I make videos about all the cool stuff I create, photography, music (under the name Polarcoaster), building cool electronics projects, drawing, painting etc. If you're into creative stuff, stick around!
Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like the artwork! TLRs are such unusual cameras. You might see an old Rolleiflex in a movie, which are also TLRs, but Mamiyas are much more pragmatic cameras and don't look quite so nostalgic. Fantastic interchangeable lenses, bellows for focus, that sort of thing. There are also a couple of videos about my Mamiya Press on the channel. That one looks even more unusual. It's a vertical shaped body which is so rare for camera design and you can have several backs and switch film mid shoot. I love Mamiyas. All really heavy, but worth it for the image quality and flexibility.
Always good to go back over old photos to see what you did and to remember about what was going on at the time. Puts some perspective on what is happening in the present. Hopefully, everything has moved on and things have gotten better! I haven't gone back out to shoot for a few weeks. Haven't been feeling the best, so I've let my pics take a back seat, although I should get out and do some more. Might help! I've also gotten back into doing some art, mainly drawing and painting.I'm like you, I'm not that big into portraiture, more of a landscape and nature photographer, with some street thrown in for a bit of good measure. It's the same with art, although I'm trying to improve on my portraits here. It's slow progress!!! Most of my drawings still look like the people in them look somewhat psycho!!! Anyway, I went out shooting with my Zeiss Ikon Nettar, took mostly colour film with me. Shot some newish Kodak Gold 200 and some expired film. That was mainly Velvia 50. Don't know how they'll turn out but I suspect that it's mainly going to be underexposed and some will be out of focus because I hadn't used the camera for awhile and sometimes I forgot to allow for the distance to what I was taking and didn't change the distance dial on the lens! Going to have to send the film off to get processed soon as I'd like to see the results.
Oh, Zeiss. Yes, those Zeiss lenses are always beautiful. Luckily my Zeiss Super Ikonta has a rangefinder so I'm less likely to forget changing the distance! Sorry to hear that you're not feeling too well. In my experience getting out of the house tends to help, at least for my kind of ailments. I've been really busy shooting this month, playing with a new camera that I'll show on the channel soon. I haven't drawn in ages, I should really practice more, but with the photography, the music and the videos I'm busy enough at the minute. Only 24h in the day. I'm currently working through a bit of a backlog myself on the film front so I'm trying not to shoot that much film so that I can catch up. Today it was a roll of Double-X I edited and tomorrow I'll probably develop some more of the stuff.
Hi Lilly. Your pictures are a mix of beautiful, moody and really nice :). And your Hypnagogia album is very interesting. I will check out your Polarcoaster bandcamp. That Mamiya is my favorite camera as well. In fact, in the last video you made (1000 rolls) about the C220, I wrote you a comment to hint at a video I had made with photos from my C220. In 2021 I made a new one in the style of the former one, with some self composed piano music as well. It is called "Mamiya C220 in 2021" if you want to see what I have done with the camera since then :). Thanks for sharing this C220 video :). All the best to you.
Aw, thank you Ulrik! I’m glad you’re enjoying the album and the pictures! I just watched your new video and it’s beautiful, both the music and the pictures. Very melancholy too. Love it! I shot another roll with the Mamiya in nature again a few months ago, so there will probably be another video about that at some point. Such a lovely camera!
@@LillySchwartz It really is a great camera. The one I have was purchased by my father in the 1970s before I was born. So it has quite an affection value for me. Right now I am trying to complete a portrait series of strangers I meet - soon I will have reached the 100 mark, which is my goal :). Please do show more of your work with the Mamiya - it is very interesting to see what you create with it. Oh, if you can get hold of the 55mm f/4.5, I can highly recommend it. That is the widest lens produced for this series.
@ulrikchristiansen oh, it’s in your family heritage, that’s always nice! My mum had a Lubitel, but it was full of fungus and very broken. And then it fell off the table 🙄 I should probably replace it, but I’m much more likely to use the Mamiya and the Rolleicord. Your 100 strangers portrait project sounds great. I’ve been meaning to do that myself, but I do it too infrequently to reach 100 anytime soon. Maybe one day I’ll make it a priority. I’ve been looking at the 55mm, but sadly I never find any in good shape in Europe when I’m looking for a new lens. But then the other day I found a Canon LTM lens I’ve been covering for ages, so sometimes Japanese stuff shows up in Europe too. Fingers crossed I’ll get that 55mm soon. The next time I make a Mamiya video I’ll show some shots from the archive I think. I think I once shot a pretty spectacular roll of slide film with it if I remember correctly.
