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My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 6:20 pm
by Ruiner
Ok so i've begun.
I bought a Tiptop Mantis case
and these are the first three modules i put in it mainly because of a sale that was going on today:
Now i need to know what good utility modules would go with this.
Keep in mind, with the input of the ears i'll be using guitar (guitar and pedalboard) or Moog Tribute 32 or Folktek Triad (which includes Materia sequencer, Mentalis drone synth and Aether CV synth which also can actually play CV control on the touch sensitive keyboard and all units have CV in and out and the sequencer has clock in and out) also Arturia Drumbrute, Microgranny, organelle, septavox, etc etc.
The SND/RTN is to run some pedals or external effects like tape delays, binson, reverb tank, etc.
I have some pedals with CV control to use with it as well which are the following:
and a few others with a little CV like RML 432k, Smallsound Bigsound Pretty Years, a bunch of Chase Bliss, etc etc.....
So, what are some good ways to utilize what I already have (meaning, what should i route into route specifically since i'm still wrapping my head around how all of this works) and what utilities should i look at getting to test this setup out before getting the next main module.
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 6:43 pm
by Dark Barn
I don't own a Clouds but everyone says you want attenuators for it. So you can dial in smaller modulations to taste instead of full swing modulations. I often use Mutable Blinds as an attenuator. So maybe you should check it out during the sale. It does a few things; bipolar VCA, audio or CV ring mod, offset. Bipolar VCAs are fussy to dial in if you want to use them as unipolar (regular) VCAs, it can be done, but at some later point in time you'll want regular VCAs. If you want attenuation only I like the WMD Quad Atten but there are plenty others out there.
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:02 pm
by Ruiner
Dark Barn wrote:I don't own a Clouds but everyone says you want attenuators for it. So you can dial in smaller modulations to taste instead of full swing modulations. I often use Mutable Blinds as an attenuator. So maybe you should check it out during the sale. It does a few things; bipolar VCA, audio or CV ring mod, offset. Bipolar VCAs are fussy to dial in if you want to use them as unipolar (regular) VCAs, it can be done, but at some later point in time you'll want regular VCAs. If you want attenuation only I like the WMD Quad Atten but there are plenty others out there.
Exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. Thanks!
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:20 pm
by comesect2.0
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:36 pm
by kbit
That case looks swagy as fuck.
So the saying goes... "you can never have too many VCAs."
What exactly are you trying to use modular for?
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:43 pm
by Ruiner
kbit wrote:That case looks swagy as fuck.
So the saying goes... "you can never have too many VCAs."
What exactly are you trying to use modular for?
The goal is to get somewhere around here with a lot more utilities and I'm sure it will change along the way
I want to be able to use it with guitar, my synths and my Folktek Triad. I want to do stuff similar to Marcus Fischer and E Beny. Lots of sampling, loops, slow modulation, ambient, field recordings, etc
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:10 pm
by raj007
Watching this thread....with full erection.
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 8:57 am
by oscillateur
You need simple/utility modules. Get a sample & hold, a sequential switch, some more VCA, mixers (can't stress enough how important these are), some simple LFOs or envelopes (modules like the eowave Zone BF are simple to use and very useful for example).
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:07 am
by Warpsmasher
You'll want to maintain a balance of available CV outputs that is approximately equal to your amount of CV inputs. Stackables and mults help with deficiencies in this area, but also impose some limitations and complications. The more effects modules you get, the more LFOs, VCAs, envelopes, triggers, gates and sequencers you'll need to get the most out of them, especially simultaneously.
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:33 am
by elevenstrings
Good luck!
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:20 pm
by kbit
Also ive read that Intellijel's 1U modules are not always compatible with other 1U formated cases. Something to look into.
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:16 pm
by dunbine
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 8:11 am
by Disarm D'arcy
Also, bookmarking for later

Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:15 am
by Muse FTW
You need some more clock sources/envelope generators. I think Make Noise's Maths is one of the best utility modules in this area.
Also you'll probably want some kind of filter. Most importantly you should get a VCA/mixer so you can control the volume of the output and not blow out your amp/speakers. I'm not sure if Ears is the best input utility either - I'd probably go with a Audio I/O from Intellijel since it has both line in and output channels with adjustable volumes (since you'll need to boost the guitar signal to be processable by the other modules).
Re: My Journey Into Modular - The Ruiner Diaries
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:49 am
by oscillateur
Pamela's Workout is a great clock generator. And Ears has an envelope follower too, a good choice I'd say.
Which modules would you want to get first ?
It would be easier to give advices incrementally...