question!
Online shops to get electronics components in the UK? (or EU)
tasos
modular synthesis
http://www.rapidonline.com/Daemonix wrote:question!
Online shops to get electronics components in the UK? (or EU)
tasos
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/?cm_mmc=Goo ... 2Aodpz9nvQ
sorry it took so long mate
thanks a lot!!steevio wrote:http://www.rapidonline.com/Daemonix wrote:question!
Online shops to get electronics components in the UK? (or EU)
tasos
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/?cm_mmc=Goo ... 2Aodpz9nvQ
sorry it took so long mate
I think Ill start gathering the pcbs I want to built and do a list of the things I need. Just to see the cost.
pcb printing is a big cost but I think I have a solution for that
tasos
but the good news is that the buchla circuits are being made by other manufacturers now like Malekko, Wiard, Make Noise etc. in eurorack format at a fraction of the cost. its one of the reasons i decided to take the plunge recently, i've always loved Buchla but could never even dream of affording one.Robot Criminal wrote:buchla is a legend. totally different system than all the others, with vactrols and all that jazz + it sounds also quite different. If I only had the money...
keep us informed of your progress, maybe i'll take you up on the offer of soldering slaveryDaemonix wrote:thanks a lot!!steevio wrote:http://www.rapidonline.com/Daemonix wrote:question!
Online shops to get electronics components in the UK? (or EU)
tasos
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/?cm_mmc=Goo ... 2Aodpz9nvQ
sorry it took so long mate
I think Ill start gathering the pcbs I want to built and do a list of the things I need. Just to see the cost.
pcb printing is a big cost but I think I have a solution for that
tasos
ok guys this is going to be my last post on the forum, unless anyone has any questions and i can help in anyway.
i'm coming up to a period of seriously intense work running the freerotation festival and also writing and recording my new album, and i have to remove all distractions from my life for the foreseeable future.
i just thought that some of this info might be of help to anyone even vaguely thinking of going modular. ive only been flapping around in the modular ocean for a month or two now, but its enough for me to know its what i want to do and where i'm headed.
i really cant express just how liberating it is to make music on a modular synthesizer, you literally have to throw everything you thought you knew about making electronic music out of the window and start again.
ok you can bring your knowledge to it, but nothing prepairs you for the multidimensional journey ahead. i've spent many years making music using the principles of synthesis, following the basic priciples of oscillators / envelopes / LFOs / filters etc. but with a modular you have to stop thinking like that, especially with the new wave of eurorack modules being designed and released almost weekly at the moment.
the whole thing is exploding right now, and the developement is overtaking software in its imagination and complexity.
the freedom of having the ability to effectively design your own synthesizer which does what you want it to do, not based on someone elses idea of what the current trends in electronic music requires is supported by young designers who you can literally talk to and ask for features to be included in their next amazing design, many of which incorporate digital technology to increase the potential of the analogue interface and signal paths.
my advise for anyone thinking of getting into it ;
1/ get enough money together to buy at least a 6U rack of modules, preferably a 9 U (three rows) because you never have enough modules, and theres always another one that would multiply the potential tenfold.
if you cant afford it, sell something, thats what ive had to do.
2/ buy a selection of basic modules you understand, VCOs, VCAs, LFO's mixed with some of the esoteric modules based on Buchla designs, my favourites - the MakeNoise Maths, and MakeNoise QMMG, these latter modules have multi functionality, they can be used for just about anything you want, the Maths for instance can be used as an EG, AD, ADSR, LFO, Oscillator, Logic module, Clock, Attenuator, scaler, etc etc...
The QMMG is effective as a multimode filter, gate, VCA etc etc,
you could virtually make a synthesizer out of these two modules alone, they have almost limitless potential, and you end up using them in ways you could never of thought of.
i think this last point is the most significant, when i first started i figured my set up was quite basic and that it might be limited, but i couldnt have been more wrong, the fact that its not fixed architecture like most synths, and software synths, means that you have an almost infinite amount of ways of wiring it all up.
i started using cubase as a sequencer sending triggers, gates, and velocities converted to CVs with my kENTON PRO2, but very quickly realised that the computer was just a hinderance to the possibilities, because there is no feedback loop into the sequencer for the control voltages, i found myself hating the computer very quickly. (there is software available to combat this issue, VOLTA for Mac, and SilentWay for PC, but to be honest it was just a shear pleasure to have everything in front of me under instant control.
so i bought a a simple 8 step sequncer module (Doepfer A155) and this simply multiplied the possibilities again.
again i thought that this might be limited, too simple, but thats not how it works with modular, you can quickly turn an 8 step sequence into a massively complex sequence using a few simple modules like a sequential switch and a clock divider, and if you send the it a rhythmic clock instead of a straight metronomic clock, you get the most amazing funky rhythms happening.
the bottom line guys is, if you are feeling closterphobic as i was, or are stuck with loopititis, and cant think beyond basslines, 4 bar loops, song arrangements, pads etc etc. and need to get your hands on the controls and let your imagination run free, then modular is the way forward for you believe me. it makes using computers to make music seem like a bad dream to me now.
it is easily the quickest most intuitive way to make music ive ever encountered, i'm now writing a tune a day, whereas before it was taking me at least a month using convetional software sequencing.
ive had alot of help from one forum in particular;
http://www.muffwiggler.com
alot of the guys on there are extremely knowledgeable, and it can be quite overwhelmingly geeky at first being a noob on there, but it doesnt take long to get the hang of it, and its great being able to talk directly to the designers.
heres a picture of my set-up at present, the top row is a patchbay i made so i could link the rest of my analogue studio, it will soon be moved into a another rack and replaced with another row of modules when ive sold some more gear, then it will be totally usable in a live situation, which is my ultimate goal.
just one modular patch and a kick drum for each tune.
heres a little taster of a video showing the capabilities of the new mindboggling MakeNoise Rene' touch sensitive controlled matrix sequencer, which is typical of the energy being put into this scene right now. you have to ignore the sounds coming out of the set-up and focus on what that thing could do for you. alot of the demos are not particularly musical, more just to show they work. its what you link it up to that matters.
http://vimeo.com/8803996
ok thats it guys, its been a real pleasure, i know alot of my ideas go against the grain of mnml thinking, but if i helped even one person in one way over the years ive been on here then it was all worth it.
