYA
twitter.com/AnonBabble

I don't have any, or really ever fucked around with one, but i'm very interested. Where's a good place to start for a beginners modular synth?

There are two really good starter modules: the Moog Mother 32 and the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1.

The Mother 32 comes with a sequencer, MIDI control, envelope generator, an osclillator, a filter, an amplifier an, an LFO, basically all the basic synth components

the Lifeforms SV-1 comes with all of that, minus the sequencer, but plus an extra oscillator as well as a sample + hold tool and 2 signal splitters.

I built a case out of an IKEA Rast nightstand. It's $15 and it's the perfect size.

You'll also need a power supply, I bought mine from Synthrotek. They also sell power busboards and rack rails.

Definitely interested in the Moog. The sample and hold tool/extra oscillator does sound fantastic. But I've always heard amazing things about Moog. Thing looks fantastic.

What exactly do you have in your setup?

From left to right, top to bottom in the picture:

Synthrotek Deluxe Power
Pittsburgh Modular OUTS (to get audio to my interface)
Lifeforms SV-1
Mutable Instruments Clouds (Granular sampler, reverb, delay, time-stretcher -- everybody needs one of these. I love it)
Doepfer A-119 (External input / envelope follower / gate generator -- get one of these if you're a guitarist. It'll let you process your sound using your modular system, and then you'll realize that you need to just sell all your pedals and invest in a eurorack rig)
Olegtron Confusor (Switch / signal router)
Pittsburgh Modular ADSR
Pittsburgh Modular dual VCA

Here's my plan for my completed IKEA Rast rack: modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/252929

And my plan for my next one: modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/322778

Also, the one reason I would try to convince you to get the Lifeforms over the Mother 32 is that the Lifeforms has all of the waveforms available for both oscillators, as well as a "blade" oscillator on one of them -- it's unique to pittsburgh modular systems, basically a saw wave, but you can modulate the pulse width as you would on a pulse/square wave. The Mother 32 only has a saw and a pulse wave.

>tfw no modular synth bf

While it looks like a neat (and expensive) hobby to get into, I almost never hear useful sounds being made by modular synths when I research demos. Maybe someday if I hit the lottery.

bump goddamnit

Got a Kilpatrick Phenol the other month. Filters sound pretty sick, and the delay is proper brutal.

Looking into building a system but no idea where to go next, any tips?

Nice.

That green patch cable is making me nervous.

Torn between the Moog Mother 32 and the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1.
It hurts being stuck like this.
Also, I have a used Behringer Eurorack MX1602A mixer. Is it rackable? Or is that just a fancy name for it.
There are screws on its sides.

sup

better pic

instagram.com/p/BJF8iahAqKY/

it's true it's easier to get a bad sound than a good sound. But when you get a good sound, its really fucking good.

I couldn't have done this with only ableton, at least not with my workflow.

clyp.it/cb1jgrjd

please use longer cables

>Pittsburgh Modular OUTS
you don't need that, just use the module outputs

Hello

nice!

why mostly doepher tho? not that its bad, just wondering

I'd venture to guess because they're german

Doepfer is a lot cheaper than other modules in Germany and i like that they are mostly one module-one purpose.

recently got into modulars

this -/+ 5v vs 0-10v is really screwing me up.

what types of modules/functions should get which?

Got any sound samples?

...

>Moog Mother 32 and the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1
i would say the moog. Or MS20 mini, more fun if you don't need the sequencer

>Mixer
It's just a small mixer that is very noisy, don't use it if you can

What are some good modular parts for making noise/ambient/industrial/electronica?

Well, you need a complete system, not really specific modules.

>i would say the moog. Or MS20 mini, more fun if you don't need the sequencer
I don't know anything about soldering or circuitry to make the circuit that's needed for the MS-20 to talk to Eurorack modules.
And while I'd love a sequencer, I'm also thinking of connecting the modular system to my computer so I can send sequences via my DAW.
Since you didn't even mention the SV-1, I guess I'll go with the Moog Mother 32.
Though, I watched a video and I do quote like the blade wave oscillator, the internally patched FM and the sub...
>It's just a small mixer that is very noisy, don't use it if you can
I'll use it for my noise setup then.

