modular etc etc

[oblioblioblio]

you need to spend a lot of time on system design, Moog, Arp, Korg etc will have spent months/years agonising over what functions to put into their systems and that task is now in your hands.

A modular system is going to change your workflow and whole approach towards sound design, so largely you dont actually know what its going to do yet. So maybe start slow with some core modules that you know that will work for you.

What you've designed there is a basic synth... and it's not going to do anything different than that.... get yourself some looping AD envelopes, some randomisation modules, an Asyncronous Shift Register, an FM oscillator pair like Wiard/Richter Anti Oscillator.

Think about your case, rails and PSU. It's boring but if you dont put the work and investment into that early then it will cost you in the long run. Changing a custom case is expensive. sh!t PSUs are expensive too... and a sh!t PSU will cause problems down the line.

A hybrid system is hard to do right but it can be done. I personally think that the way a system interconnects is totally crucial and as such I just use Wiard modules with some extras by Hinton Instruments.

[kenah]

so stick with analogue solutions leiptig keyboard with vco circuity including sequencer ? Or have an doepfer a-100 basic system ?

[oblioblioblio]

all i'm saying is that you have to look at how the system works as whole, and the way I have moved towards with regard to tackling that problem.

There are peeps who have great mixed systems and make world class music, like Steevio or Keith Fullerton Whitman, but they haven't just shoved a bunch of modules into a case.

[kenah]

I understand the fact that I am at the beginning of my journey in creating music so that is why I am asking you guys this question before I will purchase an analog synthesizer with vectrol controlled oscillators.

So do you recommend to stick with A-100 Doepfer;s basic system or buy an stand alone synth like analog solutions leiptzig despite the idea of having an modular case with more manufacturers!?

[oblioblioblio]

it's a bit of a big decision as a beginner to go modular but I think it's the best musical system that's available if you want to explore synthesis and generative patching.

start slow and do a lot of research before you buy anything. it's not going to be the same journey as finding a hardwired synth. I read for hours and hours on Doepfer site, the description of modules on Schneiderladen. I still made a lot of mistakes. Right now there are much much more resources available... lots of videos and good content on muffwiggler forum and here.

think about whether you will want to sequence on computer or with modules... i prefer sequencing done on modules linked to the rest of the system.. envelopes and other clock generating things.

don't jump straight into eurorack... its not necessarily the best.

be aware of muffwiggler.com the buy/sell/trade is great as your system changes... but it can be an expensive hobby.

Don't cheap out on the case and the power supply... the PSU affects safety, sound quality and reliability.

[steevio]

I understand the fact that I am at the beginning of my journey in creating music so that is why I am asking you guys this question before I will purchase an analog synthesizer with vectrol controlled oscillators.

So do you recommend to stick with A-100 Doepfer;s basic system or buy an stand alone synth like analog solutions leiptzig despite the idea of having an modular case with more manufacturers!?

i would recommend starting with doepfer and maybe a few other specific modules from other manufacturers for one good reason; you will get twice as many modules for your money, and the problem with not having many modules at the start is that you rig will basically just be a simple monosynth, which will not be able to do much more than any basic monosynth.

i'm not a mathematician but there must be a logarithmic (or maybe exponential) relationship between the number of modules (or CV sockets) and the number of possible connections you can make, (if there are any mathematicians in the house, please correct me)

so to put it in layman's terms the more modules you have the better !!! by far !!! (up to a point)

Vactrols are no big deal, the modules i have with vactrols are generally no better at doing their job than their equivalents and in some cases worse. I got caught up on the vactrol bandwagon when i started expecting something amazing, only to realise it was more fashion than anything. I kind of thought i was going to be building a Buchla lite !

people who make West Coast drone music will probably kill me for saying it, and people who love vactrols will call me an a$$hole. haha !!

I'm assuming you are going to be making techno/house/minimal/bass music etc... so unless you're going down an experimental / drone / soundscape type route, i wouldnt worry about vactrols.

I wouldnt buy something like a Leipzig or a semi-modular, once you get into modular, you will be frustrated with semi- modulars and non-modulars, modular is on another level, so if you are intending on someday going modular - start NOW !

sequencing - for anything other than basic sequencing, you will need a bunch of other modules which take up space and cost money, so if you have a tight budget, sequence from your computer to start with, then when you can afford it, start buying Seq. modules, however i'm with oblioblioblio, there's nothing better than sequencing within the modular itself, again its on another level.
and remember your case will fill up quickly, with doepfer modules costing as little as £35, it wont take long to outgrow your case, so decide how many modules you think you're going to buy to start with, and get a case 3 or 4 times that size, i'm not joking, my studio is full of old cases that i've outgrown in the space of a couple of years. that ends up getting expensive, its false economy to buy a small case. you dont need all the power supplies and bussboards to fill the case to start with, but the actual case itself should have room to expand, and you can buy more PSUs and bussboards later.

last but not least budget for patch cords !! they get real expensive when your rig starts to grow, because of the exponential connection thing i was talking about. in the first two years i was buying a new bunch of cords every month, add the postage on if you buy in small quantities, and it can cost you hundreds of pounds/euros. expect to use 4 times the number of cords than you think, and buy in bulk.

i hope that helps

[oblioblioblio]

vactrols are often cited as being magical... I noticed in an interview with Keith Fullerton Whitman that he was saying that there are vactrols in everything including in his ASR module (completely untrue)... great musician but not good technical knowledge!

There is nothing like them for the way that they work... very non linear and their rate of change is decided by the physical properties of light. But they aren't a wonder cure.

I have 4 dual modules in my system that use vactrols as a major part... but with them it's more about the circuit as a whole than the job that the vatrols do.

[kenah]

so patch chords can break or what?

I will also buy tiptop and malleko vcf/vco's , also analogue solutions lfo even mfb lfo that i think is great