perhaps a less common combo: 0-coast plus expressive e touché. Patch it directly to the dynamic control, and somehow into the multiply/overtone inputs, and it’s so much fun instantly creating bass grooves by intuition.
The 0-coast shines with outside automation, and the touché is such an immediate source for control
Last year, I picked up the 0-ctrl to use with my 0-coast and modular systems. Love it! Makes me feel like a mini Buchla Easel.
You might look into the Pittsburgh Modular Microvolt 3900. Similar size and price range of the the 0-Coast. The core sound of the Microvolt is beautiful to me. They have a lot of similarities functionally, but there are definitely differences as well. I look at those two as best buds.
I liked using the 0-Coast with semi-modulars so much that I seem to now have about 5 or so of the things (Dreadbox Erebus and Nyx, Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox, MFB Kraftzwerg, MS-20M, though the latter is the least useful pairing due to the 6.35mm jacks) plus a whole load of modular and a 0-Ctrl to boot.
They all go well together in various combinations, though I reckon the SV-1 offers the most flexible pairing, along with the Kraftzwerg, and not forgetting the deep rabbit warren that opens up when an Analog 4 gets cv and gate involved too - running the 0-Coast through the A4 effects is also rewarding, and there’s the two midi channels on the 0-Coast to take into account too…
The 0-Ctrl is the most useful addition to the 0-Coast though, as it is made to work directly with the 0-Coast, and is quite unlike any sequencer or controller I’ve encountered so far.
One thing that I really like when having both is being able to clock different circuits at differents rates inside each other. An easy exemple is to have one of the Random Source clocked at tempo while the second is triggered only by incoming notes for exemple.
Here is an old Wired Brain video where we had quite some fun with our two 0-Coast:
Don’t get me wrong: semi modulars are great, worry free paths into more experimental synthesis. But there is still room to go further with modular proper.
I personally would recommend expanding the Ocoast with a small skiff and some choice modules over getting a second semimodular.
In my opinion, all semimodulars suffer from the same issue that they are all still fixed architecture (a little less so ofc compared to one-box synths) and offer pretty vanilla routing options.
So one semimod to test the waters is all fine and dandy; two semimods is approaching redundancy (no offense meant to anybody…I was running two once…just my findings)
While I possibly went overboard on the semi-modulars, I also use them together and with other things often enough, so no regrets there; and I’d also agree that adding fully a modular expansion to the 0-Coast is well worth it and has been another avenue of fruitful exploration here too.
Agreed. I bought an 0-coast and then the 0-ctrl. Was having super fun with them and wanted to expand, but didn’t feel ready for modular so I got an Erebus V3 instead thinking I’d expand the patchability by adding another semi modular. Erebus v3 sounds amazing but the patch bay was a big disappointment to me. To be frank, I think it’s bizarre. But more importantly, like you say - there was a lot of redundancy. So I said fuck it and started on my modular journey. Super happy with that choice, wish I’d started sooner.
I just sold the Erebus to fund more modules. Probably won’t sell the 0-bros though, they are very much part of my modular setup. 0-coast in particular is such a well designed semi-modular. I just wish it could be configured to output up to 24ppqn clock from midi.
My favourite thing to pair with my 0coast is my Strymon elcapistan pedal. Put it in infinite tape mode or any of the delay modes. It just sounds great.
Wish the 0 control had a quantizer. The pair looks really great though.
Of course a proper modular gives you far more options, but you can go pretty wild with two semimodulars already. Especially if they have some unique features that differ from typical monosynth architecture, like the dfam with its sequencer and fm options, or the 0 coast, which might be the self patching king of semimodulars.
I agree some semimodulars don’t offer anything exotic. An analog four e.g. has more modulation options going than many of them.
One of the big advantages of semimodulars is that you don’t find yourself on modular grid everyday. Module GAS is worse than synth GAS
I ended up getting one for my modular mostly for that reason, and it’s very handy. I have recently got a uO_c and plan using that with the 0-Ctrl and 0-Coast too.
0 coast is a dope little synth, loved mine for the sound (the bass!) and my first intro to “west coast”. I can’t see anything wrong with having two.
But yeah I hate to feed gas and it’s true eurogas may be the worst of all gas, but getting a small-mid case as as expander, if you have the money and it doesn’t intrude on your philosophy, might be the best way to go. One of the thing that really steps mod proper up is the amount of attenuation you can do which is often more limited on semimods.
0 ctrl is amazing for modulating and is a secret weapon of sorts, just clocking it and stepping a parameter or two to give motion and slight variance is soooo nice.
Recently got a dfam in a trade after eyeballing one, not sure what I think yet. Sounds amazing of course. It can do SO MUCH more than 4-on-the-floor and is a really unique design, but is still an 8 step sequencer - but just the way the pitch and veolcity knobs interact can give you so much variation within those 8 steps. Now combine it with 0 coast 8 step sequencer modulating it - fun times 
The 0-coast has become my goto synth since i bought it (almost two years now). So fresh and versatile, lovely sound and fell in love with the slope generator. As soon as could i paired it with the 0-ctrl, it opened the 0-coast a lot! Hoping makenoise would add a “0-time” in the same format (which would be a kind of mimeophone/morphagene merge). But could’nt wait (altough i suggested them 
and now started with a 6U rackbrute and racked my 0-'s and as a first step added the Mimeophone. To make a nice compact set around the 0-coast and open it even further. Just one oscilator with clever modulations can do a lot!
For me Activation is something about neural networks
I think it’s multitouch controller, but it may be also effect desktop unit like landscape stereo field conceptually.
This little holes obviously for attenuators like on 0-ctrl (or a black panel echophone holes inspired)
Also knobs positioning may resemble two things: erbe-verb or 0-ctrl
Lifeforms Sv-1B - I have and it pairs perfectly with 0-coast
But you should expand the 0-coast more with additional modular rather than another semi modular.
0-coast + 0-ctrl and moog dfam is great combo for bass and drums.
Hope someone can advise me…
I’m sequencing 0 Coast from A4 via the FX track successfully over midi but when I play the keys on the A4 I cannot hear the notes so I am kind of blindly adding notes right now. I can reset the 0 Coast to receive a midi signal for playing the keys but it seems to be one or the other? Is this a limitation on the 0 Coast?
Ideally I want to be able to live record a sequence on the A4 and also copy/paste add notes in a sequence too and of course have that sequence data sent to the 0 Coast.
Hope I’m being clear?
Why don’t you use CV/gate? You want to save you CV outs for modulations?
My favorite 0-Coast buddy is the A4, definitely.
I like to use an audio track as CV source, then get the 0-Coast back into the A4 as an oscillator on this audio track, and use Filters + Overdrive + envelopes + LFOs + FX and shape the 0-coast sound this way.
And I still have 2 other CV used as modulations
Thanks for replying so fast!
Yes I can do that but at the moment I only have one cable for CV a/b out and I am using it for DFAM. I’ll definitely try it though as I have an idea for a work around to advance the clock on the DFAM so it’s synced.
ATM I’ve got the four tracks of the A4 plus DFAM and 0 Coast coming back into it via the LR inputs using a tiny bit of delay on the DFAM and all other FX for the 0 Coast.
The whole thing sounds amazing
EDIT… Still need to sequence and be able to use the A4 keys to generate sound though - not one or the other?