I recommend a trigger sequencer and a melodic complex sequencer like Metron, Eloquencer or Vector. Trigger sequencer work great for beats and ones with CV and scale control are great for composition. Great choice on the Eloquencer that is an amazing sequencer and super easy to use live or on the fly. Love mine. Excellent video on modular sequencers! Hope that you update it once Ground Control and Erica Black Sequencer have been out a while. Also recommend cover trackers like NerdSeq.
Sequencers are cool, but very limited. I stopped using them when I discovered MIDI looper. You enter your sequence live with a keyboard, with much more possibilities and nuances. Then the MIDI output is changed to CV by any midi to cv module.
Thanks for the comparison! I use Pam's and Variegate 4+ for drums and Grids with a clock divider into Mimetic Digitalis for voices. BTW: I love the effort you put into the visuals of your videos!
Great video, thank you! What reverb did you use on the Malekko Varigate 4 examples? And which unit makes that Hi-Hat sound starting at 22:23? Thank you very much.
Thank you for a helpful video! I'm interested in the Malekko varigate but can't find it it does variable gate lengths. You mentioned in the video you have two channels for CV and two channels for gate but I could only hear 1/16 notes. Is it possible to use the sliders for variable gate lengths?
Why nobody talking about most important part of a sequencer, swing & groove??? You wouldn't hire a drummer with no swing so why the hell nobody talking about the different groove feelings of the sequencers. This is the ONLY thing I care about and NOBODY seems to talk about it. What is wrong with everybody?
Oh Mai(k) goodness 😊 This video got recommended to me by the mighty Algorithm, and what a treasure this channel is! Such high production value, perfect length, great approach and, most of all, your examples are wonderfully musical. Keep up the good work.
This was golden, thank you a lot! And the visual appearence of the video.....is veryy good. And the transition and computer voice.....magical...nice way to start weekend, its friday today :)
@@MaikSchott oh wow. beim ´slash´ dachte ich das wäre eine Computerstimme. Lob für dieses Detail. Ich sehe einen Erica Black Sequencer in der Zukunft bald kommen und freu mich schon auf euer Video dazu :)
Great choice of sequencers. I sold my Metropolis couple of months ago due to the release of Black Sequencer, which I think is amazing. The Varigate 4+ I use as a fill drum sequencer. With a sequential switch I can go back and forth between normal drum sequence & fills from varigate ;) Melodicer is such a cool approach, definitely want to get it at some point. That was a cool overview, I knew most of them. Thanks
Thank you for that overview. I truly appreciate the effort for creating such a detailed overview of the different sequencers in the Eurorack world. Actually I had most of them, sold most of them and now stick with the Drum- and Black Sequencer, but mostly lean to the Elektron workflow of sequencing stuff... Grüße aus Ottensen :-)
Welcome neighbour :) yaa it always depends what you are aiming at. I had the vision of orchestrating different parts like a classical approach. That's why I still stick with a lot of Seqs.
@@MaikSchott Makes sense. The one I mostly miss after watching your video, is the Metropolis. Such an fun module (and how stupid to let it go, especially with a black panel..)
Nerdseq new with midi expander bundled price plus was on sale a few weeks ago. 450usd shipped over seas straight from xor- i had NO sequencer so definitely good price for quality hardware.
Awesome video - good to see someone plugging something in and showing how it works with good results. Love the in-between graphics as well - as an extra, you could keep the name of the module on the screen in the top corner for us slow readers. :)
Impressed by your ability to make a comprehensible yet short presentation on each of these sequencers. Hope and expect to see the Metropolis cheap second hand now that the metropolix is out, even though I think I made my mind up on saving up for the five12 sequencer first.
@@MaikSchott Here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tdzYqtgERuw.html&ab_channel=loopop Deep but relatively easiy to use apparently. Some great tutorials on it to: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xj89AJPs-iA.html&ab_channel=ferrycollider
Waat! no Squarp Hermod?? The Hermod is a F$##%*! BEAST !! it's polyphonic sequencing with 8 tracks of CV/GATE with midi in and out/usb device /usb host. 8 real-time effects PER-TRACK!!! Quantize, Swing, Arpeggiator, Ratchet, Random, Euclid, Glide, Harmonizer, Delay, Chance, Scale, LFO. Resolution of 512 steps. Has a mod matrix for midi CCs, CV inputs and effects parameters.
ha ive had the Eloquencer for a while, and never realised it had song mode. thanks for that (i orginally bought as i love the ease of use and just shows i never actually digged any deeper) great vid thanks
Great video! Nice graphics too. Was the reverb coming from a module (and if so, which?) or was that added in post? I thought maybe the Erica black delay had a reverb mode I hadn't heard of, but it's nicely verbed even when that module is not connected.
