Muff's Modules & More

Monobass · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:07 am Post subject:

I don't think this poll is very well considered, the interesting stuff is all contained in that monolithic 'yes' vote.

...and the no vote is entirely subjective. Clearly it wouldn't be too hard to imagine scenarios that no one in the no vote would want wink

confusedinNC · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:18 am Post subject:

I personally love ugly or mismatched modules, i especially like 4ms stuff. And I LOVE the Blue Lantern module colors! I dunno, maybe it comes from being a guitarist and always collecting obscure/cheap/vintage pedals or amps, but i just love looking down and seeing something that doesn't look exactly like everybody elses equipment.

Drumdrumdrumdrum · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:41 am Post subject:

It seems that most formats have a.........ummmm.....format to their style. I deliberated for, literally, years before going with Euro. I'm very happy with my decision, but their is no "format" of style in Euro. Like others here, I love the ModOrgy but will not get it until an alt faceplate has been made. The Doupfer style is dull, but when matched with some nice knobs and put into a mahogany case, man that looks really.......nice!

I think the other formats have it over Euro in that it looks like an instrument. At the same time, as far as modules go, I feel like I have the best modules from all the formats in my Euro system, and the best is yet to come!

Edit: When the time comes and I'm getting close to filling 18U I'm going to spend $300 to $400 on new knobs and replacing some of the more outrageous faceplates with dull silver and black print. That's the plan anyway.

akrylik · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:06 am Post subject:

Juxwl · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:49 am Post subject:

I care how my 5u system looks (uniform and clean), but i've just resigned myself to functionality over aesthetics in euro.

ersatzplanet · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:01 am Post subject:

Aesthetics will always be a personal call. Everybody's is different. I personally don't care what a panel looks like as long as the functions of the knobs and jacks can be discerned easily enough without resorting to a manual to translate it. Different colors and knobs make it easier to find some modules in larger systems. I have over 30U of modules and like many, there are a lot of Doepfer in it (vanilla utility modules are almost always Doepfer for me) and sometime after a module rearrangement it takes a second to find a module. The Harvestman, 4ms, WMD, and FoH are easy to find in the crowd.
I design the look of all the Synthwerks modules and always try to make them ergonomic in use and have easy to understand graphics. The white knobs make them easy to see in the pack.
Function should be paramount - the graphics should not hamper this and can be any color or as wild as they want to be as long as you can look at them and still figure out where to plug in and what knob to turn...

amsonx · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:07 am Post subject:

imho is important the color schemes when it is functional in relation to the module usability.

pugix · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:01 pm Post subject:

numan7 · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:03 pm Post subject:

gwaidan · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:23 pm Post subject:

On the other hand-the lockstep grid conformism of the MOTM format is one thing that really put me off the format-as Analog Days put it when describing the Minimoog, having visually distinctive blocks on a panel with uneven spacing gives a point of reference for locating sections. I find colour-coding (knobs, panels etc) does the same for me on my Euro system. Also, one of the attractions of Euro is that the guitar pedal guys (4ms, Snazzy) are jumping on board and the aesthetic they bring from that scene is mix and match to get the job done - whatever you may say about guitarists at least they don't whine about the knobs mismatching on their vintage and modern BOSS pedals meh

causticlogic · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:46 pm Post subject:

Does anyone find it annoying when the label for a jack or a knob or a switch is in some kind of arcane, mystical code for what that particular part of the module is used for?
That is just as bad as an orange and green plaid with pink polkadots.

causticlogic · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:57 pm Post subject:

They might as well have illegible metal fonts.

wsy · Last edited by wsy on Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

I am actually rather turned off by some of the Euro graphics; it's too hard to figure out
what a particular knob or jack *does*, or even what a particular module does.

Doepfer at least tries to label, but to my eyes, gray-on-gray with gray knobs is
just too hard to read.

So what works? Los Alamos Gothic- black panels with slim silver verticals
between modules; large easy to turn knobs, no fixed grid, white letters. The OLD
hacker ethic that the one rule overrides all others. That rule is "clarity above all
else". I found it in MU, and so that's what I have.

This is not to say that other aesthetics are wrong; by definition an aesthetic cannot
be "wrong". But Los Alamos Gothic pleases me, both in simple visual beauty and
in usability; my musical instrument is a source of joy for me in just about every
dimension.

[ edit: I should add that of all of the Euro makers, Pittsburgh Modular comes closest
to what I would like. Big knobs, easy to read (well, easier than most) labels, and heck,
it's made in my Mom's hometown so I could pick stuff up in person and visit family
on the same trip!]

- Bill

wsy · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:15 pm Post subject: Quote from somebody...

paults · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:56 pm Post subject:

cormallen · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:30 am Post subject:

I've never bought a module just because I think it's beautiful. On the converse side, though, there are modules that I'd never buy, just because I find them seriously ugly. Even worse, some of them take arty design to the point where it impedes usability (Maths, I'm looking at you!)

As for the uniform MOTM grid - it's not as pretty as MU, but it looks fine, and there's enough variation between modules that I never get lost. I don't stick to the grid religiously with my DIY modules, but I only violate it when I have a really good reason to do so.

Harry

doctorvague · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:34 am Post subject:

I'm always amazed that Euro systems (generally) continue to get more hideous every year. But the arcane labeling is another issue that makes it that much worse. All that visual noise would make it hard for me to patch much less trying to figure out what the jacks and knobs do on mysteriously labeled modules. What if your car's dashboard looked like that - would it be easier or harder to drive? I'm not a purist though, and don't mind a bit of mixing and matching to get what I want functionally. For example Doepfer mixed with Cwejman and Tiptop wouldn't bother me. But day-glo graffiti lightning bolts... no thanks. Judging by the popularity of Euro I guess it doesn't bother people, although some might be putting up with it for the functionality I imagine.

numan7 · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:55 am Post subject:

well i wish i could have a car that had a dashboard like this:

cheers

doctorvague · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:20 am Post subject:

Jason Brock · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:27 am Post subject:

I wonder if Eurorack manufacturers would be opposed to publicly releasing the CAD designs of their panels (or whatever format they use). Then people could take that and design their own with a service like Front Panel Express.

Personally I'm fine with most designs, but I'm getting a MacBeth Micromac soon which will be black, so that got me thinking about having other panels redone in black.