Malekko Heavy Industries Voltage Block

[1n]

I've been weighing modulator options and I'm considering Voltage Block again.

Are you still using yours? If not, what did you replace it with for CV sequencing and modulation?

[Polyterative]

It's the only seq that satisfies my needs in terms of features playability channels and hp. Nothing beats it

[nolongerhuman]

Same as the above. Got back into modular after a 2 year break and VB is still (for me) the only one that hits all the boxes. Ease of use, no menu diving, only 20HP for 8 channels.

[1n]

Same as the above. Got back into modular after a 2 year break and VB is still (for me) the only one that hits all the boxes. Ease of use, no menu diving, only 20HP for 8 channels.

Thanks for this! I wanted a reality check, in case my memory of it was telling me tall tales.

For the sort of thing I do, it looks like VB is the way to go.

It seems VB and Batumi - although I never used Batumi - are still many people's top modules for hands-on modulation (at that price level).

[nolongerhuman]

Same as the above. Got back into modular after a 2 year break and VB is still (for me) the only one that hits all the boxes. Ease of use, no menu diving, only 20HP for 8 channels.

Thanks for this! I wanted a reality check, in case my memory of it was telling me tall tales.

For the sort of thing I do, it looks like VB is the way to go.

It seems VB and Batumi - although I never used Batumi - are still many people's top modules for hands-on modulation (at that price level).

If I had more space I’d probably opt for a Batumi as well, I ended up going with the Voltage Block + Varigate 4+ combo. Many of my modules don’t respond to negative voltages (Noise Engineering are all my primary oscillators) so I ended up needing sequence style modulation and envelopes more than anything else.

I tried out tons of sequencers though, each has its own charms and trade offs, but my general rule was to avoid combo features as much as possible, avoid screens wherever possible, one knob per function as much as possible. It’s hard with sequencers in euro because the push seems to be to basically cram a DAW in 3U format, and for me... I have a DAW and an Expert Sleepers set up so I wanted more hands on from my euro set up.

[1n]

Same as the above. Got back into modular after a 2 year break and VB is still (for me) the only one that hits all the boxes. Ease of use, no menu diving, only 20HP for 8 channels.

Thanks for this! I wanted a reality check, in case my memory of it was telling me tall tales.

For the sort of thing I do, it looks like VB is the way to go.

It seems VB and Batumi - although I never used Batumi - are still many people's top modules for hands-on modulation (at that price level).

If I had more space I’d probably opt for a Batumi as well, I ended up going with the Voltage Block + Varigate 4+ combo. Many of my modules don’t respond to negative voltages (Noise Engineering are all my primary oscillators) so I ended up needing sequence style modulation and envelopes more than anything else.

I tried out tons of sequencers though, each has its own charms and trade offs, but my general rule was to avoid combo features as much as possible, avoid screens wherever possible, one knob per function as much as possible. It’s hard with sequencers in euro because the push seems to be to basically cram a DAW in 3U format, and for me... I have a DAW and an Expert Sleepers set up so I wanted more hands on from my euro set up.

This is more or less my approach - I want button combos to be no more complicated than one press or 'Shift key'+.

The only drawback with VB that some have mentioned is the non-extendable voltage range, but that's not a problem, just a fact. And that's where Batumi might help out.

Someone in another thread mentioned used Rene 1 as a low-price option for CV modulation. I've got a space for Rene 1 and I'm thinking about that at the moment, as a reasonably priced way to sequence pitch and CV, and avoid the zillion buttons/combos/screens of the external DAW units.

[nolongerhuman]

I’ve found a good offset and attenuverter module really helps to fine tune VB, I’m using the NE Lapsus Os because it’s 4 channels and I like sliders (apparently, haha)

I’ve had a couple of V1 Rene over the years. They are cool, very modulation friendly. V1’s do tend to be touchy about power supply and it highly depends on the version you get (they got slightly better about touch sensitivity over the years they built them) I always liked how relatively easy it was to use, but ultimately it’s 34hp for 1 channel. Didn’t work for me, I only have 4 rows of 84hp to work with. Rene V2 addresses that, but from the videos it looks more complex than I wanted to deal with, which brought me right back to the VB again.