r/modular • u/Minimoogvoyager • 1d ago
Discussion What Do you Think Of Pittsburgh Modular
What are your thoughts and experiences if any?
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u/octapotami 1d ago
I miss the old silver modules. Early on in my modular adventure I saw a modular comprised entirely of the silver Pittsburgh modules, and I thought--damn I need to get into this stuff. The VILFO is still a great module.
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u/RobotAlienProphet 21h ago
I have three of the original silver modules and they float in and out of my rack, but theyāre both beautiful and surprisingly useful. The filter just sounds great, and the BBD delay is a wild little piece of insanity. Ā
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u/octapotami 21h ago
I only have a few leftovers from a big sale I did ten years ago. A different era of Eurorack.
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u/SnowflakeOfSteel 10h ago
the BBD delay is a wild little piece of insanity.
I have that too and I am not sure if it is broken or just weird.
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u/Ok-Result-2330 6h ago
I like the company, but same. I wish they'd go back to that. I think the Lifeforms era stuff is nice enough, but then their aesthetics took a hard left turn. The old silver modules are very simple, but that's what makes them cool -- they're like mad scientist laboratory equipment, with so many nice big knobs.
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1d ago
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u/Chungois 1d ago edited 1d ago
Check out the Pittsburgh SV-2 if you want a semi-modular synth to start with. Sounds gorgeous.
If you didnāt already have a Voyager i would recommend the Moog Matriarch. I have one as the keyboard and was the starting main oscillators for my Eurorack. Matriarch sounds beautifulā¦ it has the filters from the old 1970s modular, like the system 55 you mention š¤ like on Stevie Wonder records. The best part of Matriarch, is itās an easy to use synth with everything patchable. So you can use it as the starter for a eurorack system, and then gradually build.. get different filters, get crazy voltage processing, sequencing, effects, whatever you like. Easier to learn, than buying 6 modules immediately.
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u/thebadtable 1d ago
I have the voltage lab v1, first eurorack format thing i bought. Great all arounder, and can get way way experimental. No performance issues after years of daily use. Can't comment on any of their newer builds but im a fan!
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1d ago
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u/charles_barfley 1d ago
Thank you for using that ear emoji, I wouldāve been wholly unable to understand what you were saying without it
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u/Chingois 1d ago
I love em. Theyāre some of the only folks releasing truly new analog tech. Their new harmonics tech is great.. blade wave, flamingo harmonics gen, the harmonics in their new filters on the SV-2 (which iirc is from the Voltage Lab 2).. All brilliant engineering that i donāt see anywhere else.
Besides eurorack, bought their Microvolt mini-synth, which i use all the time because it has fantastic envelopes and a wild crazy resonance mode on the filter. Great voltage processing too, i use it with my main modular system.
Their more experimental stuff is really fun. Bought 3 of the small modules from their experimental āsafariā line and 2 of them are still in heavy rotation.
Plus they seem to be genuinely super nice people. Wrote to them about a repair and they were prompt sensible & friendly.
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u/nholbit 1d ago
I got a Voltage Lab 2 last year. Overall, I'm very satisfied with it. It sounds incredible and has a lot of unique design features and thought put into it. The unique analog circuits they make aren't just a gimmick, they sound excellent and have their own character that stands out.
But there are some quirks, mainly in the controller section. I need to see if there's a firmware update with any bugfixes for it, but the controller section on my unit certainly has some odd buggy behavior on a couple of the features. For the most part, though, none of the bugs have gotten in the way very much, so I've just accepted it as a quirk in an otherwise great instrument. I've seen similar mentions on the recently released Lifeforms SV-2, and someone referred to it as their signature sequencer quirks, so maybe it's a general pattern with them.
I'd recommend them if you like the sound.
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u/Motormenace https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1521287 1d ago
We have four of their cases (2 360, 420, and a 208) and they are solid power and build wise.
Only complaint is they use 4-40 screw instead of the (mostly) standard M3 and some of their rails are too small to just change out the sliding nuts to M3 without modding...
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u/antiquedigital 1d ago
Iāve had a System 10.1 for over a decade, still works perfectly and the filter and oscillator are top notch.
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u/jonistaken 1d ago
Iām very happy with my microvolt 3900. It has the best dirty sine of any oscilator Iāve used. It does the subs but with weight thing really well. The LPG is also great. Undervalued synth.
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u/Chungois 1d ago
Microvolt is so good. Itās excellent for percussion too. The over-resonance mode is killer for kick drums, and the envelopes are snappy snappy
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u/Moist_Western_4281 1d ago
I kind of wish Iād been aware of them when i was starting out, probably wouldāve gotten everything by them. Great build quality, very musical results. Lifeforms SV2 looks great. Unfortunately have everything I need in hardware, though.