Thanks a lot. the Erica delay has no verb mode - the reverb is the 2hp verb that sits in my mixing rack together with the wmd performance mixer not seen here in my video. Love that verb as it always sounds really good.
Super gemacht, danke dafür! Hast Du Dir schonmal den Bloom von Qu-Bit angeschaut? Fällt von der Größe ca. wie der Varigate 4+ aus, hat dann aber noch diese generische Tonerweiterungssache mit den Branches. Will ihn demnächst mal antesten.
Aha definitely agree! I mean even making a video on your favorite modules, or modules you’re looking forward to getting and why, would be super interesting! Barely any videos like that on RU-vid.
I have a question about the eloquencer. Can you create swing or off beat gates for hihat and percs while keeping the other outs quantized? I am looking to use it as a drum sequencer :)
Zum einen das Stereo delay von Erica synths, der Hall kommt von dem 2HP Verb Modul und der Elements von Mutable Instruments hat ja eh den eingebauten Hall.
I use the Eloquencer as a master clock as I found it the most stable order when using them all. The reset function differs a bit as the Drum Seq does not need it. As far as II remember from patching he restarts from zero even without connecting the reset. The toolbox only resets via Midi until now. And the Metropolis has 3 different reset modes.
Thank you! very nice this might be a long shot but I'm very new to modular and I have the Vermont melodic ear but it don't sound nearly as good as what you have- do you have a setup diagram. Are you running into an arp module? Can you please explain the patching? Thank you
@@MaikSchott I was interested in the routing of the melodicer cables. they kind of all sound similar I know the first was random but I use the D mode but I have a feeling I am not using it properly now that I hear yours. So any would nbe fine thanks for the response. There are no melodicer videos explaining the routing at all.
I had to look myself in the video - I think I just patched the gate out to my envelope and the CV out to the VCO's. That was all. And later I had an lfo connected to one of these mod inputs. You can't really do anything wrong with that machine :)
The Black Sequencer from Erica Synths can do pretty much everything you like from most of your sequencers (but not from the Vermona which is really different, almost more an original arpeggiator than a "real" / classic sequencer like the others).
@@MaikSchott actually I’ve not made a decision yet, still figuring out which will be best for drums for me. I already have the Metropolis as my primary sequencer but I’m looking for something with minimum four tracks to pretty much be dedicated to drums and live performance. Which would be your pick in that case?
If you have nothing else I would think about a hybrid that can also deal easyly with CV. Like the Eloquencer. It was my first Seq and I combined drums and all the other tracks on that machine. Then you could use the metro for monophonic melodic sequences and do the rest on the elo
Didn’t quite get the Varigate before heading into this video but now considering to make space for it in my rack plans! Combining it with something like the Sinfonion would probably work wonders. You have the quick immediacy of the varigate but can easily quantize it to scale to work in harmony with other voices. Fantastic explanations with examples of how it works right after by you. Always fun to find some great content creators while researching modules
Actually I never tried, but it should be possible as it has a MIDI input. This is whatr the Manual says: "Toolbox allows you to record Note Sequences from a MIDI input"
Hi Maik, good review, thanks. A question: with eloquencer is possible to do sequences long to 256 using multiple tracks concatenating them (unique sequence as long as one made with toolbox), right?
Hi Francesco, with the Eloquencer you can only make these long sequences, if you chain some patterns. Or you make a song out of different patterns. Another "trick" is to divide the clock of a track, so you get 8 bars. But the problem is then, that you still only have 16 steps for the 8 bars. It is still a 16 step sequencer no matter how you turn it. I broke my brains over it - and I hope Eloy will maybe consider this in an future update.
The thing is when I had to start all over, it would depend a lot of what I wanted to do. So starting with just the Metro would be difficult as missing some gate or more CV tracks (although the new one has 2 tracks I think). So to answer your Question, I would still start with an Eloquencer as being more flexible
I did not choose to omit any sequencer. I chose the ones I own because I know them (almost) from the inside out to talk about them with comfort and credibility
Brilliant video - must have taken ages to set up. Seeing each module demonstarted and explained has been so helpful. Looks like I might just have to take the plunge into Eurorack with Melodicer. I would just need to work out what is required to provide a midi in and out interface - any suggestions gratefully received. Big thanks!
Thanks John - glad it helped. You could check th e Doepfer A-190, a MIDI Interface in the Eurorack format which provides MIDI in/Out, Clock, CV and Gate
What an incredible overview and presentation. And the production is mind blowing! Are you involved in video production professionally? I am getting back to music after a long hiatus, and want to get a modular synth. This helped me a lot!