Is it worth messing with a real modular synth when I can download all sorts of software based stuff on Pro Tools?

Thank you I'm going to start building mine soon.

>let's go, get it on
>then
>later
>I will write five albums of songs about
>what a cunt you are

Do you think "oh boy this looks like fun" when you see a modular setup and are you interested in hardware?
If so, yes.

Also, there IS a difference in sound between digital and analog.
So if you like the way analog sounds and the kind of sounds you can get out of analog gear that you either can't get out of a digital setup or you get a ton of artifacts if you can, then sure, it's worth it.

Bump.
Got a pic of the setup you used for this?

bump i wanna see more rigs theyre pretty to look at

Me & my Wiard rig at a recent gig
AMA

I started this a little over a year ago. I've been adding a module at a time at a nice slow pace. Thinking about going for the wogglebug next.

Yes

>I don't know anything about soldering or circuitry to make the circuit that's needed for the MS-20 to talk to Eurorack modules.

Expert Sleepers Disting and The Harvestman's English Tear do this if you don't want to diy

thats sick
it sounds like drone mixed with like miami vice or some shit
rly cool

>Disting
$192
>English Tear
$186
Oh well.
There was a guy who sold the Ms-20 Mini for cheap a couple of weeks ago, but I missed out on it.
Ugh. I'm so stuck.

Okay. This one's kinda off topic and dumb, but: any present time examples of analog modular synths in music?

Deadmau5 uses some. Dunno if he actually uses them in his music.
youtube.com/watch?v=KhKw0pxw8Dg

You can get a used disting mk1 used for ~100 bucks off muff wiggler. Going modular is pretty expensive no matter how you slice it so going used is not a bad idea

There's actually a lot of people using them.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is a personal fav of mine.
youtube.com/watch?v=nFjTVpx2pYA

Pretty much all the instrumentation on the last AnCo album was modular. Too bad the songwriting wasn't too great.

I wish I could afford to have a modular, but for now I'm torn between the MS-20 and the Minilogue.

I'm a synth noob and I'm more interested in making cool sounds and jamming than I am in actually producing. I have DSN-12 on my 3ds which has helped me tons in learning synthesis, so I don't really need something to learn on. I have the volca bass and sample already.

What I like about the ms-20:
>patch bay
>no menu diving

Minilogue:
>built in sequencer
>variety of voice modes
>motion sequencing

Polyphony doesn't matter very much to me because I know little about music theory so I won't be playing any chords. Really just looking for something I can jam with, which is why I got the volcas, but I also realize that I need something with extensive sound design abilities. So that's where the ms-20 comes in, the patch bay seems awesome and it seems like something I could really get lost in (that's a good thing). On the other hand the minilogue seems like it would fit in better with the volcas for jamming, with it's sequencer and motion sequencing. Not to mention it also has a lot of sound design capabilities, but while the oscilloscope is handy the menu diving is a downside for me. I could just get an sq-1 but I'm really not looking to spend much.

I'll be going to my local shop to check both of them out sometime this week, in the meantime I would really appreciate some input from those who own / have owned either or both of those synths.

The MS 20 is ok, but not always the greatest for jamming, as it's very easy to tweak a knob or two and go from great sounding to utter shit. Another thing that bugs me is that the oscilators are not ultra flexible when it comes to tuning them, they just have octives in stead of a tuning knob. That being said, it's great for BOC type leads and basslines, and you can do quite a bit of weird soundscaping, but I would consider looking around and trying out as many synths as possible before you pull the trigger. Plus, I didn't think I would mind them cause I've got small fingers, but the mini keyboard on it sucks.

Since I'm on such a budget I've already accepted my mini keyboard fate. Maybe I'll get a cheap full size midi keyboard someday. I'll definitely have to try anything before I buy. Ideally I would be able to have both the ML and the MS20, maybe I'll get the minilogue now and an ms20 in the future. The tuning thing part sucks, I do have the volca bass though which has nice detuning capabilities and could cover that field. Thanks for the input!

I live in Europe (Sweden).
I doubt it'll be cheaper.