Can we talk about modular synths?

[Derelict78]

I picked up a Mother 32 a few days ago and I understand the addiction you guys have. I’m more of a hands on person so all the descriptions did little for me. After playing around for a few hours I found myself thinking “if I had another LFO I could...” and “if I had another VCO I could...” yeah I can see this being a fun drain on my wallet. Anyway, the shit you can do with just the M32 is ridiculous.

[oscillateur]

sorry for my ignorance, so please excuse me and my question. i have been curious about modular for a long time now but have always been curious as to how people would record in stereo with it? or i guess another way to put it is, does anyone here record with their modular setup and actually care about panning and the stereo field? I am curious about this and have always wondered if most people just work in mono (i read this a lot in articles/interviews where this is the case) or if there are people that actually go about recording it like you would with traditional instruments (almost like in a band setup) to be able to pan things across the field and have different things evolving in different places over time. I understand how this is done with tabletop gear and obviously running different pieces of gear into different inputs on an interface or micing up all the amps for all the different devices, but with modular i don't know what the possibilities and limitations of this are. Again, sorry if this has already been asked or if this is silly, but i am genuinely curious about this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. Sorry also if my question doesn't make sense, i will clarify anything the best i can and reword things if needed.

Most modules that process or generate sound are mono (almost all oscillators, filters, etc.), but some are stereo. Mixer modules also sometimes have pan controls. And there are some specific modules dedicated mostly to panning. So it all depends on what you use and what you want to achieve.

[MrNovember]

sorry for my ignorance, so please excuse me and my question. i have been curious about modular for a long time now but have always been curious as to how people would record in stereo with it? or i guess another way to put it is, does anyone here record with their modular setup and actually care about panning and the stereo field? I am curious about this and have always wondered if most people just work in mono (i read this a lot in articles/interviews where this is the case) or if there are people that actually go about recording it like you would with traditional instruments (almost like in a band setup) to be able to pan things across the field and have different things evolving in different places over time. I understand how this is done with tabletop gear and obviously running different pieces of gear into different inputs on an interface or micing up all the amps for all the different devices, but with modular i don't know what the possibilities and limitations of this are. Again, sorry if this has already been asked or if this is silly, but i am genuinely curious about this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. Sorry also if my question doesn't make sense, i will clarify anything the best i can and reword things if needed.

Most modules that process or generate sound are mono (almost all oscillators, filters, etc.), but some are stereo. Mixer modules also sometimes have pan controls. And there are some specific modules dedicated mostly to panning. So it all depends on what you use and what you want to achieve.

Yeah there are quite a few dedicated panning modules. In my opinion, the coolest and by far most expensive is the Koma Poltergeist mixer. I would love one of those, but there are a ton of much cheaper alternatives. You can also do the same thing with modular that you explained for tabletop devices; plug different sources into different inputs of your interface.

[behndy]

yurp. i record into 8 different inputs on my mixer. things like the DPLR that go stereo out get 2 inputs and i can either pan them whilst listening, after recording, or both.

and yurp. quite a few End Of Chain mixer modules, from basic to ridiculously and beautifully option heavy complexity.

like Osco The Wise said, dependind in what your goal is, there is probably a solution.

[Warpsmasher]

99% of my in-rack signal chains are mono until the end, then they either get panned in the mixer or stereoized through a delay/reverb/grainfreezything.
If you get into audio splitting/signal multiplying, that is kind of like its own style of synthesis, and it can get complicated pretty quickly if your rack is big. If you have enough effects you can use one base sound to make 3 or 4 new ones. In my rack I have the capability to add additional delays/echoes/etc onto the split channels of a stereo base echo, turning one stereo signal into two, or three, depending on how it's mixed down. I haven't gotten too deep into this side of the modular delay realm yet, but I am looking forward to patching up some crazy complicated echo mixes at some point. The Rainmaker's routing (internal patching) options always lead me to this type of thinking, because it's a great example of what is possible with just two effects.

[Dark Barn]

sorry for my ignorance, so please excuse me and my question. i have been curious about modular for a long time now but have always been curious as to how people would record in stereo with it? or i guess another way to put it is, does anyone here record with their modular setup and actually care about panning and the stereo field? I am curious about this and have always wondered if most people just work in mono (i read this a lot in articles/interviews where this is the case) or if there are people that actually go about recording it like you would with traditional instruments (almost like in a band setup) to be able to pan things across the field and have different things evolving in different places over time. I understand how this is done with tabletop gear and obviously running different pieces of gear into different inputs on an interface or micing up all the amps for all the different devices, but with modular i don't know what the possibilities and limitations of this are. Again, sorry if this has already been asked or if this is silly, but i am genuinely curious about this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. Sorry also if my question doesn't make sense, i will clarify anything the best i can and reword things if needed.

