modular etc etc

[Phase Ghost]

skept, there's something to be said about putting your hands on the knobs, switches and cables. I've demo'd a few of the modular plugins and they really don't compare in terms of the way you use it. It's different.

Plus, it sounds raw as fck. There's no getting around that aspect. The people making this sh!t are not cutting corners. The sound and the voltage controlability are paramount. It's surgical instrument precise, that's why it's a pricey. This is made for synth heads by synth heads. No cutting corners because you need cash for adverts in magazines and sh!t, just rawness.

If you're into synths, it's the pinnacle. Bottom line. Build it how you want it and play it how you want. You could probably have loads of fun with the software modular, but it won't come close to a real one.

[Direkt]

I hate to string together a load of vague cliches, but I would recommend hardware modular unreservedly if you can afford it and you are looking into what it might offer you over a software equivalent.

thanks for the response. i'm not sure that i am looking for what hardware might offer me over software. i should have stated that my interest is playful at most. i see an interesting toy. that interest might bloom into something bigger but hasn't yet. that being said and paired with the fact that the software costs about the same as a single module all cause me to lean toward the arturia implementation as a starting point.

If you can't afford or don't want to buy the hardware just because your interest is "playful", it's the right decision I guess. I own Arturia's Arp 2600, and it's fkin awesome, even though most people say Way Out Ware's TimewARP 2600 is closer to the original.

That being said, if I'd had the money, i'd buy the hardware in a blink. But I dont...

[skept]

thanks for the replies guys. you've got me thinking in many directions. doing a lot of reading on muffwiggler right now.

[steevio]

just got to echo what the other guys have said, you can ceratainly have some fun with software modular, but it doesnt come close in anyway to the real thing.
it certainly isnt going to give you a true idea of what modular is about, i think the two things exist in different dimensions.

[skept]

i've been doing a lot of reading on muffwiggler and chatting to some modular owners i know. i'm thinking if i decide to pursue this direction i would start off with a doepfer mini system and build out from there.

i've yet to traverse the many pages in this thread so i'm going to spend some time doing so now.

[skept]

when i write music now, i dont think ' i will have a snare drum on beat 3, and a bass note on the 16th before the kick, an offbeat hi-hat' - i imagine a system of future interactions of basic elements, and then try to accomodate the chain of events.
its a completely different way to make music for me, based on how the universe works, a few basic building blocks creating infinite complexity through systems.

at the moment i'm imagining systems to make techno, but i could do anything i wanted, its all still in an early form..the future seems limitless.

this is very similar to how i currently make music in live if i understand you correctly and its got me thinking that i am certainly looking in an appropriate direction with modular toys.

what you are describing is generative music is it not? one of my current technics in live is to create and entire song with only one clip, this clip has one quarter note on repeat. this quarter note triggers drum machines, synths and samplers all with various methods of transforming, repeating and otherwise manipulating that original midi note before it hits the noise maker. this is my current favorite technique. it is defining the sound of my music and i find limitless creative potential within this constrained environment. that being said do you think i would have an extreme interest in what a modular environment would have to offer? the answer seems to be yes but i fear i may be misunderstanding something about how these environments work.

[steevio]

when i write music now, i dont think ' i will have a snare drum on beat 3, and a bass note on the 16th before the kick, an offbeat hi-hat' - i imagine a system of future interactions of basic elements, and then try to accomodate the chain of events.
its a completely different way to make music for me, based on how the universe works, a few basic building blocks creating infinite complexity through systems.

at the moment i'm imagining systems to make techno, but i could do anything i wanted, its all still in an early form..the future seems limitless.

this is very similar to how i currently make music in live if i understand you correctly and its got me thinking that i am certainly looking in an appropriate direction with modular toys.

what you are describing is generative music is it not? one of my current technics in live is to create and entire song with only one clip, this clip has one quarter note on repeat. this quarter note triggers drum machines, synths and samplers all with various methods of transforming, repeating and otherwise manipulating that original midi note before it hits the noise maker. this is my current favorite technique. it is defining the sound of my music and i find limitless creative potential within this constrained environment. that being said do you think i would have an extreme interest in what a modular environment would have to offer? the answer seems to be yes but i fear i may be misunderstanding something about how these environments work.

sounds like modular is perfect for you.
the difference is difficult to explain, even after doing months of research on modulars (in muffwigglers) before i started, and with years of experience in regular synthesis, nothing could have prepared me for the bliss that is modular.

the difference between modular and other forms of synthsesis ?, i'd say its the fact that nothing is finite, a VCO isnt just a VCO, an EG isnt just an EG, it can be an LFO, a sequencer or a VCO, everything is just voltages and waves, you stop thinking in terms of VCOs, VCFs LFOs and EGs etc. and just see ways to manipulate voltages and waves to create rhythm, tone and timbre, the boundaries are illusions. its almost magic.
drop the frequency of a wave down enough and you have a rhythm, theres no end to it, only your imagination limits you.

you really have to get a start in modular to know it. never think you understand it and can imagine it, or get the same results with something else. i guarantee you'll be deluding yourself, and i'm sure everyone here who has a modular would agree.

btw, theres absolutely nothing wrong with Doepfer kit, i actually dont buy any boutique modules now, almost everything i get is Doepfer because its cheap and i'd rather have 6 doepfer modules that will do alot more than say 3 boutique ones, but if you can afford the other stuff, most of it is real quality.

edit; i'd like to say that while i'm always bigging modular synthsesis up, i totally see the benfits of other methods, and while its perfect for me, it might not suit everyone, or might not be in financial reach, but from what you say, i'd say it would be worth it for your working method.

[skept]

steevio, thanks for all the info and i think you are right it does seem like it would suit me. earlier i forgot to add something about my process that also seems like it fits well with modular techniques: lfos everywhere... or better yet, things modulating other things everywhere.

http://www.factmag.com/2012/04/14/ricar ... e-balance/

one of my favorite producers talking about his use of modulars. lots of great stuff in that interview actually.

edit: link fix
edit again: i found the link in this thread yesterday and forgot about it *facepalm*