School Me On Modular Synths

[Invisible Man]

...I picked up a Moog Mother 32 and have loved it. Grab it first, then buy one of the proprietary three-tier rack stands to expand into later. You'll figure out pretty quick if you want a more performance-oriented sequencer, what kinds of modulation options you like, &c.

Start with the tip, in other words. Semi-modular will save you an insane amount of time and headache.

Got it? Semi. Tip.

My two cents.

[stripes]

i am returning to ilf right now from the dark side (muff wigglers) but also because i was gone touring pretty much all summer... really happy to be back here where everyone is a nice big fam.

but part of my absence was due to downward spiraling into eurorack, taking out two credit cards, obsessively watching, reading, and searching about modules and how to use them.
now i feel like i can say i am officially a wiggler and probably will be for the rest of my life.

there are a few things you need to know/be aware of:
-it is so expensive. you can do it for maybe a little less than $1,000, but you will want to expand, and you will. when you see pictures of a rack with 4 rows of modules (looks pretty small still), it's probably an 8k-10k system.
-there is a learning curve. even if you know how to fuck around with a minimoog, you won't know how to, right off the bat, patch complex voices, when to invert voltages, know when to AC/DC offset, etc... unless you have used a modular synth before. so you can't just dive in fast... you have to take your time and learn each module.
-i think most people don't always know what they're doing, but know how to use their modules, and trust their ear to make a patch that they like. learning comes from experimenting.
- like a few others in this thread have said, if you're interested in making wildly unique and subtly complex compositions or sound designs, i think nothing can beat eurorack. if you want to make pads or drones that are easy to tune to a specific key, then you will not have a good time. the timbres that come out of modulars, specifically euroracks, are really special and unique. i personally think the format really shines when people break down the walls of conventional music and make compositions that wouldn't happen with an in the box synth/drum machine/guitar.

a few pieces that inspired me to take the plunge into euro:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEDnsqjGRM4[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcb-xv174GM[/youtube]

my soundcloud (can't get embed to work)
https://soundcloud.com/mlesprg/a-troubl ... ace-voyage

[D.o.S.]

Muffs BST is no joke.

[Strange Tales]

Muffs BST is fucking torture. Primarily one of the main reasons I just sit in the DIY section of that board. (DIY section is also torture but I'll take a $10 PCB vs the other great deals in the BST)

-i think most people don't always know what they're doing, but know how to use their modules, and trust their ear to make a patch that they like. learning comes from experimenting.

Also this. Anything I know was either from intense research into synthesis itself or just fucking around and shoving cables in every which way.

[stripes]

lol most of that forum is actually not a place where i want to be. it's nice to find threads where people are discussing something interesting about a module or a patch, but you always get to a point where someone says something condescending and a little cat fight breaks out. i was trying to get my 100 posts over there so i can post in the BST... but it's just ugh

[Strange Tales]

I only got to 100 (in like 8 months) because I ask so many questions in the DIY forum. But yea, most of that forum is a catty (hehheh) hellhole.

[stripes]

yeah the other thing i discovered about modular is that modular guys are really into being modular guys and showing off... it reminds me of the town i grew up in where all the guys in my high school with pickup trucks would get big tires and shocks and show them off all in a row in the parking lot


there are nice synthies out there too to tho ... hiding

[fever606]

a few pieces that inspired me to take the plunge into euro:

Just go ahead and play both of those at the same time...

[stripes]

a few pieces that inspired me to take the plunge into euro:

Just go ahead and play both of those at the same time...

lol omg!

[oscillateur]

lol most of that forum is actually not a place where i want to be. it's nice to find threads where people are discussing something interesting about a module or a patch, but you always get to a point where someone says something condescending and a little cat fight breaks out. i was trying to get my 100 posts over there so i can post in the BST... but it's just ugh

Muffs used to be a nice place but it slowly turned to shit. I only read it sometimes to be aware of new stuff but almost stopped posting, the signal to noise ratio is just too bad these days. The smart people are mostly still there but there are far too many morons to make it worthwhile most of the time.

[D.o.S.]

Hey what're you trying to say about us morons?