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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Modular Synthesis
Confessions of a modular addict
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Per



Joined: Jun 09, 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:34 am    Post subject: Confessions of a modular addict Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I am about to get the last (?) modules in my 100-module synth rig. And there are some experiences I have made that may be interesting for others who dream about a mighty modular.

You can´t really stop. I started nearly two years ago with a 40 module system, believing it would be enough for the rest of my life. Now it is a 100 module system. So, buying 3 HU racks and saving some bucks is stupid, plan for expansion from the start.

Cheapest is not always best bang for the bucks. I did go for Doepfer, as it was a low cost system. If I had known what I know today, I would have choused good bread and butter modules from Doepfer (like their Quad ADSR and Quad LFO) and picked some nice multifunctional modules from Blacet and Wiard on top of that. And the high prices of these modules are partly compensated by the low cost of the Frack Rack.

I was too short on non-sounding modules. I underestimated the need for VCAs. They not only amplifies, they are good for amplitude modulation, panning, controlling frequency modulation and many other purposes. I now have 8 VCAs and 3 Low Pass Gates in the system, but started with half that number.
The need for multiples was much bigger than i thought. I use 2 or 3 multiples just to distribute different clock pulses.

Planning is not all. I spent nearly a year of planning and drawing and dreaming before I ordered the first modules. But when patching, things are different. I have rebuilt the system numerous times, without getting the perfect layout. And there are modules I realize I never use. The CV to MIDI converter, for example, and a voltage controlled switch. I should have started smaller, and had built it over a longer period. If I had followed my patching habits instead of a theoretic plan, would not have bought them

My idea was to create virtual CV in my Clavia G2 and sent it by MIDI to the Doepfer MCV24 12 channel CV/Gate interface.
But the core of patching is to me became the creation of CV and gate patterns. So today, 50 % of my 18 x 3 HU system is CV processing.


But in the end, it is a system I love, and an instrument that I think will follow me for many years. And I have made a list of some modules that in my opinion delivers more than I first expected:

Doepfer A-101-2 Low pass gate
It doubles as VCA and vactrol low pass filter, with a fat and organic sound.
It adds warmth and personality. I often add it as an combined filter/VCA after other filtering.

Blacet MiniWave
It is versatile and do both CV/LFO processing and audio processing. Has bite and personality.

Metasonix TM-1 Waveshaper/Ringmodulator
A brutal distortion or a warming VCO waveshaper. I use it in almost every patch.

Analogue Systems RS 230 CV Buffer
Not so sexy, but cheap and necessary in larger systems. It keeps the VCOs in tune, and make sure the gate has enough level when it drives many units. I have just ordered my second module.

Doepfer A-138c
It is a cheap four channel polarizing mixer, with a +/- 5 V DC current normalized to the first input. It is versatile as CV mixer and processor, as it can both add CV bias and invert the signals. And it can mix audio as well, together with the CVs.

Hope these reflections can be to some help for you who plan to build your own modular.
Per WIkstrom
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Axiom



Joined: Feb 19, 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I felt the same before ordering my first Doepfer modules.. they'll arrive the next week. meanwhile, i've a 3U rack with an A-190 and a Bananalogue Serge VCF and I can't wait to test them all.

I know i'm entered into an endless tunnel.... oh yeah and I can't repent Very Happy

Cheers,
Luca

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seraph
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Axiom wrote:

I know i'm entered into an endless tunnel....

so I better stay away from it Laughing I am already into endless digital tunnels Cool

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Per



Joined: Jun 09, 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:17 am    Post subject: An AM Forum... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Maybe it is time for a new forum, like the AA for booze addicts: The Anonymous Modular Addicts... Wink
"I remember my first VCO, if i just had stopped there, now my family and house and job all are gone...
Per
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Axiom



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

"Please, only one more module... "

it was a multiples Laughing

Luca

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jkn



Joined: Mar 14, 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Nice post, Per (I love your modular news updates as well...). I started my 22 space dotcom system a year ago. I intended to fill the cabinet in about a year and it took exactly a year to do it. I foolishly thought it would be ok to wait about a year and use what I have before launching a 2nd cabint in 2007. Foolish me.

I'm already dreaming/planning my 2nd cabinet.

So far, I haven't really made any truly bad decisions on the modules I chose for the 22 space cabinet. Admittedly - it's fairly hard to when everything you need to get is bread and butter modules - they'll all be useful regardless of the size. I think I'll have a much better chance of a couple mistakes in my 2nd cabinet... Wink

For what it's worth... my 2nd cabinet dreaming thread is here: http://www.modularsynth.net/topic-71.html
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Axiom



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Just as I've said before... one more module addiction is started yesterday after a Bananalogue.com news. Seth Nemec and Ken Stone have just released a new Serge module for Doepfer A-100 systems... this time a Wave Multiplier. I've heard only two files and now I feel I must buy a new empty rack and this module ehehehe

Check bananalogue.com for Serge WVX. It rocks Very Happy

Luca

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ian-s



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Thats some rude sounds!. What a great module Very Happy . The slope gen looks good as well.
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Axiom



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

yup... i've bought it and can't wait for rest of modules so I can test my first rack. Smile

Luca

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meic



Joined: Nov 12, 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I started with a 40Space Dotcom. 2 years later my family is gone and i have a 80Space System, an Anyware-Instruments SemTex and a Doepfer Sequencer frame. Sometime i would like to have my family back and was thinking about if my system is one of the reasons they are gone. But only sometimes. But i spend a lot of money,time and interest in my configuration, this was less than my wife expected.............


