I have a small home setup consisting of a Digitone, Digitakt, Typhon Dreadbox and Microcosm. All if it goes into a Bluebox recording mixer. It’s a great setup and I’ve only been doing this for a couple of years (I’m in my 40s too!).
Anyway I’ve always been drawn to watching modular setups and what they sound like and how flexible they can be. Also how tidy they are in terms of you can have 1 power lead and a set of headphones and a small rack doesn’t take up much room. The kit I have above takes up bit of room in my small room as it has so many cables etc, I’m not sure it can all be replaced with modular or if I would want to even do that anyway.
I’ve downloaded VCV rack and using Omri Cohen’s course to learn it better as I’d love to build a small rack for ambient/IDM music and if possible integrate with my current setup. I think I could use the Digitakt or Digitone to sequence it via a Midi to CV module and use the Digitakt as the main clock. I’m not worried about the cost of a small setup, but I wondered how you got into it and why? It seems like a steep learning curve coming from the Elektron world too.
I think the learning curve comes in the form of learning what you want out of using modular and how you want to interact with to get your desired result.
You’re on the right path, watching others and seeing how things are used before jumping in.
Integrating Elektron boxes with modular is probably the easiest part of this since you’re already familiar with Digitakt and Digitone.
As you mentioned, you just need a midi to CV utility. I use mmMidi int Pam’s New Workout from ALM Busy Circuits. They of course have the newer Pam now too. I also use Korg SQ64 along with both Digitakt and Syntakt. It’s not a permanent setup, so I’ll switch what to sync/integrate as needed.
I’ve got a very small rack (96 hp) which is half-filled with a Pittsburgh SV-1 (great value 2nd hand, great sounding and a lot of functionality for the HP). I have a virtual modular, a Nord G2, and wanted to replicate in the analogue realm freely assignable FM, wavefolding, parallel filtering, also using and processing external audio.
As @elxsound sound says, figuring out what you want is the learning curve. If you figure out what you want by testing various modules and configurations and their combined possibilities by using VCV, when you get the actual models, there shouldn’t be any learning curve at all.
I clock and sequence my rig from an OT or DAW via the Sixty Four Pixels CV:OCD (saves rack space) and the Midi to CV module on the SV-1.
I got into modular because I fell in love with the sound of a particular complex oscillator (Brenso), and on investigating the manufacturer, found other intriguing modules. Had I known how much I would end up spending on it, I might have balked. I don’t regret the expense, though; I have learned a lot and continue to learn, and it is much fun to use. I can take ideas back to my fixed-architecture devices, which I think I understand better as a result.
I haven’t integrated with my Elektrons or other gear except in some proof-of-concept ways: clock and CV arp from A4, sound from modular back into A4 to apply effects and mix with A4 percussion; samples into DT; Euclidean triggers from modular to TR-6S drums. I plan to do more of this. I’ve used CV-to-MIDI (Befaco CV Thing) more than MIDI-to-CV (cv.ocd).
I think a small rack is either going to be highly focussed (for example, an effects chain you like) or pretty limited and not quite as flexible as you think. In VCVRack, you can always grab another library module. Not so easy with a physical rack.
Finally, and this is a small point, it’s not as tidy as you suggest. There are all the patch cables to contend with. Mine are colour-coded for length but it’s still a pain to keep them organized. Some of my output modules have 3.5mm jacks, some have 1/4" jacks (true for my recorders and mixers as well). There’s adapters/cables associated with input modules also.
For me it was the fun part of patching sounds from scratch to create unique sounds out of the DAW and different than fixed hardware synths like Elektrons. I started off with a small Doepfer A100 Basic System and a Korg SQ sequencer. Then I used my Octatrack with the Doepfer MIDI to CV module to layer effects and sequence the modular.
I think my main dive into eurorack was because of fascination with audio routing / processing. I feel like I would probably get a similar experience out of a full wall of 19inch rack gear and a bunch of patch bays but size and space limits. A Midi to CV converter really is all you need to get going with an elektron box.
Got into modular to make some unique sounds, I focused on modules that could do things I couldn’t do as easily with my other hardware (octatrack, analog four and vermona perfourmer). So far key modules have been klavis quadigy (for unique envelope shapes), bitbox micro + some filters (wanted to explore samples through analog filters, granular) and various waveshapers and wavefolder to find interesting timbres/textures (fold6, flexshaper, tan[h]). I have a couple of modular oscillators as well that I am still exploring.
I sequence from the octatrack via a midi to cv module, mutant brain, and the bitbox has midi going in for some of the polyphonic functions. I havent really explore modular sequencing very much so far.
So far my experiences have been that:
I like having everything on one panel and knobs to turn. It’s not as easy as the perfourmers large knobs, but the trade off is more complex shapes.
I initially overlooked some utilities that would let me mix modulation sources to allow me more interesting shapes than the standard square/triangle lfos/envelope etc. Adding some utilities that provide cv mixing, offsets etc, really opened modulation up.
I really like using the octatrack to sequence, micro timing is important to me and having all my sequences in a single box makes things easier for me. Flipside is that no in rack sequencing limits interesting modulation. I’ll probably expand my midi to cv capacity so I can use x4 OT midi tracks for pitch/gate info and then use the other x4 for modulation.