Hey, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love putting the soundtrack to these videos! This one gave me the opportunity to use some of the more melancholy tracks of my album. Eskerrik asko, Agur! (which sums up the entire extent of my basque 😬 )
Oh, here it’s about 8pm, just settling down now after going for a photo walk earlier. The photography videos were the reason why I started writing music again, always like to keep it soothing for these.
I love your photos of nature. There is always so much to see. The pine cones looked like the backs of animals breaking the surface of the earth like whales in the ocean.
Totally an Alice in wonderland kind of experience. I guess that’s one reason why I keep exploring the forests. Still waiting to stumble upon that magical portal into another realm!
I have the two bodies for the system, Super 23 and the Universal Press. That Super 23 body was really cheap, because it was body only and a little dinged up. Works just fine though! There are some older vids on the channel about the Press! If only it wasn’t so heavy!
Hello Lilly Your artistic photographs are freaking awesome. I love them. And you have some great shots in street photography. I have a new direction in my photography, I use 5x7 land cameras from 1900's with brass lenses (ca 1890) with glass plates. It's so fun.
Oh, I’m so glad you like my work, Chris! My hypnagogia work came as a bit of a new direction too, in 2017, after shooting mainly street for 5 years. That’s when I bought my Speed Graphic too. 5x7 on glass plates sounds so amazing, especially with such old lenses! I normally shoot projection lenses on mine, very fast aperture. It’s really fun too!
I’m talking about something like the Leica Hektor 250mm f/2.8 for old medium format projectors. I have two of these and they swirl quite nicely too. I love swirls myself! My Nokton 50mm f/1.1 swirls too. Big fan of quirky bokeh!
This time I experimented a bit with the style of this video and added a voiceover to the photo shoot section of the video. I'm curious to hear what you think about this style? Do you prefer voiceover or just music? Also, don't forget to check out my album hypnagogia. It's name your price at the moment and it comes with the liner note images that I show in this video. polarcoaster.bandcamp.com
As someone who just got into electronics over the past year, it's fantastic to see how much modular gear is DIY. I've been building my own VCO on breadboard, with an eventual goal of turning it into a Eurorack module, and I love the idea of a small, well-focused rack system. Very inspirational seeing (and hearing!) what you've put together!
The sky is the limit with this stuff, you can build your entire rack DIY if you want and the only reason I have bought modules in here is because I wanted to learn them more. The rest of my system is pretty much all DIY which is really cool!
I am on research to build a cheap live all as analogue set stand alone with looper and good sound modular synth, effects, beats for techno & "slowed psytrance"...if you want as professional on those machines give me your solution for my stand alone live set. I like very much, big as possible analogue oscilloscope for synth consoles construction...true cool😊
i love the way how deeply you explain all your modules and why they are there in your rack. Very nerdy 🤓 ..like myself😅 Did you ever tryed the benjolin module by Rob Hordijk? Ive build one by myself, it was my first module, and i want to feed it into MI clouds because this combo is so out of this world
Definitely on the nerdy side myself 😂 I haven’t tried the Benjolin, but I have a rungler circuit in my Vortex generator, so I can play around with some of the principles. Don’t quite know what I’m doing with that yet, but it’s good fun nevertheless!
The big advantage of a small system is what you can sit wherever you want, power it with a power-bank for example, and fiddle with it. I noticed that I spend much more time with the modular when I have a small system. One of my favourite combos was Rings + Crime + some analog filter/mixer. Rings can do fm stuff and chords, filter adds ‘analogueness’ and modulations, and in Crime I almost always use that double sequencer mode which can generate both pitches and envelopes. Add some Keystep to the mix and here’s a fully functional synthesizer and even more. For those who thinks you have to have row after row of modules to make something useful out of it - you don’t.
Oh, Rings is a world in itself, definitely very cool as the basis of a small system. And if you just add one more sound source it becomes even more interesting. I tend to use Rings primarily as a resonator and I definitely want to have it in my next small system. DIYing that one is definitely on my list, after using it a ton in miRack and VCV rack. I definitely agree that you don’t need a spaceship style massive synth to get some nice music going. In fact I think that might hinder me more than help me because of option paralysis. What’s your analog filter of choice for Rings?
