The Modular Synthesizer Thread

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Very exciting for you Chris.....it is a bizarre and wonderfully crazy journey that will assist you in making sonic poetry.

I had a lot of eurorack modules during my journey, many more than my three cases could hold so be vigilant about buying and selling as it is gloriously addictive.

Please post modules that interest you and if I / forum members know we might be able to suggest.....naturally there are no bad modules.

I first got a Make Noise system and learnt from there.  12 years back I had a 3 panel Serge Modular system so I was not a stranger when I got into eurorack.

If I was going to get back into it I most likely would get a system.  One system I would look into would be Verbos.  I had a few of his modules and they were special. 

for you Chris a system might be a go place to start......Pittsburgh Modular are doing good things. Mutable Instruments is another I would like to make a system of.  I had quite a few of theirs.

 

[chris23]

Haha, thanks for the input and suggestions, all. Scott: I did end up getting an Arbhar. It is probably my favorite toy right now. And the mono-in doesn't trouble me too much given that it will bounce grains across the stereo field as output. Thus, it sounds rich and lush when all is said and done. I'm tempted to pick up the Nebulae too because I think "my style" is more along the lines of working with textures rather than bleeps and bloops. And, as you noted, the potential for elastic audio options in a rack is very tempting.

Julio, I messed around with VCV Rack for a long time before diving in and was able to figure out fairly well what I would need in order to create the kinds of atmospheres in which I was interested. But, of course, VCV Rack is an approximation to real systems, and there are some key modules (e.g., Arbhar) that don't exist in that space. So there is still a lot to discover, and many experiments in what fits and what doesn't lay ahead.

Having said that, my approach has been to go "all in" rather than to slowly build something over the course of months or years. I don't mind a bit of trial and error, especially since the resell market it excellent. I've already started selling things back that didn't quite work the way I had hoped. Most surprisingly, I ended up selling my MI Beads. It is a cool module, but I wasn't connecting with the sounds I was getting from it. I don't have Clouds either.

My goal is ultimately to settle upon a system that is well-suited to generative, drifting ambient. I want it to be self-contained so I can take it on adventures and use it. Technically, I could take my laptop on adventures too, but there is something special and mysterious about modular that I had to finally stop resisting.

Julio, your post implies that you ended your eurorack journey. I might have missed that explanation in a previous thread. Do you mind sharing?

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Julio, your post implies that you ended your eurorack journey. I might have missed that explanation in a previous thread. Do you mind sharing?

Yes Chris I did end my Eurorack journey.  I sold all 3 cases of modules......everything about 3 years ago.  The primary reason was that I realized that I was not a very good synth builder and what I strived to create was physically and financially unattainable. What I needed was a wall of modules for the sounds I wanted to create and I wanted polyphony.  Perhaps I was being greedy but I could hear the possibilities and this was leading into "module acquisition syndrome" which is ok as you can really get to fine tune a system as modules go out and come in but after a while you want to keep them all because each on has a special function that adds to the "the sound".

It was a wonderful voyage and one I may go on again with a much better understanding now.

Also the collaboration I did with APK, if you did not hear it.......https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/falling-into-place.... was an interesting experience and I was very happy with how it came out, yet I was happier with Anthony's ambience and pads etc than my own modular contribution.  He did wonders with my sounds.....how he responded to the abstract bleeps and noises was very special but it was something I could not do myself very well.  I had a hard time integrating those modular sounds with my other synths that are the foundation of my music.  Probably a contributing factor to my decision to move away from Eurorack.  I don't think a single eurorack performance  ever made it onto a release of mine other than the Dataobsura release with APK.  Of course I have not been very prolific.

I believe a single case of well chosen module can be more than enough and for myself as I said I would go with a system designed by a maker who I believe knows what they are doing.

[chris23]

Well, that's a bummer to hear. But, at the same time, it seems like a very mature way to handle what is undoubtedly a complex set of creative decisions.

I'm also finding that it is hard to create the kinds of atmospheres that I can create fairly easily in my normal software/DAW workflow. But, at least for now, I'm really enjoying the challenge. And there is so much to learn, which makes this endlessly entertaining.

