Documenting my journey through modular synthesis. The videos are relatively unsophisticated, because I'm approaching it from the perspective of an amateur trying to figure out what modules work well for me, not a high-end user with advanced patching ideas. (DivKid has that territory well covered.)
I'll start posting tracks as I release them, and over time you'll see the balance change from modules to music (I hope).
See more of my music, photography, and sculpture at www.johnschussler.com. Hear about new releases on my Facebook page: facebook.com/johnschusslermusic
Berlin is the best one, simple to use plenty of features for solid sequences, transpose, quantize, note length variation... your comparison is not objective... I am using one with 2 Ryk 185s chained (100M format) and I have more than what is needed to make superb sequences...
you have the bad habit to set the input gain to max , so you overdrive the filter so much that you don't hear the resonance's character, especially on the morgasmatron
I made a Res Eq with polystyrene caps, and one with ceramic disc caps. Apart from the difference in frequency from the ceramic disc caps not being as precice in value as the polystyrene caps, I could not really tell the difference between them. :-)
Verbos is in a positive way, thin, tinny, metallic, plastic, artificial AF, and dope AF. 22 mins in and it's killin the game. It is less rich and robust than the Wiard I think. I love the Foundation a lot a lot but I say the Wiard is fatter sounding. Grant gave his circuits the bass.
I wonder how that Encephalo would sound if one worked out how to get a feedback limiter like Tanh³ into that feedback path, to both tame the resonance & allow further useable processing? 🤔
I only watched the demonstration of the Doepfer module, but that had to be the most frustrating demo I’ve seen. Didn’t show how the controls interact with each other at all. You never turned the frequency past noon, you never turned the CV attenuation below noon, and you spent more time turning the resonance knob than anything else.
Stefan T doesn’t do manuals, and his videos have neither voice-over nor captions. I’m actually quite interested in this module (after something for less mainstream percussion)- but it seems not to have a trigger input, which seems a bit of a drawback. I may have to opt for the Spad Electronics version which, although boasting a poorer layout, does at least have a trig input!
I usually like your videos, but I'm not sure I understand the point of demonstrating modules you haven't learned. "I didn't read the manual because it's 38 pages." If half the modes on IDUM just don't work, that's kind of an area I'd want a demo video to explore further.
For me a lot of this exploration is to understand just how much extra effort I'm going to have to put in to get decent result out. I still have IDUM in my rack 'cause it's interesting and worth some effort, but I still think a 38 page manual indicates that the module could have been better designed (e.g. make it bigger, bring some of the not-so-secondary functions up to the panel). It's a common problem with many modules where the makers try to cram as much into as small a space as possible, and you lose usability as a result. For me it's useful to do a "I'm coming at this from zero" video so I can remember what it was like once I do understand the module better. Gives me a measure of whether the usability issues were worth the effort.
@@JohnSchussler Thanks for the insight. A year or more later, did you ever read the manual or get the IDUM to do as it's told? I've been curious about its potential.
@@alexmeeres5072 I read parts of it as I explore the modes. It has lots of modes, and the new firmware has added some new states, so it's an ongoing process...
@JohnSchussler which module ended up being your favorite for snare drum? Also, is the SSF Ultra Kick your favorite kick drum/bass drum module? Thanks for any input you can provide!
Thank you so much for this video. Been wanting that SEM sound for sometimes, and went for the G-Storm as best option. The extra inputs and CV controls put the SEMSVF ahead for me. Excellent built quality and truly wonderful sound. Without this video I would never had gone for it, so thank you again.
Yeah, also remember that on your own builds you should always tolerance check your chunky NOS THT stuff and bias your transistors as standard practice - you can sort've "tune" the frequency curve by creatovely utilizing stuff that may not be up to spec or precise anymore, but every build could sound noticeably different without testing. Using the right (modern) THT components could also recreate the sound of this SMT build almost exactly to most ears. Experiment!
The classic Amplitude and Tone is one of the greatest modules in Eurorack. I have had it since it came out, and it is 100% irreplaceable. Not just for LPG duties, but it makes anything you send through it sound so incredibly wonderful. Spend as much as is required to get one. Highly, highly underrated unit.
Dig the black nitriles, I used gorilla glove nitriles on all my old eurorack captures from 6+ yrs ago. Mangrove is my favorite oscillator after the Benjolin monster. Great channel, glad to see places like this with my return to euro activity.
@@JohnSchussler indeed, but I'll tell you my favorite over disposable nitriles like what you're wearing here (which I use for my tattooing), the black gorilla gloves with the red back, they last forever and look cool in video, haha.
I bought the Oscillation new last year to build with Some other modules the best two vco i could think off. I ended with the Oscillation, Eaganmatrix module and Erica S Bass Doubler for sub harmonics. The PWM on Oscillation is really good.
If you watch the original Bastl video on the little drum machine, he shows in simple terms and detail, how the system works. Then, when you look at the module, you can understand better, what’s happening. However, it works great, random, just patching things into in and out. :) Remember, you can mult an output and send it to more than one input! (The little drum machine has multiple outs for each output.) I own both and i find the small standalone version is easier to make ‘normal’ weird beats with.. while eurorack version tends to ‘like to’ make noisier more experimental patterns, probably due to how the inputs and outputs are set up.
Fusion goes apeshit after cv levels are above 10pm so you missed an opportunity to showcase a more subtle ring mod sound by keeping these levels below it
Grant Richter is one of the most inspiring designers out there, for sure. Features, sound and last but not least visual design make his modules just so adorable. Always wanted a big Wiard 300 modular… At least I have some Eurorack modules from him.
when you save a pattern, does it save the exact pattern or does it only save the parameter settings? i.e. when you load the pattern does it play the exact melody you saved?
