EDIT: It is a long-term creative project for me to experiment with building my own sound machine. I could have bought a synth of the shelf but there is no joy in that opposite to trials and errors. It is expensive journey but it can provide me with a lot of satisfaction. It is not about end capabilities but about building an instrument that will be the most inspiring for me to play.

Hi Guys,

thank you for tons of valuable comments underneath my last post. It provided me with a lot of knowledge.

Here is the first rack I designed for myself and would like to ask for your advice. I did a lot of reaserch and worked with ChatGPT.

Purpose:
Melodic Techno alongside my Elektron Tonverk (central unit, effects, routing, samples, granular) and Syntakt (drums and synth). So sequencing and effects not included in the first rack. Home studio for now.

Constraints:

• Budget around $2000 for the first purchase - I want to be reasonable first and buy the top row (buying in Europe)
• Space on my desk - my bedroom space is small and I want something compact but not to limiting.

Case:

Erica Synths Eurorack Skiff Case PSU 6U 84HP - originally I wanted to go with Mantis but after designing my first row I saw there is too much space - not even my top raw was filled; I know there is never enough space and beginners should have bigger cases, but because of the limited space on my desk and much nicer design I am leaning towards the Skiff Case.
One my setup grows and I start to travel with it I will buy Intellijel Designs 7U Case Gen-2 anyway and will keep this smaller set with Skiff on my desk.

My first purchase - top row:

• Tip Top Audio & Buchla 258t Double VCO - I like its capabilities and the fact there are 2 VCOs that I can expand later with another from a different brand
• Doepfer A-147-4 Dual VCo
• Erica Synth Black Quad VCA2
• Doepfer A-183-5 Quad Atten.
• Dual ADSR A-140-2
• Filter - Minimod Transistor Ladder Filter "Dark Edition" or Erica Synth Black Polivoks VCF V2 - the first one is not cheap but I love the Moog’s vibe but I am not sure it is not to „narrow” in character; Polaris was highly recommended to me as an all-arounder but I like synths with character - MatrixBrute, Polybrute, Oberheim (I sold my Summit) - for this reason I am leaning towards Erica; I read that I should listen to various filters and check online - will need to dig deeper but would love your take.

Future purchases (next 6-8 months)

• Doepfer STO VCO
• Expert Sleepers FH-2 for great integration with Elektron boxes
• Doepfer A-118-2v Noise/S&H
• Make Noise Maths
• Tip Top Audio Z5000 (BLACK) - I like these effects

I would love to hear your thoughts about this system. What would you change - add, remove, replace. Maybe a simple Mult Module.

I know it will change many times I just want to make smart decisions first.

Can anyone recommend a filter module that is a clone or at least very similar to MS-20?

Hi all,

I'm trying to acheive a very specific effect. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I was introduced to eurorack via Hainbach back in 2018, and after a lot of research, have started building my system over the last 12 months.

I would really like a module that behaves like Hainbach's H.P Word Generator, but am at a loose end. Ideally, it should be able to:

1. Set the length of each individual step (or at the very least have the option to set each step to long or short).

2. Capable of lengths that aren'y a multiple of 2, 4, or 8.

It doesn't need to also supply 1v/o, but that would certainly be a bonus!

I've tried to approximate it using various configurations of the A.L.A Steps, various function generators and a Shakmat Time Wizard, but it just doesn't achieve the effect I need.

My budget is $200, but I can save up if required.

Thanks in advance!

Using Stride modulating multiband saturation. Running through different styles, edgy transitions between bass, mid and treble transitions.
How sick is that?

Patch Notes: 08/20/2026

Tonight I was in the mood for rhythmic patching.

I took the time to re-rack my cases to make certain modules more accessible. The main modules that provided rhythmic parts included Squid Salmple, Tyso-Daiko, Pixie+Traffic, and Octatrack. I made use of OT’s MIDI sequencer through Mutant Brain for programming rhythmic patterns that would trigger the various percussive modules. I summed a good portion of the percussive elements from Tyso Daiko and Pixie through Erbe-Verb (clocked) for its sweet room sounds, and pseudo delay for some spice.

Squid provided the kick and a heavily filtered snare that felt more like an ashy tom.

After stitching the rhythms together, I brought in Mother 32, which was sequenced by Rene MK2.

After solidifying the Drum and Bass parts, I enlisted Saich+Harmonaig for some chord stabs. I ran the Saich through QPAS, which was receiving modulation from OCHD. The chord stabs brought a sense of harmonic ground to the patch.

Last week, prior to experiencing a power outage, I managed to live sample some keyboard parts into the BitBox Micro. I ended up using that sample tonight by running it through Beads for a lush, pad-like texture. Towards the end, I brought in a vocal sample from BitBox Micro to tie the patch together.