PEACE
i'm coming up to a period of seriously intense work running the freerotation festival and also writing and recording my new album, and i have to remove all distractions from my life for the foreseeable future.
i just thought that some of this info might be of help to anyone even vaguely thinking of going modular. ive only been flapping around in the modular ocean for a month or two now, but its enough for me to know its what i want to do and where i'm headed.
i really cant express just how liberating it is to make music on a modular synthesizer, you literally have to throw everything you thought you knew about making electronic music out of the window and start again.
ok you can bring your knowledge to it, but nothing prepairs you for the multidimensional journey ahead. i've spent many years making music using the principles of synthesis, following the basic priciples of oscillators / envelopes / LFOs / filters etc. but with a modular you have to stop thinking like that, especially with the new wave of eurorack modules being designed and released almost weekly at the moment.
the whole thing is exploding right now, and the developement is overtaking software in its imagination and complexity.
the freedom of having the ability to effectively design your own synthesizer which does what you want it to do, not based on someone elses idea of what the current trends in electronic music requires is supported by young designers who you can literally talk to and ask for features to be included in their next amazing design, many of which incorporate digital technology to increase the potential of the analogue interface and signal paths.
my advise for anyone thinking of getting into it ;
1/ get enough money together to buy at least a 6U rack of modules, preferably a 9 U (three rows) because you never have enough modules, and theres always another one that would multiply the potential tenfold.
if you cant afford it, sell something, thats what ive had to do.
2/ buy a selection of basic modules you understand, VCOs, VCAs, LFO's mixed with some of the esoteric modules based on Buchla designs, my favourites - the MakeNoise Maths, and MakeNoise QMMG, these latter modules have multi functionality, they can be used for just about anything you want, the Maths for instance can be used as an EG, AD, ADSR, LFO, Oscillator, Logic module, Clock, Attenuator, scaler, etc etc...
The QMMG is effective as a multimode filter, gate, VCA etc etc,
you could virtually make a synthesizer out of these two modules alone, they have almost limitless potential, and you end up using them in ways you could never of thought of.
i think this last point is the most significant, when i first started i figured my set up was quite basic and that it might be limited, but i couldnt have been more wrong, the fact that its not fixed architecture like most synths, and software synths, means that you have an almost infinite amount of ways of wiring it all up.
i started using cubase as a sequencer sending triggers, gates, and velocities converted to CVs with my kENTON PRO2, but very quickly realised that the computer was just a hinderance to the possibilities, because there is no feedback loop into the sequencer for the control voltages, i found myself hating the computer very quickly. (there is software available to combat this issue, VOLTA for Mac, and SilentWay for PC, but to be honest it was just a shear pleasure to have everything in front of me under instant control.
so i bought a a simple 8 step sequncer module (Doepfer A155) and this simply multiplied the possibilities again.
again i thought that this might be limited, too simple, but thats not how it works with modular, you can quickly turn an 8 step sequence into a massively complex sequence using a few simple modules like a sequential switch and a clock divider, and if you send the it a rhythmic clock instead of a straight metronomic clock, you get the most amazing funky rhythms happening.
the bottom line guys is, if you are feeling closterphobic as i was, or are stuck with loopititis, and cant think beyond basslines, 4 bar loops, song arrangements, pads etc etc. and need to get your hands on the controls and let your imagination run free, then modular is the way forward for you believe me. it makes using computers to make music seem like a bad dream to me now.
it is easily the quickest most intuitive way to make music ive ever encountered, i'm now writing a tune a day, whereas before it was taking me at least a month using convetional software sequencing.
ive had alot of help from one forum in particular;
http://www.muffwiggler.com
alot of the guys on there are extremely knowledgeable, and it can be quite overwhelmingly geeky at first being a noob on there, but it doesnt take long to get the hang of it, and its great being able to talk directly to the designers.
heres a picture of my set-up at present, the top row is a patchbay i made so i could link the rest of my analogue studio, it will soon be moved into a another rack and replaced with another row of modules when ive sold some more gear, then it will be totally usable in a live situation, which is my ultimate goal.
just one modular patch and a kick drum for each tune.
heres a little taster of a video showing the capabilities of the new mindboggling MakeNoise Rene' touch sensitive controlled matrix sequencer, which is typical of the energy being put into this scene right now. you have to ignore the sounds coming out of the set-up and focus on what that thing could do for you. alot of the demos are not particularly musical, more just to show they work. its what you link it up to that matters.
http://vimeo.com/8803996
ok thats it guys, its been a real pleasure, i know alot of my ideas go against the grain of mnml thinking, but if i helped even one person in one way over the years ive been on here then it was all worth it.
PEACE
Last edited by steevio on Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
see you tomorrow!
im thinking of going modular but a very cheap one something with few vcos , sequencer , vcf and lfo just for a start to learn a bit? should i think of something more? like i know you said that you need money and alot of them , but when youre limited to some budget and just to kick off things
im thinking of going modular but a very cheap one something with few vcos , sequencer , vcf and lfo just for a start to learn a bit? should i think of something more? like i know you said that you need money and alot of them , but when youre limited to some budget and just to kick off things
its all about the rhythm