@@LillySchwartz Oh, it's nice to hear that. You should definitely build one. Lots of fun modes in there! Also... mini-elements firmware. I usually use 810 with it because it's the only shallow module with filter I have which would fit in the pod 🙂 but I guess any simple analog filter would do...
Oh, yeah, mini elements is another plus for Rings! Versatile little module! Although often I wish it was proper stereo. I was just curious about the style of filter you like with it because there are so many flavours. Stereo Ripples is a great one and shallow enough for a pod.
@@LillySchwartz 810 is kinda close to Ripples, they are both Roland inspired. And in the bigger case I have Tempete Magnetique - also quite an interesting piece of gear. Yes, stereo is not an option in my case (when using the pod). However you don’t have to use Rings as a stereo source. Since it alternates voices when played, I often send odd and even to different modules and then sum them back in a mixer. You can send the even to a vca, overdrive it and reshape with an external env for example… then sum with the odd one, etc.
Now tempete magnetique looks so interesting to me. Very cool module for sure. That’s how I tend to handle rings as well, sending odd and even to different places, because routing them together in a stereo way never quite gives the results I hope for. Annoying. I actually find the Monsoon much more interesting as a proper stereo resonator. That’s why I don’t have Rings yet.
Interesting little guitar, must be very comfortable to play, especially if one has to be on a small stage for 2 hours. Or even to go on vacation! Nice mods anyway
@@LillySchwartz I played grunge and metal for 30 years, had many guitars but always preferred short scale ones (Gibson, Godin or Jackson fusion) but now I am 52 years old and having a guitar that is also light has become a requirement. Also, it is not always true that a 1,500 euro guitar sounds better than a 200 euro guitar, many times all you need is an upgrade and a good setup. Thank you for your advice!
Then this lil Mustang would be right up your alley, it is ridiculously light because of the slim body style. Of course you can’t do everything with it - trems on this body style would be a bit of a stretch, but it’s a good modding base for sure. And right on about expensive guitars. 10x more expensive doesn’t equate to 10x the tone.
always good to see you long or short videos , your voice is so nice almost like asmr , I love your music, it remains me a bit of Frippertronics(Robert Fripp from King Crimson) , also I've been doing this kind of music since 1989 , thank you, greetings and hugs from Alaska but I am from Mexico😍💛🌻🌹
Thanks Markus! Flexibility was really the aim here so that it would be versatile in what I can do with it. Works great stand-alone or as an effects chain!
Aww, thanks! 😂 it’s my attempt to build a space ship of course 😁 jokes aside, it’s a modular Synthesizer, so you plug it together, turn some knobs and music comes out! Lots of fun!
Thank you Julien! Turns out there is such a video already: A track I wrote with this system and Ableton m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2r8v0M9mqBI.html
I love using software because I have no space to store the hardware due to space limitations, but love to watch your hardware setup and listening to your creations.
I still love using software too! For me using both in conjunction is the sweet spot right now. And I can totally relate to the space issues. My old studio became absolutely unmanageable once I added hardware to my setup. It was quite ridiculous for a while. Do you have some favourite plugins? I love Puremagnetik stuff myself.
@@LillySchwartz Puremagnetik’s are very good. I also use PaulStretch, Valhalla Supermassive as well as UJAM’s Voodoo, Output’s Portal, Vital synth among others.
Great video very pertinent for me as I'm currently putting a really small system together. More of these would be most welcome. Interestingly I often do the same thing with the disting mk4, pick a utility or basic function it has, then find a way to use it in a patch - somehow? I'm gradually remembering the really useful algorithms. One stand-out is the option of playing in MIDI notes real time to set the quantizer notes for the Shift Register Random, fed from a latched arpeggiator works like a charm. Nice vid Lilly thanks. : )
I’m glad you enjoyed the video! The module overview of the big system is definitely coming now, since people seem enthusiastic about the idea. I assume you’d need the midi breakout for the Disting to play in the notes for the quantiser? I have a dedicated midi to CV module so I don’t have the midi breakout myself.