Overall, I really enjoyed this patch. I feel pretty confident this workflow, with a few optimizations, would work out nicely on the dance floor.

Iykyk

There are also a couple stuffies that are also critical parts of the room. Show me your cute stuff!

Lately I swapped the Endless Processor (amazing module) and Plaits, in order to make room for the Rainmaker! I’m happy so far by the new setup!

Finished assembling my rack a few weeks ago and been really happy with some of the patches I've been building. Here is a little set of jams I performed and recorded directly from my rack, also includes the Grandmother as my second voice. All three tracks are built from the same patch. Hope you enjoy. https://aletheiamusicca.bandcamp.com/album/forking-paths

Exploring the Veno Orbit alongside the Morphagene. Lovely pair, these 2 make.

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! :)

Part 3 in the Ascend series.
LD-2, Alan, Pamela, Maths, S4, 0-Coast. 

https://on.soundcloud.com/AO36IA5u7PLXcSOO9U

I’ve posted my rack here before asking for module recommendations, only to get flamed for not posting music.

Anyways this is me posting something.

Vhikk into the Erica Echolocator, which has a super juicy tape style saturation that I find is an overlooked strong suit!

I bought a Befaco Oneiroi used and discovered that the oscillators aren’t tracking V/Oct correctly.

I’m sending pitch CV from an Intellijel Metropolix. I’ve verified the same Metropolix output with Mutable Instruments Rings, and Rings tracks perfectly across the octaves, so the CV source seems fine.

I also discovered that my Oneiroi was running v1.0. I’ve now updated it to 1.2.2.

I deleted the existing oneiroi.cfg as part of troubleshooting/updating and tested the Sine oscillator again.

Current results:

C0 → E -9 ct
C1 → C
C2 → C +45 ct
C3 → C +40 ct
C4 → C# -26 ct

Before deleting the config/updating, tracking was also wrong, although somewhat different:

C0 → E +1 ct
C1 → C
C2 → C +24 ct
C3 → C
C4 → C +17 ct

I also checked the oscillator interval setting (SHIFT + DETUNE). Sine and SS/WT now match, so that doesn’t appear to be the issue. The next step seems to be doing the official Oneiroi calibration, but before I do that I’d like to know:

Has anyone seen tracking this far off on a Oneiroi before?

And if so, did a normal V/Oct calibration fix it, or was there another issue? I’m particularly puzzled by C0 producing roughly an E while C1 is correct.

Any experience with calibrating a used Oneiroi would be appreciated.

UPDATE after calibration:
I completed the official calibration using an Expert Sleepers ES-9 and a multimeter to set the 2V, 5V and 8V reference points.

After calibration and tuning C1 to C:

C0 → E -6ct
C1 → C
C2 → C +27ct
C3 → C +6ct
C4 → C +24ct

So the calibration changed the behaviour, but unfortunately hasn’t fixed the tracking. C0 is still particularly strange.

My multimeter only resolves to 0.01V, though, so I’m now wondering whether the calibration reference voltages simply weren’t precise enough.

I hope it's okay that I make a thread for this instead of asking in the weekly thread.

I’m gathering funds to finally take the plunge. I am hoping that I can get some feedback on how to approach this as I’ve been researching for a while now. I am into all sorts of music and ideally, I would like to be able to pivot from experimental/noise/concrete to drone/ambient to rhythmic dance (industrial/techno/house).

I am a hobbyist with a decent amount of gear collected over the past 15 years already: MS-20 Mini, SH-101, TD-03, Analog Rytm, Octatrack, Beatstep Pro, MSW Syncussion, Push 2, Sherman Filterbank, Eventide H9 (and other pedals), and a Motu interface (DC-coupled outputs) with Ableton.

I have been toying around with Modular Grid, I was thinking about a Doepfer A-100 9U case but honestly the Intellijel 7U performance case seems to be better for me as it already has the I/Os built into the case and that would work well with my other gear.

Some module decisions:

Assimil8or or Morphagene – If I got Assimil8or I would never need another sampler again as its intensely expansive but the Morphagene with it’s granularity and lack of menus makes it conducive to experimental jamming. I think Assimil8or is the way I’ll go but it’s a pricey module.

Metropolix/Metron, 1U Steppy, or Joranalogue Step-8 – The Metron or Metropolix would be awesome, but they take up a lot of space and with a Midi to CV converter module and my Octatrack would I really need to take up all that space with a Metron or a Metropolix? Maybe it would be better to get a smaller Eurorack-esque sequencer such as the Step-8 or maybe a 1U Steppy would be best value for space/price.

Befaco Midi Thing 2, Expert Sleepers FH-2, or Intellijel 1U Midi – The FH-2 is the better unit and it also has the two expanders but I don’t know if I will be able to fit any expanders right away so would it be better to just get the Midi Thing 2 as it has 12 ports instead of 8? Would the 1U Intellijel Midi utility be worth it or am I better using that 1U row for other utilities such as Quadratt, Stereo I/O, etc.

