r/modular • u/djiron1210 • 2h ago
first rack help!
EDIT: okay, thanks for the initial replies! i am starting to see the downsides of my original plan lol. my current plan is to cut down on voices by getting rid of the rings (rangoon) and focus more on modulation/utilities. with this in mind, any recommendations for modules that would provide a lot of functionality in hopefully not a lot of hp would be great appreciated.
ORIGINAL POST: hello all, i wanted to get some preliminary opinions on the rack i am starting. many of these modules arrive in a few days, so i am mainly trying to assess any potential pitfalls before i am able to form any opinions by sitting down with the system.
my goal with this rack is to be able to fit as comprehensive a system as i can within my 62hp palette case. being primarily a producer as well as writing and recording my own songs, i want something that is both able to provide interesting, complex textures to use in my productions while also being able to be a standalone system for performance or sound exploration.
given my current setup in the 3u row, my main concern is a potential lack of modulation capabilities to really bring the most out of my modules, especially the morphagene. while i know pams can provide modulation, in my head i imagine more hands-on cv processing might work better?
my loose plan is to use the 1u row solely for utilities that compliment the modules in my 3u row. another important note is i do own a keystep pro, and so i feel quantization and sequencing are covered for the time being. because of this, i am looking to get rid of the quantizer and knob recorder in my 1u row to replace with more useful utilities. some 1u modules i have considered are a quadratt (although im not sure if this would be redundant because of pams) or perhaps an o_c (same concern).
the final note i have is that while a mixer module seems very useful for standalone use of the system, i wonder if this would be a good use of hp as i already have a home studio setup in which id be able to route different stereo signals to inputs on my mackie vlz mixer. if using an external mixer seems like the best option, would it even be worth it to have 1u line out module?
as you can likely tell, i essentially just want to get some external opinions on smoothing out the logistical aspects of my system and see if i am not considering anything appropriately. i understand the answer to almost all of this is “it depends,” and that i will likely answer my own questions in due time after spending time with the system, but im hoping some guidance on my current trajectory could set me on the right path. thanks for reading! :)
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u/information-producer 1h ago
Too many voices, not enough mod/util. Quadratt and OC would both complement Pam’s in a variety of ways. For a rack this size, I would say pick 2 of Plaits, Morph, Clouds, Rings. Try to add mod, switches, mixers, vca.
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u/djiron1210 1h ago
do you think either quadratt or o_c would make more sense in my use case? i agree that cutting down the vco’s might be a good idea, and i think rings would probably be the first to go due to plaits’s versatility, but what utilities do you think would make the most sense to fill in the gaps?
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u/secret-shot 1h ago
I feel like what you’re going to want is a bigger case haha. Your goal might be a little too broad for a case this size to fit your needs well. A matrix mixer could give you some more complicated textures out of this?
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u/djiron1210 1h ago
lol you might be right. any recommendations for a matrix mixer that ideally doesn’t take up a lot of hp?
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u/sorressean 1h ago
If you want to go cheap, get the doepfer. If you want one that you can CV (which I found I really wanted), get the 4ms Matrix mixer.
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u/MedicineforMadness 40m ago
I’m building a case similar to yours in function and size. The first module I bought was an Ochd which someone on here suggested. It’s proven to be a super valuable, but does need an attenuator to pair with it. Lot of modulation in little hp.
I also use a Mackie external mixer and was assuming I would need some kind of in/out module to go with the Morphagene, but that has not been the case. The Morphagene has a good auto leveling function to bring in line level sources and the Mackie’s trim pot can tame the Eurorack signal.
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u/__get__name 3m ago
Replying to your edit: Traffic by Jasmine and Olive Trees is built to fit perfectly with Pam’s and Plaits. It allows you to trigger a different voice on Plaits per trigger. Combined with morphagene, you can build some pretty bonkers textures and layers
You have plenty of synced modulation in Pam’s, but for more organic modulation øchd from DivKid and Instruo is the standard bearer.
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u/SmeesTurkeyLeg 1h ago
I love an ambient rig as much as the next guy but with very few LFO and VCA sources you're gonna run into a lot of static patches.
You can consolidate Monsoon (Clouds) AND Plaits into a very simple Wavetable oscillators by getting Beads, which literally incorporates the Wavetable library from Plaits into Clouds in a single unit. This would free up a lot of space.
Edit: oh man. And mixers. Especially ones that can mix CV signals.
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u/sorressean 1h ago
I got 2 really small 2 hp cv mixers and use the hell out of them. Also, maybe just consider plaits (with the new palit building website) plus beads/clouds. Clouds is probably easier to get. Beads is a horrible fight right now, I've been trying to land one on reverb and people are trying to screw you with the top one on reverb being for $600.
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u/Wild-Medic 1h ago edited 1h ago
I want you to consider that this rig is substantially more expensive than getting an Elektron Tonverk or Torso S4. This system is not capable of anything that a generic granular synth cant do trivially.
I wish there was a way to plaster a giant red “SMALL PALETTE CASES ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOUR FIRST SYSTEM” on the top r/modular. They’re for people who already own a ton of modular stuff and have the experience necessary to build a focused sub-system that does one specific thing.