I did hear the collaboration with APK. You two paired well in that album!

[Julio Di Benedetto]

I'm also finding that it is hard to create the kinds of atmospheres that I can create fairly easily in my normal software/DAW workflow. But, at least for now, I'm really enjoying the challenge. And there is so much to learn, which makes this endlessly entertaining.

With your music talent Chris you will tame and entice these wild natured instruments.   Rex Probe the man behind Serge Modular said and I bet I already quoted this in the thread " Modular synths are playgrounds for electrons". It really is true, much like a child in a playground who's appetite for discovery is limitless.  It also runs true for us as the operators of these machines.  I would work on a patch for days often loosing it and rebuilding it to arrive at something unexpected or quite often create just a bunch of nonmusical noise but oh it was never dull and a wonderful way to learn electronic synthesis.

As great a time as it is in the world of hardware synths with analog, digital and hybrids, probably software too though Im not that familiar......nothing still can touch imho the sonic world of modular synthesis especially the eurorack system where module designers are bring so many amazing, crazy and innovative concepts to market.


 

[chris23]

I just released an E.P. on Dewtone Recordings that contains a few of my modular experiments. It is "name your price" if anyone is interested in checking it out on Bandcamp.

https://dewtonerecordings.com/album/drifting

I tend to be drawn to ethereal, drifting ambient that doesn't have a lot of structure. So my system is designed to be more of a generative one than is typical in the modular domain. I'm not necessarily trying to "create" or synthesize new sounds so much as I'm trying to find aural "spaces" and moods that I like and find ways to allow those to evolve in interesting ways.



I'm using a combination of Mutable Instruments Marbles and random triggers to Hermod for sequencing; Arbhar for granular looping and playback; Rings, Plaits, Chord v2, and samples (via Bitbox micro) for sources; FX Aid for reverb; Pam's and Ochd for modulation; QPAS, and scattered utilities for attenuation, mixing, etc. I also uploaded a few videos if you're into the "eurorack and succulents" style scene (haha): https://www.youtube.com/c/InnestiAmbient

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Enjoyed listen to the release and your youtube videos.  You have created generative soundscapes of quiet gentle complexity and I agree it is a difference quality of music that usually emanates form modulars. 

Not sure if you ever use modular grid to plan out your system but it is a good way to post the system for others to see if you are so inclined. 

[chris23]

Modular Grid:

https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1723788
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1735955

I've been picking some things up to explore with the intent of treating this system as a "used book store" of sorts: Buy some things, play with them, keep the ones that are special, and resell those that are less so. So, some of the things in there may not be around much longer.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Thanks Chris for posting the mod grid links to your system.  I like the used book store idea.  My own bookstore was very busy!

Very interesting selection of modules.  I was a fan of Mutable Instruments, still am though I don't have any modules anymore.  My system was based around subtractive synthesis with a big nod to self generation which was achieved through random generators, multiple LFO's and odd CV generation that really all came together in my 2 ADDAC Quintet mixers that excepted lots of CV for modulating/manipulating 10 channels of audio.

Memories.

[chris23]

Odd CV generation, eh? Have you seen this?

https://www.clank.eu/chaos

Very intriguing. Apparently Clank can't keep up with the demand.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Well, the videos I think don't do it justice or perhaps Im not fond of that type of sounds the demos express, perhaps the second one....however I really like the possibilities. At a quick glance I can realize its potential.  in your hands it would shine.  The design and look of the module is very nice.

I often think back to Eno and his generative music, actually not so far back as its quite recent.....a possible repeat music scenario in maybe 2000 years.  I can't remember if its that long but that stuff messes with the mind in a wonderful way and I wonder how hard it is to commit to complete self generation and the natural human element to want to interact.  We are all drums in some shape or form.   That was the original shared instrument and it is our nature to interact.  Its in the DNA and it does not require one to be good at it, drumming   

Hard to keep the hands behind the back.   ;)   

[Scott M2]

Hi Chris, I just visited your YouTube channel for a while and was enjoying your soundspaces and appreciated the thorough patch notes too. Wonderful ambience!

[chris23]

Thanks!