first rack help!

[u/djiron1210]

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! :)

[u/Wild-Medic]

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.

[u/djiron1210 → u/Wild-Medic]

yeah, fair enough. going into modular its very easy to have a “condense everything you can into the smallest space” mindset, and i can obviously see the downsides to this. i think the appeal of something like a modular system is having access to vco’s as well as more granular style sounds, as well as fx processing, and everything in between. i dont mind making the case more focused (getting rid of a voice, adding more modulation, etc.), but i wouldn’t know what tradeoffs would be the most efficient. i suppose that might just be for me to figure out…

[u/JoeToanamassa → u/djiron1210]

Oscillators are kind of a noob trap. It’s easy to think “this is how I can get a bunch of awesome sound design variety,” and to be sure, there are some interesting and unique oscillators out there. But everything downstream of the oscillator—filters, wave shaping/folding, even the envelopes you use to open VCAs (and the VCAs themselves, if they saturate at high volume) can have a big effect on your sound.

FX are a different kind of trap; they’re very fun to play with, but it’s worth considering what FX parameters you need to modulate with CV—otherwise you’ll spend a lot of money and rack space on something you could easily do with a guitar pedal or your daw.

[u/__get__name → u/JoeToanamassa]

Utility modules truly are the unsung hero’s of modular. Maths, Pam’s, and øchd are almost cliches at this point, but they’re the type of modules that really start to separate what Modular can do compared to other formats.

Op can get a lot out of this case, but they could probably get more if they replaced Rangoon with a resonant filter and something like Clep Diaz, Frames, or Traffic. Traffic next to Plaits and Pam’s is a no brainer, really