Or you could stick a Pura Ruina by Noise Engineering in the 8HP you have left and destroy every waveform that hits it
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If you donāt want menu diving/shift functions, Disting is the ABSOLUTE WORST for that kind of thing haha. Ex is definitely better than a standard issue Disting for this (cos the screenās actually half decent), but for every function that is somewhat more complicated than a precision adder, 80% of the parameters will be deep in menus, and the actual knob interactions with menus is probably the worst Iāve ever experienced on a module. Itās a bit of a trap module imo, it seems really appealing at first because you get so much bang for your buck and it seems like itāll add so much functionality to a small case, but it is absolute hell to use and really diametrically opposed in UI design to all the Make Noise stuff youāve got.
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I really like the earlier make noise stuff. Bought a phonogene and not a morphagene, because people complained about all the comboās they had to remember.
Krait is not make noise, and with a screen, but very very easy to use. I think I want to keep it that was. Ornament and Crime seems doable, but I am also asking myself if I need a filter after all. And it doesnāt have one.
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Bastl, like Erica Synths, tend to go for the extremes in their videos. If you turn everything down, Ikarie is a perfectly respectable twin-peak filter. I usually have it on moderate resonance, input knob around 2-3pm, so there is some colour but not distortion. A bit of envelope follower and some stereo separation and the effect is quite nice. Swapping one of the stereo outputs for the ābeyondā output can have an unworldly effect, and there are several ways to take things more edgy and back again. I also have Three Sisters and C4rbn and I think Ikarie is my favourite of the three.
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And Branches as well 
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If they ever make a Cold Mac again, thatās my vote. Donāt pay more than retail, though.
I really liked NLCs triple sloths in my Make Noise system.
I thought ornament and crime would be a perfect addition, but I didnāt use it enough.
I also didnt use the Disting when I had one. Maybe I had the bit crusher or tape delay or something always on and never patched. Iām sure I wouldnāt use the Disting Ex, but if you donāt mind fiddling with a little display and remembering different outputs per algorithm, you might.
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I keep on trying to use my Mk 4 for something, but having to look up the (very good and phone-friendly) manual every time I want to do anything with it just dissuades me from doing much, and I can never even remember what itās currently set toā¦ maybe a delay might be a good choice to set and forget, actually.
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Itās tough - I would set it and forget it on some good sounding effect but then I would wish it could do something else. In a MN system like OP has, one is spoiled for multi functions - Erbe verb gives you CV, Mimeophon gives you gateā¦ I think some of the Disting algorithms have that, but itās tough to keep track of.
These modules are not for me, but for someone that doesnāt mind a hybrid screen/panel experience and has a better memory or patience for manuals.
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I change my vote. Pop out the Krait and add in a Toppobrillo Sport modulator. Havenāt tried the mk ii yet, but Iāll bet itās as good or better than mk I and comes in black.
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i tend to live patch for a while and makes notes when iām reaching for a function that isnāt there. once something makes the list a few times, i start looking into potential options.
but, modular is very much about mystery and unseen possibilities, which makes something like cold mac intriguing and exciting. i vote for any of the 8hp IFM peter blasser modules
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Youād have to literally win a lottery.
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Re: Disting EX: I think if you can find your way round an Octatrack the EX shouldnāt cause you too many problems. I first used mine as a dual double quantiser, then when I got a sequencer that quantised I began looking into the other algorithms. Save your favourites and tweak from there, you donāt need to know all 150!
Iāve yet to dive into the Quad Braids/Quad Rings, but that is because Iām recording a patch where Iām using the Precision Adder as an octave switch (with the other side as a dumb LFO). Iām not dissing the O + C, itās just not the route I chose. It is the most āset & forgetā thing in my modular, but everytime I think I might need a new module to do something, I can usually find the functionality in the EX. An Instruo TS-L v2 would be a great voice/insane LFO in that space. Itās pretty too.
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I love the Krait so much, so that would feel like cheating my wife.
Yupp it does filtering too ā¦ you can switch between (many) different algorithms (itās the swiss army knife of eurorack).
Note: The screen is tiny and thereās menu diving (!)
ā¦
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About the EX disting. I think itās great but as.a first or in between module. Itās small, reliable and the leds are providing usefull insight in voltages.
Just donāt use it as a swish army knife for daily different purposes but to fill the gap whenever youāre patching and wonder āwhat if i had?ā And turn the disting into that mode for a while. Just use it as a compressor, or delay, or stereo sample playback device. untill you realise you need to buy that particular module with hands on control. Then give the Disting the next desired algo. It can be so insane much of a utility that the tiny screen should be taken as a high end jumper setting.
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I never know what to make of the āPopular Modulesā list on ModularGrid. Itās impossible to tell how many of those racks reflect a real configuration. It feels more like an indication of received wisdom than anything else. I personally donāt have many racks listed on the site, but some of mine are alternates and some historical. Meanwhile, the āTop modules rated by usersā list is determined by a really small number of votes. Sometimes Iāve seen votes appear for modules just announced, months before release.
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Cold Mac is incredibly useful and dense. If you can find one for a not stupid price, snag it. 
Since the Cold Mac is hard to find (for a non-ridiculous price), the Olivella Modular Signos is sometimes compared to it (different modules, for sure, but in terms of that density of useful/esoteric functions, I think there is some reason for this comparison):
(I donāt have one, but I think when they get US distribution ā sometime this year, according to some emails I had with them ā Iāll probably pick one up. I do have their stereo filter, Imagenes, and I really enjoy it. But Iāll add another vote for Ikarie as well; itās got a silly number of features packed into 8 HP and sounds really good.)
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I hate Disting with a passion, so take this with a big grain of salt. Disting and other Swiss army modules can fill a gap but you will sell it once you figure out what that gap is and can get a better module.
I would spend more time figuring out the gap instead of trying to fill it.
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I just got the BASTL IKARIE today, so take it with a grain of saltā¦
but itās instant fun. Turns simple mono sources into stereo goodness, input gain, envelope follower, so much power in a small module.
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