The Digitakt and Digitone both have very powerful sequencers and MIDI capabilities, so (once again) a proper MIDI-to-CV module should enable you to sequence modular gear just fine. My set-up is with an Octatrack and a Michigan Synth Works mBrane, which is a nice compact clone of the Mutable Instruments Yarns MIDI-to-CV module, and worth a look along with the other recommended modules.
Things have changed quite a bit in my studio, but for a while I had a Novation BassStation II I used to input MIDI for recording on the OT, then sent the MIDI sequence out to my modular stuff (it was also pretty straight foward to have the keyboard controlling the modular directly via the mBrane). What I’ve also done, though, is use the OT as master clock and transport through the mBrane to control an Intellijel Metropolis, which is a really fun Euro sequencer. Again, it all depends on what you’re after, but there are some pretty fun Euro sequencers you might consider along with your DT and DN.
But, as you surely already know from this forum and elsewhere, modular can easily become a very time- and money-consuming effort. It sounds like you’re doing a lot of research, which is great, but it can be tough to know just how something is going to work for you (or IF it will work) until you have it in your rig. Good luck and keep us posted!
I think so, some considerations I think are how much control you want from your external sequencer, do you want to focus on the note/trig -> pitch/gate, would you like to also do midi cc to cv etc. Basically what modulation sources (note, trig, midi cc) do you want to use, how many tracks are available and how much of that you want available for eurorack modulation. Theres a balancing act between rack space/dollars dedicated to control and the modules that are being controlled.
My modular has gone through several transformations, and I’ve found that building synth voice(s) in modular isn’t really my thing. For my taste, there are hardware synths out there that sounds good enough and are generally more well integrated compared to your average modular system. However, I’ll admit that there are certain unique modular oscillators - like the noise engineering stuff for instance - that are hard to replace outside the modular world.
Nowadays I use my modular exclusively as an effect rack with the type of effects that are unique to eurorack, like for instance data bender. To me, this is having the best of two worlds. A while back I was into the whole granular deal, but at this point I feel it’s turned into a total cliché, and you gotta kill your darlings, you know?
It’s fairly easy to accomplish an effect rack with a simple line to eurorack level preamp. I return the wet eurorack signal(s) directly into my mixer channel(s) to incorporate it in the main mix. Pretty fun stuff.
plus one unique thing in modular missing from other platforms like hardware and software are the crazy amounts and types of modulation and sequencing options.
Using a MIDI to CV module (FH-2) to note sequence and generate modulation through plocks/lfos. I do this a little less with Elektrons now that I have a dedicated sequencer (Hapax), and to be honest generally I prefer sequencing within the modular itself
Using a CV to MIDI module (Befaco VCMC) to sequence Elektrons (mostly Rytm) from modular. This is v nice imo since there are extremely interesting sequencing options available in modular (even just patching a bunch of logic and clock dividers together).
Using CV directly into a DAW which understands CV (via a DC-coupled interface) to modulate parameters on the Overbridge plugin, for eg. Ableton or Bitwig (Bitwig is particularly good for this). I really like this option because there’s way less annoying config to do with the CV to MIDI conversion - it really makes the Elektrons feel like an extension of the modular.
Having all the options is good for when you want your system to act more like a MIDI-understanding device, or your Elektrons to act more like eurorack modules. Good fun!
Good luck! I’m reading the replies with interest as someone with a semi-modular setup adn may or may not go further in a modular direction (possibly the pstchsble-effects direction)…
The Digitakt is terrific with the semi-modular setup I have (Mother 32, DFAM, 0Coast, and most recently 0Ctrl), especially because Mother and 0Coast have Midi to CV integrated. Even though it’s limited to 32nd notes, the MIDI LFOs on the Digi boxes are really excellent and extends my Mother’s functionality with a synced LFO that can fade in, among other things. So, a lot of mileage to get out of the midi to cv modules folks are recommending …
But even as self-contained as the semi-modular boxes are, the DT and Syntakt are what I take to the couch as a complete “compact” setup…
lol for real though, I actually found the Behringer Neutron to play quite nicely with my digitakt without having to find some weird workaround for Midi/CV. If you’re trying to get into modular with your elektron boxes, I think it’s a perfect entry point as far as price as well as ease of setup. Behringer Model D is probably also a good choice for a first foray into it, though I haven’t owned one myself
I bought one of those big Behringer Go cases. Have a lot of stuff in it. Use my Syntakt to sequence everything through Mutant Brains. 4 cv, 12 gate. Works very well. Nothing like sequencing Euro with Elektron.
Well, I’ve had and liked the Erica Black sequencer and the Eloquencer but using the Syntakt frees up more module space!
Ive got a small 6u 54 hp rack. Bottom row is the Pittsburgh SV-1 so thats the midi to CV converter, mults to supply the rest of the system with gates and cv. Using octatrack midi sequencer. Audio from the Rack comes back into the OT. Super simple, works flawlessly.
I’ve got a B. 2600 hooked up to a Digitakt plus 84 U of Eurorack in a Tiptop Happy Ending - currently there is only an LFO in there (Rides DMO). Semi-modular w/midi + Elektron is great.
Eurorack escalates quickly as I am sure you are aware… my other setup is Syntakt + Go case which will be filled mostly with DIY modules, and an FH-2 + Launchpad.