I need more sequencers
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cornutt



Joined: Oct 13, 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Axiom wrote:
I know i'm entered into an endless tunnel.... oh yeah and I can't repent Very Happy


Hey, I can quit anytime I want! I just don't feel like it right now. Very Happy
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Electronicant



Joined: Feb 23, 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

It´s now friday afternoon again and there´s a risk that you come home with another sixpack of Doepfers after work. But, with the regards to the environment, check that they have a recyclingsystem for consumed Doepfer-"cans " installed at your local musicstore Very Happy
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synthbaron



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PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:12 am    Post subject: Re: Confessions of a modular addict Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Per wrote:

Analogue Systems RS 230 CV Buffer
Not so sexy, but cheap and necessary in larger systems. It keeps the VCOs in tune, and make sure the gate has enough level when it drives many units. I have just ordered my second module.


I had been wondering why no synth manufacturer made just a CV buffer module. Guess I'll be ordering one.
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elhardt



Joined: May 14, 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

It is possible to complete a modular and not go on buying forever. Between my Doepfer, MOTM, and Dotcom, I have about 120 modules. Doefper keeps coming out with stuff and while there still is an urge to get some of it, my case is all filled up.

But more than that, I have many other synths including virtual analog modular synths. Once you get to the point where you have the gear to create any sound you want, there is no need to go on forever buying analog synth modules. And it's getting harder to justify spending $200 or $400 on a module, when for that price or less an entire software modular synth can be bought that will do a billion times more, can store patches, and is polyphonic too. Or if you have a Nord Modular, a patch needing another module doesn't require you to buy another module, you just pull down a menu and plop another one down on the screen and in your patch.
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ndkent



Joined: Jan 03, 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:26 am    Post subject: Re: Confessions of a modular addict Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

SynthBaron wrote:
Per wrote:

Analogue Systems RS 230 CV Buffer
Not so sexy, but cheap and necessary in larger systems. It keeps the VCOs in tune, and make sure the gate has enough level when it drives many units. I have just ordered my second module.


I had been wondering why no synth manufacturer made just a CV buffer module. Guess I'll be ordering one.


My understanding is some gear does a better job at buffering itself from outside sources and some gear is more prone to contribute problems in not so well buffered gear.

As for other buffer modules, Doepfer's A-185 Bus Access module seems to be their answer. Though "buffer" isn't part of the name it is in fact acting as a buffer module.
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cornutt



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

elhardt wrote:
It is possible to complete a modular and not go on buying forever. Between my Doepfer, MOTM, and Dotcom, I have about 120 modules.


Which raises a question: How do you know when a modular is "done"? (Well, no modular is ever really done, as long as its owner remains alive, but...) Being nowhere near there yet, I can see three possible scenarios:

1. Your have a plan when you start out, and your modular is done when you have finished the plan.

2. It's a feel/function thing; the modular is done when you decide that it does everything you want it to do.

3. Your modular is done when you have acquired all of the modules that you are interested in and are available. (Disregarding the question of whether there are functions you want that aren't available in an available module.)

4. Your modular is done when you run out of money. Laughing

5. Your modular is done when there's no space left in your spare bedroom for another cabinet. Shocked

Any thoughts? I'm willing to bet that most modular owners who consider their module "finished" fall into categories 4 and 5. Wink I can see that some people who put together small systems for specific purposes, such as systems meant to be portable, fall into category 1. Elhardt's case sounds like category 2.
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elhardt



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PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I fall into catagories 1,2 and 3. For example when I bought my Doepfer, I bought all the modules I was interested in that they had available, in the quantities needed that fit into the enclosures I also bought. I did it in one shot because I had the money and didn't need to spread out the purchases over time. There were some modules they had planned for the future that weren't available, so I later built a small case and bought up the remaining I wanted. Now, Doepfer has come out with a lot more than I had expected they would, and I can't say there isn't an urge to buy more, but a lot of the functions they have would be seldem used, or can be done with multiple older modules.

But there is also the other reason I mentioned. With a Nord Modular or Reaktor, any addition functions are right at hand. For instance, sometimes I kind of wish I had two Doepfer fixed filter banks for processing stereo. No problem, I can use my Nord to do that task. If I need 20 oscs in a patch, I can add 16 Nord oscs to my 4 MOTM, and problem solved. The thing about buying modules is the law of diminishing returns. The more modules you buy, the less those addition ones are being used. It's not cost effective. It makes more sense for me to have a decent sized real analog modular, and then for anything beyond that, just use another flexible product like the Nord to add anything extra. Or in most cases just use the Nord or Reaktor in the first place for anything not practical on a real modular.

-Elhardt
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seraph
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

cornutt wrote:
I can see three possible scenarios:

the 3 possible scenarios are 5 Shocked

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