Very true.
It's a bit sad actually.
It's become an arms race, getting your free modules to the two or three top video bloggers.

there are a couple of really good Roland videos for the 500 series, but not by the one or two vloggers most people follow.

Well there’s Raul’s World of Synths for Doepfer, it’s a pretty sizable series. A lot less commercial than some of today’s popular presenters, Raul was more focused on patching than trying to sell modules.

Vlogging has gone the way of gear magazines.
The same catch22 applies. They won't say anything negative about a module, because that module maker won't send them any more modules to video. And likely other makers will note the negative video and be reluctant to expose themselves to proper video scrutiny either. It's amazing how many rave Youtube reviews are followed by actual users finding bugs and issues with new modules.
In the magazine scene (Future Music, Sound On Sound), they simply won't publish a review if they don't like the product. In order to seem balanced, they will most often list the pros and cons of the piece of gear.
I don't see any of that in modular vlogging.
Video marketing via Youtube is a grey area.

Yup yup. We're drifting pretty far from the OP... but, I'm just gonna leave this right here.
MUFF WIGGLER :: View topic - More music.. less passing GAS.

Relative to the OP: Anyone who is getting into Eurorack today should be wary of the "Hype Machine" and focus on what they intend to do with these modules. Don't jump on new modules based on ANY user or vlog hype.

That said... I don't think Make Noise, MI, and Intellijel are high profile based on hype. I think they have risen above Ladik and Doepfer because of innovation. They all make modules which are truly great and innovative.

Telharmonic, Rene, Erbeverb, Atlantis, Rainmaker, Rings, Clouds, etc. These modules are special tools not equaled in the budget lines... not just popular based on vlog hype.

Really we see this all the time on GS: whenever a well made new plugin or hardware clone is released early adopters line up to exclaim that it is the greatest example of its kind. As time wears on threads usually start to even out a bit and you’ll find more nuanced and experienced reviews.

I don’t own any MI yet but I would agree that Make Noise and Intellijel have built their solid reputations not purchased them with fancy gear reviews (in fact iirc both manufacturers do their demo videos in house). Years of solid, well made, well designed releases. I’m sure the same is true of MI. Watching Mutable fans line up to preorder what’s still just a fuzzy PNG can be pretty ridiculous (though that’s no reflection on Olivier, his response to uncritical thought can be pretty snarky).

This is interesting to me since my experience is slightly different. Modules I have predominantly bought based on vlog reviews stick around longer than hype/impulse buys I have made without informing myself enough. It's true, sometimes reviewers might gloss over things a little. There's almost always some little detail with modules, good or bad that doesn't get discovered for months, maybe even years in some cases depending on how deep the particular module is. I tend to look at this less cynically and more just part of the game I guess. Maybe I am burying my head in the sand a little but that's ok...

Reviewers that haven't done me wrong-
Mylarmelodies
Divkidvideo
Onceuponasynth

Ah - but who wouldn't want to rock it like the Cuckoo?

YouTube

Cuckoo is fine. Not a eurorack/modular reviewer so irrelevant though...

Figured I'd give everyone an update! I went to a couple local synth shops last Friday and officially started my journey into eurorack. Let's just say... I'm completely hooked. This feels like the kind of music making synth fun experimental craziness I've been looking for for a long time. Ah... this is surely where most of my money will be going for a long time!

I started out with this on Friday (combination of new/used modules):

Make Noise STO
Make Noise Maths
Super Synthesis Dual VCF
Qu-Bit Nano Rand
Mutable Instruments Veils
Intellijel Buff Mult
uZues Power

Case: 2x 84hp TipTop Happy Ending Racks in a Bento Box case (with handle and lid)

I've since put in orders to Sweetwater/Perfect Circuit Audio for:

Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms Double Helix Oscillator
Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms System Interface
Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms ADSR
Another uZues Power Supply
2hp MIDI
Doepfer Wasp 12db/oct Multimode Filter (Special Edition)

...and a beatstep pro for sequencing/control.

I'm planning on adding the 4ms Dual Looping Delay which looks absolutely brilliant.



I also want to add the Batumi at some point and maybe the 2hp Clock Divider + Verb.

Woo! I'm having a blast already. I now begin to see why it's so difficult to give someone advice on how to jump into eurorack. I know I asked for "weird out there experimental soundscapes", which to a seasoned eurorack veteran could be soooo many things. Basically, like most of you said, I just needed to jump in with some solid starting modules and explore and experiment like crazy. All your help is much appreciated and I'll certainly be back asking many more questions, hah!

Actually, here's another question right here: I'm looking to add the 4ms DLD at some point here, mostly to try making weird soundscapes out of various inputs into the eurorack (cello, guitar, mando, cymbals, etc... anything) and that seems like a really cool module for this kind of thing. Any other suggestions for a module to do this type of thing?

Sparkly Patch Cables!!!!! (@ 7:30)

MUST BUY!!!!!

Sounds like a great start. Welcome to the party.