@@LillySchwartz Well Expert Sleepers do that Tiny MIDI Breakout as a DIY for £25 ..? I have the FH-2 and the MIDIXO TRS-MIDI Utility. The MIDIXO TRS thing I got bundled with a Disting EX, but I use it with the Disting Mk4 cos the FH-2 and EX can be connected directly behind the panel. I'm planning to make use of FH-2's (recently added) 16 x quantized shift registers and Euclidean pattern generators! It also has a fairly advanced map-able arpeggiator. Paired most likely with the EX's Multisample algorithm, which is 3 part multi timbral. I 'hope' to achieve a more 'function driven' than sequence based generative rig. Even though there is a lot of 'digitality' beneath the surface, this should free up the the FH-2's CV outs to do the hands-on Disting and Dual Dagger fun stuff. A Minibrute 2S > Disting Mk4 will do lead duty and possibly a TR8 to keep the drums honest. This is all going into Befaco's new Output Bus - talk about a problem solver... I'm rambling.. Anyway the channel is great, I'm greatly inspired as I'm sure we all are, by the honesty and level of detail you go to in describing your journey. I'm DIYing a lot nowadays but the possibility of designing my own custom modules sounds wild, maybe someday..? This is such a great community, thanks again and really looking forward to the big system overview. : )
Now that sounds like a nice setup, very interesting! The tiny midi breakout is definitely an option. When I start building again I’ll probably pick one up. I built the Befaco Midi thing myself so that I can plug in my Launchpad directly, but these days I’m using the ES-8 most of the time. It will probably change for the next album though since I’m thinking of something that lends itself better to being played live. Designing my own modules is definitely something I’m working towards on the DIY side. I can do the PCBs already, but the circuits themselves can still be a little confusing at times because I don’t really have any hardware training. There are tons of cool circuits out there though that could be adapted to Eurorack, so that’s where I’m starting. Ultimately I’m doing this to make music though, so right now I’m very focused on using all the modules I built.
😂 oh dear, if I had to edit two hours of this it would take me forever 🤣 I guess I could get another two videos of the same length out of the other two rows though. It’s definitely on the list now.
@@LillySchwartz Only if you feel like it of course, never do what subscribers ask of you, it is your channel and your time. Just know that I would absorb everything :)
Oh, I definitely only do what I feel like at the moment or I never would have started making music related vids in the first place. This channel started with drawing and photography in mind but at some point I felt like building a guitar pedal and modding my guitar 😅 my regular audience wasn’t interested in the least 😹 now I seem to have primarily a music audience. Oops
Bob Ross approves of happy accidents 😂 I was kinda reluctant to pivot for a while, because music RU-vid is so gear heavy, but I have quite a bit of hardware now so it isn’t a stretch anymore. I definitely enjoy making these kinds of videos!
I like small systems but I also like combining them into a big system. Small is good for portability and distinctiveness. I agree that multifunction modules give a system more flexibility for the size. Thanks for showing us your choices.
Combining several smaller systems into a bigger system definitely is an interesting approach. I can see myself enjoying a setup like that with one voice in each small case. Something to think about for sure! Thanks for watching!
Yeah, it could be some kind of meme, I have to think about that a bit! Completionism is definitely a reason why collectors end up buying stuff they don't need, just in this case it's empty space that creates the need to fill it somehow. I have an empty space in my big case because I took my oscilloscope module out to make space for a smaller module. It's been bugging me to no end!
Id love to hear more about mutable ears. Im very very very intrigued to route a guitar into a modular. Any experience you might want to share about guitar > ears? Thanks :)
Ears is practically a piezo with a boost, so you can plug a guitar straight into it or anything coming from a guitar pedal and the level will be enough to be boosted to Eurorack. You can also plug in other stuff, Kalimba, steel tongue drum and it works really well like that. My favourite combo in that regard is guitar into looper pedal and then through Ears into granular or modular reverbs delays etc. if you can’t find Ears look for Music Thing Mikrofonie. Which version depends whether you want an envelope Follower or not. Definitely a module I can recommend, but there are alternatives too, like Befaco InAmp with two channels.
Let’s not forget about the Pokémon factor too. Gotta have them all, which is of course impossible! Stripping it down to a minimum viable setup definitely makes the needs very clear!
Great video! Very interesting to see how you've setup your system and get everything to run smoothly. The problem with bigger systems would be power requirements and heating problems, I would imagine. You might have to put in a fan and heatsink to wick the heat away. That could help. You do know that GAS doesn't exist. If you want to expand, then just do it😊 The only time it becomes a problem is when you don't have enough room in your room for all the equipment and modules!!😝 And, the heat melts planes flying at 30000 feet!! Or, starts forest fires!!😝 But, you're a long way from that happening.
