How to get started with eurorack?

[jersupereq]

ok so im thinking of sorta stopping with my dotcom system and using it as my basic modules and doing eurorack for the more interesting stuff, im kinda tired of wasting my oscillators as LFOs. just wondering what i should get to start up a nice eurorack comapanion. So far i just have the MFB sequencer and the MFB drum01
this is what i have right now in my dotcom cases
4 vco
3env
3amp
1 noise
1 S&H
1 q107 filter
1 MFOS filter
1 instrument interface
1 mixer
1 midi/cv interface
1 ring mod
1 q119 sequencer
1 mutilple
2 signal processors
1 MOTM 120 Sub-Octave Multiplexer

[sandyb]

well, i was in pretty much the same situation as you about a year ago. i have a 2 cabinet dotcom system - it has very similar modules to yours. i ended up expanding in a couple of directions - maybe thinking about some of the questions i asked myself may help your decision.

i think the main thing to consider is what do you want that you don't have with the dotcom? is it purely modules dotcom don't produce like dedicated LFOs? do you want to produce different flavours of sound?

one of the other things to consider is whether you want your euro system to be "stand alone" or whether you want to rely on patching it and your dotcom together to give a synth with "full" functionality.

another consideration is cost, space and form factor (although it seems you've made this decision already). does patching 1/4 and 1/8 inch together put you off? do you want a uniform look to your system? how much money do you have to spend and how big do you see an expansion system getting?

i hope this helps. do post what you think and this will help in recommending modules that will fit the bill.

sandy

[jersupereq]

I really want to just have both working together and have the eurorack pick up all the tasks that just cant be done by the dotcom. Im planning on getting a few of those 1/4-1/8 panels on my dotcom so it looks kinda nicely put together. I do really wanna try other oscillators and filters, but those are a a bit less important than just new types of modules that i would never see on my dotcom, since i am just a broke college kid and i just had to quit my job to go to school up north. I kinda wanna just try to put togeather a small euro system to compliment the dotcom for now, but i hope to expand on it heavily when i have the cash

[sandyb]

things you won't see on dotcom?
i'll try to list some suggestions (by no means exhaustive- just what comes of the top of my head - i'm sure others will chime in with their ideas too). i'll ignore filters and oscillators although there are a load of cool ones of those too.

- Harvestman - pretty much any of it - Zorlon Cannon, Tyme Sefari and expander look like a fun combination.
- Livewire - pretty much any of their modulators - Vulcan or Dual Cyclotron
- Doepfer - there's loads! maybe one of the BBD modules. they also do dedicated LFOs. i really like the Source of Uncertainty modules which provide a great source of various random voltages. a clock divider would be a useful addition to your MFB sequencer.
- Plan B - the ELF modules look great and don't take up too much space- there's an LFO, also maybe the ASR and Wave Splicer. Their "regular" modules are also good - maybe the CV Processor or Audio Processor?
- Tiptop make a pretty cool effects unit.

hth

sandy

[Chuck E. Jesus]

if you want LFOs, those new Plan B ELFOs look pretty cool...the only Plan B mod i have is the Wavesplicer, and i think you could find some use with it (actually it's pretty damn cool)...my favorite Doepfer mods i have are the A-126 Frequency Shifter, the A-196 Phase Lock Loop, and the A-155 Sequencer (i just got the A-154 Sequencer controller, hooking it up next week)...as far as BBDs: Doepfers are cool, but they work more like industrial noise machines than regular delays...i'd wait for the new eurorack BBD coming out, can't remember the brand name (help me out here someone!)

[Leisure Cove]

(Malekko-- viewtopic.php?p=15595 )

[jersupereq]

thanks for all the help, im thinking of going for the a-143-1 as my first purchase just for the dedicated LFO's, the plan b elfs look beautiful but the price is kinda high, maybe the A-160 too, it looks fun too, ive been going through the doepfer list over and over since it seems the most cost effective to start with but im so used to dotcom that some of the ideas seem pretty foreign. Hopefully i can get more used to this with each module i get

[Cat-A-Tonic]

It is so difficult for me to memorize all the damned module numbers.
Is the 143-1 the Quad Complex Envelope/LFO?
The benefit that the ELFO's offer over the Dopefer Quad is that the Plan B's have CV ins. 1V/Oct. even; I think.

[MrDys]

Oui. Despite the naming, people should really consider ELF LFOs as utility oscillators. If you're looking for CV-controlled audio-generating LFOs, go with the ELFs; at worst, you can patch up the 143-1 to go into the audio range (minus CV control).

Since it seems like your dotcom system covers the basics, I'd focus on modulation and timing/sequencing in your euro setup. I'd look at a Plan B M14. Max/min/sum functions are incredibly useful, as well the as vc crossfading, bipolar mixing, and vca functions it also provides.

Another good one to look into would be the Plan B M26 CV Processor. It gives you some boolean logic to play around with (great for events and sequences), as well as a slew limiter (which I noticed you are missing in your setup).

The Plan B M17 is a timing/sequencing choice that you're not going to really find elsewhere.

[jersupereq]

After watching the video i think im gonna have to get the a-175 with the quad lfo to get started with and then see where i can go from there. The plan b m14looks like a beauty but that will have to come when i get more cash

[sandyb]

After watching the video i think im gonna have to get the a-175 with the quad lfo to get started with and then see where i can go from there.

sounds cool. keep in mind that your dotcom signal processors can do the same job as the doepfer A175 dual voltage inverter.

[jersupereq]

After watching the video i think im gonna have to get the a-175 with the quad lfo to get started with and then see where i can go from there.

sounds cool. keep in mind that your dotcom signal processors can do the same job as the doepfer A175 dual voltage inverter.

damn my bad i meant the a172, not the a175

[dkcg]

Oui. Despite the naming, people should really consider ELF LFOs as utility oscillators. If you're looking for CV-controlled audio-generating LFOs, go with the ELFs; at worst, you can patch up the 143-1 to go into the audio range (minus CV control).

Since it seems like your dotcom system covers the basics, I'd focus on modulation and timing/sequencing in your euro setup. I'd look at a Plan B M14. Max/min/sum functions are incredibly useful, as well the as vc crossfading, bipolar mixing, and vca functions it also provides.

Another good one to look into would be the Plan B M26 CV Processor. It gives you some boolean logic to play around with (great for events and sequences), as well as a slew limiter (which I noticed you are missing in your setup).

The Plan B M17 is a timing/sequencing choice that you're not going to really find elsewhere.

I have the M26, and LOVE the slew in it, different times for in and out, only improvement would be two toggles for lin/log for each dial. It, and the boolean logic work with low audio rates too. I tried it last night, two squares in, two new squares out (the invers of the logic).

I wish I had a dual bissel and VCS for slew also.