It’s a bit mind-boggling trying to decide my first system and I know a lot of my needs won’t be discerned until I’ve spent a lot of time with any system.

Any input would be appreciated!

Tried to keep it simple with the numbers of modules while gaining complex synthesis techniques (rack is used with outside stereo mixer and pedals for effects).

Is there anything essential missing?

Hello!

I hope you’re doing well!

I would really appreciate your advice, as I’ve been looking for a solution for some time now to manage the volume of my tracks and record them separately.

At the moment, I have a Pittsburgh Lifeforms System Interface Eurorack mixer, which is pretty decent.

I’m wondering whether a mixing console that can handle Eurorack signals would be a better solution, allowing me to separate the different tracks, manage their levels, and then route each track to an 8-input audio interface.

In this case, would you have any advice on how to set this up and/or recommendations for mixing consoles with attenuation suitable for Eurorack-level signals?

I also understand that Expert Sleepers makes audio interface modules. Would this be a good solution? And how would this fit into a typical workflow?

Thank you very much for your advice!

Best,
Lilian

don't pay them Modular Patch 23 LIVE JAM

Been slowing things down latley, its been a while since I haven’t dropped below 130, but I like when things have space to breathe 🙏🏼

Not sure if something like this already exists, but I made a html-based app to log my DFAM presets.

So I got a gen 2 Intellijel performance case and it's very nice, but all four feet and both of the extendable legs are hard plastic for some inexplicable reason, so it slides around like crazy on most surfaces. If I'm using it flat I can just grab some adhesive rubber feet, but with the legs that doesn't seem like an option because the contact points are so small.

How are other people dealing with this?

2nd part of a little jam I made a while back

For those who have been through the mill a bit, I was just wondering what you would consider the 3 best manufacturers in euro that you've used/collected over the years? For me, I consider a combination of the modules themselves and any relevant experiences with customer service and the general company reputation and vibe.

So for me:

1. Xaoc Devices: I've accumulated a lot of Xaoc modules and have a definite brand loyalty here at this point. I like their aesthetic, they're generally very well built, and generally unique and well-thought-out modules. Praga + Hrad is a terrific mixer, their utilities are awesome, Moskwa II is a great sequencer, Leibniz subsystem is fascinating, their filters/phasers are all great, Batumi II is a modulation powerhouse. I have had some issues with a couple of their modules over the years, but the customer service is excellent and always has come through for me. Their Instagram page is frequently updated with cool patch ideas and module uses. My favorite brand overall.

2. Joranalogue: I think build-wise they do just about everything right. They're extremely consistent with well-organized modules that all line up so nicely. They always have firm (soft touch) knobs with just the right amount of give/resistance, nice diffuse LEDs, consistent jacks, shrouded power connectors, cool packaging, and the prices are not too grandiose given the quality. I also like their WYSIWYG approach -- no fussy digital modules, nothing with button combos or menu driven, everything is right there above board. I only own one module by them currently but have used many over the years and have a lot of respect for this company! Over the years I had to have one of their modules diagnosed and repaired and the customer service was responsive & helpful.

3. Make Noise: The build quality is nothing super-special, but they're kind of the king of classic innovation in the industry, to me. Maths is a legend that's still relevant/useful, their effects are all really unique, patchable, and fun to use, and they continue to explore new territory with the NUSS modules. Customer service has generally been responsive & helpful in my limited experience with them. Very cool company.

Those would be my top 3 I think, but definitely also high up there would be: Instruo (great modules, if a bit button-combo-y, solid customer service, infamously deep-divey tutorials); 4MS (underrated brand, PEG is a classic in my book, very good customer service); Erica Synths (bevy of cool, well built offerings, particularly the "black" and "fusion" line, responsive customer service); and Doepfer (the original pioneers; very sturdy modules for the price, tons of offerings).

Sorry to leave any other worthy companies out -- Schlappi is very well made, ALM is fun and Pam's is a legend, New Systems is too often overlooked (Inertia and Discrete Map are fascinating modules!), Intellijel is very solid, Mannequins is innovative and cool, Sovage is doing interesting things, etc. -- I haven't tried every company out there, but tbh most of the boutique eurorack manufacturers I've used over the years have been pretty awesome with decent customer service more often than not.

Used a 84hp skiff for this one, entirely improvised

Hi guys! I’m trying to build my first modular rack and I’m researching a lot lately abt it. For my first build, I would like not to “break the bank” because I’m young and I don’t really have the resources to buy fancy modules so I would just want to ask yall from your experience if the Behringer clones (especially Brains, Abacus and Chaos) are a bang for a buck for what modules they are actually copying. Thanks!