Muff's Modules & More

Muff Wiggler · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:34 pm Post subject:

ok, amazing developments but need your help again!

Thanks to sandyb and the arrival of a Wiard format Klee, I now have an even number of used rack space and will be building 'side by side' instead of straight up. I'm having a pair of identical cases made and this system is going to be simply outrageous when all is said and done.

But it's thrown my layout options for a loop... at least in regard to 300 series. so here's the dilemma, would love any advice!

There's two identical cases, side by side. Each has a horizontal-ish 'lower' section and a vertical-ish 'upper section'. The upper section is 6U and each case will have a rack of 300 series installed here.

The lower section is 5U, there will be a controller at the very bottom spot in each (311 in one case, Voltmeter Controller in the other). The 3U above that will have the Klee in one case and the 1200 series rack in the other. That's all easy. The tough part is figuring out the order of the 300 series modules in the upper section.

I'm considering two options - Option One is to group the same pairs of modules together, and have something configured like it was a single system all in one case. Like this:

Left case, left-to-right:

Waveform City - VCO - VCO - WBug - WBug - Borg Filters

Right case, left to right:

Mixolator - Sequantizer - Sequantizer - Envelator - Envelator - Omni Filter

---------------------------------------

Option Two is not to group identical modules together, and instead to configure it so it's optimized to be split apart and used as two seperate systems (even though it never will, for some reason I can't stop thinking this configuration would be fun....):

Left case, left-to-right:

Omni Filter - Envelator - Sequantizer - WBug - VCO - Mixolator

Right case, left-to-right:

Borg Filters - Envelator - Sequantizer - WBug - VCO -Waveform City

---------------------------------------

Option One has the benefit of identical modules side-by-side and a very rough grouping of noisemakers on the left and cv stuff on the right (really rough grouping as the modules are all so damn flexible and all provide noisemaking, processing and cv generation)

Option Two is cool if the systems are used by two people (not gonna happen much if at all), short patching is needed, etc. More like two small systems side by side than one large wide system. It has some layout symmetry in the middle four of the six modules being the same on each side.

Anyway as you can see I'm thinkning a lot about this and I'm sure I'll move 'em around a lot once they are initially mounted but i'd like to figure out the optimum layout while I wait for the cases to be built.

Any thoughts, suggestion etc are gratefully appreciated. As a quick summary we have two six-module spaces, side by side, and these 12 modules to arrange within them:

Borg Filters
Omni Filter
Mixolator
Waveform City
VCO x2
WBug x2
Sequantizer x2
Envelator x2

What would you do?

thanks!

dude · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:41 pm Post subject:

mirror would be pretty cool but maybe not as useful in terms of signal flow

Audio Resistance · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:50 pm Post subject:

I would go with option one because it would flow better to me. Your hand would always go to your sequencers when you need them and to your VCO's when you need them and so on.....

I would also probably swap the Omni with one of the WB's.

tIB · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:52 pm Post subject:

I have a pretty symmetrical rig in euro and love it, that said it is stacked high as I never got on with it as 2 systems side by side... didnt feel right to me wide, tall is fine however. Im not helping much really. d'oh!

sandyb · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:21 pm Post subject:

option one i think.
but i'd move the envelators over so they were nearer the borg for lpg stuff.

Left case, left-to-right:

Waveform City - VCO - VCO - WBug - WBug - Borg Filters

Right case, left to right:

Envelator - Envelator - Mixolator - Sequantizer - Sequantizer - Omni Filter

revtor · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject:

#2 for sure

plord · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 6:01 pm Post subject:

Well, first off, you know you're gonna change it around, right? It's what we do. But that said, I think you have the opportunity to explore all of the various characters of the Wiard system by splitting into the lame old East/West coast synthesis methods, as follows. As I recall, your 1200 series is 3 filters and 2 noise rings, right? That's important I think because it gives you extra filters and a "final" VCA to play with on one side that you won't have on the other with the Klee taking up the whole row. SO if it is me, I'm thinking you could do this:

Right side: a one complex or two simple voice East-ish coast system
KLEE - humina humina
VCO x2 - two voices or FM each other
Sequantizer - Tune to a scale, use the Klee outs to select stages
Envelator - one env for each voice, two + outs to drive filter and Mixo VCA.
Borg Filters - Set one LFO to square, attenuate, send to the Sequantizer octave in.
Mixolator - Final output or ring mod or you know, whatever.

Left side: one to four West-ish coast experimental voices to RULE THEM ALL.
1200 Row with Boogie, Borg II, HP Boogie, 2x Noise Ring - I think the Borg II is your final VCA here, Boogie LP could also act as a gate depending on how many voices you want to pull out here.
Omni Filter - Purely as a SINE VCO; WFC to linear FM in, or Omni out to FM the WFC, your choice.
Waveform City - as above.
WBug x2 - Unlimited mangling possibilities.
Sequantizer - Graphic waveform gen, clock from Wbug or Omni out. Or use to quantize a Wbug/NR output.
Envelator - Clock each side from the 2 Noise Rings?

Muff Wiggler · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:37 pm Post subject:

ok this is exciting, i finally have it, have come up with the perfect layout balancing all my concerns and considerations.

Your input has been a big help. I started with my proposed layout, then took Sandy's advice of putting Borg1Filters next to an Envelator.

Then I really liked Paul's idea and organized around that concept.

Then of course I started shuffling stuff around.

Note my case is not yet built so I'm holding back on both a barrage of photos as well as really spending a lot of time working with the system as it's not yet 'born'. But with all the units here I've been able to play musical chairs with the modules and after a TON of head scratching, and moving things around a lot, I've GOT IT. Absolutely the layout I'm 100% set on, really balances everything.

On the left is the half with the 311 controller at the bottom and Klee above it.

On the right is the half with the Voltmeter at the bottom and the 1200 series row above it.

For the two racks of 300 modules above those, here's the layout, left to right:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---

cVCO-cVCO-WBug-Env-Borg1-Mixo---Seq-Seq-WBug-Env-Omni-WCity

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---

Sitting on top of the entire thing is a single 15FU wide row of frac modules. Left-to-right those are:

Midiverter-MiniWave-Zeroscillator-SawAnimator-Zeroscillator-MiniWave-M iniWaveExpander

goddamn. nanners

thanks so much guys

edit: if you're curious about the row of 1200 series modules, they are (again left-to-right):

NoiseRing-BoogieLPF-Borg2-BoogieHPF-NoiseRing

plord · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:50 pm Post subject:

Sick. Have fun with all that and anxiously awaiting pix.

You know the problem both you and I are eventually going to have with our Wiard setups?

srsly never

Muff Wiggler · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 1:57 pm Post subject:

plord · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:11 pm Post subject:

Muff Wiggler · Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:44 pm Post subject:

i totally hear you - but on the other hand i'm really excited about accepting this system as fait accompli and working within whatever limitations are presented by the module selection. it's not like we're lacking flexibility here (as you well know)

i'm extremely happy with how all my needs/desires/wishes have been balanced out by the layout and module choice and it will be a joy to use what's available within the instrument and no longer worry about "what if i had...."