asking for modular synth knowledge part 2

[tomte]

i´ll start with a big thanks for all the good advice i got in my first thread! i feel that i´ve learned a bit although there´s a lot more for me to learn but time isn´t on my side at the moment. i´ve must have gone through at least 20 threads in this forum and that gave me a lot of answers (and questions ) such a great place for someone like myself!

anyway, now i decided to move ahead and buy myself a set-up, i think that would be a good way for me to learn more, you know hands on.
i´ve been toying around with the modularplanner (amazing tool!) and i found it very easy to fill up 4 rowes! so i´m trying to restrict myself to some sort of a starting-system. at the moment it looks like this:

1 cwejman vco-2rm
1 livewire frequensteiner
1 bubblesound ulfo
1 mfb dual adsr
1 metasonix r53 waveshaper
1 tiptop z8000 sequencer
doepfer:
2 a-130 vca (my first pick was oakleys vca but i couldn´t find it at schneidersladen)
1 a-148 dual s&h
1 a-119 ext. in
1 a-137 vc wave multiplier
1 a-171 vc slew limiter
1 a-182 multipler
1 a-135 vc mixer
all of it in a doepfer low cost coffer from doepfer.
and "silent way" to use with ableton live.

how does this look to you guys? i kind of went for stuff that i read about and tried to listen to clips at youtube to get an idea of them. but as a newbie i have surely missed out on some stuff

and i also have some difficulties trying to estimate how many cables to get.
since there is both minijack and 1/4 modules, whats best to get? adapters? i guess there is ready-made once to?

my music-creation is all about house/techno/electronica at the moment and i´m gonna use the the system to do basses, leads and dreamy blip-blop sequences. no drums, maybe some percussion.

was also thinking, what kind of delay/reverb to get. when i borrowed a moog voyager i got a green line6 pedal with it, sounded really good! but i kind of like the thought of having the effect in my rack. what do you use?

i understand that you probably got better things to do than spelling everything out for me but i would really appreciate any advice or thoughts!

by the way, here some modules i thought i´d buy when i get a hang of my first setup:

synthesis tech e340 cloudgenerator
livewire afg
tiptop z2040
harvestman polivoks vcf
noisegenerator, more vca, adsr

thanks
stefan

[elektro80]

I suggest going for minijack modules now when you are starting out. It´s easier to get your head around the mess when it is more coherent.. the mess that is.

If your are doing techno stuff.. go for a simple midi to VC interface.. Doepfer has some. I suggest postponing the sequencer to VC integration stuff.. do that later. Get more stupid stuff like VCOs and filters and ADSRs and VCAs.
You will feel much better with at least 2 LFOs.

As for the soundcloud thingie.. what it does is old school and a great way to start doing those sounds is patching the mess up with lotsa modules. You will learn a lot.

I suggest 4-5 VCOs. You don´t have to grab many different models and makes.. I´m sure Doepfer has some good ones.

[tomte]

thanks for your reply. again
yeah, you know i was thinking of getting more vco´s, vca´s, adsr´s, lfo´s. but i just became a bit worried that it would be overwhelming once i got the stuff. but another part in me is saying: go for it! you know that it´s this you wanna do! you´ll have plenty of time learn once you get the stuff!
well, i´m not ordering until january so i guess i can have that inner dialogue a couple of weeks more.

so you think i should postpone the "silent way" thing? well, i haven´t been all sure about it either, getting yet another software.
at the same time it seems like a good way of getting a nice symbios between the daw and the modules. but maybe it is a good idea like you said, to wait with it a bit and start of with a midi/cv-interface.
i remember reading somewhere about some "not-so-fast" interfaces, and i really dont wanna end up with to much latency, you have any suggestions for good midi/cv´s?

[elektro80]

For now just get one of the basic Doepfer units. Isn´t there a thing called Doepfer MCV4?

Keep in mind that even though controlling the control voltages directly from the DAW and thus in effect ditching MIDI is often a good thing, this does not really mean you are getting a true symbiosis or integration or whatever. MOTU Volta and similar schemes do what they do, but that is all. You should look into that after you have some sort handle on the actual modular synth. Then you will able to picture smart things you can do and how to use the DAW CV features.

