modular synthesis

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:13 am

coldfuture wrote: "meditation on sound" that is modular cannot be avoided forever by the serious techno head.

goomba · Post by **goomba** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:35 am

I own a kenton pro solo for midi to cv but i want to avoid the computer. I'm not interested in using the clockwork as a midi converter .. basically just as a clock source to sync modules at different divisions and the 3 sync'd lfo's. I think it will be interesting to use with the Rene. If i want the bpm to be spot on i can just slave it to my laptop. But you are right they should have included cv or trigger ins and i might hate it but time will tell.

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:45 am

i certainly wouldnt advise anyone to sell all their gear and go modular.

but ive sold the stuff that simply isnt as good as modular gear, like VAs for instance and replaced them with far superior bits of kit.

when you get into it you realise that not alot of gear can compete and you naturally off load things one at a time.

ive still got 75% of my pre-modular studio, but its fair to say it doesnt get used that much these days.

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:21 pm

goomba wrote:I own a kenton pro solo for midi to cv but i want to avoid the computer. I'm not interested in using the clockwork as a midi converter .. basically just as a clock source to sync modules at different divisions and the 3 sync'd lfo's. I think it will be interesting to use with the Rene. If i want the bpm to be spot on i can just slave it to my laptop. But you are right they should have included cv or trigger ins and i might hate it but time will tell.

thats exactly why i bought my clockwork, the computer was just getting in the way.
its not just the BPM bro thats coarse, everything is.
you cant just nudge the patterns slightly backward and forward to get some nice grooves, it jumps in big chunks. absolutely unusable to me.

and one 16th shuffle, whats that all about ? so if you want shuffle on your tune it has to be exactly the same shuffle you have on every tune ?
its not even a particularly nice shuffle.
i dont know about other people but shuffle(swing) is probably the most important thing to get exactly right for each tune for groove, it depends so much on tempo, and - well everything.
when i was using cubase to sequence, i would mess around for hours moving the 16ths backwards and forwards by ticks till i got the groove and shuffle exactly right.

as a musician i think the clockwork is a hinderance to production.

my thinking when buying it was exactly like yourself, i read the manuals, reviews etc.. it seemed perfect for the job.... by the end of the first afternoon on it, i realised i'd made a big mistake

there are lots of ways to get divisions, clocksources etc. in a modular.
the clockwork is the absolute worst imo...

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:22 pm

double post

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:37 pm

Wiard envelator is good clock and clock divider and envelope/lfo all in one.

The clock (the delay time between repeats) is controlled with a vactrol so it's funky and organic.

Like mentioned, there are lots of ways to do things... I keep holding myself back from posting about my own methods... cos modular is totally perfect for finding your own weird little methodical vistas, and finding manufacturers who are totally surfing the same weird little ways as you. (hooray)

coldfuture · Post by **coldfuture** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:57 pm

Well you guys I think I have a viable plan for myself.

I am going to start with a Tip Top happy ending tabletop setup with the following (ideally):

Cwejman VCO-2RM
Harvestman Polivoks VCF
Harvestman Suboctave Divider
Intellijel Ring Modulator
Makenoise MATHS
Makenoise QMMG

Eventually I will rack this into a 12U mixer case I found and extend it to other bus boards. This can be done right?

Now to save up cash

EDIT: I forgot to mention the goal of this unit will be to sequence it with my 303 and 606 and see what kind of bizarre sounds/drones I can turn a normal acid sequence into.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:55 am

i would possibly say to skip out the ring mod and suboctave.

Maths will do suboctave division and one milllion and one other things... (although sound quality might not match the Harvestman one)

That plus QMMG will give you a really great starting point.

I dunno what Polivoks is like... characterful is what people are saying. I don't think you will be too dissappointed, and you will want a non LPG filter.

I didn't hear anyone complain about Cwejman ever.

I love the Wogglebug but it's not for everyone. Good friends with maths and QMMG. Watery swooshy slewed uncertainty from top.. bottom 'woggle' circuit tries to chase this random signal. the amount it fails to catch it is controllable ('woggle time'). It's technically a chaotic system, but actually is in this constant state of unstable equilibirum. I usually focus on using it as a CV source, but the audio outs have their uses as well. It's one of my favourite things in the universe. Buchla Source of Uncertainty gone feral. ha ha.

You can rack the TipTop thing, for sure. I would probably sell the preinstalled PSU and floating busboards and get a bigger PSU when you upgrade. Doepfer one is almost certainly the best 'prebuilt' one you can buy.