I highly recommend that everyone start with the free software VCV Rack to learn modular synthesis before spending a small fortune building a real Eurorack system. The cheapest setup can cost over 2k or more.
If youre in possesion of a PCVR Ready VR Headset you could also buy SynthVR for like 20 bucks and get basicly a whole eurorack store with "Hands on" experience. I tried to learn trough software but it didnt really click till i discovered SynthVR
Plonk seems exciting, I find the basics of Mutable stuff tends to really funnel you into a certain similar-sounding, plucky ambient territory, getting to make your own sounds really broadens and chabges up that a lot!
I’m looking to start my journey in modular and I’ve seen lots and lots of videos before finding your channel! Love the content, love your modular and love your vibe! Thanks and keep it up! Be happy! 🤙🏻
Signal Sounds actually looks MORE expensive than most competitors. You get a 20% discount when you add stuff to your cart but it still ends up being higher than retail, at least currently.
Signal coupling is probably your noise problem. Check your coupling cap values, load resistors sending out signals, and the side fumper.. that may need a buffer
TBH what I miss from 80’s and 90’s are Rackmount synth modules I had a rolling cart filled with Roland and Yamaha Synth Modules with a Power Strip in it. Made things reasonably neat. I jumped on a Nifty Bundle I found cheap. The 2 included modules I put up for sale. I’m replacing with Cre8Audio Capt’n Big O and Mr Phil Ter and a few Doepfer modules. Kinda want to throw 2 more Big O’s in case to make it crazy Phat . I’m just going to use my Akai Force for Sequencing If room permits I’m going to throw a small spring reverb in. Tho I could just use my 2 Moog’s as Equally Raunchy Oscillators
I've been using 2 distings for a little while on my rig. The menus actually aren't all that bad, but they do take some time to get used to. I found what helped was going through them and testing each algorithm which helped me mentally pick out the ones I liked. Definitely get the app though that another guy mentioned. Super useful and has stuff for a bunch of other stuff too.
I had a similar experience with the Pittsburgh stuff. Noisey, semi-tuned hums leaking into all the other modules and vice versa. And I have a really good rack with a great PSU. Disappointing. Great upload. I have a lot of the same ideas in my current rack. Digital voices, interesting filters and effects, Malekko sequencing (the best!). Keep up the good work. I really enjoyed this one.
Nice dive into your rig. I have a few comments. I like the music you are making with your system, so these shouldn't be taken as criticism, just as some things for you to consider. You gave us some things to think about, so I'm giving a few back! For the most part, your modular is comprised of sequencers, voice modules, and effects. You aren't doing much synthesis, per se -- that is, you aren't creating sounds from oscillators, filters, etc. -- and you don't seem to have much modulation in your patches. This is why you don't need any VCAs! Your voices all have built-in VCAs, and you aren't modulating any CVs with other CVs, so you simply have no use for VCAs. And that's fine. The wavefolder is one module that would be modulated by most synthesists. In this video, you seem to use it as a "set and forget" effect, or maybe you tweak it by hand when you perform. That works for you, and that's fine. I do think you might enjoy modulating it with an envelope (you don't have any envelope generators, either -- more on that, below), an LFO, or an extra channel of the sequencer, if one is available. Echo delay time is another parameter that is begging to be modulated. Using a touch of slow triangle or sine LFO, for example, you could probably get a lovely chorusing effect with short delay times. As for just "a touch," I think your rig would benefit from some attenuators or (even better) some attenuverters. You said that you are likely to get rid of the Lifeforms mixer, which will free up a lot of space. I know you have some new modules in mind, but I think you should at least consider adding compact EG (ADSR) and attenuverter modules. Maybe even a compact VCA. I mean, even the 2HP modules would be fine, if you can handle their tiny size. A typical setup would be to trigger the EG with the sequencer gate output (spilt the gate output using a multiple a.k.a. "mult" module or one of the various splitter options like Tiptop Stackables, etc.). Then, run the EG output through an attenuverter (or split the output and run it through 2 attenuverters). Use those attenuated and/or inverted CVs to modulate things like the wavefolder amount, the echo delay time, or any parameter on your voice modules. This will give you new ways to shape your sounds, getting away from the "presets" in the voice modules. If you add a VCA, too, you will have a way to modulate your modulation CVs. For one of a million possible examples, you could put a moderately fast LFO into the VCA input. Patch the CVA's output into, say, a pitch CV input (if you have a voice module that have more than one pitch CV input -- if not, you may want to get a compact mixer module). Now, patch the EG output into the VCA's CV input. Using the fastest attack and a slow decay will produce an LFO signal that starts off strong but "fades away" as the note goes on. A slower attack will make the LFO's effect start at zero and "fade in" as the note goes on. Maybe you know all this and I've just wasted a bunch of time! LOL. But, hopefully I've inspired you and/or others to look for ways to stretch beyond what the voice modules can do alone. This kind of thing is where modular synthesis gets unique and powerful. Modulation is king! Just to reiterate: You make nice music, so you certainly don't need any help -- mine included. My goal is only to encourage further sonic exploration. Cheers!
