Eurorack

[wretches]

what do you all think of the shard module, i been going back and forth on it for a while. can you get any decent lower sounds out of the internal oscillators or just highs like in the demo video? is it worth the rack space to just use to process external audio? also how's it mesh with piston honda, it seems like you could get some weird shit

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

I don't use Piston Honda nor any of the Harvestman gear so I can't make any comparison. I have Shard though, and I think that it naturally glitches a lot in the high-end side of the spectrum, and that it was more likely built with the idea of feeding it something else in mind (most likely Wreckage.) I get my lower-ends when I feed it other signals and play with the input level. I love using it as some kind of weird glitchy drum machine on its own, with some euclidian rhythms and all. I played a gig last weekend and a friend of mine fed Rings into his, and it made killer sounds almost akin to a distorted electric guitar. So it's cool on its own but gets a million times cooler when you feed other things in it, as most eurorack modules.

Also worth noting, it's one of the better-built modules I own, only beaten in panel quality by the Verbos modules in my rack (the Verbos panels are heavy as hell.) It's also the deepest of the modules I have and finally, it makes a lot of noise that can bleed into other modules. I'm thinking of a really sensitive filter of mine through which I could hear glitches while neither of the modules were patched together. I usually put Shard between two digital modules whose signal is slow and doesn't bleed. Then it works like a Shard, hehe.

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

also how's it mesh with piston honda, it seems like you could get some weird shit

I had the chance to do this and regret not doing so. Piston Honda and the Hertz Donut modules are super hard on their own alone. I can assume it would be absolutely incredible.

[wretches]

anyone use any of the noise engineering voices for pe/harsh ambient stuff? been looking at a few(loquelic, manis and ataraxis) they all seem capable of getting pretty fucked up but most of the demo videos are pretty fast tempo techno-y stuff so its hard to tell what they could realistically do for this kind of music. loquelic seems like it could be a good low end drone source maybe, ataraxis seems possibly the harshest, and manis(although seemingly geared towards drums) seems like a contender too seeing as its got the built in envelope. any opinions?

[Cementimental]

I have the Ataraxic Translatron (got it very cheap display model sale from somewhere) and it's definitely usable for noise/drone in the right patch, tho it's default sounds are very chiptune-ish pulsewave/shift-register stuff. output is nice and loud and using it in Clock mode with an irregular/noise clock input gets some interesting stuff happening

Nonlinear Circuits have lots of good noise-friendly modules, this new one looks particularly so :) http://nonlinearcircuits.blogspot.com/2020/02/1u-pills.html

I fairly recently built this one http://nonlinearcircuits.blogspot.com/2018/12/bad-digital-filter-simulator.html still trying to get to grips with quite what it even does but it's really interesting.

also recently built this from the panel/pcb, very cheap and fun module, uses the classic echo IC but is more of a distortion/feedback noise module. Quite similar to some things I ended up with by circuitbending cheap echo units over the years. Shame it has no CV control at all tho https://www.modulargrid.net/e/st-modular-diz

[theworldisawarfilm]

Nonlinear Circuits have lots of good noise-friendly modules, this new one looks particularly so :) http://nonlinearcircuits.blogspot.com/2020/02/1u-pills.html

Wow yes it does.

[wretches]

Nonlinear Circuits have lots of good noise-friendly modules, this new one looks particularly so :) http://nonlinearcircuits.blogspot.com/2020/02/1u-pills.html

yea nlc has some cool stuff. i had a brain custard in my case for a while that i kind of regret selling, shit got super harsh once you were modulating everything. not really sure why noise engineering stuff seems to be grabbing my interest right now probably partially cause its easy to find used in the us. been trying to find a shard for a while but ive only seen a used one come up once on reverb and i missed out on it

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

anyone use any of the noise engineering voices for pe/harsh ambient stuff? been looking at a few(loquelic, manis and ataraxis) they all seem capable of getting pretty fucked up but most of the demo videos are pretty fast tempo techno-y stuff so its hard to tell what they could realistically do for this kind of music. loquelic seems like it could be a good low end drone source maybe, ataraxis seems possibly the harshest, and manis(although seemingly geared towards drums) seems like a contender too seeing as its got the built in envelope. any opinions?

Speaking on my bandmates half but he has the Loquelic he has been a fan since day one. It makes and creates all sorts of interesting textures. Loquelic is good for all ranges. My time spent with it has proven to be rewarding. Makes me very curious about the other sound sources they make too.

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

Honestly, I think modular synths are amazing to make super gritty or harsh noise, industrial, drone, etc. Some modules are definitely more oriented towards that sound but ultimately it's about how you patch it all and thinking outside the box. I sure am trying to get away from anything already noise-oriented because when I hear how everyone ends up making the same thing with the powerhouse that is the MS20, it doesn't give me high hopes for modular synths either.