When you say traditional instruments here it makes me want to point out that these are usually recorded in mono and panning is added in post. Which is something you can do with modular also. With modular the biggest limitation is your wallet, but generally speaking if you can afford it (whatever you want it to be) you can build it with eurorack.

[Hiwatt Bob]

Not really modular--but here are my 2x ems synthi aks. I also have a Buchla (bemi) easel and a smaller 200e/200r set up with the 223 tactile controller. I also diy'd a Halliburton briefcase into a 12U eurorack--I've got some more eurorack, but am probably going to purge a bit of it.

[behndy]

so, finally some smaller options for muting/micro-mixing outputs.

trying to decide if i want a pair of the new Erica Synth mixer/mutes or one of these -
a
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swbskywitVc[/youtube]

https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewt ... p?t=188608

the LPZW is pretty hawt. specially if he does it in 10 or 8 hp. but the Ericas give fade options even though they'd be more hp for 2 less in/outs.

but the LPZW does cool grouping and sync'd drop in the next measure on time mutes.

but the Ericas are a hundy cheaper.

totes leaning towards the LPZW..... right?

[behndy]

also, this was fun to do. trying to use the FLXS1 for all the melodic sequencing -

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJBqhYBQnag[/youtube]

and MAN i want a Rainmaker.

[Deltaphoenix]

THAT is beautiful

[ibarakishi]

thanks for all the replies from everyone, that pretty much answered everything i was thinking about. Kind of confirms what i was thinking of and the different options that are able to be done to achieve this. now to continuing scheming during my late nights

[resincum]

I'm looking for an attenuator with specifically 1v max in mind; is there something like that or will any attenuator work?

What do you mean ? You want something to make 10VPP signals work with video modulars ?
If so, your best bet would be something with a fixed 5* or 10* attenuation and then after that a normal attenuator.

Maybe ask the Ladik guy if he could do that, he's super open to new designs like that and does great and cheap stuff (and that could be useful for other people I guess)...

yeah exactly. I was thinking I would have to chain attenuators. I was actually going to get a couple from Ladik, so I'll ask him about that. I'm guessing an oscilloscope would help me figure out where the 1VPP peak is if I don't find anything specific? I need to invest in one, anyways. I'm surprised LZX doesn't make something like the English Tear but for video synths.

[MrNovember]

I'm looking for an attenuator with specifically 1v max in mind; is there something like that or will any attenuator work?

What do you mean ? You want something to make 10VPP signals work with video modulars ?
If so, your best bet would be something with a fixed 5* or 10* attenuation and then after that a normal attenuator.

Maybe ask the Ladik guy if he could do that, he's super open to new designs like that and does great and cheap stuff (and that could be useful for other people I guess)...

yeah exactly. I was thinking I would have to chain attenuators. I was actually going to get a couple from Ladik, so I'll ask him about that. I'm guessing an oscilloscope would help me figure out where the 1VPP peak is if I don't find anything specific? I need to invest in one, anyways. I'm surprised LZX doesn't make something like the English Tear but for video synths.

LZX has the Bridge module which attenuates by a factor of 5 to go from 5V to 1V. They also used to have a couple of others:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/lzx-indus ... nterface-i
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/lzx-indus ... age-bridge

There's also the Cadet DIY: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/lzx-indus ... t-v-scaler

[resincum]

-__________________-;; how did I miss that. perfect. thanks buddy

[Ghost Hip]

Finally got to wiggle a bit last night and this morning. Excuse this possibly gratuitous newbie post...

Totally see what you guys mean about not buying modules too fast. Not sure if my experience/reasoning is the same as others but I didn't realize how much I could do with four-six modules. Peaks/Maths/Veils/Kinks is a killer modulation/vca/mixer combination to start with. The multiple outs and modes of the Telharmonic give plenty to play with, so far have been patching drones or thick/resonant sequences. I haven't even scratched the surface of Rene but its already providing a lot of possibilities. Morphagene is exactly what I was hoping for, an extension of what I have been doing with my OP-1, Count to Five, and more primitive Boss PS-2.

I think where I may have went overboard was with my drums/percussion set up. I won't post where I am with all that but at the very least I can compare what works best for me. Right? ...Right.