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Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:41 am
by xrleroyx
https://sonicsmith.com/

Looks interesting to say the least. Might help in my never ending quest for a guitar focused eurorack system.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:33 am
by echorec
Yeah...you're just a wee bit late on Sonicsmith, but have you seen the new Hungry Robot stuff?

viewtopic.php?f=149&t=55208&hilit=sonicsmith

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYMuMLa--v0[/youtube]

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 12:11 pm
by Bartimaeus
That Hungry Robot demo sounds awesome! The bit at 0:44 reminds me of the track "Skyward Bruise / Descent" by Clark. Those little boxes seem like a great way to add an extra function or two to a modular without needing to buy another case haha.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:32 pm
by worra
Bartimaeus wrote:That Hungry Robot demo sounds awesome! The bit at 0:44 reminds me of the track "Skyward Bruise / Descent" by Clark. Those little boxes seem like a great way to add an extra function or two to a modular without needing to buy another case haha.
Yeah but then you need a pedal power supply, and if you really need these things just for something simple like slew, or an extra LFO or VCA, you probably haven't planned your case properly.

I dunno, I think everyone's excited because it's a new market thing but to me this just creates more problems than it solves. I guess the only argument I could see for these is if you already are using a bunch of pedals with semi-modular gear like a Mother-32 or a 0-Coast, and you wanted to expand on those devices a little bit, and you've already got a pedal power supply on the table.

Otherwise :idk:

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:46 pm
by D.o.S.
god forbid people still use 1/4" gear amirite

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 4:38 pm
by Ghost Hip
worra wrote:
Bartimaeus wrote:That Hungry Robot demo sounds awesome! The bit at 0:44 reminds me of the track "Skyward Bruise / Descent" by Clark. Those little boxes seem like a great way to add an extra function or two to a modular without needing to buy another case haha.
Yeah but then you need a pedal power supply, and if you really need these things just for something simple like slew, or an extra LFO or VCA, you probably haven't planned your case properly.

I dunno, I think everyone's excited because it's a new market thing but to me this just creates more problems than it solves. I guess the only argument I could see for these is if you already are using a bunch of pedals with semi-modular gear like a Mother-32 or a 0-Coast, and you wanted to expand on those devices a little bit, and you've already got a pedal power supply on the table.

Otherwise :idk:
But wouldn't these would be rad additions to a pedal board that already has a few CV controllable pedals on it? Possibly to create more complex modulation/step sequenced modulation/etc. I mean I don't care to utilize CV as a guitarist but could be cool for those who use their pedalboard more intricately than I do. :idk:

I feel like some fun could be had just by using the Cv Keys with a CV controlled pedal.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:10 pm
by worra
Ghost Hip wrote:
worra wrote:
Bartimaeus wrote:That Hungry Robot demo sounds awesome! The bit at 0:44 reminds me of the track "Skyward Bruise / Descent" by Clark. Those little boxes seem like a great way to add an extra function or two to a modular without needing to buy another case haha.
Yeah but then you need a pedal power supply, and if you really need these things just for something simple like slew, or an extra LFO or VCA, you probably haven't planned your case properly.

I dunno, I think everyone's excited because it's a new market thing but to me this just creates more problems than it solves. I guess the only argument I could see for these is if you already are using a bunch of pedals with semi-modular gear like a Mother-32 or a 0-Coast, and you wanted to expand on those devices a little bit, and you've already got a pedal power supply on the table.

Otherwise :idk:
But wouldn't these would be rad additions to a pedal board that already has a few CV controllable pedals on it? Possibly to create more complex modulation/step sequenced modulation/etc. I mean I don't care to utilize CV as a guitarist but could be cool for those who use their pedalboard more intricately than I do. :idk:

I feel like some fun could be had just by using the Cv Keys with a CV controlled pedal.

Sure but like, how you gonna play guitar and play the cv key thing at the same time? And if your answer is "oh for synth pedals on a table", wouldn't you be using your fingers to play the synth? Just seems like this is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:22 pm
by DRodriguez
Or open possibilities that didn't for you before. Tape it to your guitar, use a freeze pedal, guitarists aren't the only people to pedal. Non modular synnthers and electronic musicians love pedals.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:36 pm
by Ghost Hip
worra wrote: Sure but like, how you gonna play guitar and play the cv key thing at the same time? And if your answer is "oh for synth pedals on a table", wouldn't you be using your fingers to play the synth? Just seems like this is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
I was more thinking for non-guitar use for recording weird shit. I just don't think CV controlled noisemakers in pedal boxes is that different from every other drone/synth/noise box you can buy in a pedal enclosure on etsy.

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:37 pm
by Chankgeez
Where's the frequency shifter? :snax:

Re: Probably late to the party but - modular synth pedal

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:25 pm
by Bartimaeus
I see your point, worra, but even with a moderately-sized eurorack system I still use pedals, since most euro effects aren’t worth the money. So if I have a power supply for my pedals already, it actually would make sense to get a pedal output converter and just keep that with the pedals, for example.

Also, that little keyboard seems really convenient, I’d rather get one of those than but a similar module with 12 semitone buttons. It certainly wouldn't replace a full-sized keyboard, but you could use it to control the pitch of a drone, while you use your full-sized keyboard to play a melody over it. Although it's a little steep at $150 when the 2-octave Arturia KeyStep is $120, even if it does have a transpose input.

As for something like a VCA or LFO, I agree that it makes sense to keep those in the case. But I already have my passive multiples out of the case (Intellijel HUB), and it makes for a passive attenuators to be external too. That said, I can build pedals that do those things for way cheaper than Hungry Robot.