Find a module you gel with, build yourself a small system of 5 modules (4 simple, useful ones and 1 crazy one that makes you want to play and really tickles your fancy) and go from there. But don't go too fast too early and learn. You want to know your modules in and out to know where to go then and what to buy.

[wretches]

yea thats how i feel about the ms20s too which is why i got into eurorack a few years ago. i dont usually go straight for boutique noise specific modules but some of them can give you sounds that would cost a lot more to get a bunch of seperate modules to do a similar thing. you can definitely get some great sounds out to just a basic vco by adding some filters, wave folders, modulation sources, ect but im just on that eurocrack always looking for another thing to add to my rack.

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

So don't indulge in unhealthy habits and just buy a few random Doepfer modules instead that'll allow you to make your OWN sound.

It feels like noiseheads just want to do what everyone did with Rings, and it's a bummer. (My first module was Elements by the way. And I still love it.)

[Cementimental]

If you are worried about falling into cliche racks or one-trick-pony esoteric modules do what I did: buy and organise your rack purely on the basis of whatever modules you can trade for guitar pedals or build yourself or get very cheap on sale :D

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

So don't indulge in unhealthy habits and just buy a few random Doepfer modules instead that'll allow you to make your OWN sound.

It feels like noiseheads just want to do what everyone did with Rings, and it's a bummer. (My first module was Elements by the way. And I still love it.)

I feel like eurorack/modular is an extremely untapped fountain of sound on all levels, boutique to doepfer modules. I have a hard time seeing anyone copying ones sound. Do you have any examples of this?

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

Yes. Modular synth, as everything else, is filled with trends.

Where do you think the "Rings into Clouds" meme comes from for instance ? They're pretty much as mandatory in any modular ambient video on YouTube as the green plant near the synth and the view towards the outside. I don't mind, but 95% of their users has been using them the same way, which is a big reason why Emilie from Mutable Instruments was kind of bummed out such powerful modules she put so much efforts into were used to 10% of their capabilities.

I do love Rings and Elements though, and other MI modules (but I really dislike Clouds.)

Same with everyone using Strymon or Eventide pedals as delay and reverb. I can't stand the Strymon sound anymore because I even hear it in commercials on TV. They're great gear, but I feel like I hear them everywhere because they're considered as the best for their price and get overused.

Closer to us, most of us into PE/industrial/harsh noise and modular synths are going to end up with stuff from Ritual Electronics (such as Miasma, which has quite a personal sound) or X1L3, or IME, etc... They're all modules with strong personalities (and qualities) also designed to even more niche crowds than your regular Doepfer module.

I don't know whether you read more general topics on Muff Wiggler for instance, but I think it definitely shows?

This is why I think that with the availability and interest triggered by modular synths for the noise community it's more interesting to look and think outside the box. A sine wave will always be a sine wave but if it isn't coloured by the full package module you just got but by another neutral function module instead, it'll sound like you, not like the strobg personality module you just got.

But that's only my opinion. I just wish I could see someone abuse say, an Intelligel Atlantis for instance

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

Yes. Modular synth, as everything else, is filled with trends.

Where do you think the "Rings into Clouds" meme comes from for instance ? They're pretty much as mandatory in any modular ambient video on YouTube as the green plant near the synth and the view towards the outside. I don't mind, but 95% of their users has been using them the same way, which is a big reason why Emilie from Mutable Instruments was kind of bummed out such powerful modules she put so much efforts into were used to 10% of their capabilities.

I do love Rings and Elements though, and other MI modules (but I really dislike Clouds.)

Closer to us, most of us into PE/industrial/harsh noise and modular synths are going to end up with stuff from Ritual Electronics (such as Miasma, which has quite a personal sound) or X1L3, or IME, etc... They're all modules with strong personalities (and qualities) also designed to even more niche crowds than your regular Doepfer module.

I don't know whether you read more general topics on Muff Wiggler for instance, but I think it definitely shows?

This is why I think that with the availability and interest triggered by modular synths for the noise community it's more interesting to look and think outside the box. A sine wave will always be a sine wave but if it isn't coloured by the full package module you just got but by another neutral function module instead, it'll sound like you, not like the strobg personality module you just got.

But that's only my opinion. I just wish I could see someone abuse say, an Intelligel Atlantis for instance

I was speaking directly about those in Industrial and PE, not the masses. Of course there are stupid boring trends that the masses partake in but in terms of Industrial and PE I have yet to see or hear the trends there. If you can pull any examples from that scene it would be appreciated.