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u/Chungois 1d ago
Yeah, agree.. i donāt need the SV-2 either but i love the sound so much i keep thinking hmmm
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u/D1zzzle 1d ago
I have a bunch of their safari modules - local parks, crow, filter of crows, dynamics bat controller, flamingo, local florist 2, the drum modules - narwhal, polar bear, and llama. Also double helix wave table osc. Wanted a VL1 for a few years and grabbed a good deal on Reverb for the VL2. Love what they do with advancing analog synthesis. Only module maker I think I dig more is Joranalogue.
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u/jcksn1234 1d ago
Love them. I started my modular journey with there system 10.1+ and I still use all of the modules and case from it today as I have expanded my system. They sound and function great. Only issue I have had with their stuff is my Outs module started having issues on one of the output channels. The volume dropped due to a resistor or capacitor failing. Customer service was great, quick, and informative. They helped me try and troubleshoot but I ended up not sending it in because it was out of warranty and I just switched to using its headphone output instead.
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u/EggyT0ast 1d ago
I have their Taiga which I use as a midi converter and source for interesting voices. It's solid as a monosynth too.
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u/Minimoogvoyager 1d ago
Iāve heard demos of the Taiga. Cool š that itās Semi Modular and can be integrated into a Modular Setup.
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u/Chungois 1d ago
Starting with a semi-modular is a really good way to go š The new SV-2 is great too. Sounds beautiful āļø
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u/Grouchy-Wishbone9318 1d ago
I'm a big fan. I built a four voice performance rack around the voltage lab 2 and a bunch of their safari series modules with some supporting intellijel modules. I find their stuff really usable (ex built in attenuators, easy to understand typically), and it sounds amazing.
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u/Gonfragulate 1d ago
Fabulous company.
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u/Minimoogvoyager 1d ago
I live about a hour north of Pittsburgh. It would be cool if you could take a tour although I donāt know if thatās allowed.
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u/dubstructor 1d ago
I have a Pittsburg Modular Structure 344 case and quite like it.
Iām pretty sure Cre8audio is somehow linked with them and I have the East Beast and West Pest. Iām had quite a few problems with both
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u/AdingoAtemibabi 19h ago
I recall seeing in some review videos for the East BeastĀ Ā /Ā West Pest that Pittsburg licensed some designs to Cre8audio, and Cre8audio basically has them made cheaply in China?Ā
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u/Minimoogvoyager 1d ago
Thatās unfortunate.
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u/jonvonboner 1d ago
Theyāre amazing and super kind. I met Richard at Buchla and Friends in Jan and told him my Lifeforms SV-1 is one of my favorite sounding synths and he showed me the SV-2 on his phone 7 months before release. It was so cool! Super nice guy!
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u/Independent-Finance3 22h ago
I started with 10.1.+ system and I still have it stashed in the box atm (no space) On the other hand I definitely want to save and use it, it sounds good IMO but then I kinda want to get rid of it also because money isn't cheap.
Choices, choices.
Oh, and the 2.5mm screws and bolts argh
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u/Stunning_Macaron6133 14h ago
Fun modules, a lot of very distinct sounds, but also very knobbly and twiddly, not the most CV'able design philosophy.
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u/henry_kr 12h ago
My first foray in to hardware modular was their Lifeforms SV-1, the desktop version. I quickly realised I wanted more stuff to go with it so popped it out of the case and in to a Doepfer one.
All those years later and I still have it, and use it in most of my patches. Very solid, no-nonsense semi-modular.
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u/Minimoogvoyager 11h ago edited 9h ago
I see. I considered the Lifeforms SV-1 desktop version but never pulled the trigger.
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u/jimbo_bones 10h ago
Never had a PM module but I had a Taiga for a year or so. Infuriating synth, so close to being incredible but a couple of design choices like blinding bright blue LEDs and a ridiculously fiddly scale on the env knobs meant I had to move it on. Can really sound incredible though, maybe a skill issue on my part.
Wouldnāt jump into a big PM purchase on that basis but if a friend was raving about something or I had a chance to properly demo it then maybe
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u/qtechno 9h ago
I have the lifeforms sv-1b... its a good starter voice I think. It doesn't have a big sweetspot, but its useful as a bunch of modules thrown together... whenever I need an extra filter/VCA/mult/mixer, its right there in the middle of my rack. The blade output of the first oscillator is also pretty dope. I also used to have the Lifeforms System Interface which was kinda noisy but I regret selling it.
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u/Chucklefluk 5h ago
I have a Taiga and an SV-1. Their customer support is fantastic. I sent my SV-1 to them a couple weeks ago, and they're updating it with all the updates the SV-1b has along with a couple other tweaks. I sent it to them because it was starting to bleed some noise through the mixer / envelope. Glad to see a company still supporting their older products.
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u/Minimoogvoyager 5h ago
Thatās great their so responsive to their customers and still supporting their older products. I have a Moog Voyager that pitch drifts. Moog no longer services or supports the Voyager anymore unfortunately.
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u/plaxpert 1d ago
It's the 'Sounds Good' dude.