OT: One valid angle to handle DAW to CV + DAW midi to modular would be to use the the DAW to HELP you with cues, events and some control voltages while you are actually playing the modular. This means that you might actually consider both having note and gate slushing in from the DAW as well as from your midi controller keyboard and or pedals or whatever. I have actually 3 midi to modular interfaces, 2 X of this simple model: http://www.synthesizers.com/q104.html
and one of these: http://www.encoreelectronics.com/cont_expres.html

[tomte]

you really are giving me some valuable advice and im grateful for that, thanks man! i think i´ll go with a midi/cv interface to start with and take it from there.

[BobTheDog]

Also you might want to look at the Moog MP201 http://www.moogmusic.com/controllers/?section=product&product_id=21141

Even though it is really a pedal it has midi in to cv as well. The midi can come over the usb connection also.

And it can generate envelopes and LFOs as well.

And it is a midi controller.

Andu I like it

[tomte]

that sounds good man! i look into that one to, thanks.

there´s a swedish band called "bob hund", translated it´s bob the dog
check them out, best band ever from sweden!

[elektro80]

[GovernorSilver]

[Antimon]

[elektro80]

Bob Hund - excellent band!

BTW:

One of several reasons I am suggesting going for a plain boring classic modular synth config at first is that a fair supply of all the basic utility modules ( no fancy boutique stuff ) will actually get you very far because.. as you will soon discover.. audio .. as in the output from oscillators is also a train of events.. you can use other modules to snip clip switch distort route and whatever at audio event rates. Some sequencers will also operate at audio rates. This means that you say can use sequencers to store and shape waveforms. It is way too easy to forget that events are much more than that bump from the bass drum..

Many filter designs will also oscillate and voila you have yet another oscillator.Getting your head around all this takes some time, but you will be much wiser about what to get next and why. I suggest you look into switch/routing and logic modules after the first 6 months of learning modular synthesis.

Software applications like the Nord Modular demo and Tassman are excellent for testing concepts and patch ideas. Tassman costs money but is worth whatever they ask for it. Tassman also has cool features like resonators and you can route analog signals from your modular into Tassman and then back out.

[tomte]

i feel like i´ve been on both sides here, one moment i want to get all the stuff i´ve picked out directly. like antimon says "A modular is a nice toolbox or palette that you pick and choose from, rather than something you need to completely understand before you are able to use it."

and at other times i feel more like the way electro80 suggests and try to discover what i can do with just a basic setup and from that get a grip of what i need more.

and i think i ended up somewhere in between with the setup i described. i´m already back at modularplanner and looking at new setups, i guess i´ll do a lot of those before ordering one, but hey, it´s a thrill
i´m actually thinking of dropping the sequncer for now and focuse on that later, maybe go for more vco´s, vca´s, lfo´s, adsr´s instead.

last week i listened to a song from bob hund´s coming album, it´s going to be interesting, at least according to that song! btw, have any of you listened to their electronica-sideproject "sci-fi skåne"? it´s pretty good.

[Antimon]

OK, I want to point out that I'm totally on elekto80's side here - start with the basic stuff. What I was aiming at with my rambling was that when you have your palette and you're working with a sound, and you feel at some point that you need that extra VCA or envelope, you're going to smack yourself over the head if you don't have it (that's what I've done several times anyway).

Start with the basic stuff (which you will need anyway), and then you'll know how to fit in the fancy stuff, and what you need to add alongside.

/Stefan

[tomte]

[elektro80]

[BobTheDog]

I will look into the band, what a great name

On your module list I don't see any attenuators or offset modules, these are boring but extremely useful.

[elektro80]

[tomte]

[Antimon]

You may be interested in reading Jyoti's nice Sound on Sound article:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr09/articles/goingmodular.htm

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-32551-0.html&postdays=0&postorder=asc


and some more recount of his Doepfer adventure:

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-27999-0.html&postdays=0&postorder=asc

All of this is what pushed me over the edge

[elektro80]

Where is Jyoti these days? We miss him.

[elektro80]

[elektro80]

[tomte]

[elektro80]

It is possible to mix the two.. but I suggest you stick with the smaller format.

[tomte]

just got "analog synthesizers" by mark jenkins.
sometimes i just love christmas

happy holidays!