Thank you for that! You're definitely right about the modulation and VCAs. I didn't want to build a regular synth focused on VCO->ADSR etc so that's why I've taken this approach. But there is definitely more exploration to be had. Thanks for taking the time to give the advice, and also thanks for your kind way of putting it. Cheers
Hi jade, i found a very cool tricks to optimise an Intelligel case, you can use dupont cable (female-female) to recycle your midi connectors on the back of your case for exemple i use my midi in out of my Disting EX and the midi thru cabling with my midi in of my FH2, also int he idea to optimise the case i use the 6.35 on the back of the case for example to send cv via my Analog4 and convert 6.35 to 3.5 with the 1U module from intelligel ( XY I/O 1U) it's really save you tons of HP.
Hi Jade, nice setup, came here for inspiration and great take aways. I like your patch chords, they look sturdy and perhaps are they nylon braided. Please let me know where I can get them. PEACE
Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this breakdown. I just released "Cosmos" my first ambient album, it's up on bandcamp and available for my Patreons, I hope you guys like it, check it out here: jadewii.bandcamp.com/album/cosmos also, here is the website to get cheap modules from: www.signalsounds.com/
Love it. You should check out modulargrid.net if you're not already a member. Excellent tools for planning a case as well as some great forums. As far as your case, some unsolicited ideas: The varigate and voltage block are great, but they take up a huge amount of space. What if you replaced them with an Ornaments & Crime module and a Temps Utile. That's a total of 16 HP for about $500. Currently, you're devoting 32HP to the Varigate and Voltage block. If you don't need real time control of parameters, then it's a good trade-off. With the savings in space, get a Monsoon version of Mutable Instrument's "Clouds." It offers more independent modulation inputs than a stock Clouds. Int's 12HP and around $260. Then see if DivKid will give you one of his 4 channel mutes for featuring it on your channel and plugging his channel as well. It's 4HP. The Lifeform's system interface is 24HP. I've had good luck with a Blue Lantern stereo Sir Mix A Lot for roughly the same price. It has six inputs, two stereo sends and returns, panning on each channel and a mute. That's a lot more than you're getting out of the System Interface... plus the SRMAL is pretty clean from what I can tell (no whining)... I have it in an Intellijel case as well (two in fact). Mutes, though. You already have a 1U headphone output. That's the only thing the SMAL lacks. I haven't had an issue with any of the gear I recommended. I don't have DivKid's Mutes or the Monsoon to be honest but they are on my "affordables" wish-list.
Jade, I love you. You’re DOING something that’s fun, creative, pleasing instead of teaching girls to paint their faces until they look good enough for their friends. Your videos are just so interesting and captivating. I’d love to learn how to make cool sequences.
it also has been fun to watch her progress from basic stuff like a DAW with Ableton to hardware synths to modular now. I see that same pattern for all music synth people over the years. From computer music to hardware old school modular patching music. Almost like evolution in reverse since music started in 60s with the Moog modular gear and went forward with PC laptop and DAW.
just get some music software and go for it Sarah! learn through doing, modular hardware is expensive BUT you can download VCV rack for free, and it emulates a modular setup on your computer. So it's a free way to learn all about this stuff, and will give you a good grounding if you ever decide to buy into a hardware modular system. I've been using VCV Rack a lot, mainly to distract me from wanting to spend all my little money on a modular setup 😂
Took the words/thoughts right outta my mind, there seriously needs to be more positive stuff like this online, especially now during these strange times
Thanks for sharing. I definitely like the case too. It is an interesting idea to use drum modules as a sound source. Best wishes on your exploration of this. It sounds great already. It might be possible to solve the noise with a ground loop interupter (I had a similar problem with a Waldorf String Synth that went away when I used it).
That's a sick setup, right now my setuo is a volca modular lol but its better than no modular. Having a physical modular still beats the VST plugins in terms of sending you way outside the box even on a little volca version of modular. But obviously eurorack is better for professional and live use, the volca modular is better for learning and for making samples.