@ Crumbfort , Slow down with the filters, filters are so easy to understand and there’s many flavours which makes it easy to buy lots of them but the more experienced you get the less you’ll use them, I’ve got about 10 and seldom use any of them.

So true!!!

Just this weekend I wasted a ton time trying to tune a filter I haven't used outside of a poor approximation of a sine wave oscillator for a long time. I keep wondering why I just just don't swap it out with something that purpose built.

The sad part is that it will probably be in there for another 6 months or longer because "it will be useful as a filter some day."

Unless you have something crazy like those Roland Aria modules, you should get by fine with one uZeus running two 84hp rows. You'll need another flying bus cable, about $12, and maybe an upgraded AC adapter if you hitting the 1500mA mark. Both Derp and I (and probably others) run 2 rows per uZeus.

532hp full. 2 filters. Three Sisters and Polaris.... and I only use occasionally. Maybe one voice with filter per patch? If two, one is basically just a static eq.

So! Here's what I've got right now (sorry, can't post images here yet):

Current Rack - Eurorack Modular System from Crumbfort on ModularGrid

And here's what I'm loosely planning:

Future Rack - Eurorack Modular System from Crumbfort on ModularGrid

At some point I'd probably like to get a Batumi, but for what I've got the O_C seems like amazing an amazing bang for your buck module.

What do ya think of the setup?

I have to agree with what's been said regarding filters.

I remember when starting out, there were so many filters I was looking at getting. I literally wanted one of every famous filter I could find a clone of. I was like, I'll get 3 oscillators, one each of all the filters then I can have the flexibility of every mono synth ever created. I'm into it for 3 or 4 years now and still, my only "filter" is my MakeNoise MMG, which I don't really use that often. I also have 2 LPGs which are filteryish I use them a lot). My concept of what I wanted out of a modular has changed dramatically from my initial planning stages.

If you take anything away from this old man rambling... you need a low pass gate that you can ping the **** out of.

Hah, that's fair. But, but... I love filters! In all seriousness, though, what Low Pass Gates would you recommend taking a look at?

Yeah I'll second this. Now...I'm not selling any filters (addiction is a lifelong disease)...nor am I in any way abandoning their use...but today I would tell anyone honestly that the 'sweet spot' of my 18U is the simple: Rene - STO - Optomix - Maths - Wogglebug. A single row basically. Now granted a lot of the other modules really do open up the potential of that simple voice. But if I had to slim down to one row (heaven forbid) it would be an easy choice and it probably wouldn't involve any resonant low pass filters. I'm already rethinking a suitcase I was going to mod into another 'standard'-ish voice in favor of a Gilbert or something.

The holy grail of LPGs used to be the long unavailable Make Noise QMMG. Once upon a time (I haven't been able to find it in the last year or so) there was a video on YouTube pinging a QMMG and an Optomix and the difference between them was quite underwhelming. Like...save your money on the 700-1000 QMMG (they seem to regularly sell for that) and grab a couple of channels of Optomix and be done with it. Or the LxD, some people seem to really prefer the response of that. What I love about the Optomix is that you get the STRIKE input (which is really great for forcing the gate open for really plucky stuff) and the DAMP control (which just adds some nice versatility overall). Also the simple chain-ability via EXT IN makes Optomix a very scalable solution (which is nice when you're going for a quad gate setup like I am). But I think if I had a pair of LxDs I'd be pretty happy with that too (personally I need pairs with the same response and I wish MN had released a variant of the LxD with two of the same slopes, I'd have added it immediately).

If the resonance of the QMMG is a deal breaker then I think the Thomas White circuit is one to look at (never used one but it sounds great in demos, the Thomas White builds are supposed to be pretty great in general and I've seen it in Dual or Quad forms; DIY item though so you'll need the time or a builder).

The new holy grail seems to be this Rabid Elephants module. It does seem like a really nice LPG (the features on it are great and it seems to have that sound) but...people are just freaking out over on MW because of how unavailable it is (even in the middle of its production cycle, it is quite hard to get a hold of one right now apparently) and, to be honest, I've not heard any single thing that can't be done on virtually any other LPG with an envelope.

Which brings up: sometimes from LPG threads I get the impression that people have never even heard of envelopes. They act like the decay response of the vactrols is just what you're stuck with. Which is puzzling to me...these things literally all have CV inputs for envelopes. With a good tunable curve like Maths it's simple to get virtually any decay you could ever possibly want from pretty much any LPG. All this to say: if you can afford and find the LPG of your dreams, then by all means. But it's not worth waiting months and months pining for something you could already functionally be using. There are plenty of good choices.

Yeah, I almost always use an envelope to CV my Lxd. The vactrol strike is cool and sounds great but it's kinda only useful for percussion unless I am missing something? I'm an LPG noob so enlighten me if that's not the case...

Vactrols bleed which a VCA module controlled with a env will not.

To be honest that bleed probably only matters if you really like the Buchla sound.

Note that this is probably going to become a historical quirk, phototransistors are being replaced by photo diodes which are "superior" from a spec standpoint but will have a different (note I didn't say worse) feel. That feel is in part due to the closer tolerances, which is better for almost every other industries use case.