Fans are relatively rare in Eurorack setups. Having gaps helps for that purpose and not living in super hot climates 😂 Agree on the GAS. For me it’s not really a problem because I know where the urge to expand unreasonably comes from. I try hard not to solve my creative woes with new gear. By the way, did I mention that we have a telescope in the house now? 😅 just a nice lil thing to look at the moon and the planets because there isn’t much else to see in the city with light pollution, but it’s lovely to look at the moon!
Hello from Kassel :) Super cool system you have there! My point of view is that it's better to have a little less equipment, but know how it works! How long did it take to print? I told you a while ago that I also have an Anycubic Mega S. That would definitely take ages...I got a Creality K1 2 months ago and what can I say? My Mega S needs 3 hours and 27 minutes for the benchy. I stood for the K1 for 16 minutes with a really stupid grin and mouth open and thought the thing was about to take off 😁. An absolute asset! By the way, if you come to the gig with a square rack and leave with a round one, then you should definitely think about ABS/ASA 😆🤣🤣. Wish you a good time! Best regards! ❤❤❤❤
Definitely agree on less gear and more deep diving! I think I can combine both with this approach of having a smaller system within the bigger setup. The speeds of current 3D printers are mind boggling! Really cool. I'm getting ready to do some more serious modding on my Anycubic, to speed it up with an external Raspberry Pi, but I don't think it will get quite as fast as the K1. I definitely don't print enough to justify a whole new printer at the moment, but it's on my radar for a time when I dig deeper into 3D modelling stuff. As for print times on the Anycubic: One section of 26HP takes about 10h, so it's not too bad and it's printed out of PETG because Eurorack can get quite warm.
@@LillySchwartz Honestly, printers are so cheap these days. I also love my Mega S because when it's set up well it gives really fantastic results. BUT I got my K1 for €365, I think that's a no brainer! In my opinion it's not worth buying a Pi and tinkering around with it. (even though we love crafting but the little buggers are sooo expensive at the moment) The only thing that really bothers me a little about the K1 is that it sounds like a jet turbine, my Mega S was able to run comfortably at night and I slept well. This is really only possible with the K1 if you print at the same speed as the Mega S. For me personally it was still the best decision because I'm just more into the 3D thing at the moment and my synths aren't set up properly yet because I've just moved. Now I know what I wanted to print again - a pretty little stand for the Behringer Pro VS Mini which also happens to be an incredible sounding little box!
@hughman8597 well, that’s a good point. It definitely matters for me because I have the printer in the studio and I definitely can’t work on music even while my modded to be quiet Mega is running. Is the K1 even louder than than Mega without any mods?
@@LillySchwartz Oh Lilly, it's a jet turbine🙉🙉🙉🙉! That's the only annoying thing about this printer, even when the doors are closed (which I wouldn't recommend with PLA) it is super loud! With the door and lid open it is around 75dB. Unfortunately, this is the case with all high-speed printers. The BambuLabs A1 Mini (idk if the normal one has it too) has volume suppression that should work pretty well. Conclusion: It is not possible to make phone calls, watch TV or sleep in the same room! I haven't seen any fan mods yet, so I'll have to do some research.
That alone would be a reason not to upgrade for me. I think adding the Raspberry will already give me plenty of speed increase, but I can keep using my quiet fans. I actually bought a Pi for my printer already years ago, before the pandemic, so I don’t have the price issue now.
It really depends on the album. If it’s something very focused I might be writing just a month, like it was the case with my album hypnagogia, but with this one it’s already been a good few months and I’m going much more slowly. Finishing everything up in the realm of mixing and mastering takes me a lot longer usually too and getting promo started is a whole other can of worms entirely. I’m trying to get a bit faster now, but it’s difficult when you’re a bit of a perfectionist like me. Still learning to let go.
That's a really cool little setup. I've built my own rack around the idea of getting away from relying on my DAW or separate synths, while keeping the option of using them, so it's a bit bigger, a 7u x 104hp Befaco case. It contains a pretty usable variety of modules for sequencing, modulation, voices, utilities, effects and output so I'm pretty happy with where it's at now and don't foresee having to pour too much more money into it. For your larger system, perhaps you could break it into segments, do a video focusing on certain modules, a second video focusing on others, and only lightly touching on the mundane utilities and such.
