r/modular • u/antKampino • 14d ago
The best looking patch cables system at Superbooth 2026 :)
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Look how colours of sliders match patch cables and how neat the routing is.
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u/larowin 14d ago
while this is borderline erotic it makes me wonder when something becomes a pseudo fixed architecture synth
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u/scootunit 14d ago
Maybe for some people it isn't so much about exploring but building exactly what you want out of components to use for a specific purpose. This is more my approach lately.
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u/larowin 14d ago
super true, there’s no wrong way to modular!
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u/NorCalJP 14d ago
I'd say leaving it unpatched and unused is a wrong way to modular, but otherwise I agree.
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u/redditteddy 14d ago
I must confess I do semi-permanent patches. It is like I am building an instrument I like and then I explore the possibilities and the range of that instrument over months. A good patch in my mind, is a patch where I find something I like with a good range of expressiveness. This lands me in these periods of semi-permanent patches, say for an imaginary album or so. The base patch/instrument becomes the common denominator that glues different jams together.
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u/rnobgyn 14d ago
I definitely have a specific signal path in mind with my case.. not exactly fixed but when cables tend to always get patched the same way……
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u/NorCalJP 14d ago
I find the same. Most of the time 80-90% of a new patch is like most other patches. But there is always something I'm playing with that deviates. Sometimes that requires just a little deviaton other times it cascades to everything else and I get a very unique patch. Most of the time it's just a few changes. That said I do unpatch everything but the clock after I record something and rebuild my next patch from scratch. A lot of the repetition is just how certain modules fit well together combined with the limitations of my rack.
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u/jesuswipesagain 14d ago
Isn't all modular pseudo fixed architecture, so to speak?
Some might say thats the entire point!
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u/18randomcharacters 14d ago
I’d cross post it to /r/cableporn but they have strict rules and I think only pictures are allowed.
I think most modular setups would give those folks an aneurism, but this is the exception
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u/Ecoaardvark 14d ago
Me personally, I hate Tendrils with a burning passion. But each to their own.
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u/digable-me 14d ago
I don’t get the point of these kinds of perma-patch systems at all.
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u/CarlosUnchained 14d ago
There are many reasons, to list a few:
- you can build muscular memory
- it’s waaaaay more ergonomic given you can organise cables to free hand space
- it’s still a fully customised hardware synth, how cool is that?
- play live (the type of gigs that are a bit less experimental)
As you can see most of the points are aimed towards people that prioritises playability. I am one of those. While I enjoy patch programming approach to modular too, most of the time I rather turn on my racks and start jamming right away. It’s freeing to pass the point when the instrument patch becomes so natural you can fly through it. And it’s still modular, you can swap the patch and modules, the format it’s by far the most accessible way to do something like this.
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u/Nervous-Yoghurt6057 12d ago
Some people like to build full instruments that they can learn, play, and jam for months. And that’s the beauty of modular right?
When i look at this photo my first question is “damn, I wonder what all those faders do / control”. The possibilities there alone are likely infinite. I think it would be a disservice to the patch and the instrument to tear it down prematurely without really exploring its possibilities or really learning how to play the instrument you’ve built.
I’m not into modular to build instruments, Im into modular to actually play and learn the instruments I build.
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u/digable-me 11d ago
Sure. But the reason there are a million faders in this system is because it’s packed full of digital super modules which need loads of external control to be vaguely enjoyably to use. It’s a solution to a problem that we didn’t need to create in the first place. Personally, I would rather have simpler patch programmable modules and interact with those modules directly rather than via some patched in faders.
It’s also not clear to me what distinction you’re trying to draw between building an instrument and playing one. Choosing modules and putting them in a case is building an instrument. Patching a modular is not building an instrument, it’s playing an instrument.
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u/CodRepresentative380 10d ago
Nor did I (other than for clock) until I got a matrix mixer for audio. 16x16 audio-only firmly patched.
