I could use some tips.

[u/BrokeThanks2Jokes]

So I fell into some modular synth stuff via guitar pedal trades (picked up the blue lantern DCO and the Four Player after).

I’m trying to wrap my head around the best ways to use what I have. I’m open to any ideas.

Yes, VCVrack rules but it’s not a ton of help when this is right in front of me. I’ve been having fun the last day or so just making sounds. But I’d like to find some ways to best use what I have.

I’m using the Abacus as a make shift clock divider for my volca and running everything out of the VCA into a mixer.

Any tips? Tricks? What should I look into getting next?

[u/bort_jenkins]

Make sure you understand what each module does and how to do those things, then experiment. No point in building a system if you aren’t going to do something extremely well planned out, or if you aren’t trying to have some fun with little accidents

[u/Ecce-pecke]

Maths is a pretty big module förnybar case. It’s great but you can probably remove miso if you have it. A dedicated filter might be good. And decide wether you want sequencing external. A dedicated noise generator in this rack is probably not worth it.

[u/WolverineExotic887]

Are you trying to incorporate your rig into guitar effects or are you going for standalone synthesis? If so, what kind of "vibe" so to speak ateyou going for?

[u/BrokeThanks2Jokes → u/WolverineExotic887]

I’ve always been a fan of the more industrial sounds. As far as guitar integration, that would be cool eventually (that strymon I/O module is pretty neat) but for now just trying to use what I’ve got and make some fun noises. I’d like to eventually get a midi module as well to add my midi controller to the mix.

Overall though my vibes are just experiment and see what works. Maybe make something to dance to along the way.

[u/WolverineExotic887 → u/BrokeThanks2Jokes]

Hmm. Maybe consider a multirffects unit? FX Aid comes to mind

[u/poedigital]

use what inspires you to play! remember that hidden corners are all over in modular. gets some stackable cables and mult! mult! mult! Miso is an amazing feedback center, and feedback is the super-power of modular, when applied tastefully.

personally, i think you could use a better module than an ADSR there, since Maths (abacus?) can do the attack/decay stuff pretty neatly. I had a dual ADSR when i started and now love the "Serge" style offsprings, which Maths is.

Abacus is a complicated one to wrap your head around, but if you study it most, you'll be rewarded with better understanding of modular. concepts like polarity of CV, gain-staging, patch-programability.

what to replace it with? something more ear candy i'd say... like a Mimeophon, which can be a cool sounding voice if feedback is high, or a really cool clocked delay with a nice verb, or a pseudo-granular.

[u/kvothe_cauthon]

If you haven't already, check out vcv rack. It's a virtualized Eurorack, you can put together modules ans learn what everything does. Checkout Omri Cohen YouTube videos, I think they will help, they are vcv rack tutorials but it would apply mostly the same to hardware, just not the power part of it.

[u/cupcakeranger]

Vcv rack is pretty much the perfect way to learn modular. Do you know Omri Cohens YouTube channel? He has tons and tons of super insightful and inspiring tutorials. I’d DEF recommend to NOT buy any more modules until you really deeply understand what you have, what you want to do with it in the long run and obviously once you’ve really learned the foundations of synthesis 🤓🫶

[u/FredalinaFranco]

It all depends on what you’re trying to do. I’d first learn at least the basics of what you have and see what jumps out at you in terms of what your limitations are. Maybe you’ll find you need the ability to make more percussion sounds. Or you’ll want more effects for the sounds you’re creating. Or you’ll want to geek out on logic or complex modulation or some other fun area within modular. At that point you yourself will have already narrowed it down a lot.

One side thing to note: Behringer as a company has shitty morals, so when you do decide to buy more stuff, maybe Google a bit beforehand and decide for yourself whether or not you want to support them.