The Befaco case is really cool option. Every time I reorder my modules I consider it because the 3D printed version makes that a bit tedious at times. The option to go DAWless is definitely interesting and I can do that too with the bigger case, but I find myself getting stuck with option paralysis whenever I attempt to create a bigger patch on it. I think my sweet spot at least for the moment is the hybrid workflow. I think if I do a separate video for each row it’ll become manageable. This one already took forever to edit because of all the b-roll, but if I chip away I’m sure I can get the big rack done too!
@@LillySchwartz that would be awesome, count me amongst those who want to know more about your other modules! I still do a lot of work in my DAW, but I just picked up Hermod+, and that enables me to do a lot of sequencing quickly and easily without having to dig through a bunch of connections and MIDI/CV conversion. Question, how are you liking the Edge, and how are you using it? It's been on my radar since it was announced, as I really liked the DFAM but didn't want to drop $600 on one.
The ES-8 makes all the DAW sequencing so easy that I haven’t really considered any hardware sequencers and when I do use one it’s usually the one in my Launchpad Pro because it doesn’t overwhelm with too many functions. The Edge is a very interesting synth for sure. The way you see it used on YT a lot is nothing like the way I use it, because my music rarely has drums and if it has it’s LinnDrum samples. I do play with that every now and then, but the kind of stuff I’ve been making recently doesn’t feature them much. I use the Edge with a quantiser and it’s beautiful for drones too. Still getting the hang of it and trying to find a place for it in my music which isn’t always easy. I really like that it pushes me out of my comfort zone. 100% would recommend beyond the obvious way of using it. I’m waiting for the Spice now because that would fit into my music much more easily I suppose.
@@LillySchwartz The other case to watch if you're considering a larger case like a 7u x 104hp is the new case from After Later. It's similarly priced and has some great features including a better lid than the Befaco. Maybe I can get an Edge for my birthday next month...
I’m glad you found it interesting! I love these kinds of videos too because everyone chooses such wildly different modules. I’ll give the other two rows a go then since people seem to be interested. ✨
Necessity is the mother of invention - in this situation, by introducing limitations on case-size and modules you can alleviate some of the "choice paralysis" inherent to larger systems. Certainly in my experience, having built a small 42HP single-row case, module choice becomes a lot more intentional, that is, more thought is put into the types of modules installed to achieve the desired outcome. Often the skiff contains just one voice (although it can be polyphonic), a clock source or LFO and some type of modulation. My favourite skiff contained Rings, a Wogglebug and a Turing Machine and that was it!
Oh wow, I love your Rings Wogglebug Turing Machine combo, that sounds like a very fruitful combination for sure. I think my next small system might just be Rings based too. I still don’t own it although I use it a lot in VCV rack. Do you have other 42HP combos you would recommend after? Limitations really seem to help me with my creativity!
@@LillySchwartz I've mostly based them (loosely) around this combo, occasionally throwing in another module like a quantizer inline between the Turing output and the Rings 1v/Oct input or feeding one side of the Rings output back into the WB's S&H CV in etc. To maximise the space I tend to favour a single voice within one module. Actually, thinking about it, Ears is really good for feeding back in and out of Rings too!
Rings is such a versatile little module. I rarely ever use it in the way most people seem to use it on RU-vid. I’m a huge fan of resonators, so feeding all sorts of stuff into Rings and other resonators is one of my musical obsessions. I will definitely have to build one of them when I have this album done I’m working on right now.
Oh, I already have the PCBs for an SMD build, I’m just prioritising the music over DIY at the moment. The next bout of DIY is already planned though. Lots of cool SMD stuff including Rings.
Thank you for this. You mentioned performance and I was wondering if you take your music out and do live shows? The small size of the system would certainly seem to help here.
Hei Mark! For now I don’t play live, but that’s definitely on my mind lately because people keep asking for it. I used to suffer from crippling stage fright when I was younger, but that was so long ago I don’t even know whether that would still happen. I think I’ll start developing a set to livestream soon. If it’s not a stage I might be ok 😅
Ooh, a live stream. Now that is a good idea... Something that has always interested me about live music is how it can give the performer the chance to expand arrangements and improvise. Modular synthesis, in my limited experience of it at least, would seem to be very good for that.