I don''t do tutorials or talk on my videos but I have 2 new clips of jams with volca modular/sample/beats going through volca mixer. I'm pretty addicted to korg and teenage engineering.
Not a little bit jealous at all.....NOT ;). I am happy for you. Hope you make long sonic journeys with this. I can only afford vcv-rack at the moment. Xcan do pretty amazing things too. Salutations from Sweden. 👍😎
youtubes auto transcribed thumbnail said "iraq synthesizers" so i was fucking hyped on this vid and clicked and it was just euro. anyone have any synths from iraq for sale hmu
Great Demo, Thank you! Is there a way you can expand on more that 2Voices to get some Fat Chords going? So far ive only discovered using a 6port Midi/cv converter with a 4ms SWM 6voice..? Kinda hoping theres some alternative out there. Thanks&HappyNewYear! Dre
Very nice video. Makes me crave more Mutable Instruments stuff but I am getting lost with Shapeshifter right now. At 3:00 you claimed that "digital modules" can impart noise so I would like to correct that. The audio interface module is a mixer, with analog pre-amps and components. That is causing the noise if you gain stage the signal up high enough and you don't have a good audio to noise ratio it will be present. Varigate + Voltage Block/Rings combo looks too good though. :-D
Hello Jade Wii.... I have 2 questions for you ...... ONE, the Intelligel performance case is available in several widths (hp), which one do you have ? ...... TWO, how much does it cost to fill the case with the modules that you have ? i.e. What is the total cost ..... US $3000.... $6000 .... $10,000 ... more ? .... thanks
Personally I think every rack should have a Disting, simply because of how well it illuminates holes in your system. Find yourself using it as VCA too often? Perhaps invest in more VCAs. Using the reverb or delays a lot? Maybe add some pedals. I think it's worth hanging on to, just to help clarify the eternally hazy question of "Where do I go from here?"
Great video , still trying to understand how people can afford any of this. I have a full studio that cost less than most of the gear. I am finding prices in the stratosphere. That will likely kill it for me.
JAde don't hate on Plaits too much. Yes I used to flick through the sounds and was uninspired initially. But then I added slow LFO to the controls and put the outputs through a good filter and all of a sudden it came to life. I even take the secondary output through a Nebulae2 and mangle that before recombining with the primary signal for some great effects.
Hey thanks for a really informative and easy to understand video. I’m curious about modular and you’re the first person that made it look accessible/doable.
great overview! Very clear and inspirational, keep up the great work! That’s a bummer about the lifeforms noise, does it happen when you take it out and isolate it? I wonder what the root cause is?
As she said, they require separate modules that take up 1u hp (small top row where her little mixer is) but no other cases offer that option to my knowledge. Yet another reason Intellijel is #1!
Hi, thanks for your very interesting videos. Just a thought about your desire for CV control of feedback on your delay module, you could use a VCA to feed a proportion of the output back round to the input (requiring a simple passive mixer to mix the incoming signal with the VCA output) then you could CV control the feedback level by controlling the VCA gain. Kindest regards.
Your videos and the amount you have going on in your life is inspiring! Helps me see it's possible to take on so many different things in life. Thank you!
ok so i noticed my roland mc 202 has some of those mini ports on it .a sync, a out port for external and internal synth cv and gate is that to hook up euro rack stuff. it also has 2 midi outs so could i use this unit to bridge the euro rack and midi keyboards and modules and sync the pocket operators, figure you know your stuff and i really want to use these instruments in my rig correctly, i have been manually syncing everything and multi track recording the audio
The expert sleepers disting mk4 becomes more useful when you have two or three of them, you ll use them more often then and it becomes easier te remember what s what. There s an iphone app that list all the functions and parameters. The most interesting function on the disting is its ability to record everything you do. Patch it before the final out and captjre everything you do. It s dc coupled so you can also use it as a cv recorder and playback stored cv patterns. Super usefull. I also use its reverb function a lot.. P.s hang to plaits until you ve tried it together with marbles.
I wanted to comment on the Disting, too. (I don't have any, but I intend to get at least one.) Your comments, Jade, about "menu diving" and "not getting" the Disting imply to me that you are missing something important. Just because the Disting *can* do a lot of different functions, you don't have to use it in a lot of different ways. It's not uncommon to dedicate a listing to one particular function that you can't find on another module (or at least one as small as the Disting or for the same price). I think that Chris Meyer (Learning Modular) has a Disting dedicated to one function, for example. My main point is really a question: What do you want from the Disting? Is there a certain function (or maybe 2 or 3) that you need in your rig that the Disting does better than other modules? If so, great! Dedicate the module to that function (or few) and ignore the fact that it can do many more things. If not, then maybe you really don't need it. Also: If using a few different modes, you can easily have a "cheat sheet" nearby to explain how to use the module in that mode.
