Elektron-Users

Been tinkering with the idea of saving up for a modular, so far I'm quite intrigued by the Pittsburgh Modular Foundation (the several modules in one box solution), it's got a decent price as well. Does anyone on here have any experience with modulars? Have you tried any in particular that you thought sounded good? I also like a lot of the sounds people seem to come up with with their Doepfer systems, but I'm a bit intimidated by the prices of the modules, and I'm really just looking to get a semi-modular at a decent price, as a kind of first dive into modular synths.

I imagine being able to use one with an Octatrack could be pretty damn cool.

Isn't the Foundation a full modular?

I did not try one but the MS20Mini seems to be a quite inexpensive, exciting, good sounding candidate.

Another way to go, Little Phatty with CV out + MoogerFoogers and expression input equiped stomboxes. Not the cheaper though.
Even more expensive: Voyager + VX-351.

I like the compromise of semi-modular: freedom with welcome limitations

Oh, yeah, it might be considered a full modular? It's just that it ships in one package, like it has all the modules built into one box, but of course it could just as well be used with other modules, so yeah, you're probably right, my bad.

Yeah, the Mini looks cool, but my friend is getting one, so I think I'll just borrow his whenever he's not really using it. Would love to get a Voyager, of course, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one (I'm shit at saving).

Thanks for your input, man.

I had a chance to play the Foundation, and personally thought it was built pretty cheaply, it felt like some of the knobs were going to fall right off, the power supply seemed like if it was bumped in the slightest it would fall out, and the sine sounded like a saw to me...

the Doepfer stuff is cool, I dont have a lot of experience with their stuff, but what I do I was happy with.
I dont use much for eurorack, but Cwejman makes extremly high end modules,build and soud quality are top notch. though your going to pay for it.

Either way, getting into modular, your entering a money pit!
Be warned, stay away from anything banana cables, it will suck you in, and you will be forced to sell your other equipment to get more modules. It makes me kind of sad to think of how many other synths I have sold to build my serge system, but I cant complain, I have never heard anything else like it.


Semi modular stuff is cool as well, Tom oberheim SEM, Future Retro XS, Ms20, hey Elektron, why dont you guys make a Semi modular something er other?

Yeah, that's the thing. It just looks like so much fun, but those things take up a lot of space I don't really have and cost a lot of money I don't really have either, hehe. Hmmm, thanks a lot for your input, and especially on the cheap build of the Pittsburgh, that's not something you can see from a Youtube video, and definitely worth taking into consideration.

Do you have any place online where I can hear some of the sounds or songs you've made with your Serge system? Would be cool to hear.

No problem, if your thinking on a budget, look at some of the doepfer modules and try to piece together what you would want in a system, and check out muffwigglers.com used section, you can certainly put together a pretty nice started system with used modules for well under $1000
Also check out the Arturia minibture, its a great synth on its own, but also works really well for modular things, I use mine more as a midi/cv converter, send the modular pitch and clock, plus the arp settings are really fun and useful.

as far as my serge sounds are concerned, I only have some really spacey and improv recordings online right now, at
https://soundcloud.com/skeleton-dreams
some videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/n3wt15
and once my bands album is done, there will be quite a few songs with the serge in it for
https://soundcloud.com/armageddon-party

Also want to add that your artwork is really cool!

Something like the anyware tinysizer is a very good compromise - it's very well featured, completely modular and plays nice with midi. The payoff is that the patch points are small and so it can get fiddly. Would have been nice to have another filter, attenuverters and mixing too but you can't have it all... and what you do get is amazing value:

2 X voltage controlled oscillator VCO - Oberheim SEM style
1 X control voltage CV - waveformprocessor - waveshaper
3 X suboscillator
3 X low frequency oscillator LFO
1 X voltage controlled filter, state variable VCF - Oberheim SEM style
2 X ADSR envelope generator
1 X envelope follower & audio gate & microphone preamp
1 X DSP effect, reverb & delay
4 X voltage controlled amplifier VCA linear
2 X mixer & inverter & overload - distortion
1 X control voltage CV - source
4 X CV, 6 X gate, Midi interface
1 X white noise & pink noise
1 X sample & hold s+h
1 X ringmodulator
11 X patchble auxiliary in & outputs, bi - directional

hey Elektron, why dont you guys make a Semi modular something er other?

P-LOCKABLE PATCH POINTS FOR THE WIN.
(with slide and swing)

Wow, looks like a great night you got going, Newt. Also loving a lot of the sounds in your jams. Nice and thick sounding. Sweet.

The tiny sizer looks interesting! I've seen it before actually, but haven't really paid attention to it. Hmmm, not too pricey either. Thanks for the tip, that's another one to take into consideration!

Its very good... Not perfect but then nothing is. For the money I dont think you can go far wrong.