The problem with modular is that re-patching between tracks isn’t really feasible so I would have to think up a fairly standardised patch with a good range that I would have to change through clever sequencing and perhaps samples. Certainly doable but not normally how I develop tracks. I tend to play in my arrangements live, so I’m not entirely alien to the workflow, but it will need some careful planning so that improvisation doesn’t turn into complete chaos which is definitely a danger with modular too 😅 accidentally grabbing the wrong knob can go quite wrong if it’s a frequency knob for example 😹
@@LillySchwartz I was TERRIFIED when I first started playing out, sitting in on guitar with guys on Bourbon St and such. After a few times, I started to gain confidence. For performing with eurorack, perhaps something like a Catalyst would help with making it easier to change sounds up during or between tracks...I've been looking into them myself, but waiting for now as I've pretty well blown through my budget and I kind of want to see how others are using the Catalyst. Traffic is another one that's on my radar for similar reasons.
That’s actually an interesting idea for using a CV recorder module. I have a Neo Trinity so that could be something to explore for me with the CV recording functionality. The Traffic demo by the manufacturer had me scratching my head a bit 😂 some modules are so clever, it’s hard to follow what exactly is going on. Definitely looks like a cool option! I’m sure playing live is just a matter of practice before it becomes less scary. It’s definitely something I’d like to explore, although not necessarily to be on stage. I think live-streaming might suit my constraints best.
Real knobs were definitely important for me. I tried around with virtual Modular for years, but it only really started to click once I had the real thing in front of me. I’ll try my best to keep it all going. Between music and photography the videos take a bit longer sometimes when I’m working on something new, but I’ll definitely keep it coming! Glad you enjoy what I do!
I see it that way too, I just had too many options in the DAW, plugins, presets, loops, more plugins. At some point nothing worked for me anymore. Making analogue music was simply refreshing. You are limited and have to try to produce something sensible with this aspect and then you become (note the magic word) CREATIVE. It's so beautiful when, for example, you turn on the modular synth and start completely from scratch and even if you try to get that sound again like yesterday, it will sound a little different and that's the great thing about it for me.
Yeah, option paralysis in the DAW is a thing. That’s why I set myself limits there too. My last album, hypnagogia centres around barely a handful of plugins for that reason. Definitely an option too. There is something special about all that hardware stuff though. I’ve been making music with a Solina style plugin for years and recently I got a Behringer Solina to expand on that and it’s so much *more* sound wise. Very good decision to go hardware with that one!
Great video, Lilly - thanks a lot! And lovely to see, how the system fits into your workflow! (This is the only thing that matters - no matter if 'small' or 'large'). I am also a big fan of detachable systems and built a fairly large system during the pandemic (2x104 TE synthesis, 2x104TE synthesis and drums - 2x104TE videosynthesis). One of my main constraints: having the sequencers in the case (where you can already save a lot of space, if you are choosing an external solution - like you did). Would probably do it in a more minimalistic - and more focused- approach (if I would re-start a modular journey again). Despite enjoying the modular approach a lot, I use my Elektron boxes much more than the modular system these days (as I am much faster and fluent in my workflow): Machinedrum + Monomachine or Analog Rytm + Analog 4. Super sequencing capabilities (if one likes the Elektron workflow), tons of LFOs and endless sound design possibilities (especially on the Monomachine).
Now that is a fairly large system indeed! Very cool also that you have video synthesis in there too. I’m very curious about it, but haven’t played around with that yet. I think having a large system doesn’t prevent you from having a smaller system too. Several of my friends believe in the “study pod” approach, taking a few modules out of the big system to focus on for a few weeks to deep dive. I find that I’ve learned the modules in my smaller case much better now. Definitely helps to keep the option paralysis at bay and feel more focused. I’ve been curious about the Elektron boxes, because some artists I really enjoy get great stuff out of them, but it seems a rather steep learning curve that I haven’t been willing to commit to yet. My aim is definitely to get far more fluent on the modular first before I dive into those kinds of boxes. As for fluency: I’m fastest with the DAW, specifically Ableton. Having both DAW and modular really seems the sweet spot for me right now.
I like the small , detachable system idea but I can;t afford anymore.....my medium sized system is complete and so I have no more excuses..although I always find ones to tell myself...(e.g: was trying to interface the eurorack with the mpc one last night, via a Doepfer A-138d CFX...several hours wasted! Your builds look really good! Mine are no-way near as complicated, nor as well-finished. Looking forward to the new album.