Phototransistors used Cadmium in the form of CdS and CdSe and are now highly regulated under RoHS and other controls. The newer LDRs with no cadmium tend have less of that bleed and classic ringing LPG sound.

Hopefully the industry finds a solution, but CdS cells did not get an new RoHS exemption after the last one expired in 2015.

If you are happy with the 0-coast type sound this won't matter, but as production winds down and prices for vactrols go up I would recommend picking one up soon if that specific LPG sound is important to you.

Hey we all love filters, they just hog the space a modulation source could occupy

The only LPG i have is the Borg 1, its a great sounding filter

I have 3-ish filters (not counting the Mother 32 or the filter on my Benjolin, which is great but can’t filter external sources), and one LPG: Ripples, Three Sisters, and Cinnamon, and an Optomix. That’s plenty, and I often end up using one of them as an analog oscillator because I don’t necessarily need that many filters. I do plan to pick up a Xaoc Belgrad too as I had one for a day (sadly, it was slightly defective on the notch settings and was returned) and it sounded lovely, but that’s way down the list in my plans at this point. Filters are great and I’m a sucker for them, but like everyone else has said they end up being a lot less important once you get into modular as there are so many other ways to alter a sound. I’d recommend getting a filter into your rack soon enough because who doesn’t like filters, but I wouldn’t buy more than one for a while until you’ve gotten deeper into it and determined what filters out there really give you something you don’t otherwise have and have a sound you like.

I’m really only familiar with the optomix and the lxd. I like the sound of the lxd better especially when run in series. I like the control of the optomix better. If I could only have one in a small system, it would likely be the optomix.

If you are doing the resonance thing in series with the lxd, you can get a nice attack on bass sounds with the strike. It reminds me of palm muting while picking on bass or guitar or slapping on bass with the strings muted. Vactrols just seem to have a more natural vibe to them than I can seem to get with an ADSR envelope and a VCA. You could probably get closer with a more complex envelope structure but the lpg does it so simply. You can also get some cool “hammered” tones like a harpsichord.

It may be my own fault for not having the skill to operate my Optomix, but I can assure you I have never been able to get anywhere close as good results with that as with my Natural Gate. While it's been a struggle to get any useful LPG sounds of the Optomix, the Natural Gate is just one huge sweetspot all over.

dont you mean photoresitors?
then there is also phototransistors and photodiodes.
at least thats what i read on wikipedia.

Anyway i'm fairly certain devices like vactrols will keep existing, and probably with all kinds of flavors and responses. hell, you can even make these yourself. to get different responses you can substitute the led for a light bulb/neon bulb/halogen for example.
I wouldn't worry.

I've never used a LPG. But I love having an Arp 2600, Roland Juno, Wasp and Sem filter in my rack. Couldn't do without different filter flavours!

The problem is light dependent resistors (LDR)

Photo resistor - Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) >> Resistor Guide

Which have not been popular for years in most electronics because of their very loose tolerances. LDR's use cadmium and components like vactrols had an RoHS exemption that expired in 2015.

The price has gone way up over the past decade, and production is low.

For companies that need RoHS compliance, E.G. new designs this is a problem.

For the EU, all electrical/electronic equipment, cables, and spare parts with compliance required by at latest mid 2019. It may happen earlier for some components but it will block a CE rating, and Europe is a large market. It may also impact California which has adopted RoHS.

This reduces what was already a small market, and you will see that most parts are "no longer manufactured"

http://www.newark.com/excelitas-tech...vrms/dp/43F885

That will become more and more common, and the newer devices tend to lack this behavior from my first link above.

For Compressors or Buchla style Low Pass Gates this is an issue for traditional circuits.

Products like Make Noise Dynamix and 0-coast show you can still do very interesting things, but if you are a fan of Buchla or even the MS20 vca/vcf sound you may want to prioritize picking up a few of these items.

It is still possible that they may find some alternative, or that a new exemption may come in place. But even if you don't live in the EU these will probably become more expensive and harder to find. Technically it is illegal to ship a optical compressor to California right now too, but I think that companies are ignoring this, and some will categorize the parts in to areas with exceptions. My understanding is no device with an LDR in it has been found to be compliant when under review and a few component manufactures were found to have committed fraud when they sold products that they did claim were compliant.

As this use is actually taking advantage of what is a fault or at least a limitation for most circuit designs I wouldn't expect something to come from off the shelf, so it will have to be the fairly small music industry that finds solutions.

To be 100% clear again, this isn't a huge issue if you aren't looking for the exact behaviors provided by vactrols and other LDR based components. And for at least the next few years there is probably enough old stock or take offs for those who aren't in the EU. I don't know enough about the EU to advise for people who live there, I am just noting the impact world wide.

I've noticed this too. I'm def guilty of over using the strike in on the opto just because it's easy and sitting right there. But both of my channels are too short for anything but blips. I'm trying out an Lxd and Pipslope as an alternative and like what I hear so far. If nothing else it's great to get the release time under CV.