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u/Zealousideal-Air596 14d ago
my approach, why re-patch when you can just reroute?
The pre patch is what syncs everything "precisely",clocks, modulation, and programmed functions to voices, neat tricks to buttons.
How do people learn the intricacies of complex modules when they are changing them out all the time? Or develop muscle memory? How do people dial in that thing again?
I don't look at replacing modules, more like improving systems/functions, e.g. drums, how's the sequence moved/routed? how are the tones accessible? What fx chain is required? What neat tricks do I lose or gain with a changeout.
For me, patching everything to everything is about learning a module, deciding what to route where and what to apply to it (trigger, sequence, modulation, switches required?) is setting it up to use. Using it is when I play it with my favorite buttons, knobs and sliders.
I generally assume a permapatched system is a well thought out gigging machine or workstation.
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u/538_Jean Mixer is the answer 14d ago
Having a C4RBN and a Pachinko, Im really not a tendril guy.
Also, way too many faders for practical use. And no labelling. And semi-permanent... It looks great but its my vision of hell.
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u/Exponential-777 14d ago
This is a strange type of ocd inspired cable fetish. Swapping 5 cables means spending time tucking and fussing with the cables to make them perfect. Looks nice and tidy for a display at superbooth tho.
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u/Ghosty141 14d ago
These angled cables are for kinda permanent setups imo. I see them mostly in live racks.
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u/ub3rh4x0rz 14d ago
If you build up a patch for a performance, then perform it, it can be a nice last step to replace much of the cabling with tendrils to static parts of the patch
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u/antKampino 14d ago
Exactly - and allows you to focus on modules that are normally covered in... cables :)
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u/Green_Can_9428 14d ago
where did those slider caps come from? I swapped out the LEDs on my faderbank to group by color but they are blindingly bright. Great cable management, btw.
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u/jango-lionheart 14d ago
Need a resistor in series with each LED to adjust the brightness. Resistor value will vary by LED color.
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u/dildomiami 14d ago
tendrils cables!
super nice dude from australia, that has some neat solutions for cable clutter of all sort?
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u/Earlsfield78 14d ago
Oh neat, I can’t do that. Also, a good showcase of cable management is Junkie XL, he has two 18 U 168 hp cases I believe, and for such a massive system both cable management and using colour coding helps.
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u/WuTangClams 14d ago
just use a DAW, jfc...
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u/scootunit 14d ago
You're suggesting a Daw. This is a sub for modular enthusiasts. And I am very enthusiastic about this modular system. Might not be for me - mostly because I couldn't afford it and I don't have room to put it anywhere - but it is cool.
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u/WuTangClams 14d ago
yeah i know what this sub is, i have a lot of eurorack which is why i'm here. with all this cabling in place it's basically just a really expensive fixed-architecture synth with essentially a DAW-level of computerization involved. the philosophy behind this system feels anathema to the concept of modular imo
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u/Tacomathrowaway15 14d ago
The philosophy of this system appears to be "function as attractive display at a trade show while showcasing your company's product"
Makes sense to me
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u/WuTangClams 13d ago
you know i didn't even stop for context before just click-clacking away. that does make more sense now.
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u/scootunit 14d ago
Well I would not want to gate keep your opinion of what modular is to you nor would I want to do so to whoever built this system.
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u/Fair-Rain3366 14d ago
waht is the module at the bottom?
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u/jango-lionheart 14d ago
Could use a scribble strip below the faders, like they have on big recording studio consoles, so that you can label the function of each fader.
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u/AcidFnTonic 14d ago
I much prefer Luigi’s modular MPAR cables to those. Slimmer easier to get tight and more “gooey” feeling like it’s healthy rubber far from drying out.
I’ll die on my cross even though Luigi doesn’t even sponsor me (but he should)
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u/namesareunavailable 14d ago
i never got these kind of cables working in my setup. they always collide in the most annoying way