Thank you Stefan. Glad it brought you somewhere. I try to go deeper into the mix between good music content and a video production that fits the style.
Der Vari 4+ kann quantisieren (min, maj, penta etc) aber du kannst keine Root Note bestimmen. Das musst du dann mit deinen VCO's machen, wenn du die Tonart wechseln willst. Eloquencer, Toolbox und Metropolis haben diese Root Funktion und der Melodicer hat eh eine andere Herangehensweise. Hängt davon ab, wie viele Spuren du benötigst.
@@MaikSchott hm hab mir den 4+ geholt und was mich tatsächlich nervt ist dass man für Oktave restricten den note Button gedrückt halten muss... für einhändiges bass riff ändern is das irgendwie unpraktisch 😁 Überlege mir jetzt n gebrauchten metropolis oder den neuen Black sequenzer holen soll als Ergänzung . seufz 😁
One of the best, maybe the best demonstration of these sequencers on the internet. You should receive some kind of world peace prize for the peace of understanding better which tools are likely useful for different applications. Very curious to see your demo of the USTA sequencer. Cheers 🍻
As I have limited ressources and wanted to include only Seqs that I know (and own - I am not being sponsored) really well. The Circadian I had on my list when I started my system as I saw it in a video of Colin Bendes - who is a master handling all the modules. I think I put it aside because I preferred a Seq with more CV Outs at that time. Then - when I needed a Drum Sequencer, I went with the Erica Syths DS because I liked the surface a lot and it has a display plus LFO's, etc. there had been reasons . . . This is the reason there are these 6 Sequencers and others not.
Pro-video - respect & subscribed. What about the Squarp Hermod vs the Eloquencer? Both are 8-track sequencers with +- same tech specs. I am trying to decide between those 2.
Thank you very much! look, I do not know the Hermod well. When I look at it, it is a question of how fast you want to be in your every day workaround. This question I took as a guiding principle for my modules. I wanted to be fast according to handle sessions. When I look at the Hermod it has quite few knobs and you would have to use menus a lot of times I guess. It depends on the way you work. I personally love to have everything in sight (like the 16 step buttons on the Elo, or other Seqs have it, too).
@@MaikSchott Maybe you don't know the Hermod but your answer just made things clearer for me: I am a 'hands on' musician (menus are to describe restaurant food, not synths). Thanks & #staysafe.
The Hermod is a polyphonic sequencer and the menu system is about as deep as the Eloquencer. I have both so I can vouch. The Hermod is more of a musician's sequencer. You can plug in a BeatStep Pro or any midi controller keyboard and play a beat or lay down some fat chords quantized or unquantized. I use the Elo for drum / percs and Hermod for chords, harmonic parts, complex melodies and arps. Hermod has MIdi DIN and USB ports built-in - Elo needs an expansion unit (44 hp vs Hermod 's 26 hp).
@@bigkingsha Great help, thanks! I use my modular more for arps and rhytmic stuff, so maybe the elo is better for me. Buying both is an option, too (and could satisfy my GAS for some time 😉)
Hallo danke viels mol für dein video war richtig gut 100 % aber ich habe eine kleine frage.. ich möchte wissen wie hat gemacht die voice of robotic frau ? hast du eine plugging benutzen into daw oder ?? bin ser dankbar wenn kann mir sagen ich brauche die stimme für eine techno trance track
@@MaikSchott A small suggestion Maik. If you could zoom in a bit more on your overhead camera for your next video, so that the modules are more visible, that would be great. Thank you for all the hard work.
Excellent reviews! How did you go about designing the voice for the ratcheting "tenet" part? What type of vco's and filters to get that gnarly sound? I saw that you're using MU Elements. I'm experimenting with it in VCV rack but I'm not able to get that gnarly sound.
Thank you! For that special sound I mixed the Elements with another VCO - the MFB triple. And I must say the Analog Systems filters and the ADDAC VCA's add some harmonic distortion as well. This is a great combi. I remember experimenting with VCV rack when I was preparing my first setup, but I am not sure if you can compare the virtual elements 1 to 1 with the real module. I notice that the real module has a nice 80's mid freq character that I like a lot.
A solid, informative, no-nonsense video with enough insight and a great description. Spot on, a refreshing change form the silly little pissy-ass hipster videos. I thank you!
Yes I know it is quite pricey - the thing is that the Metropolis is one of those Seqs, that immediately produce a sequence, dependend of course in what positions the sliders are. But even here - everything depends on how you want to work. I decided for a fast jamming workflow, and the Metropolis can handle that very good.