Here's what I got to fill mine out:
- I already had a Neutron, which pairs nicely
- Immediately got a Monsoon from After Later Audio.
- Maths
- nRings
- Mult from AI Synthesis
- Matrix Mixer from AI Synthesis; this is great because it can perform many duties in a relatively small footprint: final mixer, feedback, and CV mixer
- nRings
- modDemix since I wanted some VCAs besides what's on the Neutron, but also really like ring mod.
- Replaced Chipz with a uo_C running Hemisphere. I found I was only using Chipz for the LFOs, and the LFOs are pretty limited... no rate modulation and for some reason I couldn't get them to trigger my Maths.
Super happy with my current setup. Can jam on this thing for hours. The Neutron is a nice compliment since it has so many utilities, and has more traditional VCOs and VCF. That said... I do kind of wish I'd gone with a bigger case
As for the modules:
Cellz is really cool. You can do some fun stuff with randomizing the pathway through Cellz and such (if you've got something like Branches; I use the uo_C for this). The arpeggiator is definitely a nice touch; it can be finicky, but in kind of a happy accidents sort of way. I do have a few complaints though:
- Can't tune while playing
- Responds inconsistently to short triggers; for instance, it will frequently skip triggers from my uo_C. This has been super frustrating.
- "Gate" is really a trigger. You really can't use it as a gate afaict. This might be what plytheman is experiencing as well.
- I wish a negative trigger would cause it to go back a cell. Would really open up some complex sequencing possibilities.
Chipz has a lot going on, and is useful in any patch. I'm not crazy about how Chipz sounds, but it could definitely fit in nicely with some types of music. Sound aside, you get a good bit with this little module. Worst case, the two VCOs can be noise sources with controllable frequency, the depth knob on the LFO is super handy, and having metrically-related LFOs is pretty nice. The lack of CV controls over lots of stuff plus a few other grievances made me swap it out:
- Again, I couldn't get the LFOs to trigger my Maths (though I could get it to switch cycle on and off). Not totally sure what's going on here. I think their max voltage is 5v, so I guess Maths trigger voltage is just higher than that. Given that there's a depth knob, I really wish the max voltage was higher; say, 10v. Also, I tend to prefer bipolar LFOs, but nbd there.
- The filter on VCO 1 doesn't close all the way, which makes it impossible to get differentiated notes if you don't have any VCAs. The width on VCO 2 does go to 0 (iirc), which is nice.
- Similar to what plytheman mentioned, when you send negative voltages into... basically anywhere afaict, the rate of the LFOs would change. The solution I arrived at was to just not send negative voltages in, which seemed to be fine.
The case is decent enough. I do wish the output had been stereo, though I understand why they did summing (so that, out of the box, you get sounds from both VCOs without having them each in a different ear); a switch would be nice to control mono/stereo, but would've probably increased the price. Biggest grievance is the lack of any kind of volume or attenuation for when going straight into headphones. VCO 1 in particular is super loud. I honestly haven't tried the midi connector as I've got that on my Neutron.
I've also had pleasure of working with their support on a couple of occasions. When I first got the case, I started getting some weird behavior and it turned out that the -12v rail was underpowered. Support was super awesome. Walked me through diagnosing the problem and then shipped me a new case when we figured out what was going on. When I got the new case, I discovered that my Cellz seemed to have been fried by the old case (tune had stopped working). Reported and they promptly sent a replacement. Shout outs to Alex and Al for the help!