@@johnmahoney5393 thanks for adding this.. I just remembered the name of the Iphone/Ipad app that is an enormous help when using the disting. It's called Modes. In addition to the disting it's also very helpful when you own mutable/make noise and erica synth modules. the best purchase I made in recent weeks
Damn that is a lovely case you have there! I've bought the Intellijel 104HP Black Stealth Case with all 1U modules to connect to the I/O sockets, so now I can start filling it up with "the Cool stuff"... I need all the info I can get, so thanks for your in-depth breakdown! Subscribed!
I saw Rings online and it made me think of the ring modulation in Reason (I don't have a rack yet), which I find frustrating to work with in Reason cause it just doesnt sound very good that often... I've been meaning to look up Rings for a while but it sounds crazy! I was leaning toward Plaits before because I'm familiar with the wavetable format, but I've definitely switched preference now.
Thanks for sharing , great video👌🏻. About That lifeforms mixer: the stereo output is suitable (in terms of level signal ) to go straight to my audio interface ? Or is it modular level ?
@@d0ug6raham I dont know whats first but i cant wait to get started that for sure. i m looking everywhere for some around town but so far its a no go, just videos for now, I guess a case is a good start lol
Love the video! I love the sounds you can make with this setup, I’d like to know, if you only had maybe 500/600 to spend which of the modules in this rack would you get first?
i recently tried out sending the "aux" out of plaits into the "IN" of rings and has totally changed the dynamic of these two for me, (hooked up to separate CV/gate triggers)
Very nice video, nice to see your live setup, very informative. Frankly, the only thing I would definitely do different is having a analog vco, not only digital sound sources. There’s nothing better for bass, tiny melodies or f.e. deep volume adding to a drone etc. using analog voicing. For your Plaits affair: my usual routine with stubborn modules is to build a patch around them as the core voice and then exploring - in this case, starting out with Plaits and the Phaser... For mixers maybe you would like to try out Mixup from Intellijel? And yes, definitely in for a vid about Pluck and VariGate!
Good info, thanks. I like that you pick up the box and handle it, it really gives a good indication of its size. I see Sweetwater has the 104HP for a mere $50 more, but there's a lot to be said for the 94's compactness. Also, it would be great to have a module rundown/layout of your setup.
"I paid for this myself"- that is what we love to hear as most RU-vidrs that have a small fortune in synth gear get it for FREE and never mention that. Same here- no freebies all paid for myself as well.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. I've gotten "gear in form of payment" from companies before, but its not FREE, time is money. Learning the gear, how to present it, making the video, editing the video, camera equipment etc. nothing is free, most of us value our time as any rational person should!
Do you still have the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms Micro Sequencer? I've just ordered myself the Voltage Block but your micro sequencer video still has it on my list of cool modules.
Since you havent gotten a reply, i'll give it a go :) 1. Clouds can "granulize" anything and is top 5 most popular modules ever 2. Intellijel, Make Noise, WMD, Noise Engineering, Mutable Instruments. 3. They are awesome! Sample Drum is cool and pairs well w/ Bassline! Also, they have a new 303 style desktop synth!
Awesome video and awesome setup! I have nowhere enough money to buy any eurorack stuff, but I have a MicroBrute and that is really what my production revolves around. What modules (any type really, effect, oscillator, filter, etc.) would you say are good compliments for the MicroBrute if I were to ever get into eurorack? :)
well good question because the Microbrute was my intro to eurorack and also still plays a big role in the overall sound of my set up. I can't give a definitive answer but consider what your microbrute offers- a sick lowend oscillator, filter, envelope generator, sub oscillator, and sequencer. The main thing I did was switch the hardware settings so that a gate source coming in activates the microbrute's sequencer (see the gate in input in the back of the brute). Getting a gate signal into the microbrute will sync it up with your modulars. From there you sort of have to think about what you want. I went with Morphagene as my first real module cause I wanted to do crazy sampling. Clouds is awesome. I might also suggest Marbles or the Varigate 4+. Depends on what you want to add. I just got Plaits and I am pretty happy with the sounds it makes. hope this helps you figure it all out