The good thing about my modular 3D printed Eurorack case is that I only had to get two new modules and the rest was already in the big system which I made smaller. 2x104HP vs 2x78 + the small system which doesn’t quite amount to a full row 19” rack row. I think just taking a few of your modules out of the big rack and getting creative with limitations really helps to get the creative juices flowing. The Doepfer module you mention leaves me a bit puzzled just from the descriptions I find online. That does sound like a time sink. I find the ES-8 excellent to bring all my gear together with the modular in the DAW. Although of course if you’re trying to do the dawless thing, that might not be an option. The new album is turning out very experimental so far, which is really cool. Not quite there yet, but I’m starting to see the red thread running through it. There will probably be another release in between though, something I wrote on the iPad. Just needs mixing and mastering, really.
Cool Nice setup !!.. Yes I prefer Smaller Racks ( Niftycase ) and set them according to my needs .. I like the Disting MK4 very handy for exploring different uses .. Oh and the Crave & Edge Love those Machines!! .. Excellent Video Thanks for Sharing !!
Thanks Aaron! The Niftycase would probably have been my choice too if I had decided to buy a case instead of 3d printing it. Crave and Edge really give so many possibilities, especially when combined with more modular stuff. What I like about the Disting is that it pushes me out of my comfort zone by giving me always something new to explore! I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
I started with a NiftyCase, they're hard to beat for the price. I've thought more than once about getting a Disting, but always wind up prioritizing some other module.
Definitely worth getting I would say, especially if you find yourself in the position of having one too few X in your case. I tend to run out of envelopes and VCAs with bigger patches, so the Disting can always save the day. But then, it’s not a module for everyone for sure. I don’t think it’s a boring utility module either though, because the effects in it are pretty cool.
Thanks for sharing the thinking behind your choices. It's helpful to hear how other artists work through the many decisions of building a modular instrument. I'd love to hear more about what you've included in the bigger system and why!
I always enjoy watching such videos too, because Modular is so personal. No two systems will look alike and that’s really interesting for me! I guess there will have to be a part 2 and 3 then 😅
Your tape players probably just need belts, that is quite common on older units. You're pretty handy, I imagine you could fix it yourself. This makes me think I should check to see if mine still work... I haven't used them in years. I actually have a working vacuum tube powered wire recorder, I REALLY need to make some recordings with that!!
Well, some of them do, others just mysteriously stopped producing sound although everything else seems to work. I’ll fix them eventually. That wire recorder sounds really cool. I use Hainbach’s emulation of a wire recorder a lot in my music!
I keep watching stuff like this while I am working.... so I can't download samplers or libraries..... then forgetting to look them up on my personal computer when I get home 🤣🤣 Yeah I know, first world problems.
I went with Kosmo 5u and eurorack 3u hybrid. I just use 3.5mm Jack's instead. Alot of it is DIY patchwork and been getting ggs modules lately. They are very simple to build. Great to hear about your synth Journey too.
Excellent video!! Congrats on your progress. This is giving me some inspiration! 🤩 I have wanted to get started in modular synthesis as well, and likewise decided Eurorack was the best size for me. Fortunately I have a background in engineering, as well as some practical experience in tech (did surface mount repair for a job for a bit) and have built a few guitar pedals too. Made a couple fuzz pedals as well as an Atari Punk Console from scratch with a schematic on perf board. I got the Make book on Synthesizers, which contains a build-along for the Music From Outer Space Noise Toaster, which is a hybrid sound source module. It has a VCO, LFO, VCA, envelope generator, white noise, and I did the mod to give you an instrument input so I can plug my bass into it. I also modified the unit to fit Eurorack- the original board fir, but it needed a whole different front panel with a new layout. Not quite finished with that one, but in the meantime I also built a delay unit from a kit from Synthrotek, another great source for affordable DIY stuff. I currently have everything running on 9 volts (like you would a guitar pedal) but have already added the parts to connect to standard Eurorack power supply once I get one. I found an antique plywood suitcase with a powder blue tolex type covering, I plan on setting everything up in there once I have a few more bits. I also got a few other things that will work with the modular setup- a Koma Elektronik Field Kit (fantastic unit for interacting physically with synthesized and electronic sounds, also contains a mixer, preamps for stuff like contact mics, LFO, voltage controlled radio, analog and digital in- and outputs), a stand alone multi oscillator synth someone else made (no info, I found it at a second hand store) and a theramin. I too hold on to my old gear, which means a bunch of other pedals, keyboards, and random instruments to mess with. The book from Make magazine also goes over how to build all kinds of different modules, so one of these days I'll get around to cobbling some more stuff together.
